Pinnacle Studio HD is a massive video editor that includes all the tools and features you need to create your own movies.
As soon as you view the example project provided for users of Pinnacle Studio HD, it's clear that the program can be made to create really impressive video projects, either for professional-looking creations or more homey endeavors, such as family vacation videos.
Pinnacle Studio HD is aware that the program is a little intimidating-looking, so it provides great help in the form of an introductory video, help files and online tutorials. Even so, once you start to use the editor, you'll see that it is actually very user friendly: Pinnacle Studio automatically divides your media into chapters and, crucially, supports drag and drop of all items, so assembling a video couldn't be easier.
To use Pinnacle Studio HD you simply drag your media to the timeline in the order you want, and then click on the vertical icons on the left to add sound, text, effects, transitions and more. Once applied, the various elements will be clearly visible on the timeline, which means that editing the video at a later stage is equally simple. Pinnacle Studio HD also includes a preview window so you can view your creation throughout the process.
Obviously, there's no point creating a beautiful video if you can't share it. That's why Pinnacle Studio HD comes with a Make Movie option where you can export the video in several ways, including disc, a variety of file formats or even directly to the web. Pinnacle Studio wasn't a particularly easy program to install and it is very resource-heavy, but even still it is a perfect balance between ease-of-use and functionality, and is a great option for beginner to intermediate video creation.
Pinnacle Studio HD is an incredibly comfortable and easy way of creating home videos.
Pinnacle Studio HD supports the following formats
Imports: AVCHD, DV, HDV, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, MPEG-4, 3GP, WMV, DVD, MP3, MPA, WAV, AC3, BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PSD, TGA, TIF, WMF
Exports: VCD, SVCD, AVCHD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, DVD, MPEG-4, DV, HDV, AVI, DivX, RealVideo, WMV, MPEG-1, Flash, 3GP, MP3
Notes
This download takes you to an external site where you have to register for the free trial.
Pros
Sample project included
Very easy to use
Good audio/transition effects
Creates HD videos
Cons
Long installation
Very resource-heavy
Interface isn't very attractive
