Continue reading »]]>  

Video Editing System | Nero 12 Update 12. 5

To buy, click on the image or the image banner below

Nero 12

On March 4th of this year, Nero announced the release of an upgrade to its premiere video editing system Nero 12 and Nero 12 Platinum. They are calling it Nero 12.5 and at the outset, they are at pains to assure users of the video editing sytem that the basic premise of Nero 12 remains the same. To quote Nero, they state that “We provide you with the tools you need to burn, edit, back up, rip, convert, and play your media at the highest possible quality.” Nero is touting this update as an enhancement, with several new features designed to make the Nero experience “even better”, again quoting Nero.

What’s New?

What is new with Nero 12.5? From the looks of the spec sheet, there are improvements to the device profiles for encoding to mobile devices; grouping of jobs for one device destination; one-click matching of music to one’s video project; one-click matching of slideshows to music in one’s video project; and improvements in performance in video editing and exporting. These improvements apply to Nero 12. With the Platinum version (and Nero recommends one to buy the Platinum version of the video editing system), one gets the capability to create personal nostalgic film templates with a powerful tool called “Nero Film Effect”, and the ability to create one’s own personal stabilization templates with a tool called “Nero Video Stabilizer.”
From my perspective, other than the template creation enhancements, the update focuses on two elements of Nero 12, namely Nero Recode and Nero Video.

Nero Recode

There are three enhancements in this update to Nero Recode:

• Latest Device Profiles
• Intelligent Job Handling
• Improved Performance

Latest Device Profiles

It is a fact that more and newer types of mobile devices are coming on the market, and Nero is addressing this by adding support for these devices. Nero has added latest device support for the following:

• iPad with Retina Display
• iPad mini
• iPhone 5
• iPod Touch 5G
• Windows 8 Tablet and Pro Tablet
• Windows 8 Phone
• Kindle Fire HD
• Nexus 7, Nexus 10 and Samsing Galxy Tab 2
• Samsung Galaxy SII, Samsung Galaxy SIII, HTC Droid, Nexus 4

Intelligent Job Handling

Intelligent Job Handling is handled by what Nero is calling “Job to Device”. This gives Nero Recode the ability to handle multiple videos within one job and jobs are grouped automatically based on device profile. For example, jobs designed for Kindle Fire HD will be listed as a group; those for iPhone 5 will be assigned to their own group, and so forth. Using the Jobs Options Menu, one can edit, play, delete, and encode with relative ease by assigning one of these options to a selected group.

Improved Performance

GPGPU Hardware encoding is handled more efficiently with Nero 12.5. (For those of us not as technically inclinded, GPGPU stands for general purpose graphics processing unit.) Auto driver detection is set to default to the GPGPU device, thereby increasing the speed of the encoding process. Apparently, the difference in quality as well as speed will be noticeable.

Nero Video

Nero 12.5 adds two enhancements to Nero Video – Match Music and Improved Performance.

Match Music

Creation of projects with music is more efficient with Nero 12.5 update. With what Nero calls “Fit Music to Project”, one can easily match the duration of our music to the duration of your project, including photos and video clips. As needed, the tool will use intelligent looping and auto fades in order to fill in any gap in the music track and match the music and video perfectly. With the “Fit Slideshow to Music” option, one can match the duration of your photo slideshow to whatever music one has selected. These options are designed to make these processes more efficient, thus saving one time while producing quality results.

Improved Performance

Nero 12. 5 also includes performance updates for editing and exporting. The updates enable Nero Video to use memory more efficiently, thus allowing for longer videos and the use of more tracks. There will be a noticeable performance enhancement in complicated HD projects.

Some thoughts

I have already posted several times as I have delved into the program. I have nothing to unsay about Nero 12. I find it a very good video editing system, and particularly like Nero Video and Video Recode. I have ordered the update disc and await it with bated breath. I will update this post when I install the update, but from what I can see, this looks like an exciting update.

