Pinnacle Studio 20 Ultimate Test - Video editing software

First impression of Pinnacle Studio 20 Ultimate

Versions

Pinnacle Studio 20 is available in three different versions. These are divided into a standard version, which works without effects and plugins of "NewBlue" and is mainly suitable for easy editing of amateur recordings. The Plus version has been enhanced with additional effects and also supports the editing of 3D recordings. Only the Ultimate version combines all functions of the first two versions and also offers additional cutting effects, as well as templates.

If you want to cut 20 4K video recordings with Pinnacle Studio, its selection is inevitably limited to the Ultimate version, as only this supports 4K video editing. Unfortunately, the developer does not offer trial versions of Pinnacle Studio 20.

What's in the box

If you buy the "Boxed" version of Pinnacle Studio 20, you get one CD with the editing software, The product key and Note card for the digital download. On Manual is not included and has to be downloaded as PDF.

Installation

The installation is straightforward. To start the installation, the product key must be entered. Within the installation can be selected, whether one beside the main program also additional software and bonus content want to install. However, these are downloaded separately in the Installation Manager. Updates are also downloaded and installed via the Installation Manager.

Unfortunately, the bonus content was not installed correctly during my first installation, which caused errors during the installation. Only the digital download could help.

Surface and application

Clarity and usability

The Surface is clearly arranged and hardly different from other video editing programs. In addition to the project window, where you can create projects, import files and load effects, there is also a video player with timeline, an overview of the video and sound tracks and a toolbar. The size of each window can be customized. Which tools can be seen on the toolbar can also be selected. Only the position of the windows can not be determined.

All settings are easy to reach and include a short explanation. The extensive keyboard shortcuts can be adapted freely. Film and image files can only be accessed via the import Manager Imported. A function to drag the files directly from the Windows Explorer into the section bar does not exist.

video Editing

Video editing with Pinnacle Studio 20 Ultimate is easy. Imported files can be added to the A / V tracks be pulled and cut with the "razor blade tool". With the magnetic grid Cut files can be easily put together. To cut the soundtrack, it can be automatically separated from the video.

Effects and image correction

There are many effects in Pinnacle Studio 20 Ultimate. Except for occasional transition effects and the "NewBlue effects" However, the rest of the 3D effects and audio effects are not suitable for YouTube videos. The effects are sometimes poorly animated and out of date. On the other hand, NewBlue offers attractive filters, similar to those of Instagram, as well as well-implemented image stabilization.

keyframes

The work with keyframes succeeds over the Media or effect editor, The operation of the keyframes is explained in detail in the manual. At first glance, this function seems a bit hidden and complicated, but after a short read it can be easily work with the keyframes.

Export

Completed projects can be exported to various formats. In addition to the usual standards (.MOV, .AVI, MPEG, etc.) also become more special DivX and the Sony XAVC Standard supported. Frame rate, resolution, or bitrate settings can be adjusted according to the standard. To speed up the rendering of the videos can also be an additional Hardware acceleration (Cuda, Intel) to be activated.

An interesting and also useful feature is that shots directly into the Cloud charge. For this you only choose the destination (Box, Facebook, YouTube or Vimeo) and Pinnacle Studio 20 does the rest. DVDs can also be created using the Export Manager.