Video Studio Pro X4.- A review

[Ken Veal]

If anyone is interested, this is a review that appeared in a English computer magazine:-
Idiosyncratic video-editing software with some handy extras. 19 August 2011. Corel Videostudio Pro X4 is a video-editing program that has three clear sections for capturing, editing and rendering video, with a tab for each.It impressed us immediately with its quick and easy installation process. The program looked sleek and modern, with adjustable windows that allow users to configure it precisely.It sticks to the standard video-editing software layout with a timeline at the bottom and preview window above, as well as a window for effects, transitions and text Read more: http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/revi ... z1WAU4QYYz
Users of other video-editing programs such as Sony Vegas will feel at home here. One flaw was that only one video track is allowed: video clips can be added into other layers but it would have made more sense to allow more video tracks.The software was quite slow: the preview window tended to lag even on our fairly powerful test PC, and buttons were often slow to respond. Importing clips was also drawn-out.Effects were slightly disappointing. They didn't look professional and not much customisation was permitted, with no clear way to edit effects or make adjustments. The quality of videos was good, and it can output lots of formats . However, we were impressed with the array of effective-looking text presets that could be customised in lots of ways, including their animation. This was a step up from Sony and Adobe products in which it was harder to animate text well.The program's design seemed unnecessarily complicated with irrelevant icons and buttons placed in strange places. We also struggled to change the resolution of our project. The quality of finished videos was good, and it can output all sorts of formats from one suitable for a Blu-ray disc, all the way down to types suitable for mobile phones. It can't edit videos in 3D but it will convert a standard video to a kind of fake-3D – a pair of red-blue glasses is included – which gave quite reasonable results. A neat stop-motion animation tool also worked well.Overall, although Videostudio Pro X4 was a bit slow, it is a decent, competitively priced video-editing program. If you're used to having more control over editing, it might get annoying, but for beginners it's worth a try.
Our verdict Not quite enough control for advanced users, and slightly disorganised, but in general this is a good video-editing program
Good points Easy to install and use; good results; some clever features; good text effects
Bad points Was relatively slow to run; only one video track; not enough effect control

[Ken Berry]

Strange comment about only one video track but "video clips can be added into other layers". I assume the "layers" refers to overlay tracks. But how are they different from video tracks??? If anything, the overlay tracks are now more flexible than the main video track...

[Ron P.]

I wonder why the author of this review chose Sony for a comparison??? These reviews are mostly slanted, in favor of the author's favorite programs. He may have some link to Sony, where he gets ad revenue for pushing their products over another, and one way to do that is by downgrading the competition in your articles. I take reviews with a big grain of salt.

As Ken pointed out, the author's obvious ignorance of VS, where he claims there's only 1 video track, shows that he really hasn't used the program. He probably convinced Corel to provide him a free copy, used it for maybe 1 hr, and now he's expert enough to publish a review...