As it stands, however, there are five VST add-ons to choose from, namely a graphic equaliser, an auto leveller, a reverb filter, a karaoke filter and the Grungelizer. It’s no surprise now that Pinnacle owns Steinberg to find a slew of new filters under the audio section of the software, while support for the widely accepted VST format means that third-party developers can add their own in the future. To find what else has changed, you need to dig down a little into the video and audio toolboxes. That said, there are two new additions to the familiar silver front end, with the application now rescaling to fit resolutions of up to 1,600 by 1,200 pixels, and a full-screen preview button that enlarges the low-resolution preview (Esc toggles back to the application). With Studio 9, however, it has achieved this by leaving the already intuitive front end alone, and tucking the new features beneath the surface. Or, in Pinnacle’s case, stepping on the toes of the more advanced NLE software that they sell (Liquid Edition). One of the problems facing the developers of non-linear editing (NLE) software at the consumer end of the market is improving the application’s capabilities without making it too complicated.
