Rating: 
Summary: Easy to use yet fairly powerful. Some quirks, though
Review: I've been using this for several weeks after bad experiences with ArcSoft Showbiz and Ulead VideoStudio. I find the interface to be simple and straightforward. I was up and editing very quickly. There are a few quirks but they are easy to live with. It uses only a timeline interface; I think adding a story-board mode would improve it, but I'm doing fine without it.This editor has a rich feature set. For instance, you can apply video filters to individual clips, groups of clips, or you can just put it on the entire output. (Great for me, I can create one filter that compensates for the low saturation of my camera.) You can also create your own templates for filters, text, etc. It has a very intuitive way of changing the gamma on fades, too. SMS also has better audio capabilities than the other tools I've tried. And you can specify your own external audio editors, film capture tools, etc. On large projects it can be slow to load, but it's pretty fast once it's going. (Ulead VideoStudio is maddeningly slow all the time.) This tool uses MyDVD as the DVD authoring tool. It has some limitations but I've worked out a few tricks that keep me happy. You can only capture as AVI, and when you "create a DVD" it generates AVI. So I use the honestech tool to batch-convert to mpegs (which causes some problems)and I generate mpg files and THEN go to MyDVD. Minor irritations. Overall I recommend this highly. I downgraded it on Ease of Use because they have a moronic online registration that rarely works. You have to register both the product and the mpeg plug-in, so be ready to call Customer Service twice. Documentation and tutorials are excellent. Well-integrated and thorough.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of all non-professional video editing
Review: I've created more than a dozen of my home movies with this software. This program has a lot of features for idiot-proof user or even advanced user with croma-key function. Don't get intimidated by looking at the user interface in the beginning. In fact you gain more experience over the time by using it more frequently, then you will realize how easy it is. It has free-MPEG decoder and DVD author programs. I like it very much!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Editing Very Good Output
Review: I've used Adobe Premiere in the past, excellent but too expensive, I tried Ulead what a horrible experience, pinnacle reviews said crash after crash. Based on the reputation of Video Vegas I gave this product a try and it is really excellent. I've used it so far to create 2 online projects for work documenting team meetings and posting the video online. It's easy to work with different pieces of the timeline and then output them in an appropriate format like Windows Media 9.
Excellent integration with external codecs - quicktime, wmv, mpeg1 and 2, and real video. The only drawbacks I've found so far are no control over the output only fixed templates. For example if you wanted to fine tune the audio bit rate, SB will not let you do that. Oh well I guess it is an entry level package. Secondly, the outputted MPEG is a little bit halo prone. It's supposed to be main concept encoder, but since you are not allowed to tune it at all, there's no way to fix it. Lastly the NTSC mpeg2 video it creates is actually non-compliant for DVD production, since it only supports mpeg audio. In the US you really should output either PCM or AC3 Stereo. Neither of those are an option. I've filed a bug against Sony, but they have not responded. If sony would allow a little more control over the output I would definitely give this package 5 stars. First the pros: excellent stability, very easy to use capture, good editing capability, easy to generate output.
Cons: lack of control over output.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Editing Very Good Output
Review: I've used Adobe Premiere in the past, excellent but too expensive, I tried Ulead what a horrible experience, pinnacle reviews said crash after crash. Based on the reputation of Video Vegas I gave this product a try and it is really excellent. I've used it so far to create 2 online projects for work documenting team meetings and posting the video online. It's easy to work with different pieces of the timeline and then output them in an appropriate format like Windows Media 9.
Excellent integration with external codecs - quicktime, wmv, mpeg1 and 2, and real video. The only drawbacks I've found so far are no control over the output only fixed templates. For example if you wanted to fine tune the audio bit rate, SB will not let you do that. Oh well I guess it is an entry level package. Secondly, the outputted MPEG is a little bit halo prone. It's supposed to be main concept encoder, but since you are not allowed to tune it at all, there's no way to fix it. Lastly the NTSC mpeg2 video it creates is actually non-compliant for DVD production, since it only supports mpeg audio. In the US you really should output either PCM or AC3 Stereo. Neither of those are an option. I've filed a bug against Sony, but they have not responded. If sony would allow a little more control over the output I would definitely give this package 5 stars. First the pros: excellent stability, very easy to use capture, good editing capability, easy to generate output.
Cons: lack of control over output.
