You’ve got the digital camcorder, you've invested in a firewire card and you've bought the appropriate cables. You're simply itching to get started on Editing those hours offootage, but can’t decide what budget editing package to plump for. Would ULead’s Video Studio 8 fit the bill? Lets find out.

First of all connect your DV Cam to the PC using the firewire cable and set the camera to PLAY/VCR. Yes, Video Studio will capture from USB devices, but even the less ambitious user should care about quality andtherefore firewire is the way to go. (See the FAQ - why use firewire?)

On launching Video Studio 8 you're presented with an option to use the full package or use the Wizard to create your movies. Our recommendation, and therefore this review, is to opt for the full package.

The software presentation is centered around 7 logical tabs, CAPTURE, EDIT, EFFECT, OVERLAY, TITLE, AUDIO and SHARE.

Capturing is simplicity itself, with the option to capture in single file mode or in batch mode. In the case of the latter simply play your DV tape, press F3 and F4 to set your mark in and out points and when you are ready press capture. Good easy stuff, and the video shortcuts can automatically be saved to the Media Library. It would have been nice of ULead though to include a Scan Tape or smart capture option as some of their budget competitors do. In overall terms though the capture utility gets good marks.

Edit
So you have captured your video and the shortcuts are in the Media Library (Don’t worry it is easy enough to add Media Clips to the library that you have prepared earlier) and it is time to hit the EDIT tab. Before placing your video clips on the project, it is worth noting that, in common with many budget editors these days, Video Studio provides both a Storyboard and Timeline View – defaulting to the Storyboard view. Simply drag your video clip from the media library to a vacant slot in the Storyboard (or Timeline) and use the Start and End points in the Preview Trim Bar to set the start and end points of your Video clip. Once placed you can right click he clip to alter the speed or to split audio. So the edit feature gets good marks for simplicity.

Effect
Easy enough then to place the video clips onto the project. The real piece though is the ability to use transitions between clips (Be honest that’s why you wanted a Video Editing Package in the first place!). Good news is that ULead provide a plethora of transition effects, from Crossfades to Flying Arrows and Burns. The obvious word of caution here is ‘CAUTION’. It really is easy to get carried away with effects, use them sparingly! In any event adding the effect is easy, just drag the effect from the media library to the space between your clips on the story board. You can also add some video effects to your clips. Select the effect you want from the Media Library and drag it onto the clip of your choice. Easy peasy, the world of colour balance and contrasts, as well as vignettes and other effects are now at your fingertips, and customisable too!

Overlay
Unusually in a budget offering, Video Studio 8 offers one video overlay track. To use this all you have to do is drag your clip to the overlay track (Timeline view only) and adjust the size and moving path on the fairly intuitive dialog box. It would be easy to be critical of this feature (Key Framing would have been nice) but that would be picky. Most budget users will be grateful for the chance to include Picture in Picture (PIP) on their home videos.

Tittle
By this time you are getting the hang of things on the Video Studio Interface. That’s right, its all simple enough. Click the Title Tab, Double click the preview window, type your text and use the dialog box to change the colour, the direction, the screen and display effects (Drops, scrolls, appears, typewriter and so forth). All in all fairly easy to use and rich enough for the average budget user.

Audio
Video Studio 8 provides 2 Audio tracks. One for Voice and one for Music (although both can be used for music if you want). You get the drift by now, just drag your audio clip from the media library (yes you can add your MP3 and other audio tracks to the Media Library), to the appropriate part of the timeline. Alternatively record your own narration over your clips in real time. Video Studio also provides some Royalty Free soundtracks in what they call ‘SmartSound’. Whatever the audio source, sounds can be faded in and out to the user requirements. A little bit finicky this bit, but usable none the less.

Share
So your masterpiece is ready to go. Share with the world. Or more specifically, you can output back to your DV Camera (remember that DV Type 1 thing!), or create files for DVD Compliant Mpeg, Reatime Player or for Streaming on the WEB. However, probably Video Studio 8 biggest selling point is the facility to take your masterpiece straight to DVD. A cut down version of ULead’s MovieFactory is included, where chapter points for your DV can be set and Menu’s customised to you own taste to include your own background images and music.

Is it for you?
Well, it would be easy to gripe wouldn’t it? A scan tape feature on capture would be nice, as would a little more intuition on some of the menus and dialogs. To be honest though, Video Studio 8 packs a fair punch for the money (£43 from ULead’s Website – Summer 2004). At that sort of price coupled with the technical stability that some of the competition lacks, then the inclusion of DVD Authoring makes it almost worth the investment alone. Not sure, then download the trial from www.ulead.com and find out for yourself. You could be pleasantly surprised.

OVERALL RATING 91%

Articles submitted by Robin represent his personal views and are not necessarily the views of Digital-Director.com.