Pinnacle has officially launched Studio 12 (thanks to Gert Reitner who was the first one to inform us of the good news and give us plenty of details). Delivery will be done very rapidly, probably middle of June and possibly before... So now, let's discover what is inside the box, a special preview for you !

5 versions :

- Studio 12 Standard
- Studio 12 Plus
- Studio 12 Ultimate
- Studio Plus 12 Upgrade
- Studio 12 Ultimate Upgrade

Pinnacle Studio 12 (normal)	Pinnacle Studio 12 PLUS	Pinnacle Studio ULTIMATE

Most of the old content (S10 / S11) is fully compatible with S12. Some tools will help you to transfer your content from an old version (or from your CD-DVD) to S12 (this is called Content Transfer Wizard).
If you own BIAS SoundSoap or Title Extreme with S11, you will be able to transfer and use it on S12. For Scorefitter, it is included in Studio 12. For Premium Pack (Volume 1 / Volume 2), RTFx (Volume 1 / Volume 2), Volumes HFX (Volume 1 / Volume 2 / Volume 3), they can also be used in S12 (or bought).

New Graphic Unit Interface:
Studio 12 has a new GUI, have a look:

Pinnacle Montage:

Version 12 has the new Pinnacle Montage (click on the link for a preview). It's a pretty new, innovative tool (ie combination of photos and / or videos within predefined animation - to compete with HFX and other similar tools). Designed to make it easy to achieve high-end results with multiple video layers, animated text and graphics, the Pinnacle Montage feature includes more than 11 pre-defined themes with over 80 single templates, divided into various categories: Year 50, Album (animations dedicated to pictures), baby, snapshot, love, mix multi-layer, seasons, sports stars, wall image as below:

ChromaKey:
Use the full power of chromakey and transparency within Pinnacle for marvelous effects.

Create Photos Albums :
As explained above, you can import your photos and / or videos in order to organize a "photo album" or other themes, allowing you to make slide shows with a few mouse clicks. According to users of the beta version, this innovation alone is worth purchasing the new version.

Pan & Zoom:
Of course, continue to enjoy the Pan & Zoom, the tool that enables you to resize your photos / video and zoom in on images / video (with or without key images, for example allowing you to move your camera within the photo, for example). The PIP tool is also present.

Scorefitter again is included

SmartMovie:
You can select a design for "automatically" making your video (after your selection of scenes for a period equal to twice the length of the music chosen, you may add a title, a generic end, a few words, and video creation takes place before your astonished eyes!).

Audio:
Reviewed and revisited! The tool now has a standardized volumeter and adjusting the volume for its main output. Finally, it is possible to manually enter the value of the sound level. Also note the indicator measuring ridges (maximum value), nice! 

Markers:
Studio now has a maker system to help you find spots in your project, defining "brands" (bookmark) to help you navigating through the edition. Thus, you set your favorites or bookmark and you move more easily within the assembly (add name, go to the next / previous, delete).

ULTIMATE:
Ultimate is delivered with 3 additionnal plugins compared to standard and PLUS version:

• Boris Graffiti: animation titles and graphic elements. Easily add animations and sophisticated titles such as the placement of progressive text on the screen, the flight path, flickering and randomization. Create 3D text effects, such as bump maps - merging two elements to produce a relief - and reflections. The full range of styles and the navigator's library Boris gives you access to hundreds of effects and styles (and is well known in its rendering quality and font control). This tool is complementary to Heroglyph, each with its own specificity.

• Magic Bullet Looks (edited by Red Giant) : set the style of your project, whatever the shooting conditions, with powerful tools for video processing (change color). Choose from more than a hundred samples of predefined areas, all clearly declined in 10 categories, in order to find the style that best suits you - a wedding video with a film worthy of a film festival

• proDAD VitaScene: lighting effects, transitions, and so on. They contribute significantly to the style and mood of your creation - light rays, contretypage colors, "aspects" of film art and essay, etc.. It is now easy to add small touches that make a professional difference - learn more about proDAD

Full HD process / Burn easy
Pinnacle Studio Plus supports native HDV content and AVCHD: no conversion and in real time. You can even combine projects involving SD video, HD and photos, then it is "over-sampled" for a final result in full HD resolution. Burn your movies on DVD and HD DVD content on standard DVD's. Create a native disc in Blu-ray format, complete with animated menus. Also burn AVCHD discs on standard DVD's that can be played on Blu-ray.

Various informations:

• Also note that new titles, DVD menu and templates have been added (~60 themes).
• Web export: directly to YouTube and/or Yahoo Video (Pinnacle Video Share is only available for Video Spin).
• More export formats : mobile phone 3GP ; Flash format; direct publication on YouTube ; MP3 file and wav creation
• More important format : GIF, PSD (Photoshop), audio AC3 (Dolby)
• And concerning differences between Basic, Plus and Ultimate version, we will see this in the next days... Stay tuned for the Studio FAQ !

So now, why upgrade ? Among all these reasons, you will find yours !

