Am I the only one?

CJ · #1 (**permalink**) 07-12-2004, 11:13 PM

I'm new to this forum and I've been using Pinnacle Studio 8 since last year.

I (foolishly) believed reviews that said it was easy to use and didn't look on any forums. I installed it and sure enough, wasted hours. Out of the box it was useless. I even downloaded a trial of Ulead (not the current one) but I couldn't understand it so I persevered with Studio.

However, as I applied the numerous patches it got better (fixed the really annoying chapter markers bug for a start) and now it works fine. Putting together a DVD takes (after capture - which always works fine) just minutes - with menus, chapters and titles. The render speed isn't great, 1 hour at best quality on an Athlon XP2100/512MB RAM takes over 3hrs but I suspect that is more hardware related.

I'm a bit scared that I'm upgrading to a P4 and I've just read that there are hardware incompatibilities; I also haven't rushed out and purchased '9. Once bitten - when I feel the need to upgrade I will try out the updated Video Studio.

So apart from the initial problems I'm happy with the ease of use, the output quality and the current reliability.

I'll let you know if it's status quo after the upgrade...

Marc Peters · #2 (**permalink**) 07-13-2004, 05:58 AM

It seems there are semi-satisfied users out there

PortyAL · #3 (**permalink**) 07-14-2004, 11:01 AM

Sorry to go against the trend here, but I find Pinnacle 8 very easy to use. I purchased a DVD writer 2 weeks ago and have been using Pinnacle 8 to capture video from my digital camera and create DVD's. I started with no experience whatsoever of video editing, and now have 4 DVD's burnt with menu's that work, overlaid titles and fancy transitions etc. I have had no problems with the package, bar burning the finished product to DVD, which I overcame using Nero.

I can put up with the fact that it takes "a few" hours to process the video prior to burning to DVD. Ideally I would like it to process faster, but I start it off and then go and do something else.

I am by no-means saying Pinnacle is problem free, but in my opinion it is easy to use and does what I want it to do. I certainly would not consider changing to another package.

AL

CJ · #4 (**permalink**) 08-01-2004, 09:45 PM

Well, I've completed my upgrade and tried out Studio 8 and it still works, just as before - except now it's 30% faster.

I've upgraded from an AMD 2100XP and Gigabyte mobo (which I hated) to a Northwood P4 and Aopen mobo which is sweeeeet! The quality is top notch - I've used Aopen before and that was always a nice system...

Anyway back to Pinnacle 8 - ran the same jobs as before and 3hr render times have come down to around 2 (FX transitions, menus, music titles etc).

Also tried Ulead Video Studio 8 and it really doesn't do the stuff anything like as easily (or with as much control) as Pinnacle - though it does a nice pan thing with stills which I thought was quite cool. The only reason I tried it was to get my pictures (stills) on DVD in native 16:9, but I can't seem to get it to do that.

I'll have a poke around the forum to see if anyone else knows if it can be done...

LJR · #5 (**permalink**) 09-18-2004, 09:49 AM

CJ, I'm sure I read somewhere that Studio 9 Plus now has Pan and Scan. Also, they have greatly improved its performance.

How you getting on? You still using 8?

CJ · #6 (**permalink**) 09-26-2004, 06:27 PM

I just went online to order 9 (as there are a few patches now and I thought it might be working OK now like my v8

) and I saw the 'plus' stuff and ordered that.

It now does widescreen (well, 9 does anyway) and they have put the pan & scan stuff in for stills as well as 3d sound. PiP looks nice too.

Only thing is I thought it had been out for a while and I've ended up ordering a new Pinnacle product again.

I'll be posting soon with my experiences...

LJR · #7 (**permalink**) 09-26-2004, 09:31 PM

It's got chromakey support and some other nice bits and pieces too. Look forward to hearing what you think of it.

ZEKE · #8 (**permalink**) 02-02-2005, 09:41 AM

i had a problem with oos but after loading ALL available driver updates for
pinnacle and my vid card nvidia fx5900 my problem just melted away.brilliant piece of kit to use now.

Scooter · #9 (**permalink**) 02-02-2005, 02:42 PM

CJ.

I am glad to hear that you have moved to Version 9 as it seems to be much more stable and the menu problems solved. You are going to love the pan and zoom feature and the chroma Key is awesome. I also started with Version 8 and found it to be very easy to learn. I had no experience whatsoever in the Video Editing world and now I have completed several large projects for my church that they are most pleased with. By no means is this anywhere near what you can do with other larger programs out there but for a entry level program at a very reasonable cost, I find it hard to beat. If and when I require more than what I am being asked, I will be looking at a new program such as LE or Premier.

Zeke:
I am sorry you are having difficulty with your capture. I have been capturing and editing from Analog devices with no problems so far and not sure what to say. I am using basic analog cables plugged into both a standalone DVD player and standalone VCR into Pinnacle 9 that plugs into my video card. I will be back in the home later today and take a look at my set up to see if there is something that could help you. I am sure it will be something very simple in the fix. Hang in there.

Scooter · #10 (**permalink**) 02-02-2005, 02:49 PM

Zeke:

Failed to mention that as far as getting this resolved, this is the Forum to do it. These guys and girls are excellent and well informed on editing. This will get working eventually.