Is VideoStudio 10 better than VideoStudio 9

[Ken Berry]

Whether or not you create a DVD folder is secondary. So far I have not been doing so because Ulead does much like getting them back for burning. As for ISO files Ulead likes them even less and you have to resort to the DVD Image Recorder accessory to burn them

I am just a little surprised by this. In fact, Ulead hates DVD folders, even though it can create them, because it provides no means at all to burn them to disc once you have made them. This is unlike ISO disc image files which in fact VS prefers since it has precisely that extra program you mentioned which will burn them.

However, that still does not prevent me from nearly always preparing a DVD folder in VS rather than either burning directly to disc or preparing an ISO file, precisely for the reason I stated above.

As for your original question, yes, you might call one or the other une usine à gaz. In English, the expression 'how long is a piece of string?' might be equally appropriate because it all depends on the users unique point of view. I have used every version of VS since VS7. While I quite liked VS9, I much prefer VS10. I still find VS 9 very much slower in just about everything than VS10+, though I acknowledge that for most things the functions are much the same. VS10+ plus, of course, though, has built in native support for things that VS9 required plug-ins for, and also has the extra overlay tracks and all the other bells and whistles. But in fact they are all bells and whistles which I use regularly. And for me, VS10+ is that much faster.

VS11+ is another story. So far, its extra bells for me were supposed to be its ability to work with Vista. But on the other hand, as it has turned out, it doesn't do some of the simple things that even VS7 could do (notably analogue capture). And for our users who have HD cameras, it is causing no end of headaches. So my money remains with VS10+.

[Gisela Richter]

]Sorry Ken, I haven't been checking my messages properly: I meant "Ulead does NOT much like DVD folders". In fact you have to open them first and extract the VOB files before you can get Ulead to accept his own creation! Better to use Nero. With your "bells and whistles" your productions are no doubt more professional-looking than mine, but I've only been doing it for 3 years. Something that much impresses me in professional productions is how the music background is perfectly matched to every scene. You have convinced me to use VS10 more, but as for VS11, on the French forums here there have been a lot of complaints. The same applies to Windows Vista. It's like with new car models: better to wait until the Kinderkrankheiten are over (or the bugs have been corrected).
I am just a little surprised by this. In fact, Ulead hates DVD folders, even though it can create them, because it provides no means at all to burn them to disc once you have made them. This is unlike ISO disc image files which in fact VS prefers since it has precisely that extra program you mentioned which will burn them.

]

[sjj1805]

To answer the original question is it better?

In my humble opinion - Multiple overlay tracks makes it more than worthwhile. I agree with your comments about transitions. As an example I find that a slide show is much more interesting and grabs you attention more when it does NOT include transitions but instead the slides change to the beat of the music.

[Ken Berry]

Just as long as you are not using Hora Staccata or Fight of the Bumblebee as the background music!!

Gisela -- if you want to improve your background music and matching it to scenes, you might want to consider investing in Sonic Fire Pro which is the excellent program for stand-alone SmartSound editing. If I recall correctly, it is around US$250. Worse, the individual SmartSound discs are very expensive, though there are some better deals on offer for them.

But essentially, you can then choose appropriate background music, and if you want it to sit behind a scene which runs for 35 seconds, then you can tailor the music to fit that exactly. You can even play your video in Sonic Fire to tailor it even more closely to the action. And the latest strata series SmartSound discs also allow you to change the number and type, as well as mood, of the instruments playing the music. In my humble opinion, truly wonderful...