Replacing Ulead

[bowmah]

I have a very old version of Ulead. Just found Studio 10 from Pinnaclesys.com. I am looking make videos (moslty into DVD but some for web viewing) from miniDV.

So does Studio 10 have a transfer function for my MiniDV camear?

Does it have the usual exports (wmv, mpg, DVD, avi, DV avi etc...)?

Any one have feedback about this product?

I assume it is a much better product that the old Ulead that I have.

All comments are appreciated!

[daamon]

So does Studio 10 have a transfer function for my MiniDV camear?

If not, use WinDV.

Does it have the usual exports (wmv, mpg, DVD, avi, DV avi etc...)?

I'm guessing that'll be detailed on the Pinnacle Studio website. Click on the tool name and it'll take you to the tool's page on this site and you can go from there.

Any one have feedback about this product?

Any comments on the tool are also on the tool's page.

[thecoalman]

I have a very old version of Ulead.

You can usaully upgrade for half the price, depends on how old it is.

So does Studio 10 have a transfer function for my MiniDV camear?

That's coomon for any all-in-one. You can use anything to transfer to HDD, it makes no difference quality wise what you use.

I assume it is a much better product that the old Ulead that I have.

I wouldn't assume that, the one and only pinnacle product I had which was a cut down version of 8 was crap. Ulead makes competing products and I think you'll find there are many more Ulead supporters than Pinnacle. Can't personally say if it's any good since I have never used it but all the Ulead products I have used I have been pleased with.

[edDV]

Try the demos. Pinnacle Studio is famous for problems and each new version adds flash without stability.

IMO try the demos of these 3 products. They are different in approach but solid.

Ulead Video Studio 9 - very capable for a variety of tasks.
Sony Vegas Movie Studio - a limited version of the big Vegas and a good stepping stone to serious effects editing.
Adobe Premiere Elements - narrowly focused on newbie DV camcorder to DVD.

[PMorton]

I personally have been a Studio user since 1999, and have been very pleased with it. I received version 10 for Christmas, and have used it for analog capture, but that is it. I am currently using version 9.3.5 plus and am very pleased. The reason I am not using 10 more is because Pinnacle dropped some of the functionality with 10 unless you go for the plus variety. (The gift was more the capture hardware than the software.) There are many happy users of Studio, but there are also a number of known problems, many of which are likely hardware-related. Just my $0.02.

[bowmah]

Hey thanks everyone for the feedback. The version of Ulead I have is an LE version that came with a burner a while back.

I have also seen some comments about Pinnacle casuing some problems for a few users but was pretty blown away with the demo (as compared to waht I have now). Looks like Ulead has a higher end $400 produc but Pinnacle's top out at $100? What am I missing?

edDV: What flash problems are there?

Pmorton: What is it that Stuiod is missing from Plus that you need?

[edDV]

Looks like Ulead has a higher end $400 produc but Pinnacle's top out at $100? What am I missing?

edDV: What flash problems are there?

By "flash" I mean flashy demos but unstable operation.

I haven't used v10 yet. I've had a long history with Pinnacle products at the mid levels, DC30plus, DV200/300, DC1000/2000 with Premiere, etc. I've had every version of Studio since v5 and have helped others use it.

Studio was developed for the entry user. It tops out quickly and IMO has had serious productivity issues. It's not a reduced version of a higher end product like the other three.

Pinnacle has a mid level program called Liquid which was acquired from FAST (formerly known as FAST's Studio XL).

[thecoalman]

Looks like Ulead has a higher end $400 produc but Pinnacle's top out at $100? What am I missing?

Pinnacle has higher end products too, oyu're just looking on the wrong page. The Ulead product you are referring too is Media Studio Pro which alllows you to do pratically anything you can think of to the video... Multiple audio tracks, multiple video tracks... the list goes on and on. A lot of those features you don't really need unless you want to get really creative.

Pmorton: What is it that Stuiod is missing from Plus that you need?

It's common practice to package a stripped down version of software with hardware. They usually lable them SE or LE in your case... the only thing special about them is they are usually missing some key features found in the standard edition. They are just slightly better than trial versions you can download, the biggest difference usually being that you get to use it forever as opposed to 30 days.

[bowmah]

Ahh, thanks for the reply.