Continue reading »]]>  

Blu-ray Player | CyberLink PowerDVD 13

Just over a year ago, CyberLink released PowerDVD 12 – and they encouraged prospective users to “Master your Digital Universe” through the use of the multimedia player. I presented the program and did an initial “first impressions’ review at the time, and recorded my impressions of the software and how well it played DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Cyberlink has just this week announced the

PowerDVD 13 Ultra

release of the latest version of its Blu-ray Player, PowerDVD 13. Note that in the last review, I used the words “Windows Multimedia Player” as keywords to refer to the program. Since the release of PowerDVD 12, Blu-ray technology and high-definition playback has become much more the norm, and I have bowed to the inevitable and refer to the new program as a “Blu-ray Player”, even though it plays DVDs and offers much more.

A Brief Overview

What follows is a brief overview of the blu-ray player software and I am actually including my first impression in the final section of this post. CyberLink is touting this as the “Ultimate Media Player for Blu-ray, 3D Video and HD Movie Playback across PC, Tablet, Smartphone and TV.” Quite an impressive statement, as was their promotion for Version 12 in March 2012. In addition to the normal functions of a media player, it seems that CyberLink has added a feature called “TrueTheater HD.” According to the website, True Theater HD “upscales DVD and standard video to 1080 resolution while eliminating jagged edges and video artifacts.” Apparently, it enhances the Blu-Ray/HD experience as well, in that it adds “edge enhancement, color and lighting technologies”. Instant Play features speed up the process for the startup of Blu-ray movies with a new BD-Live bypass technology which promises Instant Play performance for viewing photos, playing music, and video playback. Easier Navigation – CyberLink has modified the controls so that they are more intuitive, which also helps in making the process easier and faster. Some of the navigation faeatures include:

• Display Current Time, Estimated End Time and Battery Meter in full screen
• Park the mouse in side zones in order to quickly hide the interface controls while viewing
• Pause/play using the space bar
• The use of left and right arrow keys to jump forward and back
• The new Play Speed Navigator makes it easier to set slow/fast motion playback

These are just some of the new features of the program.

Minimum Requirements

As is my usual practice, I like to list some of the minimum requirements needed to use the program. Note my usual caveat that when it comes to anything video-related, more is better than less. The newer the machine and the stronger the processor and the greater the amount of RAM and the stronger the video card, the better. The new player operates with the standard Microsoft operating systems – Windows 8, 7 and Vista and XP with Service Pack 3 installed. An Intel Core Duo E6750 2.65 Ghz or AMD Phenom 9450 (2.10 Ghz) processor or above will accomplish most tasks, although for Blu-ray 3D playback, an Intel Core i5 or AMD Phenom II X4 or above is recommended. For more detailed information, I give you the link to the web page which will give you the full “skinny”. Just click on SPEC.

A First Impression

Having downloaded the trial version, I was pleasantly surprised to find the navigation just as described by CyberLink – easy to operate and somewhat intuitive, I like the new interface – it is rather handsome. DVD playback was smooth and effortless and playback was excellent. Blu-ray playback was superb, with very good definition. I will be purchasing the full version very soon and will report back in more detail, but suffice it to say that PowerDVD 13 looks fair to living up to expectations, and then some. Click on the image above or the banner below to purchase!

Continue reading »]]>  

Video Editing System | Video Studio Pro X6 – First Impressions

We give Corel VideoStudio Pro X6 four stars due to its ease of operation and its handsome and easy-to-navigate user interface. Read the review below.

Buy Video Studio Pro X6 by clicking on either the image or the banner below.

I have finally gotten around to downloading the latest version of Corel’s video editing system, Video Studio Pro 6. Since I last presented the program shortly after Corel announced its release, I had intended to make my usual “first impressions” preliminary review, but for some reason or another, was unable to get around to downloading the video editing system and “trying it on for size.” From what I have read, including Michael Muchmore’s review in PC Magazine,

Corel Video Studio Pro X6

Video Studio Pro X6 sounded and looked like a good program and I was eager to try it myself. There is nothing like trying ones own hand at it – the better to be able to judge the program and report back as to how it actually worked.

A Different Approach

I have tried several different approaches since I launched this website a little over a year ago. Generally, I like to introduce a program and give an overview in my initial review/post – and then make a first impression posting with my first- and sometimes final take – on a program. Usually, this happens after I’ve downloaded the video editing system, made myself familiar with the interface, and performed at least one or two projects or tasks with the software. This time, I’ll go about the review a little differently. I will review the software while actually using it, and comment as I go. I have done this once before, but I am hoping to go into a little more detail with each step.

