Desktop video-editing being the prickly character that it is, we have long been advocates of MGI's easy-to-use program, VideoWave. When it first appeared, VideoWave trounced the competition in terms of value and features in its sub-£100 category.

To be fair, at the time there wasn't exactly a great deal of competition. For years VideoWave has managed to remain the preferred video-editing program of both budget users and beginners. Its status has also been upheld by frequent guest appearances in budget video-editing hardware bundles and a very clever partnership with Sony.

However, recent developments in digital video technology and improved PC specifications have spawned a whole raft of video-editing products, including some worthier adversaries to VideoWave, such as Pinnacle's Studio.

Version 5 should be MGI's opportunity to fight back and reclaim a little territory. Indeed, the new release works even better than ever.

Winning combination

The program's interface hasn't been changed much since VideoWave 3 but this is by no means a bad thing. It's a winning combination of a StoryLine and context-sensitive Library/Mode Selector, which means that you're never more than a couple of clicks away from the simplest cut or the most complex special effect.

Some important tweaks have been made, such as a clever method of overcoming the 4Gb file size limitations, allowing you to capture as much footage in one go as your hard disk can accommodate.

Making the most of digital video

Owners of the very latest machines will also be pleased to see that VideoWave 5 has been optimised for Pentium 4 computers and also for PCs running Windows XP. It's one of the first programs that has been intended to make the most of the P4's much vaunted digital video capabilities. What this means for us is that render times are much quicker than they used to be.

Waiting while your editing program builds a preview of all the cuts and effects you've been trying is one of the most boring and frustrating occupations in history, so anything that minimises it is good news.

Here's one I made earlier...

These are hardly updates of earth-shattering proportions but VideoWave 5 has one last trick up its sleeve. Integrated into the main interface of the program is a feature that lets you create your own VideoCDs and DVDs using footage that you've cut together yourself.

DVD and Video CD authoring is usually something that you'd have to buy a separate standalone product for, but VideoWave lets you do it directly from within your project, making the process a logical progression from the earlier stages of post-production.

This is an excellent addition to the tools on offer, with simple menus, options and even a feature that allows you to create a mini-DVD on a CD-R disc if you've yet to invest in a recordable DVD drive.

A CD-RW drive is necessary to make the most of this feature, and a special FireWire or analogue video PCI card will also be needed if your computer doesn't already have a port for a video camera.

Conclusion

VideoWave 5 is another winner from MGI. The addition of extra features has made the application slightly more complicated but it's still a bargain and will grow with users as they get better at using it.Contact
MGI: 0800 973830 www.mgieurope.comALSO CONSIDER

MGI Cinematic

Edit your video footage in record time.
£50
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Computeractive, Issue 103