Pinnacle Studio 14 / Pinnacle Studio 15 (update of an article published on 09.09.2009)

The non-linear video editing software pinnacle studio 14 HD was available at the end of September 2009. Pinnacle Studio 15 HD has been available in February 2011. Most "on the ball" people have certainly noticed that we "jumped over" the Pinnacle Studio 13 version, probably due to triskaidekaphobia ? Two and a half years after Studio 11 (1), a little bit more than one year after Studio 12 (2), let's find out what is inside this latest release, Pinnacle Studio HD version 14 / 15.

Studio HD 14/15 is available in 3 versions:

Pinnacle Studio 14/15 HD (base)	Pinnacle Studio 14/15 HD ULTIMATE	Pinnacle Studio 14/15 HD ULTIMATE COLLECTION

The basics are always the same with non-linear video editing software, capture your movie and edit it to share with friends and family, ... (the "non-linear video editing software" term means that you can place your sequence in the desired order, you do not need to arrange them by date/hour). For advanced users or beginners, the interface is always based on the drag-and-drop technique for videos as well as photos hosted on your computer. They can be captured with your video or still digital camera, in HD, AVCHD (High Définition) or SD (Standard Definition). Add music, sounds, effects, transitions or animated tites with Pinnacle Montage, to obtain a perfect movie that you will export to DVD, Blu-Ray disc, share on a public website, portable phone, iPod, Nintendo Wii, etc...

What are the features ? What's new ?

First of all, the 3 options offer:

• HD editing,
• straight to DVD, YouTube (with wide-screen export 16:9), and other media (see below).

New features in these 3 options are :

• stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own,
• fluid image stabilization for shaky camera shots, using a specific AVID technology (within Studio 12, you have maybe already used the well-known proDAD Mercalli plugin). Let's see the behavior between them, we will keep you informed and we will probably do some cross tests.
• export movies for Flash, QuickTime, improved AVCHD, PS3, Nintendo Wii, XBox and more
• motion titling and new title designs
• Studio 15 exclusivity: archive system and restoring system, DivX, YouTube / QuickTime HD support
• DVD menus, effects, and more than 80 Montage Themes

So, which version do you prefer, S14/S15 HD, Ultimate or Ultimate Collection ?

Compared to Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15, ULTIMATE also includes:

• Dolby-Digital 5.1 (also possible with HD basic version, but as a paid add-on)
• BD Blu-Ray export as well as HD DVD
• RedGiant plugins: ToonIt and Knoll Light Factory

Compared to Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 Ultimate, ULTIMATE COLLECTION also includes:

• RedGiant plugins: MagicBullet Looks, Trapcode Shine, 3D Stroke and Particular

What are Red Giants plugins ?

Red Giant Software was founded in 2002 by industry veterans to develop and distribute special effects tools for digital video & film professionals. They develop their own applications but also publish other people's technology. Red Giant plugins have been used in thousands of feature films, like "Quantum of Solace" following are some examples...
(Click to view the sequence where the "Particular" plugin has been used), "Angels & Demons" ("Particular" plugin), "Dream Girls"("Knoll Light Factory" plugin),  ...

RedGiant Plugins (click on the following images for an overview - must have the QuickTime plugin )

ToonIt (ULTIMATE et supérieure)	Knoll Light Factory (ULTIMATE et supérieure)	MagicBullet Looks (ULTIMATE COLLECTION)
TrapCode Shine (ULTIMATE COLLECTION)	3D Stroke (ULTIMATE COLLECTION)	Particular (ULTIMATE COLLECTION)

What is inside Studio HD 14/15, Ultimate and Ultimate Collection ?

The Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 box contains the following:

• Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 install DVD, as well as SureThing Express Labeler software, Pinnacle Studio User Guide in PDF
• Pinnacle Studio Quickstart guide

Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 ULTIMATE contains these additional items:

• Red Giant Plug-Ins: ToonIt, Knoll Light Factory

Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 ULTIMATE COLLECTION contains these additional items:

• Red Giant Plug-Ins: ToonIt, Knoll Light Factory, Magic Bullet Looks, Trapcode Shine, 3D Stroke, Particular
• Pinnacle Studio User Guide PDF as well as a printed manual
• Green screen backdrop (please note, it's not included on upgrade skus)

System Requirements

• Windows 7, Windows Vista (SP2), Windows XP (SP3)
• Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 1.8 GHz (2.4 GHz or higher recommended), Intel Core2 Duo 2.4 GHz required for AVCHD*, Intel Core2 Quad 2.66 GHz or Intel Core i7 required for AVCHD* 1920
• 1 GB system memory recommended, 2 GB required for AVCHD*
• DirectX 9 or 10 compatible graphics card with 64 MB (128 MB or higher recommended), 256 MB required for HD and AVCHD*
• 3.2 GB of disk space
• DVD-ROM drive to install software
• Accessory:
  
  • CD burner for creating Video CDs or Super Video CDs (S-VCDs)
  • DVD burner for creating DVD and AVCHD* discs
  • Sound card with surround sound output required for preview of surround sound mixes*
  • Blu-Ray burner for Blu-Ray disk (only for ULTIMATE and ULTIMATE COLLECTION)

Input Options:

• Capture from DV, HDV and Digital8 camcorders or VCRs (requires a FireWire® port)
• Capture from analog camcorders, 8 mm, HI 8, VHS, SVHS, VHS-C, SVHS-C, or VCRs (NTSC/PAL/SECAM) - (requires Pinnacle or Dazzle video hardware)
• Import from AVCHD* and other file based Camcorders, Digital Still Cameras, Mobile Devices and Webcams via USB

Output Options:

• Output to DV, HDV or Digital8 tape (requires camcorder with FireWire Input port and a PC with a DV/FireWire port)
• Output to analog videotape (requires DirectShow compatible device with video output)

Import Formats:

• Video: AVCHD*, BD Blu-ray*, DV, HDV, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX*, MPEG-4*, 3GP(MPEG-4)*, WMV, Non-encrypted DVD titles (incl. DVD-VR/+VR), QuickTime (DV, MPEG-4*, H.264*)
• Audio: MP3, MPA, WAV, AC3*, WMA
• Graphic: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PSD, TGA, TIF, WMF, PNG, J2K

Export Formats:

• AVCHD*, DVD (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R or DVD+RW, dual layer), S-VCD, Video CD (VCD)
• Apple® iPod®, Sony® PSP/PS3, Nintendo® Wii, Microsoft® Xbox compatible formats*
• DV, HDV, AVI, DivX*, RealVideo® 8, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4*, Flash, 3GP*, WAV, MP3*, QuickTime® (SD format) files
• Dolby Digital 2 channel and 5.1 channel* audio (free with ULTIMATE and ULTIMATE COLLECTION, paying option for basic HD version)

(*) Requires free product activation via the Internet
(**) Requires product activation via Internet at additional cost.

Prices:

Pinnacle Studio HD, Pinnacle Studio HD 14/15 Ultimate and Pinnacle Studio 14/15 HD Ultimate Collection will have similar prices than Studio 12:  $86, $144 and $188.

For Pinnacle Studio users, version 9, 10, 11 and 12, you will have the opportunity to upgrade for 100$ (upgrade to Pinnacle Studio Ultimate) or 130$ (upgrade to Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Collection) .

Of course, we will try to inform you as soon as possible of our tests with Pinnacle Studio 14/15, during the installation phase as well as the test phase, giving you our most honest opinions regarding Studio 14/15. To be kept up to date on a regular basis, do take the time to subscribe to our free newsletter.

UPDATED ! New article: Pinnacle Studio 14: first impressions

(1) - (2) Remember...

• 24 Avril 2007: "Studio V11 is arriving..."
• 29 Mai 2008: "Discover Pinnacle Studio 12"
• 6 Juin 2008: "A Tour of Pinnacle Studio 12"
• 13 Juin 2008: " Studio 12 : First Impressions"
• 21 Juillet 2008: "Easy install of Studio 12"