This version includes a total of 190 effects (5 of which are new to version 7.0) that you can easily add to clips, but the results looked far too amateurish. Fortunately, you can turn this feature off in the program's Preferences and select your own. But one time-saver is more of a bother than a boon: VideoStudio automatically adds random transitions between clips, which made us crazy. While VideoStudio 6.0's Instant Preview lets you take a quick, lower-quality look at your edits, you can preview your work in real time in version 7.0. In addition to MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, VideoStudio now supports the DVD-VR format, which is commonly used by camcorders that record to DVD-RAM and DVD-R and DVD set-top recorders. For example, you can select and delete all the commercials in your video in one fell swoop. Our favorite newcomer is the multicut editing tool, which allows you to select and delete several segments at the same time. VideoStudio 7.0 retains version 6.0's strong set of features and adds a few new ones to the mix. One notable improvement: the annoying Start menu, which required you to decide from the get-go whether you were making a DVD, a VCD, or an SVCD before you could begin a project, is gone. VideoStudio's DVD menus are attractive and customizable, even if they still can't compare with the ultracool menus you'll see in iMovie and VideoWave. Just like version 6.0, the main window features a large preview window in the center with the storyboard and timelines for editing beneath it and eight tool tabs along the top.
With one click, you can expand it to fill your whole screen. You won't feel cramped by VideoStudio's timeline view.