Pinnacle Edition 5 Product Review
My first experience with Edition was in late 2000 when it was FASTStudio.DV. Having edited for years with Adobe Premiere, FastStudio.DV seemed to be a refreshing change in a new direction. This was the time when real time DV capture cards were just becoming popular. Driver conflicts and system crashes were common. Studio.DV seemed like it could become the answer for DV editors by offering us two promising features: InstantSave and Background Rendering.
Unfortunately, FAST didn't market their product the same way the big real-time card makers did. It was hard to convince anyone that a software-only editing application that only a relative few had heard of was the way of the future. Then in late 2001 Pinnacle purchased Studio.DV from FAST. While Pinnacle pushed their own real-time capture cards with the DV500 and Pro-ONE, the future of Studio.DV seemed uncertain. From a user's perspective, it seemed a sure thing that Pinnacle would incorporate their other technologies into Studio.DV, but for nearly a year they had vanished without a trace.
Pinnacle finally did release their own version of Studio.DV as Edition 4.5. While every bit as good as the original Studio.DV, nothing of real importance had been added to the software except that it was now branded as a Pinnacle product and included TitleDeko for character generation and an integrated version of Hollywood FX. Pinnacle had also removed the need for the hardware dongle and proprietary DV card that FAST used and made the software compatible with the OHCI-1394 standard. The core software had changed very little and the interface remained unchanged. Edition's two biggest features were still Background Rendering and InstantSave. Time had caught up with the editor that had been way ahead of its time. Without any real-time capability, it was just not convincing that this was the editing application of the future.
Eventually, Pinnacle did add limited support to Edition for their main capture card, the DV500. This provided analog I/O and limited real-time functionality. We were cautioned, however, that Pinnacle's main real-time editing card, the Pro-ONE, would never function as an accelerator with Edition.
Second times a charm
Fortunately, Pinnacle listened to its users, testers, and systems integrators. With the release of Edition 5, Pinnacle has added tons of features -- the most significant is its new real-time capabilities. Imagine having an editing solution that will use all the power of your CPU and your high-powered video card with no limitation imposed by a capture card. That's the idea! Aside from real-time editing, Pinnacle has now included the full version of Hollywood FX Plus and integrated DVD authoring. With so many software capabilities bundled into Edition, it seems like Pinnacle is giving away the farm. This is great news for the customer!
Versions of Edition
Pinnacle Edition is currently available in 2 versions. Edition 5 is the DV-only version that ships with a 1394 card and cable. Edition Pro includes analog I/O capabilities via a new AGP capture card/real-time accelerator. I should also mention another version known as "Edition DV500" which many of Pinnacle's loyal DV500 users may end up with after upgrading.
Installation is a breeze
Since there is no hardware to install in your system (unless you use the included 1394 card), installation of Edition is a cinch. The Edition software, TitleDeko, HollywoodFX, and all the extras are loaded on just one CD-ROM. The only thing you'll have to do is tell Edition which drive you want to use for video and which video format you want to edit with. During the installation, you will need to define your video standard of NTSC or PAL. Unfortunately, Edition requires you to do a re-installation of the software anytime you need to switch between NTSC and PAL formats. For most editors this won't be a consideration, but if you regularly edit in both formats this may be inconvenient.
Documentation
Thankfully, Pinnacle has included better documentation with this version of Edition. In addition to the 700+ page reference manual, there is now a Quick Tips page and an easy-to-read User Guide to help the new Edition user get up to speed in a reasonable amount of time. For those who learn visually, they have included a CD-ROM entitled "Discovering Edition" that has approximately fifteen minutes worth of video going over the basics of Edition. The CD also includes a file named "Premiere Detox" that goes over some of the differences and similarities between Edition and Adobe Premiere.
The Edition Interface
The first thing you'll notice about Edition is that it changes the Windows color scheme to gray. This is a global change that you'll notice if you switch to other applications without minimizing Edition first. As of yet, I haven't found a way to change the color scheme. The gray color scheme is great in a studio environment, but editing on a laptop in less-than-ideal lighting conditions can be frustrating with the low contrast grays.
The Edition interface may seem a little confusing initially, especially if you are used to another editing application. Conspicuously absent are the menus that are common with most Windows' applications. Instead, most of Edition's functions are available via customizable buttons placed directly on the interface. Edition takes over your entire desktop and mimics the way Windows works with its own Start Button and Control Panels. Everything can be done with a mouse. You can reach any applicable function by right clicking on the appropriate part of the interface. For functions that you use frequently, you can easily add buttons directly to the program for one-click access.
