Rating: 
Summary: Great product if they get the bugs patched up.
Review: I purchased Studio 8 a few weeks back after having used a number of other packages (Videostudio, Videowave, Premiere, etc). I was looking for something with a full set of editing tools, and tightly integrated DVD authoring.The program fits the bill! It does just about everything you could ask for, and the DVD menu authoring is cake. Problem: There are many bugs. Most seem to present themselves when incorporating video from sources other than the DV camera. Patching to 8.3.18 helped somewhat, I had no luck with the 8.5.5 beta. There are also some annoying little issues that I wish they would fix (for example the program will not go full-screen in any resolution higher than 1024x768; rendering to MPEG2 is much slower than it is on other packages). IF they properly support this product and improve stability with future patches, I have no problem recommending it. HARDWARE:
P4 2.4GHZ, 512MB RDRAM, INTEL 850 MB, 3 HD (80GB DEDICATED CAPTURE), ATI AIW 8500DV, HP DVD-RW 100i, CANON ZR20 DV CAMCORDER.
Rating: 
Summary: good place to start with room to grow
Review: After I bought my SONY VAIO computer, I had been searching for a video editing software to replace Adobe Premiere LE, which came with the computer. Adobe Premiere is a powerful video editing software, but the learning curve is steep for first time users. I tried Ulead VideoStudio and MGI VideoWave (now Roxio VideoWave) first. They are both entry level video editing tools, and are quite easy to start with. But Ulead VideoStudio allows smoother switching between timeline and storyboard modes. However, you will soon hit their limitations once you start doing something a little advanced. Then I got a hold of a copy of older version of Pinnacle Studio, and started using it. It's not as easy as Ulead VideoStudio, but you can quickly learn to do basic editing without much efforts. Once you get familiar with the basic, many more advanced features will come naturally at your command. The DVD authoring feature in version 8 is flexible and powerful, but not quite easy to use. Ulead's DVD Workshop can achieve most of the tasks faster and easier.
Rating: 
Summary: simply does not work - do not buy this
Review: I have a pumped, brand new box with a fast chip and a ton of memory and this software consistently locks up on me. I cannot get it to render a movie. Importing and editing the video was fine an dthe UI is OK. I was able to import images once, and now the software gives me an error every time I try to open an image. I cannot even navigate to the "Make Movie" UI without my PC locking up. Tech support has been zero help.
Rating:
Summary: Right features at a good price -- if it works
Review: I may not be the typical user Pinnacle had in mind. I don't have a DV camcorder: my video comes from an analog video capture card. As such, the input files to Studio are MPEG1. My goal is to edit them and output either directly to VCD or another MPEG1 file. In comparison to other products in the price range that I've tried (Ulead VisualStudio, MediaStudio Director, Extreme Media Digital Studio), Studio 8 is easier to use and offers features such as frame-level editing, scene detection and multiple clips per input file that the others don't. (The others might say they have frame-level editing and scene detection, but either don't have the controls for it -- a slider is not appropriate for frame control, and neither is hoping you hit pause at just the right time -- or only perform the function for certain inputs, such as DV.) I can't compare the rendering speed with the other products mentioned above, but it seemes comparable to the TMPGEnc encoder. The version off the CD in the box would split the input MPEG file into scenes admirably, but the thumbnails for each clip were all messed up -- a correct thumbnail for one clip would also be assigned to the next dozen or so clips as well, and attempting to set your own thumbnails had no effect. Then when rendering MPEG output (VCD or file), the sound would drop out after half a minute or so and never come back. Installing the current released version from Pinnacle's website (8.3.18) fixed the thumbnail problem, but the audio problem remained. I then installed a beta version (8.5.8), and it fixed the audio problem, but the thumbnail problem was back and much of the output video was just a green screen. The way I've come up with to get correct MPEG output is to edit and render the video in 8.3.18, re-render in 8.5.8, and use TMPGEnc to multiplex the video from one file and the audio from the second into a third. The procedure works, but it is time consuming and requires two separate installations (most likely meaning two computers). Pinnacle could also do seemingly little things to speed up Studio's editing. For instance, one unique feature is the ability to have multiple clips in a single source file -- the details being stored in scene (.scn) files. But apparently the thumbnails for each clip are not stored in the scene file meaning that the whole input file needs to be read when opening it in order to find the thumbnails. If Pinnacle would fix the bugs and make some seemingly minor changes to speed the editing process, Studio would definitely rate five stars. As it is, at least for editing and rendering MPEG output, it's the best editor I've found for [the price], but it leaves a lot to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Starter NLE Software!
