Review by Wayne

Although VideoStudio Pro is a good product, I don’t expect to use it much. Back in the early days of home digital video, users typically had to add a FireWire (IEEE 1394) card to their computer. These cards usually came bundled with video editing software, and the most prominent at the time were starter editions of Ulead Video Studio and Pinnacle Studio. Both of those have evolved over the years, and both of them are now Corel products. VideoStudio has maintained more of its traditional interface, while Pinnacle Studio has had a face lift in recent versions. The advantage of VideoStudio is that it maintains its old features and is more robust than ever. I didn’t find the incremental improvements over recent versions very compelling or a good reason to upgrade from the previous version. But if you have an older version and want a shorter learning curve, this product will add many features but maintain the general feel of older versions. If you’ve been using the Pinnacle product and haven’t upgraded in many years, this still might be the best path if you want to minimize your learning curve. But if you are willing to spend a bit more time, the latest Pinnacle Studio is what I’d consider a better option.

There are many affordable and robust video editing software packages out there aimed at the non-professional and this one still remains a viable choice. Cyberlink’s product has also improved over the years, and if you have specific needs such as editing from multiple cameras or adding subtitles in foreign languages, it might be a good choice. But for all around video editing, I see more improvement in Pinnacle Studio. That doesn’t make this one a bad product and it works better than ever, but it might not be the best choice.