The 2002 Videomaker Best Products of the Year Awards (page 3)
Best Standalone Editor
Edirol DV-7
Edirol hit the ground running last year with a fantastic new product with a feature set that rivaled editing systems installed on desktop computers. The optional DV-7C controller (add $325 to the price) made the DV-7 stand out in its category. Standalone systems have always sought a balance between features and ease-of-use, and the DV-7 seems to be perfectly weighted.
www.edirol.com
$4,495
Best External Capture Device
Pinnacle Bungee DVD
The Pinnacle Bungee connects to your computer's USB port and converts analog video to DVD-ready MPEG-2 video on the fly before sending it to your computer. In addition, it has basic TiVo-like PVR functions that allow you to record and pause live TV. Although it is not a dedicated video-editing product, n operation, this broad collection of features was enough to garner an award in this category.
www.pinnaclesys.com
$199
Best Real Time Capture Hardware
Matrox RT.X100
With almost identical prices, pragmatically equivalent real-time analog previews and DV output, the Matrox RT.X100 and Canopus DVStorm2 are both excellent products that will not disappoint. What set the RT.X100 above was the flexibility, range, quality and usability of effects and filters. Just one example is the brilliant real-time color correction tool, which, among other things, will let you instantly fix those shots taken when you forgot to white balance your camcorder.
www.matrox.com
$1,099
Best Video-Editing Software Over $100
Adobe Premiere 6.5
The quality of the new versions of the many video editing programs we saw this year was amazing, including (but not limited to) Vegas Video 3, Final Cut Pro 3 and Avid Xpress 3.5. In the final analysis, the cross-platform Premiere 6.5 is our winner. It does real-time previews, but can still render-as-you-edit, which many folks like. The fabulous Inscriber titler is the best in the class and there are tons of 3rd party effects available. Optional dedicated hardware rendering means that you might never wait for a render again and that alone makes this a winner.
www.adobe.com
$549
Best Editing Software Under $100
Pinnacle Studio 8
This comprehensive package really does it all, from automatic capturing to burning discs. And, like the previous version, it is easy and fun to use. The complete Deluxe version ($300) includes a breakout box which conveniently brings video and audio connections out from the dust-bunny warren behind your PC.
www.pinnaclesys.com
$100
Best Compression Tool
Canopus ProCoder
The aggressive first-generation Canopus ProCoder has upset Discreet Cleaner's domination of the video compression market (although Cleaner 6 for the Mac is very impressive). The quality of the output using Canopus DV and full-featured MPEG codecs was outstanding, but the encoding automation tools are what make this product worth the price. Multiple input formats to multiple outputs with complete control in a remarkably easy to use tool that comes with good documentation: what more could you want?
www.canopus.com
$699