Review: I'm new to amateur videography and nonlinear editing (NLE). Pinnacle Studio 8 is very easy to use right out of the box. All the basics are there: clipping scenes, transitions between scenes, audio editing and adding music backgrounds. The few drawbacks I've found so far are: you cannot adjust colors separately (i.e. red, green and blue), you cannot freeze a transition mid-way through and you cannot create picture-in-picture effects. Short of that, the titling capabilities are great and the SmartSound feature which automatically matches music to your video is very helpful. There are often sales on this software title so it won't put you back too much cash. If you need more bells and whistles, you can move up to another product later. Have fun making your movies!
Rating:
Summary: Where's the German quality?
Review: Total garbage. Won't capture more than 55 minutes of video at
a shot. Crashes regularly. No Mercedes or BMW here. The Germans should be embarrassed. Get the Taiwanese stuff: ULead DVD MovieFactory. Cheaper, simpler and better
Rating: 
Summary: If only it worked!
Review: I've been using Studio 8 for about 6 month's now. It is so frustrating to have all that power in front of you and having only about 1/2 of it actually ever works. I guess what I'm trying to say is if this software only did half of what it tries to do it would be a great package but, well, it does only do half! The capture card that some bundles have with this software by Pinnacle only works with this program. No other program I've tried can access it. So now I'm stuck using this unreliable software to capture all of my video. I have repeatedly contacted Pinnacle for help. They do not even have the courtesy to answer. The bulletin board discussion groups are VERY helpful, really a must to use this program. What I cannot figure out after reading hundreds of postings is how each person has experienced differing problems? The incremental upgrades haven't helped at all. I have been forced to buy other programs to complete my projects. I have not yet found a complete package that can do it all. I may break down and buy Adobe Premiere (I did try the free download from Adobe and was not happy with the lack of good DVD burning support). I can only recommend Studio 8 to those who are willing to wait, and wait, and hope Pinnacle will fix the numerous problems.
Rating:
Summary: Great Software for the Experienced
Review: There a two different systems in Studio 8. I mention this because they offer a capture card for your Computer. There is Analog and Digital. I have the analog because I have all my video recorded by older video cameras. I gave this program only three stars although it probably deserves more. My problem with Pinnacle Studio 8 is that it has a steep learning curve for someone who is just starting out. The manual explains the program as if you have been doing this all your life. Another problem I had was contacting tech support. After dialing a Toll number I waited almost 40 minutes and then the tech didn't have the answers. If you have some experience at recording video then this is the program for you.
Rating:
Summary: Many dropped frames
Review: I feel I was ripped off and violated by buying this junk software.Even with the help of tech support we could not capture video without dropping frames.I purchased Videowave 5 and am now capturing without dropping frames.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry I bought this product after reading these reviews
Review: Yes, I bought Studio 8 because PC Mag said it was great and the only reason I didn't give it 1 star is that it could and may be great, but it's not there yet. I'm running a Pentium 4, 1.7mHz, 512M RDRAM, WinXP and a storyline of more than 15-20 minutes brings the system to a crawl, I leave the room and hope that rendering will be complete when I return. I've had problems using the CD burn software to make VCD's; have to make the MPEG then make the VCD using Roxio. I was planning on purchasing a DVD burner, but unless there is some reasonably priced software that can handle a 2-hour movie it is pointless. I've used all the suggestions in the manual to try and get the program to run better with no success. The lite version that came with my firewire card (MGI Video Wave) runs much better than this program and I probably should have bought the full version of that program. For the price, this program is feature rich, but unless you're more successful in getting this program to run faster, be prepared to spend long hours in front of your computer waiting for the hour glass to turn into an arrow.
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