A powerful program that's perfect for beginners and enthusiasts alike

Platform : Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows XP

Type: time limited demo

Manufacturer: Pinnacle Systems

Size: 180MB

Rating: 4

Verdict: An excellent introduction to video editing, but you will need at least a 1GHz PC

System Requirements:
Minimum: Pentium 1GHz processor or equivalent; 256MB RAM; 500MB hard disk space; DirectX 9 or higher compatible graphics card; DirectX 9 or higher compatible soundcard.

Neatly designed and easy to use, Pinnacle's Studio software is one of the most popular video editing programs for home users.

Studio 9 offers a new feature for beginners called SmartMovie. This automatically edits together multiple video clips that you select, adds a soundtrack, and synchronises the transition effects to the tempo of the music.

It works very well and you're free to edit the completed video, so you can add titles, change unwanted transitions or add special effects.

Studio 9 can use plug-ins and there are several video effects available, including a 'Stabilize' option that can help to compensate for shaky camera footage.

There's also a strobe effect, an option to change the playback speed, and you can use a number of colour correction plug-ins to alter the brightness and contrast of video clips.

Other improvements include a noise reduction tool that can filter out unwanted background noise, an echoing 'reverb' effect and a graphic equaliser.

Audio plug-ins use the VST format widely used by professional audio systems, so music buffs who want to experiment with audio effects can use their existing VST plug-ins with Studio 9.

Movies can be saved to DVD or VCD as small email attachments or in streaming video format. You can also output footage to a DV camera.

Note: You will need to enter an few personal details in order to download this software from Pinnacle.