Rating: 
Summary: Powerful, Easy, touchy and some bugs
Review: I upgraded to Studio 9 several weeks ago and used it to render a large project. I took over 15 hours of event video and reduced it to a 1 hour DVD. I'm working on a Dell 1.5Ghz Workstation, with 256Meg of RAM (more on order), and 300+Gigabytes of disk storage.
Here was my experience.
No problems with installation. It uninstalled Studio 8 and reinstalled Studio 9 without a hitch. I then downloaded the 9.0.2 upgrade and update without any issues.
I was able to capture some 15 hours of raw video (about 17 13Gigabyte AVI files) without any problems. The video came from both Digital 8 and Mini-DV cameras both of which Studio 9 handled well. I really liked the record in reduced mode option which was a nice way to reduce disk usage. Working with this many files and data was no problem for Studio 9. I jumped around between the files and sucessfully built the storyboard. I ended up with around 240 clips and transistions in the final video. Towards the end things got really sluggish, especially when editing audio, and I would have to patiently wait for Studio 9 to "do it's thing" before adding or editing the next clip but it never hung or core dumped. However, I did find myself just quiting the program on occasion to clean up memory and speed things up a bit.
Where I did find real problems was in the Effects area, both audio and visual. I tried to use the Stabalize effect on some jerky video and had some initial success. When I then tried to apply it across numerous jerky shots it actually made the video considerably worse. And it was a cumulative effect. The more shots that were sequenced together the worse the effect was. I removed that effect on most of the shots and used it sparingly on the worse offenders and that worked ok.
In the audio effects I had a similiar experience. I had a whole string of outdoor shots with people and lots of wind noise. I tried using the Wind reduction effect on a single clip and it reduced wind sound. So then I applied it to the entire 20 shot sequence. Bad idea. Now I can't render the movie. Each time it gets into that section Studio 9 stops rendering. It doesn't freeze Studio 9 it just stops rendering - sitting on the same frame for hours. I am able to kill the render but each time I retry it does the same thing. I finally suspect that it is the Noise reduction code, remove it from the 20 shot sequence and everything now renders fine.
I did find one area that will hang up Studi 9 every time. That was in selecting effects. If I looked at several effects (like stabalise, B&W video, fun effect, etc) in sequence, looking for that "right" effect for a shot, it would hang Studio 9 every time. I learned to never look at more than two effects in sequence before exiting the effects area. Eventually I knew what effect Studio 9 had and then could just go straight to the desired effect and apply it to a scene. This worked with no problems.
Last area of frustration was mentioned already by another reviewer - adding CD Music. I finally figured out the correct sequence for making it work but only after several hours of frustration. It defaults to placing all CD Music inserts to the front of the timeline even though you started with the cursor on the time tick where you want the music to go. The secret is to reset the cursor to the desired input frame immediatly before hitting the add-music button. Then it will work elsewise it stuffs the music at the head of timeline. WIth a big project this becomes a major nuisance to drag the music back to the correct time mark.
Those were the four big issues I had, none of which stopped me in my tracks. I have not reported these to Studio 9 support yet because, given my experience from 8.0, their answer will be "reload the software" or some other completly meaningless answer.
My overall evaluation is positive and I will continue to work with it though I look anxiously for the 9.1 upgrade. It makes working with video and audio clips very easy. We were able to pull off some pretty fancy tricks with this software.
It does have a lot of power for a $100 software package and in the end it worked well for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Beware Studio 8 Owners
Review: I was excited to upgrade from Studio 8 to Studio 9, but in doing so, most of the original transitions that I had were now considered "pro" or "pro plus". I also find this program harder to use instead of easier. I tried to contact the Pinnacle people but never received a response. I don't understand how a company can take away something that I already had on a previous version. I plan on uninstalling 9 and reinstalling 8 to see if I can get all my original transitions back. Even my previous movies now have watermarks of "Pro" or "Pro Plus" on them! Another example of Company Greed! Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Beware Studio 8 Owners
Review: I was excited to upgrade from Studio 8 to Studio 9, but in doing so, most of the original transitions that I had were now considered "pro" or "pro plus". I also find this program harder to use instead of easier. I tried to contact the Pinnacle people but never received a response. I don't understand how a company can take away something that I already had on a previous version. I plan on uninstalling 9 and reinstalling 8 to see if I can get all my original transitions back. Even my previous movies now have watermarks of "Pro" or "Pro Plus" on them! Another example of Company Greed! Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Pinnacle Studio 8 - Easy and powerful
Review: I was stunned to see the negative review on this product so I just had to set the record straight. I have been using Studio since version 7 and also own at least three other programs such as Adobe premiere and still choose to do my day to day video editing in Studio. Why? Becasuse it is easy to use and quite powerful. My current uses include creating VCD's from MPEG-2 video and creating vacation DVD's from my mini-DV Sony camcorder. I use it at least three times a week for one of these two functions and I have NEVER hung the sofware on my Windows XP home computer. I use Sony's GIGA pocket to capture video and import the file created into Studio. Importing the video for editing with scene detect does take some time but if you don't want to split the scenes, just hit the cancel button and the whole video is ready to edit in seconds. I like the scene detect for editing TV programs becasue I can see by the thumbnail where the commercials start/end and I do not waste time searching for in/out points. While scene clips are in 1 second intervals, you can further refine a clip edit down to tenths of a second. Special effects and text are easy to apply. I have created scrolling credits in seconds using their presets. The menu creation is a little less intuitive but it gives you complete layout and chapter control unlike other programs in this price range. The only real downsides are rendering time and video enhancement tools. It does take a long time for the file to render. For me its no bid deal since I start the render, do something else like eat dinner and come back later. The video tools are really amatuerish and best left for emergency use only. An example is the speed adjustmemnt tool. It is easy to apply but the effect is overexaggerted in the final rendering. For $100 you are going to need to make some compromises. If speed and correcting poorly shot video is is important to you then look elsewhere. Otherwise the program is rock solid with a bucket load of features.
