Pinnacle Studio HD is a Video Editing Software for Windows created by Publisher Avid Technology, Inc.
Product summary of Pinnacle Studio HD
Pinnacle Studio is one of the most popular and renowned video editing software. The Studio series was created by the award-winning software development firm, Pinnacle Systems, Inc, which has released the latest version to hit the market. Pinnacle Systems, Inc. is well-known for developing video editing programs that are fit for use by both beginners and professionals. With its wide variety of features and easy to use interface, Pinnacle Studio is a great option for anyone looking to create videos and movies of any kind. Pinnacle Studio actually comes in three versions: Studio HD, Studio HD Ultimate, and Studio HD Ultimate Collection. This software review will focus mainly on Pinnacle Studio HD, providing a list of its features and the extra features offered in Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate.
System requirements
Pinnacle Studio HD runs on Windows XP SP2 and XP SP3, as well as Windows Vista and Vista SP1. You will need to have an Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon processor that runs at 1.8GHz or higher. To handle the heavy video processing requirements, you will need to have a graphics card with at least 64MB memory and compatibility with DirectX 9 or 10. Your sound card should also be DirectX 9 compatible or better. You should have at least 2GB of free disk space to install the latest version of Pinnacle Studio, as well as a DVD-ROM drive to run the installation discs. Depending on your capturing and output options, you may need other hardware as well.
Features of Pinnacle Studio HD
The regular version of Pinnacle Studio HD has all of the basic features that are expected from a video editing software, as well as some of the unique features offered only by Pinnacle Systems, Inc. Perhaps the most useful feature of Pinnacle Studio is its tabbed interface, which was first implemented in video editing software by Pinnacle Systems, Inc. The tabbed interface used in Pinnacle Studio makes use of a three-step process for creating movies: (1) capture, (2) edit, and (3) make movie.
Pinnacle Studio HD Montage
Pinnacle Studio HD also comes with a feature called Pinnacle Montage. Pinnacle Montage is a set of tools that can be used to create professional-looking video productions. Basically, the Montage feature allows users to format their movies and videos with effects that are commonly used in TV shows, movies, and other professional videos. For example, users can easily create a video wall, wherein multiple videos can be placed next to each other, all playing at the same time, which is similar to the “video wall” that is commonly used in news shows.
Aside from the Pinnacle Montage feature, Pinnacle Studio HD also has a number of other editing features such as themes and templates that make it easier to put together videos and movies with professional style and design. Transitions, filters, effects, and the ability to animate photos makes Pinnacle Studio HD a powerful and easy to use video editing tool. What's more, you also can use the Pinnacle Scorefitter to put together the perfect soundtrack for your video. Toward the end of your video editing project, you can use other Pinnacle Studio HD features to make your final output look and sound cleaner, clearer, and crispier. Once you have finished your project, you can use the built-in disc burning, web publishing and video conversion features to keep, share, and watch your movies and other produced videos.
Extra features in Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate
Has all of the combined features of both Pinnacle Studio HD and the old Pinnacle Studio Plus 12. Aside from these, the advanced features of this version also include:
- Dolby 5.1 encoding for high quality sound
- additional professional tools to create professional-looking productions
- effects (FX) editor for changing lighting, rays, glows, etc.
- graphics animation, text animation paths, and 3D titles for making top-notch videos
- with green sheet for creating your own Chroma Key effects
Extra features offered in Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Collection
Aside from offering all of the features in the Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate, Pinnacle Studio HD Ultimate Collection also has the following features:
- The collection includes a complete set of plug-ins
- Chroma-key green screen for advanced effects, editing and production
- Studio Ultimate editing software
- Red Giant Plug-ins: ToonIt, Knoll Light Factory, Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode Shine, 3D Stroke, Particular
Pinnacle Studio HD User interface
The Pinnacle Studio series has built a solid reputation for being easy to use for beginners and professionals alike. In fact, some of the interface innovations that Pinnacle Systems, Inc. has used in Pinnacle Studio series has been adopted by other video editing applications as well. Pinnacle Studio's user interface is designed to give the user easy access to all of the tools and features needed for video editing. Pinnacle Studio HD is a great choice for anyone looking for an all-in-one video editing solution that is easy to use and is capable of creating professional quality videos.