I'm using both Studio 9 and Movie Studio and here are my comments:

1) The pinnacle 9 interface is probably easier for a casual video editor but there are many functions that I use on Movie Studio that is missing:
a) Pan and crop (you pay extra for this module from pinnacle)
b) two video tracks(pay extra in pinnacle)
Pinnacle have better 3d effects than Vegas and they offer many for you to buy
c) Chroma Key
When it comes to functionality, no one can beat Movie Studio

2) Yes this can be done as explained in the other post

3) I think Pinnacle 9 is faster than Movie Studio.

4) Definately do the switch if you are serious about video editing.

Thanks for the input. Now if they'd just offer rebate :) I hate buying software at full price.

Keep an eye on BestBuy, CircuitCity, and CompUSA weekly ads. They offer MS every once in a while at sale price(may involve rebate).

I hate buying software at full price.

Maybe that's because you're used to buying software that barely works (cough... Pinnnacle). Right now I'd pay $99 again if I had to in order to keep Movie Studio!

I seem to be one of the few in this forum who has anything good to say about Pinnacle Studio 9+. And I also have good things to say about MS.

They are two different pieces of software that, in fairly different ways, get to similar results (e.g., DVD movies). Each has attributes and each has draw backs. Pinnacle lets you edit (easily) right down at the precise frame by frame level. Pinnacle has wonderful plug in features (some free and some purchased) that let you do some very creative things quite easily.

MS of course, has more video tracks and the pan and zoom is awesome.

Frankly, I use both even on the same project. Some creative things in one and some in the other and then combine them for final editing on which ever seems, given the details of the project, to work best. Can't imagine doing without both of them at this stage (unless, perhaps, I opt for the new Adobe software which I have not yet tried).

As to the complains about frequent bugs, failures, crashes, etc. I have not experienced them. Never a failure on my system. I sympathize a great deal with those problems. Obviously, if any software fails to produce results on your compute or mine, it is worthless.

Thanks erisajd,
I, too, have not had major problems with Pinnacle (well, maybe one, see below). Just some minor frustrations. A friend recommended MS and after playing with the demo I found I kind of like it but I like your approach to using both. What I thought I'd miss most with MS is no story board but I think I could get use to the timeline and eventually like it better. With the little I've used it, it's grown on me already. In fact I've gone back and tried the timeline in Pinnacle and will probably use it more than I have but I think I liked the one in MS a little better.

You're right about Pinnacle having some good, creative plug-ins.

Lately I've had some issues with Pinnacle DVD's skipping whole chapters and that has caused some frustration (and my reason for looking around). (Yes, I probably would not consider that a minor problem but I think I have fixed it.)

All things considered, I'll probably switch to MS for the bulk of my editing and switch back to Pinnacle when I need those things MS doesn't provide.

Thanks again for everyone's input.

I use both also. I use Vegas for all of my editing and most of my special effects. Then I render it and finish the project in Pinnacle. For some reason I cant burn a DVD in DVD Architect Studio.
My biggest complaint about Pinnacle is that I have to pay extra for a lot of the better effects. And every time I reformat my hard drive I have to go through tech support to reactivate my keys, which usually takes a good two weeks.

I tried the trial versions of Pinnacle 9 and VMS, and ultimately selected VMS. I agree that initially, the user interface seems friendly for P9, however, that is about it. After playing around with P9 for 2 weeks, I felt that VMS would be a better choice for me as I progress into more advanced edition. I didn't experience any "bugs", and I'm sure P9 would be adequate for newbies such as myself, but as your experience grows, it appears to me that VMS may be better selection. As for cost, check out Costco.com, I picked up VMS for $79. Don't know if that is a good price when CompUSA and others that have weekly sales specials, but what ever the cost, it is well worth the $, IMHO.

To me Movie Studio = 9/10, Pinnacle Studio 9 = 1/10

I have uninstalled Pinnacle Studio 9, due to constant crashing and moved to MS, now my computer is stable again.

My advice is to switch !
Used 7, 8 and couldn't wait for 9 and after all the
updates etc. it still is buggy. Bought Screenblast 3
and have been productive ever since. I recently upgraded to
Vegas ms 4 and love what can be done with DVD architect.
These two products are not in the same league.

Personally, I will never, ever, buy or use another product from Pinnacle. It is the most flaky software that I have had the misfortune to purchase and use. Pinnacle should be ashamed of themselves to bost about how many Emmy's they have won and put it on their low-end product. I understand there are some people who have used Studio and have had some success with it. But has that success been without having to apply work arounds or jump through hoops? By all means, check out the Pinnacle forums and compare it to the forum here. At the Pinnacle forums, 99% of the posts are from people complaining about the software where here it is just the opposite. There was a lawyer at one point who was looking for people to assist with a class action suit against Pinnacle. Needless to say, his post was quickly removed from their forum.

I have been developing software for over 20 years now and it disgusts me that Pinnacle can develop a product that is so dependent on what chip set is on your motherboard. I asked Pinnacle to provide a simple list of a low, medium and high end PC that Studio would work on straight out of the box. I received no answer at all, even after repeated requests. To me, this suggests that Pinnacle does not have such an environment or they just don't care. Once they have your money, you are on your own.

Sony Movie Studio on the other hand is a thing of beauty. It worked straight out of the box on the same computer that Studio would crash and burn (actually, I don't know about the burn part, because I could never get through a render successfully).

Oh yeah, once you install Studio on your computer, it is almost impossible to completely get rid of it. You have to download their regclean utility, which does not completely clean the registry. Manual intervention is still required. I also had a driver that wanted to keep loading at boot up which I could just not get rid of properly.

Am I bitter about Pinnacle? You bet. Whenever anyone asks me about which software I use, I will start out praising Sony and then slowly move into the problems with Pinnacle, their software and support (or lack thereof).

So, to answer your question, go with Sony.

Al