Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 review

Premiere Pro wasn't ready in time for the CS3 launch earlier this year, but it's now available for both Windows and Intel-based Macs.

The main application includes a smattering of improvements, but it's the extras that make it a particularly interesting update.

Time Remapping has joined Motion and Opacity in the list of attributes for each video clip. It produces slow- and fast-motion effects but, unlike a similar feature in Sony Vegas, it doesn't allow clips to be reversed. It does support ripple editing, though, so keyframes (the pointers that signal the beginning or end of a change) move in sync with the footage when earlier keyframes are edited.

Interpolation is used when rendering slow-motion effects, generating extra frames to keep motion smooth. Meanwhile, a new Time Warp effect covers similar ground but includes the ability to flip from forwards to reverse playback and benefits from Premiere Pro's sophisticated bezier keyframe editing, which makes it possible to change speeds smoothly rather than jumping between them. Oddly, its interpolation quality is not as clean as Time Remapping's interpolation.

The other new features are less exciting, although we're pleased to see that H.264 (MPEG4) export is finally included, with templates for Blu-ray, PSP, iPod, mobile phones and websites such as YouTube and MySpace. The lack of AVCHD support is disappointing, though, and is available only through third parties.

Premiere Pro 2's DVD-authoring facilities were best described as basic, but this version comes with Encore CS3, Adobe's professional DVD-authoring application, which previously sold for around £260. It isn't the easiest application to use, but its disc-navigation options are comprehensive and it works seamlessly alongside Photoshop and After Effects for menu design.

New to this version is Blu-ray authoring, complete with menus - the first application we've seen to do this. Encore can also export videos and menus in Flash format for use on the web. We're delighted to see that a single project can be exported to any or all formats without redesigning its content.

Premiere Pro CS3 also includes OnLocation (previously DV Rack), a program for capturing video directly to the computer while filming. It's Windows only, captures via FireWire in DV or HDV format and offers various benefits over recording to tape: instant reviewing and cataloguing of takes, a pre-record buffer to capture from up to 30 seconds before you press record, time-lapse and stop-motion capture, video- and audio-analysis tools plus the security of recording to tape and hard disk simultaneously. We don't much like its interface, which requires you to scroll down to see all the controls on offer. However, it's a well-conceived application that we can imagine becoming completely reliant on.

Adobe doesn't appear too bothered about its competitors: Premiere Pro costs almost twice as much as Avid Liquid and Sony Vegas +DVD. However, the inclusion of Encore and OnLocation reduces this discrepancy to an extent, and makes the £246 upgrade price seem particularly appealing. Premiere Pro starts to look considerably more attractive when it's bought as part of Adobe's Creative Suite bundle. CS3 Production Premium (which costs around £1,500 including VAT) includes Premiere Pro, After Effects Pro, Photoshop Extended, Flash Pro, Illustrator, a new audio-editing application called Soundbooth (an easier-to-use version of Audition) and a powerful chroma-keying tool called Ultra. This bundle is great value as long as you need at least most of the applications, and most serious video producers probably do.