Download and Install

The download is a bit time consuming as it is a large file – 1.3 gigabytes, to be precise. It took me about an hour to download it over a wireless network ( I am forced to use a wireless network due to the configuration of my home and office – large downloads like this take time, but it works pretty well otherwise.), and while I am certain that it would have been about twenty minutes quicker over a wired network, it is still a large file. The equipment I am using it on would be considered almost a boat anchor by today’s standards, but it actually works fairly well. My machine is a Compaq Presario CQ5218F with an AMD Athlon X2 215 dual core 2.70 GHz processor. Originally, the machine came with 3 GB or RAM, but I have since upgraded it to 8 GB and I recently swapped out the original 500 GB hard drive with a 1 TB Western Digital drive. The video card is an integrated NVidia GeForce 9100 – it has 256 MB of dedicated video memory, and shares up to 3 GB of system memory. Not an ideal state of affairs, but it works. As I said, the download took an hour, and 1.3 GB of space on the hard drive, but with new drive, I had and have space to spare.
The install also took some time – roughly twenty-five minutes, and I had to go through the usual rigamarole of signing in to Corel to register the product, and choose my settings – in this case Country: USA -Format: NTSC, etc.
Once that was done, I was able to move on to the next step, which was getting used to the interface.

The User Interface

The user interface is handsome. What comes up when the program loads is what I call a three-pane window. At the top is a menu bar with the usual File – Edit – Tools – Settings tabs, and in italics, tabs for Capture – Edit – Share. Right below the menu bar, to the left is a pane dedicated to the video clip that is to be edited. To the right is the pane that options for the functions that the user is currently working in. Below the top two panes is the actual

VideoStudio Pro X6 Interface

workspace where the selected clip is to be edited, with all the timeline view, clock, undo and redo buttons, subtitle editor, etc. One thing I find neat is that you have two viewing options to choose from – storyboard view – and timeline view. I myself prefer (at least at this stage of my ongoing education in video editing) to work in storybook view, but it is nice to have both options.The look of the interface is rather handsome – a professional black back matte-like background with the tool buttons and functions in gray and the selected options in a gold background, which is very straightforward. It is very easy to navigate.

First Task

For the first task, I choose the relatively straightforward one of importing a video clip of the Mahler 3rd Symphony as performed by Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra ( a wonderful performance, by the way) as a whole and drop it into a file that I create called Raw Material. My plan is to take the whole clip – the performance lasts 90 minutes – and clip it into movements – each movement being a chapter by itself. File locating and saving was easy and I was able to select it and get started on the trimming and cutting right away. I was surprised at how easy the video editing system handles these tasks. This is a plus. I am able to trim the whole of the thirty-three minute first movement clip and it is now a chapter of its own. Playback quality is excellent as well.

First Impression

It is getting late, and I’ll be repeating the process with the other five movements, but I am very pleased with the way VideoStudio Pro X6 handles. It is easy to use, and the interface is very clear and user-friendly. A very positive first impression. I’ll be back to report on the rest of the project. For more information or to buy the software, click on the images above, or the banner below.

Continue reading »]]>

Video Editing Systems | A Comparison

Every so often, I’ll dedicate a blog post to a comparison of two or more of the leading windows video editing systems on the market after having completed a project on each of them. Usually, I try to do the same project on each video editing system, so as to make the task of comparing the systems a little simpler and less complex than would be the case if I had worked on a different project on each. It also seems a little more sensible. This time out, I decided to take a series of video clips off of You-Tube – stitch them into one coherent whole, add an appropriate menu with background music and burn to DVD. For the video editing systems, I chose Roxio Creator NXT; Nero 12 Platinum; and CyberLink’s PowerDirector 11. The clips I downloaded from YouYube were originally from a VHS documentary about the assassination of President Kennedy entitled “Four Days in November”. There were eight clips divided into fifteen minute segments – which added up to two hours of video. It was a compelling story, and one that I had wanted to get on VHS- now, here was a chance to get it onto a DVD and practice some simple video editing (really assembling and patching). It was like having my cake and eating it! True, the quality of the video was old – black and white, but the film quality was good enough to work with.

