Ulead Videostudio 8

Easy to use and packed with features.

Price: £50

Manufacturer: Ulead

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Verdict

Pros:
Movie wizard; new audio features.

Cons:
Audio filters restricted to music and narration.

Overall:
Ulead has created a feature-packed, simple-to-use video editor that's worth every penny of its asking price.

Ken McMahon, Personal Computer World 23 Jul 2004

Ulead Videostudio is a video-editing and DVD-authoring application aimed at beginners.

Version 8 has improvements at both ends of the user spectrum. The splash screen invites you to use the movie wizard to create a project in three steps. There are 14 template styles and the wizard opens the project ready for DVD authoring or additional editing.

The interface has changed little and retains the dual-format storyboard and timeline modes, but a button has been added providing access to one of Videostudio's most exciting new features - enhanced audio control.

Clicking the Audio button provides rubber band control of all tracks with audio, so you can fade audio-in and -out and adjust overall levels.

There's a new mixing desk that can be used to adjust levels on individual tracks during playback. A stereo-panning control is used for moving audio from one speaker to the other, to follow the movement of a vehicle on screen, for example.

Video and image overlays can be used more flexibly. You can apply filters and special effects to overlays, and move and resize them directly on screen. You can apply preset motion paths to overlay clips, add a border and set transparency, but we'll have to wait until at least version 9 for keyframe control of overlays.

Other improvements and additions include better titling, improved capture controls, batch conversion, pan and zoom for still images, mpeg4 and DivX support and Smartsound auto music tracks.

Contact: Ulead 01327 844 880
www.ulead.co.uk

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