My computer too weak for Ulead Videostudio?

[discocrisco]

Last month I purchased a VideoXpress capture device that included a 30 day trial of Ulead Videostudio 9 SE DVD. When the thirty days were up, I tried to purchase/activate the product but the website that the prompts took me to said the product is "not available".

Then I thought I'll just go out and purchase locally either Videostudio 9 or 10+. But the system requirements for both products seem higher then what my computer is capable of.

The 30 day trial of Videostudio 9 seem to work fine on my computer. The only difference I noticed between my pre-loaded Windows Moviemaker and Videostudio 9 SE is that on Videostudio 9 there would be maybe a 1-2 second delay at times when stopping/starting playback etc...

So...Here's my computer specs:

E-Machines T3508 Desktop
Intel Celeron D Processor 356
Windows XP Home Edition
3.33 GHz/ 533 MHz FSB/ 512 HB L2 Cache
Hard Drive 160 GB
Memory 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Video ATI Radeon Xpress 200

(plenty of free space available) The only software I loaded was the capture device and virtually no music/video/pics downloaded.

Here's what I considered buying:

Ulead Videostudio 10+....requires Intel Pentium 4 or higher?
Ulead Videostudio 9....requires Pentium 3 800MHz or higher?

So what are my options? I'm a complete techno idiot so all these numbers mean goobly-gah to me! I don't know one processor from the next.

And on ebay, some sellers advertise Videostudio 9 (not SE). What's the difference between SE/Not SE?

ANY HELP GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

[Ken Berry]

First, SE indicates that it is a cut-down version of the program (SE = Simplified or Special Edition), and usually indicates software that is bundled free with hardware as in your case.

One thing you need to be aware of in addition with Adstech hardware is that Adstech often used to tinker with the software to make it work with their hardware, but only that special SE version will work with it: updates or later full versions will often not work. We usually recommend that people with Adstech capture devices use the Adtech Capwiz capture program to capture, then open that captured video in a later version of Video Studio if that version does not work with the device.

VS9, even the SE version, has a lot more tricks under the hood than Windows Movie Maker, which is really only a very simplified editing program which can handle only a limited number of formats, and output is also limited. VS10+ has a lot more bells and whistles in addition to that.

As to whether VS10+ would work on your computer, I would hazard a guess that it would, though a bit slowly. Certainly VS9 (full version) would work as I have it working on an old laptop which is far more resource-challenged than your computer. You could, in any case, always download the trial version of VS10+ and try it out for 30 more days to see if it works and whether you like it or not. You certainly wouldn't be losing anything...

As a final comment, it is a little sad that you purchased the VideoXpress card and not the more recent Adstech DX2 card which admittedly is a bit more expensive (around US$100). It has a hardware chip embedded in it which allows excellent capture of DVD-quality mpeg-2 and takes all the hard work away from the computer, doing the encoding to mpeg-2 itself before the signal even hits the computer. This is most important when you have a resource-challenged computer!

[2Dogs]

Last month I purchased a VideoXpress capture device that included a 30 day trial of Ulead Videostudio 9 SE DVD. When the thirty days were up, I tried to purchase/activate the product but the website that the prompts took me to said the product is "not available".

The SE versions are usually bundled with hardware, such as your own VideoXpress device, and as such are cut-down versions of the full program. The idea is that it draws people in to upgrade to the full version - seems to have worked on you!

Then I thought I'll just go out and purchase locally either Videostudio 9 or 10+. But the system requirements for both products seem higher then what my computer is capable of.

The system requirements for Video Studio 10+ show a need for a Pentium 4 or better cpu if you are doing non-proxy HDV editing. If you're just working on regular definition video, you should be fine with your Celeron D. A Celeron is basically a Pentium with cut-down cache, after all.

The 30 day trial of Videostudio 9 seem to work fine on my computer. The only difference I noticed between my pre-loaded Windows Moviemaker and Videostudio 9 SE is that on Videostudio 9 there would be maybe a 1-2 second delay at times when stopping/starting playback etc...

That's your pudding, then - and the proof is right there in it! As for the delay - are you comparing like with like - e.g. the same avi or mpeg2 clips in VS9 trial, SE and MovieMaker? Might be related to the preview display quality setting in VS9 full, but doesn't sound too problematical.

So...Here's my computer specs:

E-Machines T3508 Desktop
Intel Celeron D Processor 356
Windows XP Home Edition
3.33 GHz/ 533 MHz FSB/ 512 HB L2 Cache
Hard Drive 160 GB
Memory 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Video ATI Radeon Xpress 200

(plenty of free space available) The only software I loaded was the capture device and virtually no music/video/pics downloaded.

After you've started messing around with video editing, it's amzing how quickly you'll be able to fill up all that free space - and use up your free time in the process! I presume your pc has a DVD burner - if not, that might be one of your first hardware purchases, and might set you back as much as... $35 or so, depending on where you are.