The Programs

As I mentioned earlier I chose three video editing systems that I consider to be among the best user-friendly programs on the market. Roxio Creator NXT – Nero 12 Platinum – and CyberLink PowerDirector 11. All three programs are rock solid as far as reliability. All have good tutorials, and are relatively easy to navigate, which made assembling the video clips and patching them together into a coherent, eminently viewable whole.

I worked on this comparison project over several days, but I was careful to observe the same procedure for each program – collecting the clips – assembling them in proper order – editing out any unwanted frames (mostly blue clip titles) – transitions between clips – adding an appropriate menu and menu soundtrack – and burning the completed project to disc after previewing and final adjustment.

The Results

The results were (as I suspected they would be) very good on all three video editing systems. Each program produced a viable, attractively packaged video which was in my mind as good as the original VHS. The comparisons that I’ll be making here will have more to do with how each program handled the project.

Roxio Creator NXT
This program handled all of the demands I placed on it without a problem. Assembling the clips and editing the unwanted footage out went very quickly. And the transition from Roxio VideoWave to MyDVD – the two components of Creator that handled the porject – was quick and painless. – I give this program four stars.

Nero 12 Platinum
Like Roxio, this program also did extremely well. Assembling and cutting was easy and relatively pain free. It took a little longer, but not excessively so. The transition to DVD authoring and burning was also good, but a bit slower than Roxio. Nonetheless, I give Nero four stars as well, mainly for the excellent quality of the finished product.

PowerDirector 11

Power Director 11 did well, but was a bit more problematical than the other two programs. Things were a little more difficult to find or navigate. Assembling was easy, but the process of editing out the blue title frames of each clip was slower than on the other two systems. It was not because the tools were harder to find, but (and here I am surmising) the machine was partly to blame – it is a three year old computer and could always use more RAM – both regular RAM and a more powerful video card. Despite this, the finished results were very, very good. While the other two programs were quicker in delivering the product, PowerDirector delivered a solid, cleanly edited DVD video. For that reason, I’ll give it four stars.

Continue reading »]]>  

Video Editing Systems | Corel Video Studio Pro X6

Corel Corporation has very recently released the latest version of its video editing system, Video Studio Pro X6. Some of the features that differentiate it from previous versions of Video Studio include Motion Tracking – the ability to target and track moving objects and link or connect them to elements such as text and graphics; Customizable motion – this allows one to customize the movements of graphics, titles, objects and video clips; DSLR Stop Motion – this allows one to create full High-Definition stop motion videos using a digital single-lens reflex camera; DSLR Enlarged Mode – this allows one to mimic your DSLR camera’s controls on a PC or Windows tablet. The new video editing system also includes support for Ultra High-Definition (4K) video support.

Corel Video Studio Pro X6

In addition, there is support for QuickTime movies that contain alpha channels. This allows one to import animated sequences with transparent backgrounds using this new built-in support for QuickTime alpha channels.

These are just of the few features of Video Studio Pro X6. The following is a short overview of the video editing system:

Quick and simple video editing

Video Studio Pro X6 has tools which allow for quick and simple video editing. Instant Projects allows one to start a new project without any bother. Advanced special effects and animation allows one to add unique special effects and to create professional-quality stop-motion and time-lapse animations. Video Studio Pro X6 offers complete production for web, disc and mobile devices. One can create videos for the web, Blu-ray Disc, DVD and the latest smartphones and tablets. One can work with many formats, including HTML5, MP4, and new AVCHD 2.0. In addition, one can export one’s newly created video content to YouTube, Facebook or one’s own personal website directly from the video editing system’s interface. There are also built-in training videos to assist in the video editing experience. It seems to this observer that the software manufacturers are getting it right, at least with regard to training videos.

System Requirements

The following is a short overview of system requirements. Although system technology continues to evolve quickly, I always caution readers of these posts that more RAM, a more powerful processor, and a powerful video card thasn recommended will ensure an efficient and proper operation of the program.

