Ulead VideoStudio 8 Complete package

...As well as the CD, Ulead Video Studio 8 includes not one but two printed manuals. The first is a user guide to the software. This covers all the basics and helps get you up to speed quickly without being too onerous a read. Also included is a rather neat guide to Digital Video editing in general by Douglas Spotted Eagle (really!). For beginners this is a great read and Ulead deserve a big pat on the back for including this second book.

...music generation system. At last, Ulead have added this feature care of SmartSound. And about time too. This feature really works well. You select a clip and a music style and SmartSound creates a custom piece of music of the exact length needed. The resulting music is usually surprisingly good, especially given that it gets created for a random period of time. It is also royalty free which is useful if you intend distributing your results.
... more

Ulead's Video Studio 8 adds new features to an already highly capable yet easy to use program, it's difficult to see what if anything can be added at this price point that could possibly deserve a whole version jump from 7 to 8.

Opening the Box

As well as the CD, Ulead Video Studio 8 includes not one but two printed manuals. The first is a user guide to the software. This covers all the basics and helps get you up to speed quickly without being too onerous a read. Also included is a rather neat guide to Digital Video editing in general by Douglas Spotted Eagle (really!). For beginners this is a great read and Ulead deserve a big pat on the back for including this second book.

System Requirements are getting slightly heavier with a Pentium III 800 with 512Mb being specified for editing (you can get by with 256Mb if you don't edit but then why would you buy a vide editor?!?!). All the latest hardware is supported including all DVD standards and even Sony's MicroMV tape format. If you want to make sensible use of the real-time video features you'll need a 2Ghz machine or above. I tested it on a 3.06Ghz Pentium IV with 512Mb or RAM and everything ran very smoothly.

One of the most obvious changes is that at start up, you have a choice of going in to video editing mode or a new Movie Wizard mode. The wizard lets you add video clips then choose a template before outputting the finished video. I felt this was a bit of a gimmick and really not tremendously useful unless you're in a real hurry. It's also less than intuitive the first time through.

Versatile Music

Far more interesting is the new auto music generation system. For many years, Ulead's competitor Pinnacle has had an ace up its sleeve in the form of an automatic music generation system. At last, Ulead have added this feature care of SmartSound. And about time too. This feature really works well. You select a clip and a music style and SmartSound creates a custom piece of music of the exact length needed. The resulting music is usually surprisingly good, especially given that it gets created for a random period of time. It is also royalty free which is useful if you intend distributing your results.

A number of new video filters have been added. One I thought was particularly useful was Diffuse Glow. This can be used to create a dreamy look to sequences or perhaps as a version of the infamous Star Trek 'Kirk's love interest' look.

Another nice addition is the pan & zoom tool. This lets you select a still image then move over it, zooming in and out as you do so. It only includes three steps but you can control the zoom factor, movement and pause time. A generous selection of presets was a welcome extra as I did find the pan & zoom dialog box a bit fiddly to use. Whilst not useful to everyone, it can be used effectively with a separately recorded narration to add movement and interest to a static image. This sort of presentation used to be popular with educational programs, Blue Peter and so on, usually moving around a battle scene to the accompaniment of yells and sounds of fighting.

Title with Style

The title generator in Video Studio 8 has also been beefed up nicely. Gradient and solid fills can be added behind text to improve its legibility. Some new animations add interest and movement although it's all too easy to get carried away. Less is often more when it comes to effective titles but whatever your video needs, you'll find much here to create the effect you want.

Improved Sounds

The audio side has also been tweaked with new filters and a rubber band mode for making multiple volume changes across a clip. The filters include the usual types such as echo as well as a rudimentary noise reduction option. Another nice addition is stereo panning to shift the audio from side to side, perhaps to follow the movement of a car.

Other improvements

As well as the more major upgrades described above, Video Studio 8 has had almost every existing feature improved. The range of options has increased, versatility improvements abound and the supplied DVD templates have increased. There are also lots of time savers such as the new batch convert function which lets you select a number of video files and convert them to a different format in one hit. Nice to see is the support for MPEG4 (DIVX) and AC3 Dolby Digital audio as well as 16:9 footage. Note though that the first two options require plug-ins at additional cost (£13.78 each).

Ulead have done their best to ensure you have as much at your disposal as possible when it comes to creating your video masterpieces. One things still sorely lacking though is background rendering. Until you prepare your final output either to tape or DVD/CD, no rendering is done. Pinnacle's Studio 9 does this in the background as you work and it's a great time saver when filters and effects have been used.

Conclusion

Whilst I felt some of the newer features could have been more intuitive in use, they all added to what was already an impressive package. I wasn't much impressed by the Movie Wizard but that apart, Ulead have created a great new version of Video Studio. Existing users may find the upgrade justified by the SmartSound feature alone but there are lots of great new features here for both new and existing users alike. The low price is merely the icing on the cake.
 

...less