By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
March 2003

Program Overview

VideoStudio 7 is a powerful and very reasonably priced program that allows digital video camera owners to make editing their movies as fun as shooting them. You can use fast, cutting-edge technology that allows first-time users to easily create professionally-looking digital video, and you do it all in real time. The program also makes it very easy to share with others your digital movies on VHS, DVD, Video CD, as well as the Web.

You grab the digital video files from camcorders, PC cameras, TV tuners, and VCRs. VideoStudio automatically detects what type of video you are capturing, saving you time getting it into the PC.

With VideoStudio you have a lot of fun editing the captured digital video. You can trim and organize your video clips, then add a soundtrack and voice narration. You can also add titles and special effects.

Next you can share your masterful creation with others either on tape, DVD, CD, or the Web. You create professionally looking DVD menus easily with the template library built into the program.

A very friendly step-by-step video tutorial takes you from capturing video to burning a DVD. Start from the beginning or just choose the lessons that interest you the most. The program also includes a 128-page manual.

The real-time feature also will save you a great deal of time. Real-time is the latest in video editing and is included in VideoStudio 7. This means you don't have to wait for editing changes to take effect, or render, before you see the results. You can make an edit, add a transition, type a title, and see the results instantly, even while sending your video out to you TV or VCR at the same time.

New Features in V. 7

VideoStudio is better than ever. Whether you're new to VideoStudio or a veteran, you'll appreciate the new Video Tutorial to teach you the basics of capturing, editing and how to best share your video projects with the world.

Plus you get the following new features.

Capture
Expanded Compatibility: VideoStudio 7 works with a wide breadth of file formats, now including Windows Media Video as well as industry-leading support for Sony MICROMV. It is the first video editing software to fully support the DVD–VR and DVD+RW Video Recording formats as well as leverage their “on-disc” editing capabilities. If you own a camcorder that records to DVD or DVD set top recorders, you now have a way to capture, edit (directly on disc), and write video back in the original format.

Edit
InstaView Real-Time Previews allow you to see your editing choices with great picture quality and in a large preview window. Also, you don't have to wait to see your edits because it's all in real-time!

MultiCut Editing using Extract Video - Save time by selecting multiple video segments at the same time. Select those that you want to delete (like commercials) or keep from one video clip and VideoStudio will automatically make those edits on the timeline. Non-destructive editing allows you to always get those segments back if you made a mistake.

New Video Filters and Effects - Added to VideoStudio's already industry-leading number of special effects are five new filters. They include: Old Film, Lightning, Lens Flare, Comic, and Bubble effects.

Content-Based Scene Detection - VideoStudio cuts your video into easy-to-manage clips based on lighting or scenery changes and are conveniently placed in the timeline for editing. All you need to do is add your own personal touch.

New Playback Speed Control - Control the exact speed of your video with slow or fast motion effects. Slow clips down to as little as 10% of the original speed for nostalgic or dramatic scenes. Speed clips up to as high as 1000% for time-lapse effects and humorous fast motion.

Create Impressive 3D Graphics and Text for your next video production. Included with VideoStudio 7 is Ulead's COOL 3D 3.0 SE. Use your Cool 3D project files in your video production by placing them on the overlay track for eye-catching effects.

Share
Share on CD or DVD - VideoStudio can burn to CD or DVD. Don't worry about file formats, because VideoStudio will burn based on your video footage length. Burn up to a two-hour video onto DVD. Place up to 74 minutes of video on CD discs in VHS quality, or MPEG-1. If you have a short video (up to 34 minutes long) you can burn video on CD discs as Super Video CDs (medium-quality).

Multiple Videos Per Disc - Include multiple videos onto each DVD disc. Your videos can be imported from any format without the need to have it in the appropriate format first. VideoStudio 7 takes the guess work out of file formats.

Dual-Layer DVD Menus - Create a main menu that displays all videos. Then, with a simple click navigate to another menu to reveal each video's scene selections.

Round-Trip Editing - If you noticed your video wasn't quite like you imagined, you now have the option to stop the burning process and return back to the editing process to fix your mistakes. VideoStudio will automatically save your new changes and continue your DVD making from where you left off.

Super Included Features

Capture
Grab video from camcorders, PC cameras, TV tuners and VCRs. VideoStudio automatically detects what type of video you're capturing, saving you time getting it into your computer.

Edit
Have fun editing. Trim and organize your video clips, then add a soundtrack and voice narration. Include titles and add special effects you pick from over 190 customizable transitions and filters.

Share
VideoStudio lets you share videos with family and friends on VHS tape, streaming Web media, DVD, VCD, or SVCD. In the Share step, simply choose your options and VideoStudio will output the best format that's right for you.

DVD
Into sharing on disc? VideoStudio has you covered. You can burn your videos to CD or DVD and play them on you DVD player. Create your own unique DVD videos, complete with intros, chapters, and interactive menus.

Targeted Customers

Clearly, this super program is aimed at folks who have an interest in creating their own digital video files, using the program's powerful real-time capture, edit, and output capabilities. At the time of this writing, we have begun to see a great increase in sales in digital video cameras, logically following the explosion of use of digital still cameras. A sure sign that new technology has become mainstream is the availability of digital cameras in your friendly Wall Mart, priced at less than $100. That these very inexpensive digital cameras have very few features is of little importance to the countless thousands of digital camera buyers eager to learn how to capture, edit, store, and share their digital images.

Building on this now solid base of customer interest in digital media hardware, Ulead releases their latest and best edition of this super program that will certainly capture great interest among the now rapidly growing number of owners of digital video cameras. The continual drop in prices in digital video cameras, along with the continual drop in price of powerful computer systems, means customers now have available powerful computer hardware and software that literally was unheard of just a few years ago. As the price of digital video cameras drop, more and more customers are investing in this exciting new entry into the world of computer technology, and entering the world of digital video capturing, editing, and sharing with others.