• Intel Core Duo 1.83 GHz or an AMD Dual Core 2.0 GHz processor. (Corel reommends an Intel Core i5 or i7 or AMD Phenom II X4 or X6 processor.)
• Microsoft Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP – make sure that the latest service packs are installed. (32-bit and 64-bit editions.)
• 2 GB of RAM – this is a minimum; 4 GB of RAM or higher and 1 GB of VRAM (videoRAM) is recommended.
• Windows-compatible video card
• Windows-compatible DVD-ROM for installing the program/Windows-compatible DVD-burner for DVD output(Windows-compatible Blu-ray Disc burner for Blu-ray and DVD output recommended)

These requirements and all other technical specifications can be found at Corel’s web page.

First Thoughts

From what I can see, this looks like a very capable video editing system. The new features, as well as the enhancements may very well prove to make this an important addition to the fine video editing systems now on the market. Note that this system comes in two versions – Pro and Ultimate. I have not yet had the chance to evaluate the program. but plan on downloading the software and trying out the program in the near future. I will then report back on the program with a review. Until such time, to find out more about the program, or to purchase it, click on the image above or the link below.

I have had a chance to download and begin testing the program. Click here to see the latest post!

NEW! Just released – Corel VideoStudio Pro X6

Continue reading »]]>  

Video Editing Literature | Editing Digital Video

One of the better pieces of video editing literature that has been published in recent years is Robert M.Goodman and Patrick McGrath’s “Editing Digital Video: The Complete and Technical Guide”. Available in paperback format, this guide comes with CD-ROM that includes footage that one can use to practice video editing.

Summary: An excellent way to learn how to edit digital video. Written for users of different levels of expertise, this book is a realistic approach to editing digital video.

The book is a treasure trove of tips and tricks and ways for one to edit their digital video files. And on all levels of expertise, too! For the novice, one can convert ones’ family videos into stories; for the more intermediate and expert, one can learn to edit ones’ films using the latest ideas. Award winning professional videographers Robert Goodman and Patrick McGrath share their expertise. The book explains how to use any digital video editing toll – from Adobe Premiere to applications such as Casablanca, or more professional systems such as Avid, Discreet – just to name a few.
This is an excellent way to acquire the skills one needs to edit commercials, documetaries, feature films, and music videos as well as working with DVD and web-based media.
It also allows one to to take advantage of the expertise and proven techniques of the professionals!
Included with the book is a CD-ROM with footage and specially designed exercises that allows the user to practice on any system. This book has been called ” a refreshingly realistic approach to video editing.”
Highly recommended!

Click on the image link above to buy!

Continue reading »]]>  

Blu-ray Player | ArcSoft Total Media Theatre 6 | First Impressions

Summary: ArcSoft’s Blu-ray Player |Total Media Theatre 6 makes a positive first impression, albeit with a caveat.
Positive: Playback of both Blu-ray and DVD media is very, very good. Interface is handsome, in a dark-blue sort of way and straightforward.Negative: This is more in the nature of a caveat. Make sure your hardware (graphics card, processor, RAM) are up to date when playing Blu-ray media.Read the full post for more detail.

In my last posting, I presented ArcSoft’s latest version of its Blu-ray Player|Media Player, Total Media Theatre 6 (for the sake of convenience I’ll refer to it hereafter as TMT 6). At the timne, I had not yet downloaded the software, so I was only able to present and describe it.
Since I last posted, I have downloaded and installed the software, and as I write this, I am playing back a Blu-ray video using TMT 6.

Download and Installation

Downloading the blu-ray player was simple. The links are right on the TMT6 web page, and you have the option to download the software as a free trial for fifteen days, or to by it outright. The software in either option is fully functional. In buying the blu-ray player, you’ll be given a license key, which you’ll input to unlock the software. That is the only difference between options. With the trial options, you can click on the free trial button for fifteen days – after that, you’ll have to buy the license. As I said, the downloading was simple and straightforward, and the installation was trouble-free. I installed TMT 6 on my desktop and laptop. In both cases, it required a reboot. No real problems on either so far.

First Blu-rayPlayback

I tried TMT 6 out on both my desktop and laptop. On the desktop, the program initialized nicely, but for some reason, which I couldn’t fathom at the time, would not play the Blu-ray disc. I kept getting the message “Cannot play disc.” I then tried the program on the laptop. No problem with play-back and the disc I chose, “K-19 – The Widowmaker”, played nicely – playback was even, and surprising for a two and a

Total Media Theatre 6

half year old laptop – without stutter. My desktop is three years old, and I am wondering if the problem has something to do with either the operating system – the system sees the content as protected and will not allow it to be played (I had this problem on this particular machine with WindDVD Pro 11) or with the integrated graphics. I am currently troubleshooting the problem and will let you know what I find out when I get to the bottom of it. It works fine on the laptop.

