Video Factory 2.0

Installing and running the program on a Windows XP box proved trouble-free. The capture utility instantly recognized our Sony TRV-17 MiniDV camera connected via FireWire, and the standard controls for shuttling the tape in the camera worked fine. Options include Capture Tape, Capture Video, or Capture Image. Capture Tape allows you to record an entire tape of footage into the computer without stopping, creating clips when a scene change is detected. Capture Video lets you click capture only when you want specific sections digitized. Capture Image lets you capture images from still digital cameras and scanners.

Once your video footage is in the computer, you're ready to begin editing. Here, VideoFactory 2.0 works like most other programs. Simply drag clips into the edit window timeline. You can easily ensure that there are no gaps between adjoining clips by using the "snap" feature. Another nice feature is the automatic dissolve and audio crossfade that's created when the beginning (or "head") of one track is dragged onto the end (or "tail") of the previous one. No need to specify the effect--it's automatically created and rendered.

Click on the small FX icon in the corner of the clip to launch the transition box and add other transitions such as wipes. You can also use the overlay video track to create two layers of video. Lowering the opacity of one layer gives a ghostly effect to the underlying video clip. There's not much control available for the effects--just an "in" and "out" level so you can fade the effect into and out of the scene. Again, the nice feature is that the effects you specify are immediately visible without rendering.

Because Sonic Foundry makes VideoFactory 2.0, you would correctly expect some attention paid to the program's audio capabilities. You can build "chains" of excellent DSP effects such as EQ, reverb, chorus, delay, flange, and more. When finished with your completed video, choose Make Movie, then select a rendering option: write to disk, print to tape, write to Video CD or CD-ROM, send an e-mail MOV file, or create a Web page. VideoFactory 2.0 also has a useful, interactive help guide and tutorial that shows you what to do on the screen by means of simple animation.

There's really not much to this program, which is a compliment: it works the way it's supposed to; no crashing or freezing the computer, no headaches. It offers all the standard functions of the more expensive programs in a well-designed and streamlined interface. If your needs are modest and your budget isn't huge, VideoFactory 2.0 could be the program for you. --John Bosch