AVID PINNACLE STUDIO PLUS PLUS
The Edit interface is another area where Studio Plus 10 shines. There’s also a handy disk usage meter to show how much video you can capture. Once captured, your video shows up in an album. Studio Plus 10 automatically creates clips based on automatic scene detection, start times on the tape or pre-defined increments. Capturing video couldn’t be easier plug in your FireWire cable, turn the camera on, cue the tape and click the Start Capture button. With a tabbed interface for Capture, Edit and Make Movie, your options are easy to figure out. The Studio line of products uses a simple three-step process for creating video. A click on the Pinnacle Studio Plus button takes you directly to the program.
Once up and running, you’re presented with the Studio Launcher - a simple push-button interface that allows you to choose between the Studio product, the Instant DVD Recorder and a tutorial for first-time users. Launching the program made us wait over a minute each time, and Studio Plus 10 insisted on asking about a FireWire audio device we haven’t used in six months. You’ll need at least 3GB of free space on your disk for installation and operation - more is recommended, much more. This disc had its own setup application, so we used it instead.
AVID PINNACLE STUDIO PLUS INSTALL
Twenty minutes later, our second attempt installed the product but failed to install the content from the bonus DVD. After over 20 minutes, the first installation crashed, so we started over. We installed Studio Plus 10 on a 3GHz P4 with 512MB RAM and a 256MB dual-head video card - somewhere between the minimum and recommended system requirements. One such quirk is the product’s extreme load time. We were fairly impressed with Studio Plus 9 just a year ago and, while some of its quirks remain, Pinnacle has virtually started over with version 10. Integrating video capture, editing, still image processing, DVD authoring and much more, Studio Plus 10 has become more than a mature product - it’s an all-in-one solution for creating digital media. With the release of Studio Plus version 10, there are even more reasons to consider this program as your entry-level editor of choice. Avid officially purchased Pinnacle Systems in August 2005 and now, they’ve completely revamped the Studio line of products. A lot can happen in a year, and it has for Pinnacle.