DVD Playback

As far as DVD playback goes, TMT 6 performed very well. The interface is straightforward, and the DVD movie was brought up quickly and without any fuss. In fact, DVD playback on both my computers was almost immediate, whereas with Blu-ray there is a slight delay as the blu-ray player went through the procedure of recognizing the media before starting playback.

Summary

To sum it up, my first impressions are positive. Playback is very, very good for both Blu-ray and DVD, The user interface is straightforward and attractive ( in a dark-blue sort of way) and easy to navigate. My only caution would be to advise using the program on machines newer than 2010. Processors and video/graphics cards are more powerful than three years ago as the technology keeps evolving. To find out more about TMT 6, click on the image or the banner below!

Continue reading »]]>  

Blu-ray Player | Media Player

Summary: ArcSoft’s Blu-ray Player |Total Media Theatre 6 makes a positive first impression, albeit with a caveat.
Positive: Playback of both Blu-ray and DVD media is very, very good. Interface is handsome, in a dark-blue sort of way and straightforward.Negative: This is more in the nature of a caveat. Make sure your hardware (graphics card, processor, RAM) are up to date when playing Blu-ray media.Read the post below and “First Impressions” for more deatail.

This week, ArcSoft announced the release of the latest version of its Blu-ray | media player, Total Media Theatre 6. From the promotion generated on its web site, and from looking through the specs, Total Media Theatre 6 (hereafter TMT 6) seems to be an interesting piece of software. First off, it is Windows 8 compatible. Since Microsoft released the latest version of its operating system back in the early autumn of 2012 (and even before), the major software publishers have been working hard tweaking their software in order to make them all Windows 8 compatible. ArcSoft has obviously done their tweaking, and the result is TMT 6.

A Brief Overview

ArcSoft touts TMT 6 as “Your All-In-One Media Player” – with “cinema-like experience.” The major video editing software publishers make similar claims – much of this is the natural promotional material necessary to catch our attention. Here is a list of the more relevant features of TMT 6:

A Powerful media player for video, Blu-ray, DVD, and AVCHD
An Innovative Modern UI brings all-new design style for Windows 8
The Smart & Magic Menu makes playback simple and convenient
The Audio Boost compensates for noisy environments
Advanced 3D support realizes movie playback in 3D
Supports Windows 8
This sounds impressive. Let’s dig a little deeper. When it comes to Blu-Ray playback, TMT 6 plays the normal Blu-ray discs as well as Blu-ray 3D movies. As a DVD-player, TMT 6 plays back the normal DVDs as well as the “native stereo” 3D DVDs. With Sim3D (Simulated3D), one is able to play back 2D video files in 3D. Advanced Sim HD allows for high definition. As with other media players, TMT 6 allows for online video download, playing and sharing. TMT’s Smart

Total Media Theatre 6

Menu allows for ease in chapter searching and obtaining online information. The Magic View provides an attractive method of browsing through your media. And there is a seamless Windows Media Center plugin, to boot!

Specifications

In earlier blog posts in which I announced new software, I always included a section devoted to specifications – what you will need to run the software effectively. I’ll do so here, but will stick to the basics and refer to you to the ArcSoft website for more details. Here are the basics:

Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP(32-bit); Vista(32/64-bit); Windows 7 (33/64-bit): Windows 8 (32/64-bit).
Playback: (A partial list) – .VOB .MOD .MPG .MPEG .MPV .M1V .M2TS .TOD .AVI .MTS . TS .TP . FLV and others. (For a full list of file formats in SimHD and Sim3D as well as regular Playback, click here.

Minimum System Requirements

:
As I have said on earlier occasions, these are the minimum specs necessary to run the programs. Always go for more memory and a more powerful video card in order to insure a more efficient operation. NB! I am quoting the specs for Blu-ray Playback. There are separate specifications for the BC3D and Sim3D Playbacks. For those specs, click here.

