Corel VideoStudio X8 review

The Ultimate edition of VideoStudio X8 includes an assortment of plug-ins from third-party developers. Quality is generally high but these plug-ins’ controls are at odds with VideoStudio’s beginner-friendly ethos. The proDAD Adorage Starter Pack is new to this release and provides an assortment of transition templates, complete with cheesy animated graphics such as hearts, balloons and wedding bouquets. The interface is needlessly complex and it’s baffling that this plug-in appears in VideoStudio as both a transition and an effect. NewBlue FX Essentials IV is also new and comprises ten effects including a Magnifying Glass for highlighting details in a clip, and another that makes video look like it was shot at night time. 

^ proDAD Adorage is packed with cheesy transition templates

Once again, VideoStudio scores for quantity rather than quality. The new features only bring small benefits and there are various longstanding issues that remain unresolved. Colour correction quality is crude and its controls can’t be automated. The pop-up editor used for other effects is clunky and applies keyframe automation even when it’s not needed. The confusing ripple-editing options mean objects on overlay tracks can easily wander out of sync. 

Preview performance is temperamental, with 1080p AVC footage from some cameras playing back far more smoothly than others. As with previous versions, the controls often became slow to respond when editing larger projects. It’s worryingly easy to have media, project and export settings all at different resolutions and frame rates, which can lead to degraded details and dropped or repeated frames.

Until these issues are resolved, it’s hard to imagine VideoStudio receiving anything more than a lukewarm review from us. It may look beginner-friendly but Adobe Premiere Elements and Sony Movie Studio Platinum offer much more for both beginners and advanced users.