Entered CNET Catalog: 05/17/2003
SKU: A284701110A0000
Manufacturer: Ulead Systems Inc.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/21/2003

You won't feel cramped by VideoStudio's timeline view. With one click, you can expand it to fill your whole screen.
Just like version 6.0, the main window features a large preview window in the center with the storyboard and timelines for editing beneath it and eight tool tabs along the top. VideoStudio's DVD menus are attractive and customizable, even if they still can't compare with the ultracool menus you'll see in iMovie and VideoWave. One notable improvement: the annoying Start menu, which required you to decide from the get-go whether you were making a DVD, a VCD, or an SVCD before you could begin a project, is gone.
VideoStudio 7.0 retains version 6.0's strong set of features and adds a few new ones to the mix. Our favorite newcomer is the multicut editing tool, which allows you to select and delete several segments at the same time. For example, you can select and delete all the commercials in your video in one fell swoop. In addition to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, VideoStudio now supports the DVD-VR format, which is commonly used by camcorders that record to DVD-RAM and DVD-R and DVD set-top recorders. While VideoStudio 6.0's Instant Preview lets you take a quick, lower-quality look at your edits, you can preview your work in real time in version 7.0. But one time-saver is more of a bother than a boon: VideoStudio automatically adds random transitions between clips, which made us crazy. Fortunately, you can turn this feature off in the program's Preferences and select your own.
This version includes a total of 190 effects (5 of which are new to version 7.0) that you can easily add to clips, but the results looked far too amateurish. One of the five new filters, Bubbles, was supposed to add floating bubbles to a scene, but you'll never confuse them with the real thing. Worse, the included audio samples sound like they were made with a cheap Casio organ.

VideoStudio's Bubbles filter is an interesting idea, but the results don't pop.
On the bright side, Ulead integrated DVD-menu creation: instead of using a separate app as with version 6.0, you can create DVD menus in a new window from within VideoStudio. But the DVD tool contains a paltry 30 menu templates, and they're of only average quality. None has animated backgrounds or the polish of VideoWave's or iDVD's.
VideoStudio now comes with a tool for making 3D and animated titles. Just type your title, and you can easily move it around with your mouse to whatever angle you want. While it's a nice addition, we wish we didn't have to launch it separately.
VideoStudio's support options are above average but not outstanding. You can access FAQs, e-mail support, and free phone support (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT) from the site. Our call about a minor problem we had with batch capture using a Canon DV camcorder was answered quickly and accurately.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27out of 27 user reviews
beats Windows Movie Maker by a long shot
Pros: has allot of advanced tweaking functionality that a createive home video producer wants. And it came free with my DV CamCorder ;-))
Cons: The interfacse sucks. At this stage I would take a Windows compliant interface for granted.
out of 27 user reviews
Blue screens and buck passing
Pros: can't use it
Cons: Gives my WinXP machine BSoD, and even though I send a screen shot of the file properties(USIUDF.SYS) causing the dump, Ulead "technical support" says it is not a Ulead system file...and the properties even say it is copyrighted by Ulead! They actually tol
out of 27 user reviews
Nice program, but still needs improvement
Pros: ease of use, good capture procedure.
Cons: Freeze up, some capture problems.
out of 27 user reviews
VideoStudion 7: A strong video editing package, but not perfect
Pros: (1) 30-day, fully-functional trial at Ulead's web site. Ulead is so confident you'll like their product they give it to you for 30 days. (2) Better tech support. I had previously used Magix VideoDeluxe 2.0 and had performance problems. I wrote to their
Cons: (1) Non-standard, non-Windows-like interface. If you're used to the standard Windows menu bar, you'll have to get used to the way this program operates. Be sure to read the manual. (2) Video preview isn't high quality; uses lower resolution video. (3)
out of 27 user reviews
Frequent crashes, no tech support
Pros: Rich features
Cons: Unreliable and slow, crashes frequently, losing captured data
out of 27 user reviews
Not my first choice, a little clunky.
Pros: I was able to compare both Pinnacle Studio 8 and Uleads Video Studio 7. Uleads VS7 has a lot of nice options in a single package. The price on both packages is competitive and the value is good as you can put together a complete DVD/Video of home movies
Cons: The issues I ran into with Uleads VS7 is that it doesn’t support my Pinnacle Pro-One capture card directly. While the 1394 port worked I am not able to use the RCA/Svideo ports to capture from a VCR or analog camcorder. Of course Pinnacles Studio 8 does a
out of 27 user reviews
Easy to use but buggy
Pros: Its easy to make DVDs out of my Sony camcorder. The DVDs work great on my player.
Cons: Crashes with ATI9700 PRO. I had to back-off my Dislplay Hardware Acceleration to 1 notch less than full to keep it stable. 3.06G P4 1GB Ram
out of 27 user reviews
Best medium-priced software out there.
Pros: It is stable - doesn't crash on my system. Great control over editing, lots of transitions, many filters too (if you ever use them - I don't), 3D title / animator tool, easy DVD authoring built-in, works with almost all video file formats.
Cons: No animated DVD menus, just static pictures. Also, would like the ability to move thumbnails/text where I want on the menus. Unsure if any non-professional product alows you to do this.
out of 27 user reviews
Not one problem so far
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out of 27 user reviews
Best of what is out there
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out of 27 user reviews
Result it`s a disgrace
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out of 27 user reviews
Trial version is great.
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out of 27 user reviews
Crashes everytime I try to capture.
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out of 27 user reviews
Capture from DVD; No audio.
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out of 27 user reviews
Best I've Tried -- Free Trial Download
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out of 27 user reviews
Not a problem. Stable.
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Great Total Solution
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out of 27 user reviews
Capture crashes with ATI 7500AIW
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out of 27 user reviews
Not bad, easy to use
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out of 27 user reviews
Big disappointment!
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out of 27 user reviews
Good selections of effects
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out of 27 user reviews
Download has missing information
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out of 27 user reviews
Has Bugs
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out of 27 user reviews
Freeze, Freeze, Freeze.
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out of 27 user reviews
Capture mode causes crash every time
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out of 27 user reviews
I can't complain! MY VCR tapes are now digital!
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out of 27 user reviews
Great for DVD-RAM Recorders!
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