Review: Adobe Premiere Elements 4 video-editing software

Our biggest complaint about Premiere Elements has always been that it is very temperamental about the type of PC it requires and unfortunately that hasn’t changed with this latest version.

Premiere Elements 4.0 still doesn’t like processors made by AMD, so if your PC doesn’t have ‘Intel Inside’ then it probably won't work with this software.

But, assuming it runs, Premiere Elements 4.0 is quite a good upgrade. It adds a number of new editing features, such as an audio mixer for adjusting music and other sound effects, and a music video feature that makes it easy to edit video clips in time to the beat of a song.

We were also pleased to see that Adobe has finally improved its rather limited options for creating animated titles and text, adding a variety of fades, zooms and other effects.

The most noticeable change is the radical overhaul of the program’s interface. Instead of the multiple windows that made previous versions confusing for beginners, Premiere Elements 4.0 now divides the screen into just three areas. There’s a Timeline running along the bottom of the screen where clips can be arranged into a sequence, and a large Preview window where individual clips can be worked on.

The third area is a large palette that now uses tabs to gather together a whole range of features that were previously scattered across various menus and palettes. This makes the program less confusing for new starters, although we still feel that the rival Pinnacle Studio video editor has a tidier interface that will be more appealing to novices.

It’s also true that some of these new features, such as the music video and audio controls, are simply playing catch-up with similar features in Pinnacle Studio. However, Premiere Elements does outdo Studio with its extensive range of transitions and special effects, so it’s probably the better choice for more intermediate and experienced users who want greater precision and editing control. It’s just a shame that Adobe still hasn’t sorted out the program’s compatibility problems with PCs that have non-Intel processors.

Vista compatible: Yes