Pinnacle Studio

Pinnacle Studio

Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12 on Windows 7
Developer(s)	Pinnacle Systems
Stable release	16 / September 20, 2012 (2012-09-20)
Preview release	None
Operating system	Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8
Type	Video editing software
License	Proprietary
Website	pinnaclesys.com

Pinnacle Studio is a non-linear video editing software application manufactured by Pinnacle Systems; who was acquired by Avid (and later acquired by Corel in July 2012). It is the consumer-level counterpart to Pinnacle's former professional-level software, Liquid Edition (now Avid Liquid). It also inherits from VOB Computersysteme's Instant CD/DVD. Studio allows users to author video content, create VCD/DVDs, Blu-ray as well as AVCHD disks in its latest release, v15, all with menus and burn them without the need for any additional software.

Pinnacle Studio may be purchased separately, but is also included in bundled packages with various video capture hardware devices. These include analog and digital capture, either as PCI cards or connection via USB. In September 2007, Pinnacle released new versions of their Moviebox devices, including HDV and AVCHD support, shipped with their new Studio products.

In addition, a cut-down SE version entitled Pinnacle Studio QuickStart was included with the Dazzle (another USB capture device) and Pinnacle PCTV products, though since the release of Studio 12, the QuickStart version has been discontinued; Dazzle Video Creator Platinum now ships with the regular basic version of Studio, and the PCTV products ship with VideoSpin.

Versions

Since version 9, Studio has been sold in several editions: Studio or HD and Studio Plus and Ultimate. There is some additional functionality in the Plus and Ultimate editions, notably a second video track. This allowed Overlay, A-B Edits, Chroma Key, and Picture-in-Picture.

Studio 10

Studio 10 and Studio 10 Plus were released on the 17 August 2005. While retaining the same user interface as Studio 9, the code base was taken from Liquid Edition, now called Avid Liquid. Real time preview at full resolution was introduced along with the ability to mix PAL, NTSC, 4:3 and 16:9 footage on the timeline. The standard version of Studio 10 has fewer features than the standard version of Studio 9, but Studio 10 Plus offers further enhancements including HD editing. Version 10.7 Plus allows users (after purchasing a premium feature) to burn High Definition video to standard DVD media that will then replay on the Toshiba HD-DVD players. Vista compatibility was added in version 10.8.

Studio 11

Studio 11 was released in June 2007. It features three versions: Studio, Studio Plus, and Studio Ultimate. All three are designed to be compatible with Windows Vista and feature a new scalable interface and replace Smartsound's music generation with Scorefitter, a midi-based version written in-house.

Studio 11 Plus added native HDV and AVCHD editing, and HD DVD from standard discs. Keyframing became possible on most effects. Blu-ray AVCHD to standard DVDs was added in S11.1.1.

Pinnacle Studio Ultimate became the new top-of-the-line consumer video editing application. It included Soundsoap PE, an advanced sound-cleaning tool, Dolby 5.1 Surround encoding, proDAD VitaScene, and Moving Picture, a precision pan and zoom. A green-screen sheet to produce the chroma key effects with is also included in the full Ultimate version, or can be purchased separately.

Studio 12

Studio 12 was released in June 2008. Enhancements to the editing features included markers that can be placed on the timeline "on the fly", improved audio controls and the addition of Montage, which allows multi-layered video and still composites to be generated within pre-defined templates. MOD import and FLV output was added, as was direct upload to YouTube.

The Plus and Ultimate versions also added full Blu-ray disc burning with menus. Ultimate comes with Vitascene as in S11, but replaces Soundsoap and Moving Picture with Boris Graffiti 5.1 and Magic Bullet Looks SE. A new addition was the Content Transfer Window which should allow you to import any plug-ins or premium content purchased for Studio 10 or 11.

Studio 14

Studio 14 was released in September 2009.

With this series, the low-end version is now billed as "Studio HD", and is essentially identical to the regular low-end version of Studio, but with the overlay video track and high-definition capabilities available (previously, the only way to be able to use these was to upgrade the software to the Plus or Ultimate version).

The "Plus" version is now known as the "Studio HD Ultimate version", and includes a few special third-party plugins.

The top-of-the-line version is now known as "Studio HD Ultimate Collection", which includes more third-party plugins and a green-screen sheet (which can be also purchased separately). The video capture interface has been redesigned, but the editing and export GUIs are identical to previous versions, in addition to including stop-motion capture, image stabilization effects and a motion title editor/creator.

Studio 15

Studio 15 was released in February 2011.

New features include, Archive/Restore, DivX Plus HD (.MKV) Support, Better AVCHD support (v14 did not handle large AVCHD videos with great stability), Intel Media SDK integration, plus new added content such as more effects, more transitions from Hollywood FX and a greater variety of menus.

Another added feature is Studio 15's reintegration of SmartSound quick tracks, a feature disabled in v14 but available on versions 10 through 12.

Studio 16

Studio 16 was released in September 2012.

This version is based in Avid Studio and bears little resemblance to previous versions of Pinnacle Studio. Some sources have claimed it is in fact more like a new version of Avid Studio. (Avid Studio was a more professional version of Pinnacle, featuring a cool interface, unlimited tracks, and a better editing system. Indeed, the Ultimate version of Studio 16 looks and feels nearly identical to Avid Studio, and Corel has been praised for successfully merging Pinnacle Studio and Avid Studio and giving the latter more publicity.) It is designed as a true multi-track editor although the bottom of the range HD version only has 6 tracks. The Plus version has 24 tracks, the Ultimate version has no theoretical limit.

Features include 3D editing and twin preview windows.

VideoSpin

In the second half of 2007, Pinnacle introduced VideoSpin, a freely downloadable non-linear video editing software package similar to Studio but with several features missing. Some of the missing features include the storyboard, the ability to capture digital and analogue video, the video and audio toolboxes, the SmartSound/Scorefitter music generator, SmartMovie capabilities and DVD burning. Projects created in VideoSpin may be opened and edited in Pinnacle Studio 11, though not vice-versa, and once a project has been loaded in Studio, it may not again be reloaded in VideoSpin.

An advanced codec pack can be purchased allowing users to use MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and DiVX codecs, all of which are available freely for the first 15 days after installation.

VideoSpin is also included with the Pinnacle PCTV products, replacing Studio QuickStart.

Since Pinnacle released the "patch" for Studio 12, several of the effects paid for in RTFX Volume 1 no longer worked. This was due to the parameters of the effects being changed from type="VideoFilter" HostMask="2" to type=VideoFilter" Hide. It was written this way for the following effects: Bevel Crystal, Lens Flare, Magnify, Median, Mosaic, Replicate, Water Drop, and Water Wave.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Comparison of video editing software

External links

• Pinnacle Systems website