ulead 9 or Pinnacle 10

[irhyper2]

This may not be the place to ask such a question, buut I am new tovideo editing, and am down to buying Ulead or Pinnacle. Any suggestions? Studio 10 forum is full of complaints.

[Black Lab]

You'll find a lot of complaints of problems here too, but that's what this forum is all about, people helping solve other people's problems. I, for one, don't have problems (knock on wood) and think VideoStudio is a fine product. I must also mention that I have followed the recommended procedure (top sticky post) from day one (VS6) to the present (VS9).
I would recommend you download the trials of both programs and give them a whirl. I would also recommend that if you do decide on VideoStudio I would not purchase the download version, but rather the boxed version. It seems to me that users of the download version have more problems than the boxed verson (just an observation).
If you do run into problems you know where to find us.

I just had to add, after reviewing my comments, that my first line made it sound as if VideoStudio also has many problems. I'm sure others will chime in and agree that VS9 is a stable, enjoyable, consumer level video editor.

[DVDDoug]

I agree with Black Lab. Download the trial!

Last time I checked, Pinnacle no longer offered a trial program... Apparently, they have a "demo video", but not a demo program that you can actually try-out.

I believe the products are about equal. But, you need to try-out the programs to make sure they work with your particular set-up. I guess there are just too many different file formats, different variations on each format, different analog capture devices, and so many different things that you can do with a video editor, etc.

I'm not making excuses for these companies! They could do much better!

EDIT--------------
One more thought - Depending on what you plan on doing, you might want to download some of Ulead's other trial programs. Their marketing seems to claim that all of their programs can do everything, and the website doesn't have side-by-side comparisons of the different products:

Video Studio - Video editor with some DVD authoring.
Media Studio Pro - Advanced video editor with some DVD authoring.
DVD Movie Factory - DVD authoring program with limited editing features.
DVD Workshop Express - Advanced DVD authoring.
DVD Workshop - Professional DVD authoring.

For me, Video Studio and DVD Workshop Express work well together. And, you can get a deal on a "special upgrade" version of Workshop Express if you have Video Studio, or if you buy them together. (I also have some other non-Ulead audio/video/graphics programs.)

[rhungent]

I just spent the last 3-4 weeks trying the demos for Sony Vegas, Adobe elemets, PowerDirector, Studio9 Plus and Videostudio 9. There was no demo for studio 10 and there are tons of complaints (see cnet.com user reviews). I would not touch studio 10, because if your product does not work, there is not much support for it. My partner got studio10 for X-mas and I told him to return it ASAP.

I liked studio 9+ demo. It was very use friendly, but the transitions are represented by static icons while VS9 has "motion icons" so you don't have to remember what the effect looks like.

Studio9+ does allow you to add a transition at the beginning and end so that you can make smooth fades, but VS9 does not. You have to add a color image clip and the beginning and end, then drop a transition between them. (this is a minor detail).

VS9 preview screen is much larger and has better resolution. The full screen preview is also better in VS9 because it has a stop/play bar on the bottom where studio 9 does not.

DVD menus are easier with VS9. In studio 9+ you have custom set the links and returns. THis is nice for a custom menu, but it is very cumbersome. I prefer VS9.

VS9 also has Animated Text that gives a very professional touch. Both have Hollywood video filters, but I don't think I will be using much of these.

Overall VS9 is a much stronger products, not to mention a more stable platform. You don't hear many people complaining about the program locking up, but you hear about it all the time with Studio 9+.

Hope this helps.
Richard

[Ken Berry]

I have tried all the programs the last poster mentioned, minus Studio9 Plus, and in addition have tried Pinnacle 10 and Pinnacle Liquid Edition (more professional end program), plus Adobe Premiere 1.5 and now the trial version of Premiere 2, Movie Studio Pro 7.5 and 8. While the higher end products obviously do a great job, for many users it would be like trying to crack a peanut with a sledgehammer to use them because the learning curve is incredibly steep and the level of sophistication often just too great for what most home users want to be able to do with their home masterpieces.