Blu-ray Playback:
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo CPU E4600 @ 2.40 Ghz; AMD Athlon 64×2 4800+ 2.4 Ghz
RAM: 1 GB – This is minimum!
Graphics Card: NVIDIA: GeForce 8600GT; AMD: ATI Radeon HD3600 series; Intel: Intel G45 Express Chipset
HDD: 300 MB of space
Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc drive for Blu-Ray playback and HD DVD drive for HD DVD playback.

To find out more about TMT 6 or to purchase, , click on the image  or on the banner below to find out more!

NB! I have had the chance to take TMT 6 out for a “test drive.” Click here to read the latest!

Continue reading »]]>  

Best Windows Video Editor| Pinnacle Studio 16 | Roxio Creator NXT | A Comparison

Over the course of the past few weeks, I have been using and evaluating several of the best windows video editor software programs from Roxio, Nero, and Pinnacle. My last two posts concentrated on Pinnacle System’s Studio 16. In the first of these two posts, I presented the best windows video editor and described some of its most salient features. In the second and latest post, I recorded my first impressions of the software after editing a series of short video clips. I was favorably impressed by the program at that point and said so. I promised to report back when the project that I used for my initial evaluation was complete. I have completed that project and am reporting back. However, rather than making this another “final” evaluation post, I decided to make this a comparison with Roxio Creator NXT. There are two reasons for this.

Pinnacle Studio 16 Ultimate

First, I had performed the exact same project with Roxio Creator NXT when I evaluated it back in November. It makes a certain sense to me to use that project as a sort of benchmark for both programs. Second, both best windows video editor programs are major programs, not some glorified Windows Movie Maker program, but solid and reputable in their own right. (No disrespect to Windows Movie Maker intended.)

The project that I ran for the Roxio Creator NXT evaluation and review was a series of video clips about the Boardwalk Hall (formerly Conventional Hall) pipe organ – the world’s largest when it was built in 1929 – 1932, which now sits silent and awaiting restoration. I knit these together into a viable movie, editing out certain parts of the clip that (for my purposes) would have been a distraction. I then added a menu and suitable audio background, and voila! – I had a successfully completed movie project! Let’s see how the project fared with each of the two programs.

Roxio Creator NXT

Roxio Creator NXT

I was really impressed with how easily Creator NXT handled this project. There was an extensive bit of cutting and cleaning to do, and Creator’s interface was very straightforward and enabled me to edit each clip with a minimum of hassle. I was able to eliminate portions of the video clips that would have proved distracting for my ultimate purpose, and this was handled with dispatch. The DVD authoring portion of the project was handled in much the same manner. I was able to add a suitable menu and appropriate musical background, and I had a well-knit movie project!

Pinnacle Studio 16

Let me say at the outset that all that I have said in previous posts that is positive I stand by. I found Pinnacle Studio 16 to be well organized as to function and its tutorials quite informative. I then proceeded to repeat the organ video project, downloading the same eight unedited clips that I used with the Roxio project. Downloading was straightforward, as was the individual editing of each clip. However, with Studio 16, it took longer to edit, as the editing tools, while present, were not as easily accessible as in Creator. The mark in and mark out points were easily available, but it seemed to me that due to the fact that I had to hunt for the various tools, the procedure took longer than I felt it should. Maybe I am quibbling here, but there it is. The result was more than adequate, and I suppose that should be the final word. DVD authoring was adequate, but also took longer to put together an adequate menu. The resulting movie was good, but it could have been better if the tools for the job were a bit more accessible, in my opinion.
I’ll admit that I was using a trial version of the software, but it is full-featured and fully functional. I am not giving up on it just yet, as  there are many features that I have yet to plumb.

Recommendation

What it boils down to is this. Both are excellent programs and have features that are good selling points. Studio 16 is well organized as to function and has great tutorials, while Creator NXT has a more user-friendly interface, allowing for quicker performance of/and accomplishments of projects. In this Creator NXT comes out ahead on points.
Click on the images above, or the links below to buy!

Make movies the Easy and Affordable way with Pinnacle Studio 16 Click Here

AU New! Roxio Creator NXT allows you to easily enhance, preserve, and share your digital media!

