Any Pinnacle Studio experts in the house?

[GregE]

That would be Pinnacle 9.4 to be more precise.

Here's the deal. Every time I create an AVI file from Pinnacle it takes on a slightly greenish tint. The good news here is that it's all but unnoticeable the first couple of times around. The bad news is that this discoloration is cumulative. That is to say, each and every time I import the same file back into Pinnacle for further manipulation and then create a subsequent AVI from the same, it gets greener.

Now, here's where it gets really mysterious. The program is two years old (roughly) but I've had this problem for only the past few months. I don't think this is about catching a virus because I have the same program on three offline computers and the problem has manifested itself on them as well.

Note: When I say offline computers I mean mostly offline as I will plug those boxes into the net from time to time to download product updates, but nothing else.

Anybody have any idea what the problem could be?

[Jim_Gunn]

I am not a Pinnacle expert, but I do know a lot about video editing and encoding, and this is a new one for me. First comment is that I don't know why you would be re-importing an exported AVI back into your editing app for further editing or effects, as that is always going to lead to some type of generational loss. It may be unnoticeable the first time around, but not on subsequent passes. So if you ask me that is a bad practice. Whatever is causing that green tint is surely only going to get worse each time around. Secondly I would suggest you go to a video editing forum for a specific problem like this since it is likely to be something unique to Pinnacle that someone else has already addressed and fixed and they can help you. I suggest DVInfo.net, Creative Cow's forums and any forums on Pinnacle's website if they have one. That's your best bet to find a solution. Lastly, from everything I hear Pinnacle is a dog of a program, and instead of knocking your head against the wall, you are probably better off purchasing Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Video and using those better apps. I consider myself very knowledgeable with Premiere Pro and it is pricey but well worth the money. (You can save some money purchasing an educational version by the way if you can produce or create a college i.d.) BHPhotoVideo.com also supposedly also has a great deal on Vegas Video right now as well, fyi.

[GregE]

Originally Posted by Jim_Gunn

First comment is that I don't know why you would be re-importing an exported AVI back into your editing app for further editing or effects, as that is always going to lead to some type of generational loss.

Hmmm... shows you how much I know. I always thought that one of the beauties of digital editing was the loss free aspect thereof. As for why I export and then re-import a video segment, Pinnacle will slow to a crawl once a project gets "overloaded" with transitions, extra tracks, titles and other sfx.

Originally Posted by Jim_Gunn

Secondly I would suggest you go to a video editing forum for a specific problem like this since it is likely to be something unique to Pinnacle that someone else has already addressed and fixed and they can help you.

Will do.

Originally Posted by Jim_Gunn

Lastly, from everything I hear Pinnacle is a dog of a program, and instead of knocking your head against the wall, you are probably better off purchasing Adobe Premiere Pro or Vegas Video...

I suppose maybe I should upgrade but the thing is when Pinnacle works correctly (which it did for me until quite recently) it more than meets my requirements.

The Premiere and Vegas learning curves meanwhile look rather like the nasty side of Mt. Everest

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by GregE

The Premiere and Vegas learning curves meanwhile look rather like the nasty side of Mt. Everest

I found Vegas the easier ofthe 2.

[softball]

My suspicion is your video card. You should prolly be using Studio 11 anyway, but that colour balance issue doesn't feel like a software issue. I am no expert, but I have been using this programme since Studio 7

[GregE]

Originally Posted by rhetorical

My suspicion is your video card.

I thought of that too, but I have the same program and the same problem on three other computers as well.

Originally Posted by rhetorical

You should prolly be using Studio 11 anyway

I may well go that route.

[Jim_Gunn]

Originally Posted by GregE

The Premiere and Vegas learning curves meanwhile look rather like the nasty side of Mt. Everest

I hear people say that all the time and I never understood why. All the editing apps are practically the same nowadays. Premiere Pro is no harder to master the basics than with Pinnacle or Vegas or FCP. If you can figure one out you can it would take you only a few hours to get comfortable with the other.