Here's what I considered buying:

Ulead Videostudio 10+....requires Intel Pentium 4 or higher?
Ulead Videostudio 9....requires Pentium 3 800MHz or higher?

So what are my options? I'm a complete techno idiot so all these numbers mean goobly-gah to me! I don't know one processor from the next.

Subject to the condition mentioned previously about HD editing, you can buy either VS9 or VS10. You should be able to register your existing SE version with Ulead, and it will qualify you for a rebate on the full version of VS10. You might then pay $59:99 (in the US) for the boxed version. Check on the Ulead site for the price in your part of the world.

Alternatively, you could pay about half of that for the full, boxed VS9 on Ebay.

And on ebay, some sellers advertise Videostudio 9 (not SE). What's the difference between SE/Not SE?

ANY HELP GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

All the SE versions are cut down in some way. Usually, they don't allow you to burn to DVD - which is commonly a primary purpose of the program for many people.

You should therefore be able to choose either VS10+ or VS9. If you think you're going to use it much, and enjoy doing so, then I would recommend you go straight for VS10+. There are plenty of tutorials, and the program even has a Movie Wizard feature that you might try as an introduction to working with it. You can use the 30 day trial to evaluate the program.

I would also strongly recommend that you buy a full boxed version, whichever version you go for. Apart from getting a really nice, shiny box, you get a printed manual, a handy video guide book, and having the install CD's makes it easier to do a repair of your installation should the need arise.

[Ken Berry]

One other important thing I forgot to mention is that I don't think Movie Maker is capable of burning DVDs. At most it can burn a low quality VCD or higher quality SVCD to CD. Other than that, it is mostly useful for producing highly compressed video files for posting on the web or sending via email. It can also edit original DV footage from a mini DV video camera and send it back to the camera -- as can Video Studio of course. But it can't produce a DVD. Others will correct me if I am wrong...

[Ron P.]

You're correct Ken, WMM will not allow recording to DVD. I never thought about that so I looked it up..

[discocrisco]

Thanks Ken and 2dogs for the replies! Your answers cleared up alot of questions I had.

As advised I went ahead and downloaded the trial version of Videostudio 10+.

The main reason I wanted Videostudio 10+ was because of the multiple overlays. I plan to do some future videos with multiple "chroma keyed" overlays and Videostudio 10+ would be a perfect platform.

So I tested Videostudio 10 with a base video and 3 overlays. I noticed that in the editing phase the playback is "jumpy" or "slowed and choppy". But once video is finished and saved to my computer and played back using Windows Media Player, all is fine and the video with overlays plays just fine. I'm not sure if this is normal?

The same thing would happen in my earlier trial version of Videostudio 9 using just the base video and just one overlay. It would sometimes play choppy in the editing phase but be just fine when saved and viewed with WMP.

Could it be just my computer -or what's expected with Ulead products?

[Ken Berry]

Well, it could be a combination of both computer and program. I never expect much of preview playbacks, particularly in Ulead products, apart from making sure everything seems to be there and in the right order and cut in the right places etc.

But if you think about it, a preview of a highly complex thing like an edited video project is fairly demanding for a computer to be able to do well on the fly. If your computer is not overly powerful, it stands to reason that it may not be able to play a preview smoothly and well all the time or for the whole preview. A bit of stuttering and jerkiness is to be expected. There is provision for a full rendered preview if you really want to see how the final project will look, but that of course takes time.

While I am usually satisfied with what I see in my previews, I of course still produce a DVD-compatible mpeg-2 after I have finished editing. Then I play that back, usually in a third party player on the computer, to make absolutely sure it is OK. And only then do I go to the burning module. Even there, I tend to be cautious and, instead of actually burning a disc, I first burn a DVD folder (Video_TS), which can be played back on a software DVD player on your computer, again to check everything is OK. If it is, then this procedure also then allows you to burn as many copies of the disc as you like. An alternative, of course, is to burn first to a rewritable RW disc so you do not waste a perfectly good -/+R disc.

[2Dogs]

The main reason I wanted Videostudio 10+ was because of the multiple overlays. I plan to do some future videos with multiple "chroma keyed" overlays and Videostudio 10+ would be a perfect platform.

Bear in mind that even a fast pc will take a long time to render multiple overlays - perhaps taking several times the running time of the video. In the overall scheme of things, however, rendering time is not such a significant part of your time spent on the project. You can always arrange for it to happen when you are out/having dinner/sleeping etc.

As for the choppy preview - I agree with Ken. If you do select the high quality preview, I suspect you'll soon get tired of waiting for it to render before you can preview it, and revert to the default setting. The choppyness is only in the preview, and not in the finished rendered video.

The final quality of your video really only depends on you, not your pc, though most of us would love to have the latest fastest pc. It's funny, though, how you are only "King for a day", unless you are glued to the upgrade treadmill. One day, you might have bought a Pentium 4 Extreme Edition cpu, for $1000, and then not long after (actually maybe a couple of years) you can buy a cpu for $180 that will wipe the floor with it! You may know that the Space Shuttle runs on a couple of 286's!