I've been using a device to import analog movies from a VHS player to my PC, digitizing the movie clips in the process. It's a time-consuming task done in real time: A two-hour VHS tape takes at least two hours to stream and preliminarily edit.
While the One-Touch Video Capture program allows for editing on the fly, I needed something more robust. I turned to the latest version of one of my favorites, Pinnacle Studio. Version 21 has more bells and whistles than previous versions, including a split screen feature and the ability to edit footage from multiple cameras.
It allows for a total of four video and audio tracks, has a scene-morphing tool, and an impressive collection of special effects, sounds, and transitions. For an editing program that costs less than half of the gold standard, Final Cut Pro for the Mac, Studio has a lot to offer.
I thought that the $129 price tag for the Ultimate version of Studio for Windows would cover everything. But I thought wrong.
As soon as I launched Pinnacle Studio, I was beset with offers of upgrades. If you're using the basic $60 version, you'll have to fork over another $50 for the multi-camera feature. You're also invited to upgrade to the Ultimate version, which isn't a bad idea. If you want a selfie enhancer, plan on spending another five bucks. A multi-screen feature costs $50, and so on.
That aside, the video editing features, on paper anyway, are impressive. Once I captured and saved my digitized footage, I began editing scenes and audio tracks. I captured the video and audio footage from my VHS player, then added music. On the remaining tracks I added a dog barking and rain falling. Many of the more creative sound tracks cost up to $5 each. Specialized templates cost $5 to $10. It's not hard to spend a few hundred dollars more, even in the Ultimate version, for the customized sight and sound features you might want for your video.
Most video-editing programs have a lot in common. Import video from a camera, DVD, or a hard drive, place clips in a timeline, add audio to enhance the clips, and edit. Pinnacle Studio should be capable of performing those tasks efficiently and in a user-friendly fashion. I like the multiple camera feature a lot; it gives a professional touch to home movies like the ones I'm making.
But my experience with Studio was mostly negative. The program crashed almost every time I used it and I wasn't able to finish even the simplest project. That means I'll probably never find out what the program is capable of doing.