Dual Monitors versus Single Monitor
Edition feels comfortable on systems with a single monitor display as well as dual-monitor configurations. On the bottom right of the Edition taskbar there is an eye that gives you one-click access to the main workspace configurations. Using dual monitors with Edition does have its advantages. The primary advantage is the ability to view monitors and effects windows in full resolution while still having access to the timeline and project windows.
While the Edition interface seemed a little foreign to me initially, I felt very comfortable using it in just a short time. Edition presents you with the same common elements that you will find in other editing applications. The windows may a look a little different, but they're easy enough to figure out.
The Project Window
You begin any Edition project by collecting your footage, graphics, titles, etc. in the "Project" window and structuring those elements into sequences. Edition uses "Racks" as the basic organizational structure. You can import media into a Rack by right clicking in the clip window and choosing import. Edition lets you import almost any format of media including MPEG2 video streams, MP3 audio, and AVI files. AVI files that you capture within Edition are automatically dumped into the designated rack. AVIs captured or exported by other programs can be imported. I had no problems working with AVI files captured with the Matrox RT.X100 or the Canopus DVStorm2.
All file management is done from within Edition. Clips are referenced logically in the various Racks of the Project window, but they are stored physically in the MediaAV folder on the drive that you specify. There is no reason to go outside of Edition to copy and delete clips. This is all done through the Project window.
The Monitors
Edition uses a two-monitor approach. The left monitor is the "Source monitor". It shows the video clips, sequences, or stills before they are applied to the timeline. You can also use the Source Monitor to mark ins and outs on a clip. The "Program Monitor" is the main playback window and is linked to the current position of the edit line on the timeline. As you scrub in either the timeline or Program Monitor, the other window is automatically updated.
I like the main layout of the windows and appreciate that Edition's default workspace maximizes the monitors to give the best/biggest view. Directly related to the monitor windows is the "Q" button (for "Quality", I assume). On a slower system you can lower the preview quality and inlay size to increase performance. In addition, for each monitor there is an over-scan button, which allows you to view the output with or without over-scan.
The Timeline
The timeline can be viewed under the monitors in the default workspace or on its own. This is very convenient if you are editing very complex sequences. The basic element of Edition's timeline is the track. Each track can be named to reflect the content. Audio and video tracks can be intermixed. As is common with most editing applications the priority is given to the top tracks. This means that any content on a given track will be superimposed on to the lower tracks.
One feature I really like about the Edition timeline is that the tracks slide automatically, so you always see the edit line. This has always been one of my pet peeves with Adobe Premiere.
The Desktop
Since the Edition interface mimics Windows' own behavior, it also has its own desktop. Besides being a place to put windows, the desktop also serves as a great place to assemble rough cuts. Edition doesn't have a separate Storyboard window like Premiere. Instead, you create a storyboard by pulling clips from the Project window onto the desktop. Once you have your clips in the order you like you can play a rough cut in the Source Viewer or you can send the storyboard directly to the timeline.
Media clips on the desktop are viewed as Picons (Picture Icons), which can be viewed in different sizes. Having this kind of "scratch pad" is great. I've found it allows for easy brainstorming, as I'm not restricted to the forced sequencing of the Premiere Storyboard.
The Logging Tool
Capturing footage into Edition is referred to as "digitizing". This is a holdover term from the days when we actually did digitize (i.e. convert from analog to digital format). Whether you are capturing DV footage or digitizing analog footage, you'll use the Logging Tool. The Logging Tool is easier to use than it looks at first glance. The Logging Tool allows you to log footage for later capture. This is known as batch capturing and serves as a way to keep track of "Reels" and clips used in your project. New in Edition 5 is Scene Detection capability. The Scene Detection can be used in the Logging Tool only when capturing DV footage that has time stamp information on it. A time stamp break is usually created anytime you press the record/pause button on your camcorder. If you'd rather capture your video as one large clip, scene detection can be performed later in the Clip Viewer. Once you have digitized your Reels, the captured clips will appear in the project window.
Character Generation
Pinnacle has included TitleDeko as the default/built-in titler to Edition. TitleDeko is enough to do basic titling, and its integration into Edition is good. However, TitleDeko has no mechanism for storing templates or creating anything but the most basic logos. If you need these capabilities, you'll want to upgrade to TitleDeko Pro or create your titles outside of Edition.
Hollywood FX
Edition comes with the full version of Hollywood FX 5 Plus. There are hundreds of presets, which means you'll usually be able to find the effect that you're looking for. All of these 3D effects will playback in real-time using your system's GPU.
