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Make no mistake about it, the DV500 Plus is more then just a software upgrade, it is a major leap forward in NLE real-time performance. What Pinnacle has done is work with Adobe to tweak out Premiere 6 with a set of real-time tools that makes it the best value in NLE today.
Before we get into the review, let's talk a little bit about what the difference is between the DV500 and the DV500 Plus. The DV500 Plus uses the same award winning hardware as the DV500. This means that all DV500 owners can upgrade to the DV500 Plus. All you need is Premiere 6 and the latest DV500 Plus software from the Pinnacle website. Pinnacle gives you the choice of free downloading or purchasing the CDs. The DV500 software is more then just a new driver; it also includes TitleDeko RT and Alpha Magic real-time transitions as well as an updated version of DV Tools. Now that we've clarified that small point, lets get into the review.
One of the things that has separated the DV500 from all other real-time cards in its class is its ability to deliver outstanding performance on ALL the leading Windows operating systems configurations.
The system I used for this article was my trusty Dell Precision 210 running Win NT with a PII 500 CPU. We have also tested it under 98SE, ME and Win2K and we've run it on single and dual processor Pentium 3 machines, Pentium 4 and Athlon systems. Regardless of the operating system or CPU, the DV500 Plus delivers outstanding performance and rock solid stability. If you are going to put it in a new system, I recommend getting an Athlon or PIII (1Ghz or faster) running Win2K and 256 Megs or RAM. Premiere 6 really likes the additional RAM and Win2K has definitely become my OS of choice for NLE.
The DV500 is really easy to set up and install.
First thing you do is install Premiere 6 and all it's goodies. And boy, is Premiere 6 loaded with goodies. You get Cleaner EZ for exporting web video clips, SmartSound Quicktracks for making your own soundtracks, Photoshop LE and both Inscriber TitleXpress and TitleDeko. You do not want to install the TitleDeko that is on the Premiere CD, the TitleDeko RT version that comes with the DV500Plus is much more powerful. Next thing you do is add the DV500 hardware and drivers. If you are using DV, I advise you to have your DV cam powered up, in DV input mode and connected via the FireWire cable. I have found this tech tip helps insure that the DV500 Plus finds and installs the DV device control drivers correctly, I also recommend attaching the breakout box and hooking up the analog output from it to a TV.
Once you have all the drivers and hardware installed, I recommend firing up DV Tools if you have a DV cam. DV Tools is Pinnacle's excellent auto logging and batch capture utility. It also lets you control your DV cam and capture directly to your hard drive and play back to DV. I always use DV Tools to test that my hardware is operating properly. Of course, DV Tools is more then just a way to test your gear. It is a really great utility. If you shoot a lot of family/ travel video like I do, it is a great way to log all your footage. Now I have dozens of DV tapes. Thanks to DV Tools I can pull out any scenes I want in no time at all from any tape. A massive time saver!
Now we are ready for the full DV500 Plus experience. Open up Premiere 6 and start editing. Everywhere you click the DV500 Plus is delivering productivity tools that go beyond Premiere's core capabilities. The DV500 Plus and Premiere 6 is a match made in heaven. They don't just work together - they rock! I'm going to go into several of my favorite new DV500 Plus / Premiere 6 features. I'm sure you will agree, they will take your Non Linear Editing to the next level!!!
The DV capture and batch capture capability of Premiere 6 is far better then was found in the old P5.1.
Take a look at the new capture window. Not only do you get frame accurate device control, you can also see the detailed settings used for your clip. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can save you from wasting countless hours. I've done it and I'm sure you have to. You forget to load the correct capture settings. You go through an entire tape and capture footage. UH-OH! You used the wrong setting. L Now you have to go back and recapture everything.
Adobe also did a great job improving the project and media management.
Check out the new clip bin. Now you get a little monitor window in the upper left corner that you can use to instantly preview the clip you have selected in the bin. Not only can you see preview the clip, you get also get the properties for the clip. Nice touch. Especially when you have several scenes in the bin that have very similar looking thumbnails but very different content.
You can also set up multiple clip bins for each project. Finally Premiere gets some asset management. If you ever tried to make a 1-hour or longer production from a single clip bin, you will really appreciate this new level of media organization.
You can also save your own custom workspace. This is the default layout of all the windows for your Premiere project interface. You can set up multiple workspaces for use in various different projects. Another really handy feature that makes Premiere 6 a more productive tool.
Here is my 'videoguy' workspace setting I use for all my DV500Plus projects.
The next MAJOR improvement in Premiere 6 is the view settings option.
This let's you see all your settings; project, capture, clip and export. This is a wonderful troubleshooting feature. For any real-time capture card to function correctly, you have got to make sure you are using all the correct settings. With this simple 1 click tool you can now make sure you are.
The next cool feature in Premiere 6 is the “automate to timeline” tool.
With this tool you can create a storyboard of multiple video clips. You can arrange the clips in any order you like and you can trim each clip. Once you've got the clips you want, all trimmed and in the right order, with a single click you can send them to the timeline. Not only will they go to the timeline, you can have your favorite transition added automatically between clips. I use the Pinnacle cross dissolve real-time transition as my default. Now I can play this instant timeline in real-time!!
The coolest new tool in P6 is the audio mixer.