Of the programs more equivalent to VS9, I had difficulty from the beginning in getting Pinnacle Studio 10 to work properly, so in the end I just gave up. This is strange because I have had no difficulties with its higher end stable-mate, Liquid Edition, which is a smooth program indeed (though for me a difficult learning process and I am sure I have just skimmed the surface of it). The curious fact is that Pinnacle Studio 10 is supposed to use the Liquid Edition engine, unlike its predecessors, so perhaps there are other inconsistencies or incompatibilities between Pinnacle 10 and my machine -- though as others have also said, there are a lot of other unhappy users of it out there.

The program I liked best of this lot was Cyberlink Power Director 5 -- a not too different user interface from that of VS, and otherwise pretty easy to use. I particularly like both their range of transitions and the smooth way they are handled (whereas I find that sometimes transitions in VS are erratic in smoothness in both the video AND, importantly, the audio transition between clips; plus of course the sad fact that VS's probably best transition, the Album, is very problematic indeed.) But I have to say that the Power Director manual is no better than VS's, and its Help no better. I have not been able to find a way to display all frames on the timeline (only an initial icon of the first frame of the clip then a coloured bar). Another major complaint is that I don't seem to be able to find a way to get it to play back my voice overs or added music backgrounds in 'project' mode, though all are in the standard WAV format and all play well in 'clip' mode... And perhaps worst of all, I cannot find any support forum like this one after doing all sorts of searches!! So it looks as though this one will bite the dust for me as well...

Overall, I have perhaps been lucky with Video Studio from when I began using it 3 years ago with VS7. I have had no major problems with it, and most of the problems I _have_ experienced were at my end, rather than the fault of the program itself. And while, like others, I might have a list of 'wouldn't it be nice if...' wishes for add-ons or functions or just better executed sub-programs, I believe VS9 offers an excellent range of functions for a more than reasonable price...

[nick200]

I found Studio9+ a fantastic interface and the ability to customise the DVD menu's was far more flexible than VS9.
BUT and this is a massive BUT, it was was just too unstable with many many crash's even with patches and following advice on forums.

I recently switched to VS9 and i think it is a great product (but not quite as intuitive as Studio9+) the simple fact it is so much more stable. So my vote goes to VS9.

Also another thing to look at is the user forums for each product, compared to Pinnacle the Ulead does not contain so many irrate people !

[Ron P.]

Also another thing to look at is the user forums for each product, compared to Pinnacle the Ulead does not contain so many irrate people !

Kinda tells you something about the products huh

I've used Pinnacle, (ver 8 I think), VS 5, 8 and 9, tried Vegas. Premier, and others. While the higher end applications can do more, the learning curve is very steep. I'm not a professional videographer and do not do post production editing for any company. Using those apps would require hours and hours of learning just to really use them.

With Pinnacle same story different chapter... That's how and why I came across Ulead, and I am still with it. Ulead's interface is very intuitive, and if your system is set up correctly very stable. The negative posts read on this (and other forums) abou the product(s) is largely due to the computer system it is installed on. Currently my system is not set up correctly for VS9. I have all sorts of garbage on mine. Graphic editors, web design utilities etc.., and still I haven't had much problems with VS9. If I do I know that It's my fault causing it, not the program, and change things accordingly..

So yes my vote goes to Ulead...

Regards

Ron P.

[irhyper2]

Bet all you guys work for Ulead.

Just kidding. I have worked some with Studio 8 and have had no real problems, but the Pinnacle Forum on S10 sounds like my office help. I just downloaded VS9 last night (new computer) but cannot get my son off the computer long enough to test it. Thanks for all your input

[sjj1805]

One further addition to the points made by Ken Berry above.
I have also looked at all those programs mentioned by Ken and the one with the interface which most resembles Video Studio is Cyberlink Power Director.

One big thing missing from Cyberlink though - No user forum (like this one) where you can chat and exchange ideas, suggestions and problems with other users.