Even More AVCHD Editing: Pinnacle Studio 11

by Michael Perlman
Published on May 3, 2007 10:15 AM

Related Articles
Reviews: Panasonic HDC-SD9 Camcorder Review · Samsung SC-HMX10 Review Photo Gallery · Samsung SC-HMX10 Camcorder Review · Sony HDR-CX7 Camcorder Review
News: UPDATE; Panasonic Aims for an AVCHD Future with AG-HMC150 · New Panasonic AG-HPX170 P2 Pro Camcorder · Sanyo Unveils New DMX-HD1000 1920x1080 HD Camcorder


May 3, 2007—AVCHD editing support continues to snowball with Pinnacle’s recent announcement of Pinnacle Studio 11. Pinnacle (owned by Avid) boasts full AVCHD editing and has also touted a slew of new features included in their latest NLE additions—Pinnacle Studio 11, Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus, and Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate. The Plus and Ultimate versions join Ulead’s VideoStudio 11 and Sony’s Vegas 7.0e AVCHD-compatible NLE updates.
Pinnacle Studio 11 ($49.99 MSRP)
The most notable upgrade on the standard version of Video Studio 11 is the ability to publish videos to Yahoo! Video or Pinnacle Systems’ StudioOnline.comm, a website private viewing service. Based on the surge of YouTube and Google video users, this upgrade will need a bit more to entice users to opt for the standard version of Studio 11.
 
Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus ($99.99 MSRP)
In Pinnacle Studio Plus, AVCHD editing is made possible by the utilization of a “complete HD workflow”, according to Pinnacle. Pinnacle Studio 11 Plus includes all of the features found in the standard version, but with native HDV and AVCHD editing, and HD DVD disc burning.
 
Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate ($129.99 MSRP)
Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate is essentially the Plus version, but with additional audio and video tools such as SoundSoap (an audio cleaning tool), lighting and film effects, and a chroma key green screen backdrop.
 
All versions of Pinnacle Studio feature a scalable user interface, Windows Vista compatibility, and an installment called ScoreFitter, an audio function that creates a soundtrack to match the mood of a scene. Any information on ScoreFitter’s accuracy and mechanics is not available.

The current leader of the pack in AVCHD editing is Sony Vegas 7.0e, an NLE with color correction tools, vectroscope, waveforms, and histograms, 3D track motion, and the ability to edit flash videos. However, this initial release will only support Sony AVCHD camcorders, not Panasonic. Ulead's Video Studio 11 proves itself a basic cut, edit, export program, with a couple additional filters and support for multimedia exporting. It appears the new Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate falls within the middle ground of this new crop of AVCHD-supporting NLEs. It features more post options than Video Studio 11, but is not an all-out semi-professional NLE like Vegas. Both Ulead and Pinnacle offer universal support for AVCHD, whereas Sony Vegas is exclusivley compatible with Sony brand AVCHD camcorders only.
 
Pinnacle Studio 11, Studio 11 Plus, and Studio 11 Ultimate will be available online and in stores this month. Existing Studio owners can upgrade to Studio 11 Plus for $69.99 and Studio 11 Ultimate for $99.99. There is no trial download for any version of Pinnacle Studio 11, but one is available for Pinnacle Studio 10.