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For many markets, Adobe Premiere Pro is the dominant video editor on the Windows platform. With version CS3, Adobe is not only providing a new release for those users, but the company is also taking another crack at the Apple Macintosh market - Intel-based Mac systems to be specific. On the latter, the company is fighting both the lingering memories burned long ago by Premiere 6.5 on the Mac and the dominance of Apple Final Cut Pro.
The new Premiere Pro for the Mac is impressive, no doubt, and we'll get to that. But first, what's in it for Windows users? We'll start with an overview of the changes to Premiere Pro CS3 for Windows, then I'll review the differences between the Windows and Mac products.
The Windows story
Premiere Pro CS3 is sold as a standalone product for both Mac and Windows, as well as a component of Creative Suite 3 Production Premium ($1,699 for the full version; $799 for the upgrade). The Windows version of Premiere Pro comes with OnLocation CS3 (formerly DV Rack) and Ultra CS3 - both fruits of Adobe's 2006 acquisition of Serious Magic. Encore CS3 is now also bundled with Premiere Pro CS3, and it is no longer available as a standalone app.
Otherwise, changes to Premiere Pro are modest and mixed. Premiere's new Time Remapping effect is a very easy-to-use option for gradually changing speeds on the timeline. Operation is very simple: When you insert a keyframe into the timeline, Premiere Pro adds two - one for the starting speed of the effect (i.e., 100 percent speed) and the other for the target speed (such as 50 percent). To change from 100 percent to 50 percent speed over one second, you drag the second keyframe one second to the right. You can even customize the ramp of the speed change using blue handles that appear when the keyframes are active.
I was disappointed to see that this release drops 2d3's excellent SteadyMove video-stabilization effect, which was easy to use and produced excellent results. If you have the CS3 suite, you can use After Effects' Motion Stabilizer, but it's more labor-intensive and time-consuming than the 2d3 solution (though similar in quality). If you don't have the suite, however,...