Ulead Video Editing Software

We are really getting into video editing here at HelpMeRick.com. Now that we have our own YouTube channel we love playing with titles, transitions, effects and other cool home video editing techniques.

Corel and Ulead have been kind enough to let us evaluate two of their powerful video editing software programs Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 and VideoStudio 11 Plus. Both programs prove that you don't have to spend a lot of money for great video editing features.

Both programs have similar strengths and weaknesses, they both feature massive amounts of transitions, titles and effects and they both will write the finished video directly to DVD.

On the negative side (and this is only a small drawback) both programs take a long time to load and the install is done in several steps. During the Install are several spots where you have to read through the instructions carefully so that you know what is going on. This isn't much of a problem though for anyone who knows how to read. VideoStudio 11 took right at 10 minutes to install on my dual core system with 1 Gig of RAM.

MovieFactory 6 is the more basic of the two programs, but I wouldn't call it scaled down. It is more of a case of VideoStudio 11 being extremely robust.

Movie Factory 6 offers a great variety of features, but it lacks the ability to fine tune those features that is found in VideoStudio 11.

The focus of MovieFactory is DVD creation. The program makes it easy to download videos from a camera, do some quick edits, create custom DVD menus then burn the whole thing to DVD.

VideoStudio offers the same features as MovieFactory but adds much more. VideoStudio provides video, sound and effects editing. There is also a VideoStudio 11 Plus edition that allows burning to new Blu-ray, HD-DVD formats in full HD. Plus also supports 5.1 surround sound editing and MP-4 input and output. If you are considering VideoStudio go for the Plus edition and you won't be sorry.

One of the most exciting features of VideoStudio is the overlay support. Overlays allow you to see visually precisely how the whole project comes together with layers of video and autio. A few consumer programs have attempted this feature before but VideoStudio offers the best overlay abilities by far.

VideoStudio also offers Chroma Key support - think weather man blue/green screen, false backgrounds etc.

In using the two products, MovieFactory felt like a tool for making movies, VideoStudio took that experience and added layer upon layer of fun and creativity.

Both programs are excellent, but VideoStudio stands out as the superior product. It is more time consuming and projects require fine tuning to get them perfect, but I would rather fine tune a project myself then being stuck with results that a program thinks I want.

Both products are impressive. Which product you should use for your project really depends on the project. MovieFactory offers a more simple interface and simplified features, but VideoStudio gives you total project control.

Ulead MovieFactory 6 Castellini on Computers Rating (1-5 mics)
Recommended Market:	Anyone looking to move their videos to DVD with basic editing
Approximate cost:	$50 Standard $80 Plus
Company and Web Site:	Ulead
Can be purchased at	Amazon.com

VideoStudio 11 Castellini on Computers Rating (1-5 mics)
Recommended Market:	Anyone looking for a robust easy to use video editing program under $200
Approximate cost:	$130
Company and Web Site:	Ulead
Can be purchased at	Amazon

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