Integrating DVD Authoring
When I first heard about this feature I wasn't very thrilled. It seemed to me that you'd have much more control over the DVD authoring process by using an outside application. After having used this feature, however, I've changed my mind. The simplicity of creating a DVD with Edition is simply amazing. They've even included a wizard to do the basic setup with some of the included menu templates. Nice!
To author a DVD in Edition you create a DVD track on the timeline. This track will store any of the menus and chapter controls. Motion menus are created easily by layering your motion backgrounds under the menu. Of course, this process can be fully automated. A really nice aspect to having authoring capabilities on the timeline is that you no longer have to render out to MPEG2 every time you make an adjustment to your video content.
If you don't want to fuss with the authoring process, but still need to get your edited project out to disc, Edition can burn straight to DVD, VCD or SVCD.
Edition as an Integrated Application
The overall integration of Edition makes the entire editing process rather pleasant. With the inclusion of built-in DVD Authoring, Pinnacle has taken the first step to creating a fully integrated post-production application. This is only going to get better. It may seem obvious, but I would suppose that the next step for Pinnacle would be to integrate some of Commotion's capabilities into Edition for more robust compositing projects. In addition, with Pinnacle's recent acquisition of Steinberg, I'm sure we'll be seeing some of those audio editing features trickle down into Edition. Yeah buddy!
Background Rendering
It doesn't matter which editing solution you choose, eventually you will reach a point where you will have to render. Depending upon your system, you can reach this point by adding too many layers or effects. Once you get to this point your editing software will have to render the segment before it can play it back in full quality. This is where Edition really shines and outperforms the competition. Once Edition gets to the "render point", it automatically starts rendering in the background. You don't have to stop and wait for rendering. You just keep on working!
On a dual-XEON machine or a machine with an Intel Hyperthreading Pentium 4 processor, this background rendering typically occurs in faster than real-time for most effects. If you have fast video card in your machine the effects will render even faster. I simply cannot overemphasize the importance of the Background Rendering feature. Depending on the type of effects that you use, background rendering could be more important than real-time playback.
A welcome new feature to Edition's background rendering is that you can now view the rendered portion of an effect even before the whole slice is rendered. I should also mention that the background rendering does not adversely affect system performance at all.
Performance and Real-time Playback
The interface is easy to use and Edition has a lot of features, but if we editors are going to be convinced to switch to Edition from other solutions we are going to need to see real-time performance comparable to our familiar hardware-based solutions. This was my main hang-up initially and the reason I procrastinated my evaluation of Edition for so long. After all, once you edit with a real-time system anything less just won't cut it, even if it does have a nice interface. Having edited with other software-only solutions I hadn't been very impressed with the real-time "preview" capabilities everyone touts. Edition 5 is a totally different beast with full-resolution real-time capabilities that rival and even outperform hardware-based real-time solutions.
Edition achieves this amazing performance by using both the CPU and the video card's GPU. Edition is optimized for the Intel processors and fully supports Hyperthreading. If you decide not to follow my suggestion and choose to go with an AMD processor, I would recommend going with Dual Athlons. Edition maximizes CPU usage by taking advantage of every cycle. During real-time playback and background rendering the CPU usage will hover at 100%.
In addition to the CPU, Edition also uses the graphics processor (GPU) of your video card. The extra processing power of a fast 256-bit GPU is important for a couple of reasons. First, by moving much of the video processing to the AGP bus the bandwidth is not limited to the PCI bus speed (i.e. video layering limitations characteristic of PCI-based solutions). Second, by upgrading your video card every so often, you'll see amazing performance results at a relatively low cost. Pinnacle recommends a card from Nvidia or ATI.
What about Edition Pro?
Pinnacle also has a bundle which includes Edition with an AGP capture card called Edition Pro. I think that the name is somewhat misleading because it might lead you to believe that the non-"PRO" version of Edition is lacking, or is in someway not a professional product. The only real advantage to using the PRO AGP card over another high-end AGP card is that it enables realtime analog output through the Pinnacle breakout box.
The PRO AGP card is actually a modified ATI RADEON 8500 64MB card. The back of the PRO card includes a 1394 port and two video heads. It's main head is a DVI connection which can be connected to a digital flatscreen. You can also connect any standard VGA-type monitor with the included adapter. The RADEON card which was designed as a DualHead solution was modified so that the second head connects to Pinnacle's breakout box. The breakout box has both composite and Y/C (S-video) I/O and also has RCA stereo audio I/O. Since the second head is used for the breakout box you will need to add a PCI video card to your system if you want to use dual monitors with Edition (highly recommended).
I have found that the PRO card does provide decent realtime performance, but using a newer and faster AGP card will give you more realtime performance with the loss of realtime analog output.