Apparently getting the mixer to function correctly requires a bit of effort from the hardware vendor. That is why Adobe will allow cards to be certified for P6 that do not yet have this function working 100%. Let me tell you, Pinnacle has it working perfectly with the DV500 Plus and it is very, very cool. Basically it works just like the mixing boards you see in a recording studio or you may have from your old linear editing days. You can set the audio levels for each track. But that's not the cool part. The cool part is this: Premiere 6 can record all your settings as you mix the tracks. Every time you move the mixing bar, a new keyframe point is recorded in that tracks audio timeline. When you are done you can go back and Premiere will play back the audio using the exact same audio settings/ changes you recorded earlier. Believe me, my description has not done this amazing new tool justice.
My favorite goodie on the Premiere CD is Smart Sound Quick Takes.
I have always been a HUGE fan of the Smart Sound audio track creation tool. Unlike loops, you do not have to have a shred of musical talent to make a great soundtrack with Smart Sound. When I use loops, they sound great for about 15 seconds, then it start sounding like some cheesy, repetitive soundtrack from a low budget 70s horror flick. With SmartSound every audio track you create has an intro, main body then ending. Quicktracks makes it so simple to create a custom soundtrack for your video. First you select how long you want the track to be then you answer some questions about the style and mood of your video clip. Quicktracks does the rest. Even cooler, SmartSound offers you a library of over 25 additional music libraries called Palettes. You can add more Palettes as your needs and tastes grow and change. Each Palette is organized by the type of music it has on it. For example you can get "Maximum Action", "Romance and Memories", "Positive Outlook" and "High Performance" to name just a few.
Special offer to all Premiere 6 owners: Get any 2 SmartSound Audio Palettes for $199.95 ($129.95 each)
Some tools are cool, some tools are so powerful that once you have them, you can't believe you could edit without them. That is how I feel about the DV500Plus real-time color correction tool.
I wish I didn't need it, but the reality for me is simple. All too often I have great footage that I can't use because of improper white balance, poor lighting or back lighting. Sure, you can use the Premier filters, but they have to render every pixel of every frame. When you have a minute or two of footage like this, it could end up taking Premiere 15 or 30 minutes to render. Take the sample footage I used here. My kids are playing in the snow having a ball, hopping on our tree swing. Only one problem, snow is supposed to be white, not blue and my daughter Gabby's snowsuit is pink. Wit the DV500Plus real-time color correction I was able to salvage this priceless footage!
Another cool tool in the DV500Plus is the new Alpha Magic transitions.
The DV500 used to come with Pixelan Spices. With Alpha Magic you get about 3 times as many transitions. You can also choose to have your transition preview on your TV monitor from the Pinnacle Gradient Wipe transition. This is very cool. It is hard to always tell just how a transition will look in a small preview window. But full screen on your TV monitor in real-time lets you be more creative and productive.
Just one note about gradient transitions - I love them. Unlike a 3D transition, they are not distracting and when used properly they can really compliment your footage. That is why I am still a huge fane of the Pixelan SpiceMaster. This utility gives you full control of any gradient transition, so it works on Spices and the Alpha Magic transitions.
Special offer to all Videoguy's DV500 & DV500 Plus owners: Get SpiceMaster Deluxe w/ 500 Spices for $179.95!!!
The DV500 Plus comes with Hollywood FX Copper, a very nice little 3D transitions plug-in.
I've always been a big fan of Hollywood FX. The animated transitions when use correctly can really add to your videos. One of my favorites is the paper airplane transition. Video 1 folds into a paper plane then flies off into the distance of video 2. Another really cool one is the exploding sphere. Video 1 wraps into a spinning ball, then splits in half and flies off screen. I think you get the picture.
My one small complaint about Copper is the upgrade ads embedded in the GUI. Banners on a websites are bad enough; we don't need them in our NLE interface. That said, I really do like the power, performance and fun that Hollywood FX gives me. The software rocks and the more you use it the more FX you are going to want.
If you like 3D stuff, you definitely want to take advantage of our $100 instant upgrade offer to Hollywood FX Bronze.
The Bronze version has more FX and gives you a keyframer. Keyframing allows you to control the different aspects of the transition over time. Basically you set up a mini timeline just for the transition. Then you can at select any frame during the transition. At that frame you can change the position, rotation, size etc of the effect. The software then fills in the rest of the transition around your keyframe. This sounds more complicated then it really is.
Another very cool new tool in the DV500 Plus is the new TitleDeko RT.
Now you can see your titles on your TV as they will really look – right over the video. Pinnacle's new 'Take to video' feature places the title on your NTSC output allowing you greater control. My one complaint with TitleDeko was that you had to create your titles 'in the dark' - in other words, you couldn't compose your titles over video. Well, with TitleDeko RT, they've fixed that. You don't have to leave TitleDeko, go to the timeline, preview, then go back to TitleDeko and make changes. I've always felt that TitleDeko was the best 2D titler around and now, with the added RT features, you can be far more productive.
As you can tell from this review, we are very excited about the DV500 Plus.
This is the first real-time NLE editing system that everyone can use (works on all versions of Windows and all the latest CPUs), has the latest and greatest in NLE software (Premiere 6 is the upgrade we have all been waiting for), at a price that is very affordable. The DV500 Plus has also achieved a level of stability and ease of use that puts it at the top of the class. Last year the DV500 was named one of my top 10 products for 2000. Even this early into 2001 there is no doubt in my mind that the DV500 Plus will be there this year. All I can say is “Great job” to both Pinnacle and Adobe! The DV500 Plus is a fully integrated and optimized package. To borrow a bit from the Colonel “They do Premiere 6 right!!!”
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