Reprinted from a Ulead press release:
Ulead Systems, Inc., a leading software developer in digital video, image editing, 3D animation, and DVD authoring applications, along with Hitachi, Denshi America Ltd., announced that Ulead’s latest video and DVD software provide native support for the DVD-VR (VR) video file format used by the CR-D10 Hitachi professional DVD recorder. MediaStudio Pro 7, which recently won Animation Magazine’s Seal of Excellence award, is the only professional video editor to offer native VR capture, edit and output, unlike competing software products that rely on third party VR support. With MediaStudio Pro 7, professional videographers can now edit and incorporate VR video files in their projects just as they do with traditional file formats commonly used for video editing.
As a complement to its professional video editor, Ulead’s consumer-level video editing and DVD authoring software, VideoStudio 7 and DVD MovieFactory 2, also support the VR format. This software equips DVD camcorder owners with easy-to-use and affordable options for editing video and transferring home movies and other content onto DVDs. Along with VR support, DVD MovieFactory 2 is unique for enabling users to conveniently re-edit -RW and +RW DVDs with “on-disc” editing, perfect for storing and adding TV program content on DVD, even after the disc is burned. This innovative technology also saves time and space by letting users edit directly on the disc, bypassing the computer hard drive altogether.
With the above-mentioned Ulead products, users can read, edit and write to the original VR format so as to watch the video on a DVD camcorder or DVD set top recorder that supports the VR format. It’s also possible to convert the VR format to DVD-Video and VCD formats so users have the option of viewing their videos on additional playback devices such as a standard DVD player.
VR is a widely accepted video recording format for DVD recordable devices such as DVD camcorders and DVD set top recorders that capture video to DVD-R/RW or DVD-RAM media. The VR format is designed to be user-friendly in terms of functionality and future compatibility with other video products. Most notably the VR format allows users to organize video clips according to playlists so that they can easily locate video clips without having to fast forward and rewind like traditional videotape devices.
“We included native VR support in MediaStudio Pro 7 and in our consumer video and DVD applications due to exciting VR products entering the market, such as Hitachi’s CR-D10 DVD recorder,” comments Mike Mickes, director of sales and product management for Ulead Systems, North America. “Due to the fact that VR is a relatively new format, few DVD players or Windows-based PCs currently recognize VR recorded discs. By adding VR support to our products, we’re giving DVD camcorder users the necessary tools for editing VR content and converting it to a variety of media for additional playback options. We were more than happy to add one more innovative feature to our video and DVD software and thrilled that it complements Hitachi’s professional DVD camcorder technology.”
“We’re very excited that Ulead has taken the initiative to be the first NLE software company to natively support VR video in its editing and DVD authoring products. The proliferation of MPEG-2 long-GOP video files within the professional production and editing marketplace is the primary reason users will realize the need to use Ulead’s MediaStudio Pro 7.” said Emilio Aleman, broadcast and professional product manager, Hitachi Denshi America Ltd.” “Now Hitachi’s customers not only save time by recording video as MPEG-2 files with the VR “wrapper” straight to DVD discs and locating video clips according to convenient playlists, but can choose from a range of powerful tools for editing, copying and sharing video content on a growing number of playback and program content distribution devices.”
Pricing and Availability
Ulead software is currently available via North American retail stores, catalogs, online stores, Ulead’s Web site (www.ulead.com), and a variety of resellers (www.ulead.com/store/purchoptions.htm). MediaStudio Pro 7 has an estimated street price of $495, while DVD MovieFactory 2 and VideoStudio 7 have an estimated street price of $49.95 and $99.95 respectively.
