Pinnacle Studio 18

Pinnacle Studio 18 review

We upgraded to Pinnacle Studio 18 recently, and wow I'm glad we did. We have the Ultimate version which is made to work with 64 bit computers. This makes a huge impact on the actual editing process, as everything is much snappier--adding titles, adding special effects, working with video footage--everything is much faster. So far it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference in the actual rendering of the dvd project, but it's well worth it for the actual video editing.

There are alot of really nice extra effects including some effects packs from New Blue. They are ones that most video editors will use daily, and seem to be geared for the types of family and business editing that most of us do.

Studio 18 includes support for HD and 4K (if your computer is fast enough to work with those types of files); includes izotope music and speech cleaner; allows for bluray disc creation (if you have a bluray burner); includes 3D features (which we never use); includes 2000 transitions, effects, templates and menus; allows for unlimited editing tracks for superior editing capabilities; works with Sonifire music if you buy the optional plugin (and you've updated to the latest patches); includes Scorefitter and some other free royalty free music; photo slideshow features; and many other features.

We had been using Studio 16 for quite a long time, and it worked pretty well but was made for 32 bit computers. For our video to dvd transfer projects it worked quite well. We decided to upgrade to Pinnacle Studio 17 and it was a disaster--the program was crashing constantly and caused us enough grief to return it for a refund. We were a bit skeptical to upgrade to Studio 18 but now we're in video editing heaven!

We normally don't recommend new products so quickly, but Studio 18 is definitely ready for prime time. Give it a shot--you can request a refund within the first 30 days if it doesn't meet your video to dvd editing needs.

Pinnacle Studio 16 - Video to DVD Transfer

Pinnacle Studio 16 - Video to DVD Transfer

We recently purchased the newly updated video editing software Pinnacle Studio 16. We've been using it for a few days now, and here are some of our thoughts:

--we're using it on Vista 32 bit and have noticed significant speed improvements over Pinnacle Studio 15

--even though Pinnacle Studio 16 is optimized for 64 bit computers, there is a marked overall "snappiness" in the program on 32 bit computers

--the program really should have been called Avid Studio 2.0 as the interface mimics Avid Studio 1.1

--we've found that running the program as administrator seems to have a positive effect on the speediness of the program, but not sure why

--we purchased the Pinnacle Studio 16 Ultimate option, and even though the installation of the program takes a great deal longer than previous versions, the program automatically installs all of the plugins during installation so there's no losing serial number keys for add on content

--at the beginning of installation, you only have to input the serial number; if you already have an older version of Pinnacle Studio or Avid Studio, the program finds the version for you during upgrade so you don't have to input an old serial number

--for moving add on content from Avid Studio to Pinnacle Studio 16, compare the following folders, then copy/paste missing files/folders from C:\Program Files\Avid\Studio\plugins\RTFx  to C:\Program Files\Pinnacle\Studio 16\plugins\RTFx and do the same C:\Program Files\Avid\Studio\plugins\RTFXV2\ to C:\Program Files\Pinnacle\Studio 16\plugins\RTFXV2. All of the files/folders in Avid Studio RTFx and Avid Studio RTFxV2 should be the same as their corresponding Pinnacle Studio folders

--Alpha Magic transitions are not included in Pinnacle Studio 16 but you can easily copy them over from Avid Studio. For Alpha Magic, again copy/paste all Alpha Magic folders and files from C:\Program Files\Avid\Studio\plugins\RTFx to C:\Program Files\Pinnacle\Studio 16\plugins\RTFx. Alpha Magic will be listed at the very bottom of the transitions library

--there is a storyboard option in Pinnacle Studio 16 and it puts a mini storyboard above the timeline (very useful); the only thing that would make the new storyboard better would be to be able to put transitions between the storyboard pictures/videos instead of having to do it from the timeline (which is more time consuming)

As we use the program more, we will post more information on Pinnacle Studio 16 Ultimate.

Avid Studio - Video to DVD Transfer Service

Pinnacle just released their new video editing software Avid Studio. We are not going to be using this video editing software for one important reason--it does not have a storyboard feature. For those who do not use the storyboard in other Pinnacle Studio products, the software gives you the following features:

--markers and keyframes
--a library that manages all of your media files
--an in-program editor to make changes to audio, video and photos without leaving the program
--unlimited tracks
--lots of extra plugins and transitions

Looking at everything that is available in Avid Studio vs. the new Studio 15, you would probably only want to choose Avid Studio if you absolutely must have unlimited tracks for your video to dvd transfer project.

Pinnacle Studio 15 - Video to DVD Transfer Service

Pinnacle just released Studio 15 video editing software (which in our opinion should have been the patch for Studio 14 that was never released). We purchased and are using this video to dvd program. It renders files much, much faster than any previous version of Studio and allows for video to dvd transfer. Some of the new features:

--new archive/restore tool which will make a backup of all files of the project you are working on so you can easily work on it later and not worry if all of your original files are in the correct place

Yep, that's about the only thing that has changed besides obvious coding changes that make the program much, much snappier and responsive. If you work with the program on a daily or weekly basis and were disappointed with Studio 14, the upgrade is worth it.

Video Editing with Serif MoviePlus X5 - Video to DVD Transfer Service

Video to dvd transfer and transfer video to dvd enthusiasts will be excited about the new video editing software from Serif--the Serif MoviePlus X5 high definition video suite. The new suite gives you the ability to edit and add effects to your video editing project, and then burn the project to DVD or Blu-ray. You also get a free green screen.

The suite includes lots of import and export options, no limit on the number of tracks in the timeline mode, lots of special effects and transitions, the ability to reduce shakiness in video, noise reduction, AVCHD, HDV, picture in picture, and Dolby Digital.

This video editing product will work with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.