I am almost ready to take the plunge but am still a little worried about some negative feedback I have read about Pinnacle. So now I am wondering if I should be getting the latest Pinnacle (Studio MediaSuite 10)or Ulead product (VideoStudio 9). Any one have feedback about either product? Is there a comparison chart out there?

[olyteddy]

http://reviews.search.com/search?q=video+editing+reviews&nodeid=3670&format=customlayo...s=1&k=66127761 This is from C-Net.

[bowmah]

Yikes, that makes me really nervous now! Yikes!

[edDV]

Yikes, that makes me really nervous now! Yikes!

Tell us how you intend to use the product.

[bowmah]

Just quickyl went through the CNET reviews. Looks like Ulead, Premiere Elements and Pinnacle all scored pretty low for User Ratings.

As for how I plan ot use it:

- tranfser miniDV to notebook
- edit videos (cut, stitch, transition) with transition being most important. My current Videostuio 7 does not have a profeesional fade, it has super big pixels / squares. I am not looking for lots of transitions just 1 or 2 good fades.
- export videos to DV AVI, DVD, mpg for web, wmv for web and if possible flash for web (i oknow that flash output may be pushing it a bit)
- not professional videos, just home videos of family events but woudl still like it to lok professional

I have been doing this for a few years now so knwo a little bit about the style of the art direction. Just need to upgrade my Videostudio 7.

[edDV]

Just quickyl went through the CNET reviews. Looks like Ulead, Premiere Elements and Pinnacle all scored pretty low for User Ratings.

As for how I plan ot use it:

- tranfser miniDV to notebook
- edit videos (cut, stitch, transition) with transition being most important. My current Videostuio 7 does not have a profeesional fade, it has super big pixels / squares. I am not looking for lots of transitions just 1 or 2 good fades.
- export videos to DV AVI, DVD, mpg for web, wmv for web and if possible flash for web (i oknow that flash output may be pushing it a bit)
- not professional videos, just home videos of family events but woudl still like it to lok professional

I have been doing this for a few years now so knwo a little bit about the style of the art direction. Just need to upgrade my Videostudio 7.

I think your needs point to Premiere Elements. It is DV format centric and uses a version of the Mainconcept MPeg2 encoder that is in the full Premiere. DVD Authoring is limited but OK.

If you said you were going to do alot of TV Tuner capture or work with MPeg input, then I would have recommended ULead Video Studio. It allows quick "Smart-Render" for jobs like commercial removal.

[lordsmurf]

All-in-one Pinnacle is a disaster in the making.

"Old version" of Ulead? Is something wrong with it? Old does not mean bad. I still use a lot of software that I've owned for up to 7 years (Adobe Acrobat 4, for example). Adobe Premiere 6.5 from 2001 isn't half bad either, nor is RecordNow Max 4.5, both of them a number of years old.

Anyway, Premiere Element is a good intro software, especially for DV camera work.

Pay no attention to CNET reviews, they're mostly worthless.

[InXess]

I'd suggest trying Studio 9 (9.4.3). Ulead is good but if you use Studio you'll get hooked. Unsurpassed ease of use. Try installing it. Some PC's don't take it very well (software environment) but worth trying for sure. Forget ver. 10. There are still some issues with it. 9 is just great. If not Studio then some other suggested programs but never as neat as Studio.

[thecoalman]

Just quickyl went through the CNET reviews. Looks like Ulead, Premiere Elements and Pinnacle all scored pretty low for User Ratings.
.

Interesting... I wonder how mnay of those users that rated the product knew how to use it. Now matter which way you slice it producing good video is not easy, it be nice to see the average skill level of the user listed along with the rating. If you're rating a TV just about anyone can do that, it either does or does not look good. Lot of factors in using a piece of software, most importantly is if the user has taken sufficient time to learn and understand the product.

BTW the fade transition if I remeber correctly was one of the "key features" left out of the SE edition of VS I had. All kinds of cheesy transitions but no Fade.... Just about forces you to upgrade.

