I currently use Videostudio 9... and it just doesnt have as many tools as I would like for editing. I want a more elaborate program (a LOT more features) but I'm not sure which direction I want to go. Ive always liked the layout of ulead programs though. Is mediastudio worth the $399?

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DV8 Films

Ulead MediaStudio Pro continues to exceed the capabilities of more mainstream products mainly because even experienced editors often have limited understanding of the software's strengths in comparison to the specific, favorite program they might be using at the time.

Years ago, Ulead invested in "Smart Render" -- which means any new rendering of your video is confined to the changes you make in the editing timeline.

This feature is essential to preserve quality.

Well, most mainstream video editing software has only limited ability when it comes to "changes only rendering" for MPEG.

Most can handle .avi files with ease.

But Ulead is one of the few non-linear video editing firms that offers the technology "under the hood" that allows a person to edit MPEG-2, including HDV MPEG-2 and confine new rendering to segments changed by the editing process only.

This means there's no need to transcode HDV MPEG-2, for example, to an .avi "intermediate" format that consumes massive hard disk space and forces you to render every single frame of video that your HDV camcorder records.

In fact, you not only have to transcode every single frame a single time; you also have to transcode the finished edit back to a compressed format for distribution.

In my opinion, it's crazy that many of the mainstream video editing programs CAN'T DO CHANGES ONLY RENDERING OF MPEG-2.

Sadly, many editors simply don't know any better.

Ulead, Apple, and Pinnacle can all natively edit and then SMART RENDER long GOP MPEG-2, including HDV MPEG-2.

You might be surprised to find some major brands of editing software on the market that can't do this properly.

So the users of those software packages appear to be condemned to TRANSCODE and RENDER... sometimes for HOURS.

It's ridiculous.

Consumers and semi-professionals are being bombarded with compressed formats such as MPEG-2 standard and high definition.

They shouldn't be forced to TRANSCODE and RENDER every single frame in their project in order to preserve quality.

That's a key strength of Ulead MediaStudio Pro.

I've been using it since 1997.

You can save a little bit of cash by ordering it from B & H where it's selling for $359.

I just checked PriceGrabber and found it selling for $295.

Hope this helps,

Jerry Jones
http://www.jonesgroup.net

You can download a 30 day trial version at www.ulead.com and test it out yourself. Which I think is your best bet. You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive so why is it different with software?

If you have a teacher or student in your household from preschool through full or part time college, you can get Vegas 7 + DVD or Avid Liquid 7.2 for less than $300 under their academic pricing policies. The same applies to Premier Pro and Avid Xpress Pro, but with a little more restriction on type of student.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any academic pricing for MediaStudio.

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Fred

I really want Vegas 7, and this gave me further interest--but I can't find it directly from Sony, because of Vegas 8. If I search "Vegas 7" or even "Sony Vegas 7" in google, the first thing that comes up is an offer from Amazon. I'm a student, so I wouldn't want to waste money...

Thanks

Does the cheaper version of Ulead (Video Studio) do the smart rendering? I currently have Premiere Elements 3.0 (w/MainConcepts Mpeg plug-in) that I am thinking of upgrading. I also like the look/feel of Ulead, so was interested in their products.