While VideoStudio 7 certainly does not replace the highly sophisticated programs used by professionals in the media and entertainment business, the program does meet most all needs of owners of competitively priced digital video cameras. You will be most pleased with the many exciting features available to assist you with your own digital video files.

Price

$99.95 retail, boxed, shrink-wrapped
$89.95 electronic download

$49.95 upgrade, boxed, shrink-wrapped
$44.95 upgrade, electronic download

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

P-III 800 MHz or higher processor
Windows 98SE, 2000, ME, XP
128MB RAM
500MB free hard drive space for program installation
4GB+ hard drive space for video capture and editing

NOTE:  1 hour of DV video requires 13GB of hard disk space.

Windows-compatible display with at least 1024 x 768 resolution
Windows-compatible mouse or pointing device
Windows-compatible sound card

Recommended System Requirements

Real-time features perform best with at least:

P-IV 1.4GHz CPU
512MB RAM
7200 rpm IDE Hard Drive

Also optimized for Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and Dual-CPU systems

Input/Output Device Support

Sony MICROMV (Input)
1394 FireWire cards for use with DV/D8 camcorders
Support for OHCI Compliant IEEE-1394 and 1394 Adaptec 8940/8945
Analog capture cards for analog camcorders (VFW & WDM support)
USB capture devices and PC Cameras
Windows-compatible DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-R/RW

File Format Support

Input Formats:

Video: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, WMV, FLC, FLI, GIF, QuickTime, UIS

Image: BMP, CLP, CUR, DCS, EPS, FPX, GIF, ICO, IFF, IMG, JPG, PCD, PCT, PCX, PIC, PNG, PSD, PXR, RAS, RLE, SCT, SHG, TGA, TIF, WMF

Audio: AIF, AIFC, AIFF, AU, AVI, MOV, MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, QT, WAV

Output Formats:

Video: AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, QuickTime, WMV, FLC, FLI, FLX, UIS

Image: BMP, CLP, EPS, FPX, GIF, IFF, JPG, PCX, PNG, PSD, PXR, RAS, RLE, SCT, TGA, TIF, WMF

Audio: WAV, MPA, RM, WMA

Disc: DVD, Video CD (VCD), and Super Video CD (SVCD) movie titles

Notes on System Requirements

Ulead's VideoStudio 7 is truly a remarkable product that all digital video camera and digital still camera owners will want to seriously consider. However, as you might expect, this very powerful program offers superior features that are focused on supporting the capturing, editing, and sharing of digital video files. This means you are working with a huge amount of data, as well as challenging the processing and memory support of a PC.

VideoStudio 7 is going to work better if installed on machines that meet or exceed the company's recommended requirements. While this is increasingly not an issue with so many of today's newer, powerful machines, owners of relatively "older" machines, that can support digital still cameras, may just not be capable of supporting what you will want to do using VideoStudio 7. Remember, working with digital video files kicks up the system requirements to support this process, so be sure your machine has the horsepower to allow you to take full advantage of this powerful, important program.

About Ulead Systems

Since 1989, Ulead has consistently presented the worldwide marketplace with innovative yet easy-to-use products for the desktop PC. In 2000 Ulead expanded its product offerings to include the development and marketing of server-based software solutions focusing on image editing, photo sharing, image filtering, and Web content mobilization.

Founded by three friends who wanted to produce software that could be bundled with hardware manufactured in Taiwan, Ulead's unique name is derived from the company's Chinese name, which means "Strength Through Friendship." Ulead became the first publicly traded software company in Taiwan in March of 1999, a decade after it was founded.

Headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, Ulead now has over 380 employees and maintains branch offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, and China. Ulead is the third-largest multimedia software vendor in the United States and holds over 50% of the video editing software market in Japan.

Each Ulead product delivers superior value by providing a complete solution to meet user needs. Ulead products provide the latest in technology in an easy-to-use environment at an affordable price. Consistently winning market recognition, Ulead products are recognized for a number of multimedia industry "firsts", such as delivering:

The first image editor to deliver true-color image editing on the Windows platform
The first image editor to include Web graphics optimization and animation tools
The first Electronic Software Download (ESD) of Web graphics tools
The first consumer photo editing solution to sell value-added editions based on price point
The first consumer video editor to offer native MPEG-2 editing
The first consumer photo editor available for download
The first consumer video editor to offer integrated DVD authoring
The first image editor to support JPEG 2000

In October 2000, Ulead made a formal commitment to the Web when founder Way-Zen Chen was named company chairman. Mr. Chen is expanding Ulead's existing leadership in client software to server and Internet business models.

These technologies include Web-based photo sharing built on the concept of "input anything, share anywhere." iMira.com expands the value Ulead delivers from client software alone to hybrid solutions integrating both client software and Web-based services. In a parallel effort, Ulead has launched the Ulead iMira line of server-based tools and services. These products enable third-party Web sites to rapidly deploy low-cost server-side image editing, image management and e-mail screening solutions, as well as enable their Web sites to be viewed on any mobile device. Targeting Web service providers and corporate IS departments, iMira Server Tools help organizations leverage new technologies to enhance security and develop cost-effective online services.

Leveraging its core competencies and proven creativity, Ulead continues to move aggressively in the technology marketplace. Ulead's products are technically advanced yet intuitive in design and give consumers, businesses, and industry partners an intelligently creative means to accomplish design objectives.

Contact Information

Sharna Brocket
Ulead Public Relations Manager
Ulead Systems
20000 Mariner Ave., Suite 200
Torrance, California 90503
310-896-6388, Ext. 162
FAX 310-896-6389
sharna@ulead.com
sales@ulead.com
www.ulead.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.