Review: Corel Ulead Videostudio 11 video-editing software

Cheap, yet powerful editing package, but limited export opportunities in the standard edition

It seems odd to keep calling this Ulead Videostudio, since Ulead was taken over by Corel some time ago.

However, Corel obviously thinks that the program’s brand name and reputation are worth hanging onto – so Corel Ulead Videostudio it is.

There are actually two versions of the program available. The basic Videostudio 11 costs £39.99, and there’s also Videostudio 11 Plus, which costs £59.99 and includes a number of additional features.

When you launch Videostudio, the initial splash screen presents you with three simple options. The DV-to-DVD Wizard allows you to quickly grab video clips from a camcorder and burn them straight onto DVD.

The Movie Wizard is a bit more sophisticated, allowing you to import a series of video clips and select a template that will automatically create an introductory sequence for you and then insert transitions between each clip. The Movie Wizard in version 11 gains a few new templates that can create montage effects containing multiple video clips, although these are only available in the Plus version of the program.

If you’re new to video-editing, you can use the Movie Wizard to quickly put together a project before moving onto the third option, which is the main Editor module. There are some useful new options here, such as the DeBlock filter, which can be used to smooth out the blocky appearance often found on heavily compressed video clips (including those found on web sites such as Youtube).

Perhaps the most powerful new feature is the ability to apply chroma-key effects (the legendary Hollywood ‘blue screen’) to video overlays, creating very complex montages or picture-in-picture effects. We were pleased to see that this feature is available in both versions of Videostudio, and we also liked the ease with which you can modify overlay effects. Just click on the handles surrounding your video clips and you can quickly use the mouse to distort or resize your video clips by hand.

The ‘Plus’ version of the program includes an additional option that makes it easier to work with overlays. It allows you to expand the editing timeline to display a more detailed view of the overlay tracks in your movie, providing greater precision when editing complex effects sequences.

Beginners probably won’t need sophisticated features such as this, so there’s no need to pay for Videostudio Plus unless you feel confident about tackling this sort of advanced editing work.

Similarly, most of us won’t need the option for burning our movies onto HD DVD (high-definition DVD) discs either; not only will you need an HD television and HD camcorders, but an HD DVD burner will also be required.

However, there are a couple of options found in the Plus version that we do feel people shouldn’t be asked to pay extra for. The standard version of the program doesn’t have any options for exporting video to an iPod or PSP – although, rather oddly, it can export to Microsoft’s less popular Zune player.

The standard version can’t export in Mpeg4 or H.254 formats either; a serious omission given that these are key formats for putting video onto the Internet or devices such as an iPod or mobile phone.

If you’re a newcomer to video-editing, you’ll find the core editing features in the standard version of Videostudio 11 to be more than adequate for your needs. However, given the vast numbers of iPods and PSPs that have been sold, and the increasing importance of Mpeg4 and H.264, we do think that Corel is being a bit stingy by asking you to pay extra for these features.