Review: Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus video-editing software

VideoStudio is probably the best known home video-editing software, with the possible exception of Adobe's Premiere Elements.

In many ways, it exceeds what Adobe's software can do, though, and it's certainly very easy to use. Ulead VideoStudio Version 10 is available in two editions, with the basic edition (£38) not containing advanced features such as multiple track overlays, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and iPod/PSP support.

All of this is, however, included in the Plus version, reviewed here.

The first thing you notice about VideoStudio 10 Plus is its revised interface. The playback pane has been moved to the side leaving more room for other selection and editing panes.

There are seven tabs at the top which follow reflect the sequence of a typical video editing project; start with capture and move through editing, adding effects and overlays, producing titles, editing the soundtrack and finally sharing the finished video with others.

VideoStudio 10 Plus can now run up to seven video tracks in parallel, which can help to create all kinds of montage effects. Although this makes the timeline a little crowded, it opens up a lot of new possibilities.

Other new effects include Ad-Zapper, an extension of automatic scene detection, which helps spot and remove advertisements between segments of recorded TV programmes.

While it's possible to confuse this facility if the ad breaks are not clear-cut, it's still easier than having to remove them manually.

VideoStudio 10 Plus supports High Definition (HD) video, which is becoming more important as HD camcorders and HD TV content become more common.

Because the technical specification of the hardware needed to edit HD video may be beyond all but highly powerful PCs, Ulead has introduced 'Smart Proxy'; a features that displays normal definition video on-screen for editing and renders HD content only at the end of the editing process.

Sound is often a forgotten element in home video editing, but VideoStudio 10 Plus sees support for Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and includes a utility for you to position sound sources within a five-speaker arrangement. You can still separate soundtrack, additional music and narration, as before.

Lots of new features make Ulead VideoStudio 10 Plus a worthwhile upgrade and still easy to use.

Related reviews
Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0
Overall: The entry-level version of the market-leading video editing software
Rating: 4
Price: £55

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