Corel VideoStudio Pro X2

Very powerful tool with lots of capability. I'm experienced with other video editing software and was able to start a new project fairly easily; however, it may take a little time to fully understand how to use all the tools. I couldn't get the video capture tool to work and setting up the root menu for DVD creation was not intuitive. That said, I was able to create a very professional presentation.

Very easy to use, must follow directions, and user friendly. I used it to create a DVD form both stills and videos. It was easy to do and the titles were easy to add. I had some Adobe products that failed to preform this simple task.

My video experience prior to this purchase was with Final Cut Pro (I'm the VP of Production in a video production studio) and, price point aside, there is no comparison between FCP and VSP x2 - FCP is astonishingly powerful and is the suite "of choice" for those wanting the ultimate. But believe me, you pay for all that power.

But if you're like me, most of us don't have anything nearly that ambitious in mind for our home productions. We just want to download from our camcorders, do some basic editing, add titles, music, voiceovers, and then share our stuff via Facebook and YouTube...or perhaps burn DVD's. So if THAT'S what you want, Corel VideoStudio Pro X2 will fit your bill nicely.

Now - if you want to work in High Definition, there's something you need to know. Even with 4 gigs of RAM and a fast processor, my computer choked on the AIV files I downloaded from my Vado camcorder. I not only didn't get preview headers for my library, but my clips wouldn't play back properly in the Timeline, and I kept getting "insufficient memory" messages whenever I tried to make a video file. None of these problems came up in Standard Definition, though. VSP x2 worked perfectly.

So, what to do? Fortunately I found a solution. I downloaded (for free) a file conversion program called "Oxelon," along with the suggested plug-ins. Then, I loaded my AVI files into Oxelon and converted them to MPEG-4 files, at a sampling rate of around 4000. The result was a HD MPEG-4 file that was about 95% the same quality as the original AVI - but about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the AVI. THEN, I imported the new MPEG-4 files into the VSP x2 library, and guess what? Preview headers! And when I dragged those new files into the timeline, everything worked just like it was supposed to!

I'm still fiddling with the best possible specs for MPEG-4 conversion, but if you're having problems with HD in Corel VSP x2, this is the way to resolve those issues. And the rest is a great package for non-professionals to make fun videos at home.

I have been a Pinnacle user for years and have struggled with the lack of robustness of their products (currently Studio 12 Ultimate). VideoStudio Pro X2 seems to be robust and I have had no software problems with it. Some of the very good features of Pro X2 are the library management, the UI layouts and the variety of transitions and other effects. Where Pro X2 comes up short is in the music area. I believe that music makes the video, so the music files labeled A01, A02, etc., are not named so you have to go through them each time looking for what you want. In addition, the music files in Pro X2 lack variety, nowhere as good a Pinnacle.
I also think Pro X2 doesn't have the editing flexibility it needs. Some things in the overlay track don't work as I would expect.
Another Pro X2 problem is file saving doesn't go to a designated project area. It just goes back to the My Pictures folder. Pinnacle does the project file automatically. Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Version 12
Generally Pro X2 is a fairly good product and I will use it for quick projects, but the real stuff will be done with Pinnacle. I am counting on Pinnacle to come out with a robust product with an additional video track.

I bought this software package thinking that finally, I could take it out of the box, have some user friendly prompts that would allow me to make a short video with graphic overlays helping to tell the story, and post it on YouTube as a companion to my website. I thought this possible from my pre-research on the capability of the product.

Wrong. The user guide that accompanies the software is onerous, boring, and requires not only intense concentration in keystroking from one application to the next but not at all well laid out in a easy to understand learning format.

Perhaps someday, someone will bring out a video editing software program that can do what the original Apple McIntosh claimed (and delivered), "A program for the rest of us". This one isn't, at least for me.