Pinnacle Studio 8 - Is it good?

[aznguy]

I read the capture card review and Pinnacle studio didn't rate that good, but I didn't know if its the v.7 or v.8 that was rated!!!

Anyone have it or know anything about it...

This is what I'm looking for:
1. Better then Dazzle DVC I (max 352x240, not good enough)
2. Audio Synch... have problem in past with others on capturing a 6hr tape.

My Computer config.
Athlon 1600+
VIA MotherBoard
120GB Western Digital 8MB Cache
256DDR (PC2100)
OS: Xp Pro

Anyone that can help thanx.

[aznguy]

PLEASE HELP>...NEED HELP.

[bertmartin]

I had nothing but trouble with Studio 7 so I would not trust Studio 8. People who bought version 7 waited for the bugs to be fixed and they just released another version for more money without fixing the problems for version 7 users. I don't trust them. Just check out the Pinnacle users forum and you will find a lot of problems. Having said this you will find that some people are happy with Studio. I guess it is their particular PC configuration and OS that makes the difference but I don't want to depend on a less than stable piece of software. I am constantly changing features on my PC. I am using Ulead Video Studio 6 and have had no problems. I just wish Ulead had the SmartSound feature.

As far as capture goes here is my setup. I use SceneAnalyzer (software) for capture even though you can capture with Video Studio. I just like it a little better. I have a 2 port firewire with one port for my miniDV digital camera and the other port attached to a analog to digital converter. I use the Canopus ADVC-100 converter and have had zero problems with this setup. Also no sync problem with Canopus. I use the Canopus to capture VHS tapes and for my old analog camera. It converts to digital and sends it to my computer via the firewire port. Its a duplex converter but I don't use the output feature. When I finish a video I use Video studio to make an AVI formatted file and using SceneAnalyzer I copy this back to my miniDV camera for archive. That way I don't lose quality. I can then copy to VHS tape from my camera if I want a VHS tape but of course lose a little quality here. I prefer my setup to the combo video/capture cards that are discussed here because I have no sync problems and I like separate components.

I only have a P-III 500 and never drop a frame. Hope this helps.

[ktnwin]

I have used Studio DV (start with rev 1.10 and now 8.0) to capture and edit DV video (from digital camcorder) for two years without much problem. Most of the time, thing ran really smooth and it's very user friendly.
However, for make VCD/SVCD, I use TMPGEnc to convert the edited AVI file (after rendering it as AVI file on hard drive).
I can't be any happier.
I know some of you have trouble with it but I am a lucky one I guess.
My system: Athlon 1.2GHz, 256MB SDRAM, 60GB HDD dedicated to video, 30GB HDD for OS/application. When I started, I had Pentium 2-266MHz, 64MB memory !! and it worked great too. Rendering and conversion obviously take forever on this old system.

[donpedro]

ktwin, little late for your post... Last update was Oct 04th.

Same history here .... DV, 7, 8 currently without plorblems.

BTW. I just bought Hollywood FX Plus for FREE after MIR in CompUSA. Something new that I will have to learn how to use it. I mean how to use custom transitions not just Default ones.