Terratec Cameo 200RT review

Terratec makes bold claims for this video-editing bundle.

Apparently, the Cameo 200RT "turns your PC into a powerful director's chair for digital video editing". Sadly, no chair is included, but with its PCI FireWire card and video editing software, you do get a simple starter-pack.

A FireWire port is all you need to get footage from a digital video camera on to your PC's hard disk. Many new PCs come with this as standard - but for those that don't, the hardware included hits the spot. The PCI card provides two ports at the back of the PC, while an extender cable joins this to the CameoConnect - a FireWire port for mounting in a large drive bay on the front of your PC. Four plastic fascias are included in beige, grey, charcoal and blue. Be aware, though, that only digital MiniDV and Digital8 cameras can plug in to a FireWire port - analogue camera owners will need to buy an analogue capture card.

The software bundle consists of the video-editing package Ulead VideoStudio 7 SE DVD, plus a collection of transitions from Adorage Magic that can be used from within VideoStudio. When we reviewed it last October, VideoStudio 7 received a Recommended award. It's a decent budget package, packed with fun features - although the core tools are a little crude. This cut-down SE version omits the bundled copy of Ulead Cool 3D, a basic 3D graphics program, doesn't offer as many effects and templates and lacks support for Sony's MicroMV camera format. Ulead MovieFactory 2 SE is supplied for creating your own DVD and Video CD discs.

The Adorage Magic transitions aren't very useful, but MovieFactory 2 is a fine piece of software for creating DVDs and Video CDs, with plenty of control over the way your menus look and function and a simple walkthrough-style interface. However, its inclusion here is rather odd, as pretty much all of its features are duplicated in the DVD creation functions of VideoStudio.

As a package, the Cameo 200RT works well enough - but with the full version of VideoStudio 7 available for just £32 (£38) and PCI FireWire cards costing just a tenner, the bundle is poor value for money. If you have more than £50 to spend, go for superior editing software, such as Pinnacle Studio 9 or Sony Screenblast Movie Studio, which have more polished editing tools. A FireWire card will only cost you £15.