Continue reading »]]>  

Best Windows Video Editor| Pinnacle Studio 16| First Impressions

Summary: Pinnacle Studio 16 leaves a good first impression, but the placement of the editing tools could have been better. Positive: Well organized options and excellent tutorials.Negative: Editing tools were a little difficult to find. They are not as easy to locate as in other software packages. For more details, read on!

Since I last posted with regard to Studio 16, I have finally managed to download a copy of Pinnacle System’s best windows video editor software, Studio 16. Up until now, I had had some trouble with the buttons on the Pinnacle Studio Web Site. For some reason, I couldn’t get the buttons working on my PC so that I could download the software. I first thought that the problem was with the company’s web site, but after some checking, it turned out that my PC needed some cleaning. So, after performing some necessary cleaning, I was able to go to the website, and presto! – the buttons worked. I downloaded a trial copy of the software, which is fully functional, and installed it on my desktop PC.

Buy Pinnacle Studio 16 Ultimate!

Installation

Installation was fairly straightforward. The size of the download file was 1.8 gigabytes, and over my wireless system (both of my computers are wireless enabled), it took about fifteen minutes to download. Then, there was the installation to perform. Studio 16 gives one the option to install all options at once, or install each one separately. This is fairly standard, but it is still a nice option. I decided for the “all-up” installation as I was going to do a series of evaluation blog posts, so I figured that it would be best if I had all the “bells and whistles.” This took another fifteen minutes, and then I was ready to delve into Studio 16. I must say here that I have had some installations that were troublesome, to put the best face on it. Not so with this installation. A little slow for my taste, yes, but smooth, and from what I am observing as I work on a Studio Project as I write this post, clean.

Initial Observations

It seems to this observer that the software manufacturers are getting better at the marketing end of the equation. By this, I mean that the tutorials that come with each company’s best windows video editor software are much more detailed and offer far more information than those of yesteryear, in which the user was expected to be quite knowledgeable. In many cases we either stumbled around and gradually learned the program, or gave up in frustration and used good old Windows Video Maker. Not so with the likes of Pinnacle Studio 16, and other best windows video editors such as Nero 12, and Roxio Creator NXT. Tutorials are offered either in slideshow format, or – in keeping with the advance in technology, as video clips which the companies also post on YouTube. What better way to teach one video editing – but through the medium of the video clip?
Pinnacle does a good job here. The videos are a distillation of what they offer on the Class on Demand series, and are quite informative.

Studio 16 Storyboard Interface

The interfaces, like many of the other best windows video editor programs, are clean and relatively easy to navigate. The Pinnacle guided tour is pretty complete when it points out the various features, so the first time user will have relatively few problems navigating his or her way through the program. I particularly like the way that Pinnacle has maned the functions and kept them to five essential functions : Import; Library; Movie; Disc; and Export. The organizational aspect of the program is impressive.

First Project

For the first project, I chose to edit a series of video clips that I downloaded from YouTube. Mind you, they had already been edited before going on YouTube, but what I wished to do as a first project was to remove extraneous advertising and some unwanted scenes. The final project is to string these clips into a continuous movie, since they are all based around the same theme – The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ – now known as the Boardwalk Hall organ. The largest organ in the world, it sits silent today due to years of neglect and damage from the occasional hurricane. Efforts are underway to restore it, and as I am an organ aficionado, this is going to add a little more fun to the project. Right now, the issue was to edit the clips and get rid of extraneous advertising and extra “black space”.
I opened the program and used the Import function to import the selected clips into the library. This Studio 16 did with admirable dispatch. I had all the material I needed right in front of me. Now, it was on to editing the clips. I chose the first clip, and set it on the timeline. I found the necessary tools, but I confess that while I was able to edit the clip in the way I wanted, the procedure was a little less straightforward than with Nero or Roxio. The cutting and editing tools are there and work just fine, but it seems to me that they could be highlighted a little better. That added about tow or three minutes to the editing time with each clip. However, since everything else seems to be 4.0 so far, I’ll concede that I need more experience with the program before I deliver a final judgement. The clips were edited just the way I wanted them, and are ready to be either put into a DVD and played sparately, or tied together in a continuous storyline movie. I’ll keep you all posted as soon as the project is done, but for now. my first impressions are very positive. If you are interested, click on the images or the link below to buy!

Make movies the Easy and Affordable way with Pinnacle Studio 16 Click Here