Ulead Systems Announces MediaStudio Pro 6.5

Ulead Systems announced a new version of their professional video editing software, Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.5. Feature improvements to the non-linear video editor include DVD authoring, variable bit-rate (VBR) MPEG-2 encoding and limitless DV capture. Instant Playback, Storyboard Layout and Automatic A/B Roll Layout are some of the new usability features. MediaStudio Pro 6.5 now includes DVD authoring that gives users the ability to output video to VCD, SVCD and DVD. Using a 5-step wizard-style workflow and customizable templates, users can create VCD, SVCD and DVD titles with scene menus, navigation buttons and video introductions. MediaStudio Pro 6.5 also creates a Project Database to store user projects for editing or to be used at a later date. This software add-on allows for direct burning to CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-R hardware. MediaStudio Pro 6.5 supports variable bit-rate (VBR) MPEG-2 encoding, limitless DV capture and DV scene detection. VBR encoding varies the bit rate depending on the amount of information needed to support the image being presented. VBR encoding results in a better picture quality as well as smaller files sizes. Limitless Capture allows users to capture a continuous DV video stream beyond 4 GB in size - even when using the FAT32 file system (present in many Windows operating systems) which inflicts a 4 GB capture ceiling. The new Instant Playback feature plays a preview of a project in real-time without spending time to render preview files. This allows users to immediately see their editing progress and decreases downtime when creating video projects. Other usability enhancements to MediaStudio Pro 6.5 include Storyboard Layout and Automatic A/B Roll Layout. Within the Production Library, users can quickly and easily arrange the sequence of their clips using a storyboard layout before dropping them into the timeline. Automatic A/B Roll allows users to drop these multiple files into the timeline in A/B Roll format, making it possible to lay down quick foundation work that is ready for transition insertion and prepared for fine-tune editing. Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.5 will be available in retail and online stores in September 2001, at an estimated street price of $495. MediaStudio 6.5 Director's Cut will also be available for $199 (or $189 download from www.ulead.com). This version contains a subset of the MediaStudio Pro 6.5 suite of programs and includes video capture, video editing and audio editing. There are also a number of upgrade pricing schemes, for which details can be found on the Ulead web site.