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Ulead's MediaStudio Pro has certainly displayed stamina. I've used every version from the beginning (starting with 2.5, if my memory serves me correctly) and it's been nice to see it start as a clunky product struggling through adolescence and then blossoming over several revisions into a highly usable desktop tool. Each version focused less on piling on features and more on slick refinement, while increasing userfriendly design. With an eye locked tightly on its competitor Adobe Premiere, the program has advanced, but has strayed little from the tried-and-true desktop editing look and feel users have enjoyed.
Speaking of Premiere, are desktop editors getting boring, or is it just me? As I went through the new version of MediaStudio Pro it reminded me a lot of recent updates to Premiere, and as a matter of fact, most video editing programs. Yes, there's the timeline; and there is the preview and program screen. Oh, and the playback controls that look like a tape deck? Check. It's a good bet that there will not be a paradigm shift anytime soon in the world of desktop editors. It seems we've been working with essentially the same interface in all programs since Premiere 1.0. So how does MediaStudio Pro manage to stay ahead of the pack? By positioning itself more as a suite of tools as opposed to just a desktop editor. The program actually ships with five different programs: Editor, Capture, Audio, CG, and Paint. All of these programs allow stretching the feature set further than trying to cram too many options into one program.
Let me start with the capture program that unfortunately did not work with my FireWire card. I used a Canopus DVRaptor for testing, and, although it performed fine during editing, apparently there is no support yet for capture as well as deck control. I ended up using the Canopus capture program to bring in footage, and that worked fine. The MediaStudio Pro capture program provides two drivers, VFW (Video for Windows) and WDM (Windows Driver Model), which should work with most boards. Manufacturers will step up support as the months go on, which has happened with previous versions. The capture program uses MS1394 device control and MS Direct-Show for live previews. So you...