We have always found Corel VideoStudio Ultimate to be a capable video editor. Ideal for those who don't need professional-grade Premiere Pro or Da Vinci Resolve to cut images. However, in our last review of the Corel program, we were disappointed that the software didn't really break new ground.
Since then, Corel has bundled its flagship video editing software with tons of new features. So how does VideoStudio Ultimate behave now?
television systems
- Corel VideoStudio Ultimate 2022 on Amazon for €69.99 (opens in a new tab)
During the installation, we were again asked which TV system we are using: PAL or NTSC. Although both still exist, in an age where most people download from the web, it seems totally redundant. So much so that we no longer find other software that requests this information initially.
It's a puzzle why it's there, as it gives the software such an outdated feel that it's not really worth considering the new features on offer.
What what?
Subtitles are very important. As an accessibility feature, it allows more people to enjoy your content, either to make it easier to understand or if they are viewing it in a place where the volume needs to be turned down.
But there is a downside: it can take time. This is where the new speech to text converter comes into play. With it, VideoStudio will analyze the selected clip and convert what is said on the screen into editable text.
As expected, you may experience transcription issues. However, it is quite easy to modify the results, including customizing the font, size, color, effects and duration of the subtitles. Obviously, there is still work to be done, but having a really easy-to-use algorithm that does the heavy lifting of original transcription and timing for you will save you a considerable amount of time and will probably encourage others to include subtitles in their videos. in the future. .
There's also an option to export them as an SRT file, allowing you to include them in YouTube videos as subtitles, for example.
Unfortunately, you only have a limited number of languages recognized by this tool. At the time of the exam, only English, German, French, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Italian, Dutch, and Japanese are supported.
Create GIFs while the sun shines
There's no way to get away from social media these days, so VideoStudio Ultimate includes a few tools to help you with that. That's the idea behind the new GIF Creator. With it, you can select a clip, set its size, playback speed, and frame rate, and export the result as a looped clip.
This works very well, although it seems that it only allows you to work with a single selected clip. If you added a text layer, for example, it won't appear when you work on your GIF.
One way around this would be to export your video and then re-import it as a single clip, which can then be used correctly in the GIF maker. It's a complicated solution and certainly could have been easier to use (unless we missed something), but it works.
take your responsibilities
Productivity isn't the only focus of VideoStudio's new features. Fun extras are also on the show, such as the new 'Face Effects'.
This is an interesting VFX software kit that allows you to change the size of a person's eyes or the width of their face by dragging a slider. You can use it, for example, to create those cartoon googly-eye effects, though we couldn't find a way to frame the animation.
Other perhaps more useful sliders include 'Skin Smoothing', 'Brightness' and 'Skin Tone'. Useful tools to help you enhance the look of your subject, if you were unable to do so before shooting.
facial recognition
Speaking of people, 'Face Indexing' is a very interesting new feature. You can use it to allow VideoStudio to analyze a chosen clip. It will find the faces that appear and bring you an index of them. From there, you can select the parts that contain the people you care about and include them in your project in seconds.
Of course, you have the ability to modify the index, merge faces that are actually the same person but were not recognized as such by the algorithm, and give names to the faces so that the index works for you.
It's a great way to find the right parts of a clip without having to go through everything manually.
mobile transitions
VideoStudio already came with very fancy transitions. And the new "Camera Shake" is particularly nice, as it creates fake movements to move from one clip to another, it will give your project a professional and modern feel without you having to do a thing.
AR rough around the edges
Although not everything is great. There's another fun addition, more of a hack actually, that allows you to add 'augmented reality' objects to a clip, like an animated mask for example.
It is designed to be simple to drag and drop, with the fewest customizable settings available. However, neither worked as expected in the clips we tested. The mask was too long, it was not centered, it was tilted wrong; we just couldn't get it to work satisfactorily.
For example, there is a tool that helps you resize a mask. Except the face the mask is on in this section is not the face in the actual clip. It's just a generic, which makes the resizing more random than anything else.
Non-linear keyframes and more
There are other new features too, like non-linear keyframing to make custom speed adjustments to your clips, improved audio editing, and support for additional formats like HEVC MOV, PCM 5.1CH audio files, and GIFs. However, we're not sure if it's a problem with the PC we were using, but we couldn't get HEVC files to work.
Pricing
There are no Creative Cloud-style ongoing subscription fees here. Depending on your love of subscription models, where you don't own the software but rent it endlessly, you may or may not like the fact that VideoStudio Ultimate 2022 can only be purchased for €100, €90 or € 70.
If you already own an older version, upgrading to the latest version will cost you €80, €70 or €50. If you prefer to try the products before committing, you'll be pleased to know that a 30-day free trial option is also available.
final verdict
Corel VideoStudio Ultimate has gotten a lot of love and attention lately, and many of the new tools introduced with the 2022 release are useful and easy to use. Some are still a bit rough around the edges, but the main attractions like face detection, text-to-speech, and new transitions work really well and will definitely come in handy for most video editors.
The tool is one of the best Adobe Premiere Pro alternatives, but if you need a little more power, try Corel's professional-grade Pinnacle Studio 25 Ultimate.
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