Going with the PRO card is an affordable option for the editor who is building his own machine. Since it includes an AGP video card and also provides analog I/O you wouldn't need to pay more for these capabilities.
If you can afford it, my recommendation is to buy the best video card you can and then get an Analog/Digital converter that suits your particular needs. There are two main advantages to this. First, you have the freedom to choose an AGP card which will potentially give you faster performance and have other features like DualHead. Second, you can have a converter that has the I/O (composite, s-video, component, SDI, etc.) you need and can afford. The disadvantage is that any yellow slices will have to be rendered before they can play through the converter. Of course, with background rendering it's not really a big issue.
The Edition Editing Experience
I've used Edition on a variety of different systems and have had varying degrees of satisfaction. I can say that in every case, editing with Edition was better than editing with other software-only editing applications on the same machines. I was even able to edit productively on a Sony Vaio 750MHz Laptop. This is the same laptop I used with FASTstudio.DV3. With this laptop (which is below the minimum requirements), I had to turn the inlay quality to low and make the monitor windows smaller in order to get decent performance. With these adjustments, I was able to edit in real-time with basic transitions and color correction. The amazing thing was that I still got real-time full-resolution output to my DV camcorder.
With Edition configured on one of our Power Station 800 systems, I experienced real-time performance at least equal to the Canopus DVStorm2 in terms of video layers and number of applied effects. My Power Station 800 has a 3GHz processor and the Nvidia GeForceFX 5900 video card. Most non-real-time effects were rendered in the background in faster than real-time, which means that the 1394 output is nearly always real-time.
Edition's performance is outstanding, but it does require a pretty beefed-up machine to get all you can out of it. When your choosing your own Edition system, get a fast P4 and don't skimp on the video card.
InstantSave Technology
How would you like to edit with the confidence that you would never lose any work again? This is what InstantSave will do for you. It amazes me that this feature has not been implemented by every other editing application. Edition is constantly maintaining a saved state of your work at a rate of 30 times per second. If the computer crashes or even if the power goes out, all you have to do is restart Edition and you will always be back to where you were. I had to test this, so I actually had someone unplug me while I was performing an edit. After a restart, I was right back where I had been.
I should also mention that the InstantSave feature operates completely in the background and does not affect performance at all. Contrast this to Adobe Premiere which drastically slows down with "Auto Save" even when it is set to a small duration between saves.
Slow Motion
Edition features the Linear Timewarp that can be applied to any video clip on the TimeLine. The "Linear" comes from the non-key-frameable setting of the Timewarp. The Timewarp is not real-time, but with background rendering it's not even noticeable. Moreover, because it's software based, the results of the Timewarp are simply amazing. The Timewarp implements different field/frame interpolation techniques depending on the type of footage you are dealing with. It even utilizes motion detection for high-action footage.
Color Correction
Edition offers many levels of color correction. The primary color correction is real-time and is accessed through the Clip Viewer. It is a three-phase correction that is very similar to Final Cut Pro's color correction. At first I thought the Clip Viewer was a weird place to put the primary color correction, but then I realized that you can apply the color correction to a single master clip and it will automatically be applied to any sub clips that are created by the scene detection.
Compatibility
Compatibility with your existing projects, files, and clips might be important to you if you are considering upgrading or loading Edition on an existing system.
I loaded Edition on a machine with both a Matrox RT.X100 and a Canopus DVStorm2. I was able to bring in AVI files captured and exported by either card without any problems. Even better, I was able to edit these files in real time with Edition.
While Edition cannot import Premiere projects, it is compatible with many Premiere filters and transitions. I was successful in getting all of the Canopus Xplode and 3D RT filters to work with Edition just by adding the Premiere Plug-in folder to the Plug-in Control Panel. The nice surprise was that every effect I tried rendered in the background, in faster than real-time.
I tested the DV output of Edition with the Pinnacle MovieBox, DataVideo DAC-100, and the Canopus ACEDVio. While Edition was compatible with all three converters, I liked using it with the ACEDVio so much that I decided to leave it in my own Edition Power Station. Using an analog/digital converter with Edition will give you real-time output to a studio monitor as long as you have Background Rendering on.
