MGI VideoWave 4

Video editing is not the easiest thing known to man. If it was, then we'd all be making a living by cutting together Jurassic Park films. However, editing is of vital importance to the overall look of any film - even those filmed in 'Wonkyvision' on a well-loved camcorder. A few cuts and splices can make the difference between a smart-looking wedding video and the most boring film in the world.

MGI's VideoWave has been around for a few years and has continued to impress with its ability to reduce the complex task of editing video on a PC down to a remarkably simple and efficient process. Previous versions have continued to keep up with all the latest developments in video technology, both analogue and digital. All you need to get going is a reasonably specified PC and some kind of capture card. Indeed, VideoWave has been so successful that many video card manufacturers have teamed up with MGI to bundle 'lite' versions of the application with their hardware.

So, hot on the heels of the latest version of the company's flagship product, PhotoSuite 4, comes a revamped edition of VideoWave. On first glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is a substantial upgrade from previous versions. The interface itself looks utterly foreign. Gone are the friendly browns and greens of VideoWave II and III. In their place is a more serious looking, metallic coloured central control screen.

In fact, these changes directly mirror similar alterations in the look and feel of PhotoSuite 4. The new interface may seem a little more daunting at first. However, there are really very few differences in the way that the program actually operates and previous users will find themselves getting to grips with the product within minutes.

Even newcomers to the package shouldn't have much trouble learning the ropes, since VideoWave's famously simple approach to video editing has been preserved beneath these largely cosmetic changes. The application has special modes for each aspect of the editing process.

First, you can capture clips at various quality settings directly from your camcorder and save them to your project's library. Your clips will appear as thumbnails in the library window and adding them to your film is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the Storyline bar at the top of the screen. This is where you can arrange your clips into the order that you want them for the finished film.

However, the real action still takes place in the central Viewscreen window. This is the hub of the application, where you are able to preview any of the cuts, added to a clip. The Viewscreen takes the shape of a TV screen with a series of video controls beneath it. Here you can trim clips to the length that you require, add transitions, effects and even tweak the audio soundtrack to your films.

Once you've finished piecing your film together, you can output it to a number of different formats. VideoWave asks you how you intend to use your film and then chooses the appropriate format for you. VideoWave 4 is bang up to date, with support for DVD-style Mpeg-2 files, RealVideo for web streaming and something called SmartDV, which speeds up the production time of films in DV format. The new version even includes a 'publish to web' feature that allows you to launch your videos to the MGI website once you've finished editing them.

It honestly couldn't be easier, which is perhaps why MGI seems to be almost struggling to find new features that justify a hew version. There's a new feature that scans clips and works out where one scene starts, and the next begins and an improved slow-motion tool along with a few odds and ends, such as a feature for ripping digital audio directly from CDs.

Aside from these admittedly useful additions and the extra discs full of video and audio content for you to use, there's little here to recommend users of Version III to upgrade. New users looking for the perfect video-editing application should head directly to VideoWave 4 without passing Go.

Contact MGI 0800 973830