Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Version 12 [OLD VERSION]
by Pinnacle Systems
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Software Reviews of Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Version 12 [OLD VERSION]
Customer Review: Buyer Beware!
Summary: 1 Stars
Do not upgrade to Studio 14. It is riddled with defects. I am trying to receive a refund for 2 months and it is next to impossible. But I will not give up. I do not have money to throw around. Ladies and Gentlemen, please try another product. I just ordered Sony Vegas and am hoping for a better experience. What frosts my banana's is that the phone help admits the product is defective but the company will not come out with a patch of refund money. I do not know how then stay in business. . .
Customer Review: Just buy a Mac...
Summary: 2 Stars
I keep trying to do HD video editing on a Windows machine, and am constantly disappointed. I actually work for a company in the PC business (I'm writing this as an individual), so I'd naturally be inclined to recommend Windows apps. But in this case, you'll save a lot of grief just going to the Apple Store and plunking down some money for an iMac...
To brass tacks:
1. The included green screen is very nice. I use it quite a bit.
2. The installation process is pretty convoluted, and takes a long time. Another reviewer has pointed out that the licensing mechanism can cause a lot of grief -- particularly as you buy new systems (keys only good for two years, etc.). My guess is that if you buy into the Pinnacle universe, you'll wind up having to upgrade more often than that -- but I indeed had hassles just installing it for the first time.
I ran into several bugs and crashes, both on a Vista and on an XP system. YES, the crashes could have been caused by my system. Video editing apps are amongst the most demanding on graphics drivers and are the most sensitive to conflicts with other applications. What's so great about Macs is that the configurations are extremely limited, the OS is designed for better isolation, and Apple bloody well makes sure Final Cut and iMovie work flawlessly on whatever Mac hardware they produce.
Customer Review: It works (and plods)
Summary: 3 Stars
I was very happy to find a software package (Version 12) that matched the specs of my HD video camera. I didn't want to lose the 1080p resolution and quality, and this version does fit the bill. I admit that I am only a mild user of video editing and compilation. However, in my limited use of the product, I did find that the user interface and processing time between activities and screens was pretty slow (I'd say plodding). I could be misplacing the blame and the real culprit could be file size and length, but it didn't seem like it to me. My only previous experience with similar software was with Windows Movie Maker, and this Pinnacle version seems to be similar in appearance and layout, but with some more bells and whistles. Maybe the new version will streamline some of the functionality and speed things up a little...Customer Review: Good for amateur videos but crashes too much.
Summary: 3 Stars
The Pinnacle interface is easy to use and they have been making professional editing equipment for quite some time so they understand video. The software came with a green backdrop for chromakey effect which was a nice touch. Editing videos is relatively simple, and more intuitive than Adobe Premiere. But somehow every time I try to burn a DVD it crashes. I have taken to saving the video and using a different burner software. I've uninstalled Nero as it became too top heavy and did not sync well with Pinnacle and I am just using my computers resident burner software.
This software works best if you have enough processing power and RAM. You also need to have a separate graphics card (rather than integrated) to use certain video effects. It seems that some other people have had better success with burning the final DVD. If it works for you great, for me the biggest annoyance was the burn process, and I opted to use other software for it.
Customer Review: Can't Even Perform BASIC Functions Properly!
Summary: 2 Stars
On the positive side:
I have successfully installed this on a vista-64 system and have not noticed any especially untoward effects.
Also, it does import and work with .mov files, something which some other Windows oriented products do not.
However, there are numerous bugs which render it close to worthless. In particular, the menuing system is awful.
I bought this product to do something extremely simple: import several .mov files and burn them onto a dvd with a simple 1 level menu. The menu produced is pathetic. Although a "preview" of the menu shows that it will highlight the menu item which is "selected", it does not do so on the dvd once it is burned. Very frustrating. Actually, it sometimes works with small files, but for most projects, it does not. I ended up only using the format converter to convert the .mov files to .mpeg2 files and then used the free "Windows DVD Maker" (came with Vista) to burn the movies to a dvd. Although the "Windows DVD Maker" has only the very crudest of menus, at least it highlights one's selection on the TV screen so you know which video you will activate.