Labs

VideoStudio has a friendly, home-oriented feel to it, but unlike Roxio VideoWave it doesn't shy away from advanced features. Text animations look excellent, with the ability to format and animate each word in a text object separately. However, as the animations consist of a choice of presets, words sometimes spin off the screen before others have arrived. For complex text effects, Premiere Elements' Bezier paths and unlimited track count make it a better bet.

VideoStudio's effects range from subtle corrective treatments to outlandish special effects, and offer reasonable user control. The transitions are above average, too, with explosions and paper burn simulations augmenting the usual collection of wipes. The standard dissolve transition (fading from one clip to the next) could be better signposted, though.

A Pan & Zoom feature can scan across photos to create classy-looking slideshows. Most of the competition can do the same for video clips as well as photos, but at least VideoStudio presents it invitingly for inexperienced users. The software can also edit your

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video for you, with a range of themed templates to choose from but, as usual, the results seem pretty random. There's extensive format support for import and export, including the ability to import footage from non-encrypted DVDs, plus a batch convert function.

DVD authoring is simple, but there's enough control to make menus look as if you've designed them rather than picked a template. There's a global option to return to the menu or play the next video at the end of a clip, but scene selection menus are inserted whether you want them or not.

VideoStudio started life as a very simple editor, and seven versions later its interface doesn't seem able to cope with its own complexity. Features are located in unexpected places, and the panel on the left, which displays settings for the currently selected object, often changes its role unexpectedly. For example, you could have the effects library on the right and effects currently in use on the left, but trying to drag an effect from right to left makes the left panel go blank.

The preview window is satisfyingly large on a 1,280x1,024 monitor, but it constantly reverts to clip rather than timeline playback with no obvious benefits. There's also usually a five-second delay between pressing play and playback commencing.

Despite these drawbacks, there are enough genuinely useful features to keep VideoStudio in the running if your budget is tight, but it pales into insignificance next to Premiere Elements. Adobe's editor may not look as friendly, but in practice it's much easier and quicker to use, thanks to its responsive timeline. If ease of use is paramount, go for Sony Vegas Movie Studio +DVD.