[MOVIEGEEK]

My Dad has Studio 10 and it's a POS,I told him to get Ulead VideoStudio 9 but he wouldn't listen.Out of the box Studio 10 does not support AMD CPU's and you must have a 128MB+/DX9 videocard,Ulead VS 9 works with any modern PC out of the box.
The latest Studio patch fixes alot of bugs BUT you still cannot:
1.Save DVD files,it must be an image.
2.Change output resolution,you only get 720x480(576 PAL).
3.Quick render,you must reencode when authoring a DVD.
4.Output to WMV or Quicktime.
On the other hand Ulead VS 9 supports the features above,if you want subtitles and multiple sound tracks use DVDLab Pro.

[thecoalman]

.Out of the box Studio 10 does not support AMD CPU's and you must have a 128MB+/DX9 videocard,

That's two pretty big handicaps... The card requirement alone is a killer, must have special affects that require 3D rendering. Although 128mb cards are probably becoming common there's alot of computers that don't have them.... Who the hell is going to want to upgrade there hardware to use what should be a simple piece of software?

[MOVIEGEEK]

Another problem with Studio 10 is you have to disable your firewall in order to render!It has to access some Windows files that are protected:
http://webboard.pinnaclesys.com/read_messages.asp?WebboardID=1&ForumID=1319&SectionID=...hread=29&lng=1

[bowmah]

ok, sounds like i shoudl steer clear of Studio 10, yikes! Just a comment about the CNET feedback. The users complained mostly of crashes and not difficulty in using the program.

As to answer why I "need" to upgrade, there is no fade transition in Videostuio 7. Has a bunch of other "neat" ones but nothing that will fade nicely, only big pixel fading -- yuck!

I saw some fo the demos of the newer types and loves the easy (& nicely laid out) interface.

Studi o10 does not output WMV? hmmmm. That's nuts in this day and age.

I will have to look more into Premiere Elements and Videostudio 9. Oh, one last thing. I have firewire support on my notebook so no need to capture, just transfer. Keep the helpful comments coming!

[bowmah]

Wow, just saw this on Premiere Elements: "WMA (import only)"

Just wondering what format everyone else exports for web viewing? WIth Ulead now, I can choose the kbps and have gotten file size of WMV's to be much lower than mpg. Plus, I can stream WMV's so that isa big plus. Thoughts in this area? Maybe everything is pointing me back to Ulead?

[edDV]

I suggest you download the demos and get the feel of the work flows in each. VS7SE was very limited. VS8 and 9 added a great deal of additional capability.

Premiere Elements is structured to do your DV project. VS9 can do the same thing but is far more flexible and thus needs more learning.

[Guy_Fawkes]

I have studio 9.xx plus and Ulead studio 9. Pinnacle's stuff can be good but it crashes very often and is extremely slow. It is also a resource hog. Ulead product works with almost any type capture card and is at least 3 times faster than pinnacle. i started with ulead 7se and pinnacle studio 8. ulead has consistantly run better and smoother.

[bowmah]

ok, had a chance to demo Videostudio 9 on my W2K machine. Most transitions were the same as VS7 but they did include the cross fade into 9 so I am sold. Will make the purchase of VS9. Thanks for everyone's help! Now, if only there was enough money left over for a dedicated media PC!

[thecoalman]

Most transitions were the same as VS7 but they did include the cross fade into 9 so I am sold.

The trial version doresn't come with the complete package, there's probably many more transitions avaialble than what came with trial among other things.

Look around there site after you purchase, they usually have some extras you can download for more affects etc...

[zoobie]

?why don't you just try uleads premium media studio pro?

[bowmah]

coalman: thanks for the tip. I was thinking along those lines and will make a full purhcase from teh webiste rather than buy the license to "upgrade" the demo. I hope this will include everything. I actually noticed the CNet review saying something about browsing the CD that came along with it as it has more templates and cool stuff. I hope this will all be included in the new download!

zoobie: I am sure studio pro would be fantastic but unforuntaely, it's not within my price range.

[thecoalman]

CNet review saying something about browsing the CD that came along with it as it has more templates and cool stuff.

AFAIK any Ulead template for menus will work... for example you can download the trial versions that other products have and import the templates you don't have. Even the ones you have now.

The file extension is .ufo so they should be easy to find. They can also be edited on limited basis using there image editor Photoimpact.

[bowmah]

Thanks for the tip coalman. Just backed up all the .ufo's before I uninstall Videostuio7. After searching and testing alternatives, it looks like it's back to Videostudio 9.0 for my purposes. Thanks everyone!