Corel’s budget video editor series VideoStudio is designed to mix quality and speed — and the new VideoStudio Ultimate 2018 improves on both. On Tuesday, February 13, Corel VideoStudio Ultimate launched with workflow improvements and new tools designed for non-professionals.
Previous VideoStudio users will recognize the user interface but that same layout now offers more controls and tools for speeding up those video edits. While the layout may look familiar, portions of the interface can now be detached from the usual view, allowing for a more custom view when working with two monitors. A new dual-window view displays both the video and that video’s properties at once.
The video timeline, the visual representation of all the clips, audio and effects, now has new options to change the height and transparency to make the text easier to read. A new keyboard shortcut allows users to mark the spots in the video to easily go back and find the right moment in the clip later.
Along with enhancements to the user interface, VideoStudio Ultimate 2018 also gains two new tools. A new split-screen template allows video editors to display multiple clips at once. The split screen editor allows users to start with a template or design their own, then mix videos with a drag-and-drop interface. The software also introduces a 3D video title editor that allows users to change the position of the text on a keyframe basis, which allows for custom motion effects.
The latest reiteration of VideoStudio also sees several smaller enhancements across the program’s list of features. The existing pan and zoom controls have more options for setting a start and end point to create a pan or zoom effect. Lens correction tools are now easier to use with manual adjustments or by choosing the lens that shot the video from a drop-down menu for camera-specific calibration. The 360 compatibility introduced in 2017 gains support for more formats, including equirectangular, along with playback options and direct exporting to YouTube and Vimeo. Additional premium effects and plugins are also available with the update.
Despite the new list of features, the program is around 5 to 15 percent faster at tasks like previewing and rendering video, while users with the best graphics cards could see up to a 20 percent performance boost compared to the earlier version.
VideoStudio Ultimate 2018 joins Corel’s Pinnacle Studio line designed for advanced users as a simpler interface for non-pros. After a pre-launch to current customers, the new VideoStudio Ultimate is now available, retailing for about $100.
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