Rating: 
Summary: Pinnacle Studio 8
Review: I won't say Studio 8 is bug-free but I have been working with this software since it was Studio DV (with no version number) and it has always given me results. I have produced AVI files 10GB long composed of tens of transitions and short clips (5 seconds) together with long ones. Of course I had experienced shortcomings now and then. I have seen my PC hang up while in Studio. If I work too fast adding transitions left and right sometimes Studio stops in its track and hangs. So now I pace myself and let the software breath between commands. By waiting 5-6 seconds after placing a transition and before doing anything else I have eliminated these hangups. And to avoid the pain of losing an hour worth of work I save my work often. Overall I find Studio a very easy to use and feature-rich application. Although I also own Adobe Premiere I use Studio for my day-to-day simple editing and composing.
Rating:
Summary: Studio 8
Review: I'm running Studio 8SE that came bundled with my camcorder. I use a P3-850 (512MB), so the rendering takes forever. But that's not Pinnacle's fault. I did a little research and picked up an ADS Tech Pyro A/V Link that is connected via Firewire. I think that has made all the difference. I've transferred up to 75 min from VHS to DVD without dropping a frame. I use transitions and menus and add music and it all comes out just fine, with a little patience. I've even created streaming video. I'm trying to find a good reason to buy the full package, but I can't. I tried Ulead and went right back to Studio 8. Skip the USB connection and go 1394.
Rating: 
Summary: Send Pinnacle a Message By Not Buying
Review: I've gone through hell with version 8, although for a brief time I was able to work around the problems and cut a DVD that actually worked. But the lastest (and last) "upgrade" of v8 hangs whenever I use a DVD menu - any menu. Other users are reporting the same.Support is non-existent because it's "automated" and no help at all. Worst of all is the absence of any mention whatsoever of many common problems on their site - so you think you're alone in this problem and it must be your fault and you kill yourself trying to work a bug that you simply aren't going to get around. Many people can't get a DVD out at all with the v9, and are sadly waiting for a new version. I say: Boycott Pinnacle code until they clean it up, respond to technical problems, and admit unresolved problems on their site. An apology to current users would be a fair thing to do also. Pity - it had so much promise. But if you think they're going to clean up v9 before releasing a buggier v10, you're dreaming.
Rating:
Summary: Send Pinnacle a Message By Not Buying
Review: I've gone through hell with version 8, although for a brief time I was able to work around the problems and cut a DVD that actually worked. But the lastest (and last) "upgrade" of v8 hangs whenever I use a DVD menu - any menu. Other users are reporting the same. Support is non-existent because it's "automated" and no help at all. Worst of all is the absence of any mention whatsoever of many common problems on their site - so you think you're alone in this problem and it must be your fault and you kill yourself trying to work a bug that you simply aren't going to get around. Many people can't get a DVD out at all with the v9, and are sadly waiting for a new version. I say: Boycott Pinnacle code until they clean it up, respond to technical problems, and admit unresolved problems on their site. An apology to current users would be a fair thing to do also. Pity - it had so much promise. But if you think they're going to clean up v9 before releasing a buggier v10, you're dreaming.
Rating:
Summary: Good - flexible package (after patches installed)
Review: I've recently upgraded from Studio 8 to version 9 and have been pretty pleased. As yet, I've only had one lockup. (while searching the help.) My projects have been a mix of analog capture in AVI and MPEG2 files, as well as DV. These have had a number of effects in some cases, some clips were shortened, and I've played with the DVD menu structure. (basic stuff) The output from a burned DVD appears pretty good for the price. However, I haven't tackled any large projects yet. With Studio 8 I've captured 2 hour movies from TiVo, created menus/chapters, then burned them to DVD. I mention this because there would ocassionally be a A/V sync problem after some scene transistions. The 16:9 support is nice, but frame conversions are weak. Conversion of 4:3 to widescreen simply squashes the frame - distorting everything. Some other options like screen cropping would be nice, or allowing mixed formats in the same project. If you only use one format, then it's not an issue. Other than those points, my complaint would be the inclusion of locked-out features. I'd rather not install something I can't/won't use. Like SPAM on my PC I cannot control. Oh, and the S/N included wasn't valid - oops! Service emailed me another in about 12 hours. In general, check that your PC can handle the software, and is stable - it appears to demand more than Studio 8. I'd suggest browsing the manufacture discussion forums (Pinnacle) to see what the common issues are, and how to resolve them. Finally, all software has bugs - so if you grab the first copy - expect many patches (or simply wait a few months.) ps. the latest patch was ~50Mb
Rating:
Summary: Reconsider!
Review: If your goal is to edit short videos, less than 10 minutes long, Pinnacle software may work for you. If you are more ambitious you should look for other software. Even with a fast machine with lots of memory, my copy of Studio hangs up frequently. (It was the first program that ever forced me to hard boot on Windows XP home SP1.) I found dozens of minor bugs the first time I used the software. Pinnacle's idea of "customer support" is e-mail, usually 24-48 hours after the request. It's often a form letter referring you to their online help. There are other PC video editing packages that work much better and cost about the same. Please don't take my word for it either! Search some of the independent sites like ZDNet and see what others have written about Pinnacle Studio. By the way, I rated Studio 1 star only because Amazon won't let me enter none!
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