1. out of curiosity...
2. fashion, to stay in tune with the latest trends...
3. Attracted to "Pinnacle Montage" (very innovative one must say)
4. Ability to add Markers on the Timeline
5. More Audio Control: master fader, numeric input, peak meter and more
6. New Content: Titles (27), DVD menus (32), Flash tutorial, demo movie and project
7. Complete HD Workflow: Blu-ray BD-R/RE burning, including motion menus
8. More Editing Control: Reference Images in Album and Project; Direct page access in album; Direct Crop/Adjust to frame size
9. More FX and More FX Performance: 2D Editor advanced/Rotate editor; improved performance for FX, keyer, and auto color correction
10. More Export Control: Pause Export if drive space is filled up; Make Movie audio alert; Auto Shutdown after Make Movie
11. More Export Formats: 3GP mobile phones; Flash Video creation; YouTube direct upload; MP3 and wav audio
12. More Import Formats: GIF, PSD (Photoshop), AC3 (Dolby) audio import

Capture 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 DirectShow® compatible graphic board or TV tuner board with analog (Composite or S-Video) inputs
• Import from AVCHD* camcorders (requires USB 2.0 and a UDF driver)

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 video device or video card with TV-output)
• Output to Apple® iPod® and Sony® PSP™ formats*

Import Formats

• Video: AVCHD*, DV, HDV, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX®*, MPEG-4*, 3GP(MPEG-4)*, WMV, Non-encrypted DVD titles*
• Audio: MP3, MPA, WAV, AC3*
• Graphic: BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PSD, TGA, TIF, WMF

Export Formats

• Video CD (VCD) or S-VCD with optional CD burner (CD-R or CD-RW)
• AVCHD*, Blu-ray BD*, HD-DVD*, DVD* disc with optional disc burner (incl. dual layer)
• Apple iPod and Sony PSP compatible (MPEG-4) formats*
• DV, HDV, AVI, DivX*, RealVideo® 8, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4*, Flash, 3GP*, WAV, MP3* files
• Dolby® Digital 2 channel* and 5.1 channel** audio

* Requires free product activation via Internet.
** Requires product activation via Internet at additional cost.

BONUS:
If you read the article until this paragraph, be the first one and pre-order online + get a discount + FREE Shipping and FREE Manual !

{Article translated by Loosecannon}

When I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade, here are the questions that I need answered: Is it more stable than 10 or 11? Have they fixed the weirdness with audio where you can't delete audio changes? Sure, they have added more stuff in the ultimate package but is there any reason to upgrade basic or plus to the new version 12 basic or plus? Thanks. John

Hello John, your question is very interesting, but also very embarrassing to answer. Is it more stable ? One can not answer because it strongly depend of your configuration and computer. If we could reasonably say that V10 was not the best one, V11 has solved a lot of problems and for me is one of the most stable version. V12, I have not tested, but beta tester seem to be happy with it. Concerning the weirdness with audio, I never heard about it and never had such problems. If you did not find a reason in the one proposed to upgrade, I would propose that you wait a little bit to check first users comments and review ?
DV FX

After spending $300 on Pinnacle Liquid Edition (aka Coaster-Maker), I vowed to never give Pinnacle another penny.

However, I miss the simplicity of the Studio product line, and I am tempted again. Does Studio 12 have a Story Board mode, like the old days?

Yes flatbill. Studio (12 and older) have 3 editing modes:
- Storyboard (small vignette without timeline)
- Timeline
- Text
You are right, Studio is much more easy to use than Liquid. The two products are not "fighting" in the same wrestling ring.
DV

I'm still on Pinnacle studio 9 plus and have just brought the sony Hdr-TG3 Hd camcorder. I'm happy with the functions of 9 but I need better AVCHD functionality for when I start creating blueray disks. Is 11 good enough or should I go for studio 12 plus

Joner,
Studio 11 does not allow Blue-Ray disc authoring as well automatic AVCHD scene detection. Studio 12 yes!
Please keep attention to PC performance prerequisite for Studio 11 and 12 and AVCHD. Much more power needed than Studio 9 !

Just wondering. Is there TRUELY a (one) set of workable guidlines that CLEARLY explains to those who have a pre installed S11 Ultimate (plus many plug ins).. how to install the new S12 without searching through a variety of instillation choices that we went through with S9 to S11?
Also, is this (Ultimate 12) a program that I WON'T have to uninstall and reinstall every couple of months like I have with S11?
Gee, that would be swell to have it there in my desktop, like my Adobe Photoshop is, me, taking it for granted cause I installed it ONCE and enjoy it on a weekly basis! Emagine if the Pinnacle Studio was like that! I may be a dreamer, but it would be NICE for a change! Sincerely, Sid

@Sid, no currently we do not have any guidelines for a clean install. It seems that there are some troubles with S12 and HFX if an older version (like S10 or S11) is already present on the computer. So it might be interesting to uninstall any previous version (S9 can stay there) before you upgrade. Pinnacle is working on a solution. You have a very good explanation of the migration process in Pinnacle knowledge database. Have a look there, everything is explained for already existing plugins, etc... We will include the direct link in a next announcement (when everything will be clear for us as well).

DV FX