PC Mag by Michael Muchmore

Alongside the expected launch of a new line of Pinnacle Studio 15 video-editing apps, Avid Technology today unveiled a completely new product—Avid Studio—designed to appeal to higher-level video enthusiasts. The Pinnacle products range from the $59 Pinnacle Studio HD through the $99 Ultimate edition, which adds Dolby 5.1 audio, Blu-ray authoring, keyframeable and premium effects, to the $129 Ultimate Collection edition, which adds a green screen and still more effects. The new versions will drop the Pinnacle logo (but not the name), as the company wants to transition the branding towards the Avid name, which is well known in pro media editing circles, but less familiar to consumers.

The new Avid Studio (which dispenses with "Pinnacle" entirely) will sell for $169. According to Avid's segment marketing manager for consumer audio/video, Andreas Panizza, "Avid Studio introduces a brand-new editing interface, and really a new editing paradigm and workflow. It's more sophisticated and professional looking than Pinnacle Studio. It's not pro, but it's more high-end. It's for people that want to take their project to the next level."

The new app will take on the market currently served by products like Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, and CyberLink PowerDirector. But Panizza said that "the gap between that level and true professional editing is still large," naming Avid's Media Composer as the product at the pro end of the spectrum. Media Composer is at that pro level, and Avid's press materials claim that they've "leveraged the professional look and advanced functionality of Media Composer, the top choice of Hollywood film and TV editors." Avid also claims that the Studio product includes $2000 in professional editing plug-ins and effects. read more...