Rating:
Summary: I Can't Believe It
Review: Look people i will tell you right of the bat this program does it job. I am a film student and I am currently working on a 20 minute piece. And let me tell you i was editing within an hour. I have tried many other progams but this one really works. You will not be dissapointed. Pinnacle is a waste of money. Sony has done a good job.
Rating:
Summary: Get this if you want a "better" home movie.
Review: Look, you want to make your home movies interesting to watch...right!? You want some flexibility in your video effects and transitions...right!? You want to score your clips to existing CD tracks...right!? You're not afraid of spending a few hours on your PC instead of using a cut/paste video editor...right!? Get Screenblast. This software is great for someone who is interested in quality video editing. Even if you're a beginner, the tutorials will walk you through every step. The only part I didn't like about the package, is the DVD authoring software from Sonic DVD (Not part of Screenblast). It's like working on Windows 98 with 32MB of RAM. Buy the cheaper version of Screenblast without My Sonic DVD and find something that let's you display more than five buttons per screen. Anyway, good luck and enjoy this crash-free, easy to use video editor.
Rating: 
Summary: Not integrated as advertised, bad companion
Review: Movie Studio claims to have integrated DVD burning. However, this is accomplished through the companion software MyDVD. As can be seen from reviews on MyDVD, the program has a lot of bugs, and crashes. It even crashes upon opening the folder in which MPEG-2 created by Movie Studio resides. If Sony wants to package Movie Studio together with MyDVD, they should make sure that creations from Movie Studio can be compiled into DVD's by MyDVD. If it weren't for this problem, I would have rated Movie Studio much higher.
Rating:
Summary: For the money, it can't be beat!
Review: Screenblast is so intuitive, I was able to create a DVD without even having to read the instructions. And the DVD looks great! I have spent a small fortune on software and hardware trying to get my digital home movies on to DVD. I have tried Ulead, Pinnicle, Microsoft movie maker, and even Adobe Premiere. It was all clunky and full of bugs! I also bought a TDK indiCapture that is suposed to import video directly into the computer in the MPEG-2 format. Unfortunatally the software that comes with indicapture, ArcSoft ShowBiz ver 1, crashed the computer every single time I used it. You can upgrade to version 2, but it costs about 30 dollars more. What a rip off. Others have complaned about the lack of pre-set menus and that the DVD authoring is not integrated. Well, for 89 dollars this is what you get. Entry level DVD production software. If you want the professional options, prepare to spend 500 dollars or more!
Rating:
Summary: The Best One Out There
Review: Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 is by far the easiest movie and picture editing program. Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 has a wide range of editing tool to help you make a great presentation, and if you get stumped just click on Show Me How and an interactive help screen comes on. I do recommend you read through the very easy to read and helpful manual.
I had used Windows Movie Maker, I felt it was too limited, and the biggest disaster of all was Pinnacle Studio 8, it is the lemon of video editing programs, it looks pretty, but don't let the glitter blind you. I tried Pinnacle on two different high powered computer one was an IBM 3ghz with 512meg Ram and the other was a Tiger Direct Systemax 3ghz with 1g of Ram and the program still would cause the computer to lock up and mess up my presentation.
With Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 I did the same presentation without any problem.
The one thing I wish Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 would be able to do is to accept the Windows AVI files. I'm able to get around that by converting them to MPEG-2 or avi file extension as opposed to AVI.
I still love Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 for its flawless running ability and ease of use.
I give Screenblast Movie Studio 3.0 Five Stars.
Rating:
Summary: Great video editing, horrible DVD authoring
Review: Screenblast Movie Studio does a good job capturing video from my DV camcorder and creating MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files for either VCD or DVD production. The program almost never crashes (as opposed to Pinnacle 8 which almost always crashes), so it scores perfect on my scorecard for stability. It is not true that DVD authoring is integrated. Sony provides a separate program MyDVD for that purpose. It is a buggy program, and crashes when it tries to import MPEG-2 files. I am still shopping around for alternative. By the way, the Sonic website (for MyDVD) will allow me to input information describing all my problems, but then give me a server error when I hit 'submit', so according to them I have reported zero problems and the software works perfectly. If you buy Movie Studio, be prepared to dish out extra money for a DVD authoring program. If you only want to do VCD with MPEG-1, then maybe MyDVD will work for you.
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