Ulead VideoStudio 10

Ulead has also changed the UI arrangement. Four presets are provided, with a less dominant preview window than in previous versions and more space for all the tools. For disc authoring, with DVD Movie Factory 5's engine built-in you get much more design control. SmartScene menus and menu transitions are available, and you can now resize, position and rotate buttons and text.

Users who purchase either version of Ulead VideoStudio 10 before 20 June direct from Ulead will also receive a free six-month Star User Account on DropShots (www.dropshots.com), a video-hosting and sharing service. However, you'll have to upload the videos manually, as Neptune MediaShare (www.neptune.com) remains the only online service you can upload to directly from the editing timeline.

The Plus edition has remarkable editing power for under £50 and, while the standard version doesn't feel like a huge step forward, it's still a worthy contender. Adobe's Premiere Elements 2 still offers a more finely honed toolset for multitrack editing, but most will find VideoStudio easier to use. Although the standard version remains superb value, we recommend VideoStudio 10 Plus as the better deal.

Author: James Morris