A clean design with a timeline, transitions, and clip thumbnails makes creating a movie in Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12 easy.
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As affordable camcorders become more powerful, video-editing software becomes more appealing. But, depending on your needs, experience, and expectations, it can be difficult to decide which software package is right for you. You may just need a simple product that's good enough to get the job done, but may not create the most stellar video. Or you might expect the very best in video quality, and making your presentation look as professional as possible is paramount.

Luckily, products are available for whichever situation you are in. Do you want software that will let you create a quick movie with simple transitions, a few title screens, and audio overlays? iMovie for the Mac or Corel VideoStudio may be perfect. If you're looking for something a bit more sophisticated, Adobe Premiere or even Pinnacle Studio Ultimate 12 will better suit you.

Each software package packs a set of features that will satisfy the video editor in each of us. Even better, they come in at a range of prices, which lets you decide what's best: more features or a lower price.

How We Tested

Comparing video-editing software applications that are designed for vastly different users can be difficult. Some are so full featured that the less sophisticated software solutions look practically useless in comparison. On the other hand, those simpler solutions can provide greater value depending on the kind of user you are.

Because of that, each application was evaluated on its own merit. Features that are found across the software packages were compared based on their functionality and value. Then each video-editing application was compared as a whole to the others, weighting whether it was capable of creating the quality of video presentation that a casual or a more sophisticated user would seek.