Pinnacle Studio 8 versus Ulead VideoStudio 7

[ultimatevolvo]

Has anyone had the opportunity to use both of these software packages?

What are the (dis)advantages or pros/cons of either set-up?

I'm looking for something easy to learn and use, and not as expensive as Adobe Premiere.

I plan to use miniDV as my source to edit, and eventually burn it to a DVD; this would then be played on a 42" plasma screen, so quality is a critical issue.

PS8 got great reviews in the press, but doesn't seem to be liked on CNet.

UVS7 is just too new, although ver. 6 (from what I've read in the forums) seems to have fewer problems.

I can't find out exactly if UVS7 allows for DVD authoring the way PS8 claims to. That is important too. It appears I'd have to buy some addtional software to author a DVD once I got done editing it using USV7?

Any comments? Good or bad, either way is appreciated.

Thanks!
JD

[troyvcd1]

I am sure a lot of people would like to know this. Problem is videostudio is so new not many people have it. Also people are likely to only get one or the other and not be able to compare them.

[kitzj0]

I have both. I just bought the Ulead and have had Studio 8 for three months. I have had alot of problems with Studio 8 but have gotten it to work. I think the new update to Studio 8 has made it more stable in my setup. However, when I burn multiple DVD's, the second burn gives an error that says the media is not compatible and trashes the DVD. Insert a new DVD and it works, but get the same error message when I burn another DVD. With the new update I can take out the commercials of an Mpeg created with WinTV PVR 250,but itre-encodes the video.

I bought Ulead because I was eligible for the upgrade price of $44. It does let you burn DVD without having to buy burning software. It allows you to encode using variable bit rate and constant bitrate, Studio 8 only uses constant. It looks like the burning process is DVD Moviefactory II. I had the trial version and really liked it, so the burning process opens up a screen that looks almost exactly like DVD MF II. I was able to take the same MPeg-2 clip from the 250, cut out the commercials and successfully burn a DVD.

[digitalmaster]

Pinnacle Studio 8 came with my burner. I had a lot of issues with it locking up on large 2GB mpeg2 files. I tried the demo of Video Suite 7. It is an easy to use program with good options. Had no issues with large files. Studio 8 did not seem like it was geared to the home user.

[Greg12]

VS7 has AC3, P8 does not.

[bpjenn]

VS7 is much better than Pinnacle. I've tried Studio 7 & 8 and find the Ulead software far superior.