Conclusion
Most of the people I deal with on a daily basis are already comfortable editing with a particular platform, mostly Adobe Premiere. This puts Pinnacle in a difficult position given the vast user base of Premiere. I will address this first and state simply that I believe Edition is a vastly superior software editing application when compared with Premiere in most aspects that are important. But, and this is a big "but", most editors are not using Premiere by itself. It is an important distinction that when combined with a real-time capture card, Premiere becomes something more. As I was first learning Edition, I kept asking myself, "Can I get the same level of performance with Edition that I'm used to getting with a real-time capture card and Premiere?" After all, the best editing environment is the one that allows me to work quickly, provides excellent effects capabilities, and provides stability for the long haul. For most editors this means using the tools with which they are most familiar. Can Pinnacle convince me that Edition is the answer? Is it the most efficient? Does it provide the stability we all crave? Does it provide the effects we want? And most importantly, is it fast?
The answer is a resounding YES!
Having spent many weeks of exclusively using Edition, I really appreciate the simplicity of the application. Almost every feature is never more than one click away. The application can be customized to any particular editor's style. The stability is second to none, and I sleep a lot better knowing that I won't lose any work with InstantSave on my side.
The real-time performance is great, but the Background Rendering is simply amazing. In a typical scenario with another editing application, you would have to manually render effects before you could check the final results. With Background Rendering, it all happens automatically and you don't have to wait.
The integrated DVD authoring is great and I'm impressed by Pinnacle's implementation of it. I would like to see a few of the DVD features enhanced, but it will suffice for most DVD projects.
Is Edition right for you?
If you are a new user, I think you will really appreciate the simplicity of the Edition interface. As you learn the application, you'll discover many professional features are available when you need them.
If you are an editor who is ready to upgrade from your current situation, then moving to Edition at this point might be the right move for you, considering that Adobe Premiere Pro will require learning a new interface. The main advantage that Premiere has is more real-time capture card support from other manufacturers. This may be a consideration if you are using a slower machine.
If you don't ever want to lose work again then Edition is the answer. If you have ever had your system crash right in the middle of a big project, only to find that upon rebooting hours of work were gone, you'll be glad to know that will never happen while editing with Edition. InstantSave technology means that your project is always saved.
If you want the best-quality effects then you'll be impressed with Edition. The sub-pixel rendering that Edition uses is absolutely top notch. There are other applications that can provide high-quality effects, but not having to wait for your machine to render is a big deal. Thank you Background Rendering!
If you are a professional editor then you'll be pleased that Window's users now have another choice besides AVID. Edition is the answer to Apple's Final Cut Pro that Window's editors have been waiting for. For the professional videographer, filmmaker, or editor who produces with DV, Edition will provide you with the tools you need in a cut-throat production environment.
What's missing. Or, features I wish Edition had.
CD-Audio Ripping - Either I missed this one, or Pinnacle did. This seems like such a basic feature. They've even implemented it in their low-end Studio editing applications. I'd like to be able to extract audio from a CD without having to leave Edition.
Key-frameable Slomo - Typically you have to take your video into another effects program, but I'd like to see key-frameable speed control to create those oh-so-cool effects.
Improved plug-in support - Being able to use Premiere plug-ins is good, but what about After Effects and Photoshop plug-ins?
Image stabilization - Pinnacle made a plug-in for the Pro-ONE. It would be great if they added to Edition. No more shaky footage!
Better titling - The version of TitleDeko that comes with Edition appears to be the same titler that was included for free with Premiere 6.0. It's OK for the basics, but for most of your titling needs you'll either have to upgrade to TitleDeko Pro, or use another application (like TitleMotion).
Film Look - Everybody's doing it nowadays. Heck, that's the main reason I use my DVStorm. It would be very nice to have a nice film grain plug-in.
Support for more video formats - Since it's a software application not limited to specific standards by a hardware chip, I'd like to see support for more standards. Everyday some editor is asking how to edit his 24P footage. It would be great if Edition was an option for this. Having support for HD would also be a big deal. Edition can already work with MPEG2 files as media clips, so it shouldn't be too far off. I'd also like to be able to switch from NTSC to PAL without reloading the entire program.
Multicamera Switching Support - I've become accustomed to using United Media's MultiCam for Adobe Premiere. I can't imagine going back to the old way of dealing with multicamera shoots during post production. I'd really like to see an Edition version of MultiCam or an integrated switcher.
DVD Features I want:
Dolby Digital Audio Support - Integrated DVD authoring is good, but having AC3 audio encoding capability is a must if I'm to do all of my DVD authoring from Edition.
Subtitle Support - This is another one of those features that would prevent us from having to go outside of edition.
More Templates - The templates that Pinnacle put into Edition are good, but there aren't nearly enough:) Maybe we should start a DVD menu exchange.
Multiple Audio Tracks - Where do I configure my director's commentary?
DVD-ROM capability - I'd like to be able to add a folder to the DVD disc for extra files and such. |
