Pinnacle StudioTM ReadMe

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Congratulations!
You are about to enter the world of professional quality movie making. If you encounter any
issues when working with Pinnacle Studio, please check the following sources for further
information:

- Pinnacle Studio website for product info and support:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/support
- Pinnacle Studio Video Tutorials
- User Guide or help document within the Pinnacle Studio application
- ReadMe which includes technical and last minute information

Technical Notes

1. Updates

When you run Pinnacle Studio you may be prompted to install an update to the software. We
strongly recommend you go through this update procedure as it will enhance your Studio
experience. You can also manually check for latest updates within Studio under Help(?)/Online
Support/Studio updates.

2. Studio Smart Messenger Tool

Pinnacle Studio has a built-in tool called Smart Messenger. This tool informs you of the latest
Studio updates and in this way insures that you get the best performance out of your
application. This tool also gathers performance and stability statistics from your Studio program.
This information is used for statistical analysis and helps the Pinnacle Studio team make a
better program. This report does not contain any personal information about you or your system.
If you wish to disable the auto-run of Smart Messenger, you may do so by selecting
Help(?)/Online Support/Studio updates within Studio and choosing “Prompt before checking for
updates”. If your system is not connected to the Internet, we recommend you regularly check to
see if an update is available.

3. Online FAQ, User forums, Support Contacts

For a complete list of all support options visit:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/PublicSite/us/home/

Please check out our support site with a comprehensive library of FAQs at
http://corel.force.com/pinnacle?lang=en addressing various kinds of technical and “how to…”
questions.
Further info and conversations on Pinnacle Studio can also be found in the user forums.
4. Graphics System Test

Pinnacle Studio uses the GPU on your graphics board for real-time video processing and
playback, so it is heavily dependent on the graphics hardware as well as the display driver
version. You can check the capabilities of your graphics board and driver by running the
“NemoCheck” tool under Start->Pinnacle Studio->Tools. In some cases, you may be instructed
to update your display driver or graphics board.

5. Graphic Board Memory

Pinnacle Studio uses the Graphics board to render effects. The video resolutions that may be
edited are determined by the amount of memory on the graphics board:

Windows® 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista® (SP2)

∙ 128MB – SD Standard Definition video only
∙ 256MB – HD High Definition video (minimum for AVCHD, Stereoscopic 3D & CUDA)

Using a board with more memory than rated above may increase the performance in HD. For
the best experience with HD, we recommend using a 512MB or 1024MB graphic board.

Some graphic boards reserve 16MB of memory for internal use so it may not be possible to edit
video at the expected resolution.

6. Editing with AVCHD™ Files

AVCHD is the standard High Definition format for consumer camcorders. It is based on the
H.264 codec and offers high compression with minimal quality loss. The result is small, great-
looking HD video files, but at the cost of a more complex compression scheme requiring more
processor power and system memory.

Please ensure you meet the minimum system requirements for AVCHD below:
∙ Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista (SP2) (64-bit OS recommended)
∙ Intel Core™2 Duo 2.66 GHz, Intel Core™ i5 or i7 1.06 GHz or higher required for
AVCHD
∙ 2 GB of RAM or higher, min. 4 GB for Windows 64-bit (strongly recommended for
Stereoscopic 3D)
∙ DirectX® 9 (or higher) graphics device with Pixel Shader 3.0 support like:
o NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6 series or higher (CUDA™ enabled required for CUDA
support)
o ATI™ X1000 series or higher
o Intel GMA X3000 series or higher
o 256 MB or higher required for AVCHD, Stereoscopic 3D & CUDA
∙ Display resolution: 1024 x 600 or higher

When editing an AVCHD production, project complexity has a major impact on how the system
performs. Please take note of the following when working with AVCHD projects:
 ∙ When importing AVCHD clips, thumbnails may take longer to render than thumbnails
from other SD and HD codecs
∙ When adding transitions between AVCHD clips, a preview may not be seen until
background rendering has completed.
∙ When using Montage themes or when adding a picture-in-picture effect (using an
overlay track), a preview may not be seen until background rendering has completed. An
exclamation point in the Preview window may appear, indicating that background render
has not yet completed
∙ AVCHD Motion backgrounds in DVD menus or chapter thumbnails are not
recommended when creating a DVD
∙ Higher performance with
- Low resolution preview (Setup/Control Panel/Preview/Quality = Fastest Playback)
- Playback optimization – effects and such will be rendered in the background for optimal
performance (Setup/Control Panel/Preview/Playback optimization). Set the Optimization
Threshold to a higher level to get more effects rendered.
∙ Pinnacle Studio utilizes Intel Quick Sync Video which enables higher performance with
AVCHD especially on latest Intel multi-core CPUs

Important notice for playback AVCHD discs:

Please do not insert AVCHD discs into any device that does not support the AVCHD standard.
The discs may not be ejected or the device may delete data on the disc after displaying a
message prompting to reformat the disc.

7. Important Safety Information on Stereoscopic 3D Functionality

Please read the following warnings before using the stereoscopic 3D functionality:

∙ When editing stereoscopic 3D video and images, please take frequent breaks and rest
(a 10 minute break every hour is recommended)
∙ Note that editing video and images while wearing 3D Glasses for an extended period of
time may cause a headache or fatigue. If you feel headache, fatigue or dizziness, please
take a break and rest. Parents’ careful supervision is required particularly when children
or teenagers view 3D video or images
∙ Some stereoscopic 3D pictures may startle viewers. The pregnant, elderly, epileptic and
those suffering from serious physical conditions are advised to avoid utilizing the 3D
functionality

8. Stereoscopic 3D in Pinnacle Studio

Stereoscopic 3D video means that two separate images are shown simultaneously, one to each
eye (left/right). This poses a challenge to many computers as it requires significantly more
processing power and system memory (which is why a 64-bit operating system is strongly
recommended for best 3D editing experience).

Please ensure you meet the minimum system requirements specific to stereoscopic 3D below:
∙ Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista (SP2)
 (64-bit OS strongly recommended for stereoscopic 3D)
∙ Intel Core i5 or i7 1.06 GHz or higher (required for stereoscopic 3D)
∙ 4 GB or higher for Windows 64-bit (strongly recommended for stereoscopic 3D)
∙ DirectX 9 (or higher) graphics device with Pixel Shader 3.0 support like:
o NVIDIA GeForce 6 series or higher (CUDA enabled required for CUDA support)
o 256 MB or higher (required for stereoscopic 3D)

Common 3D display methods include passive anaglyphic processing options (red/cyan glasses)
or active processing options such as active shutter systems (e.g. NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses or
glasses that come with a 3D TV) which usually offer much better viewing quality.

Stereoscopic display using NVIDIA 3D Vision:

Studio allows you to use integrated 3D display via NVIDIA 3D Vision and NVIDIA 3D TV Play.
Please verify on the following web sites, if your system is compatible with 3D Vision.

3D Vision: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-main.html
3D Vision Pro: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-professional-users.html
3DTV Play: http://www.nvidia.com/object/3dtv-play-overview.html

Please note that when using 3DTV play you need to manually switch your screen settings to a
3D mode – in case of 3D Vision, Studio will trigger the change automatically when you select
the appropriate display modes.

In the event of display issues with 3D display, please check whether or not you run latest
NVIDIA driver. Driver version 301.42 or newer is required. Run the NVIDIA 3D setup wizard
which you can find in the NVIDIA control panel.
Additionally please check whether you can properly run NVIDIA’s photo viewer (part of 3D
Vision installation) with Preview in Window activated.

Stereoscopic display on 3D TV:

In addition, Pinnacle Studio provides an alternative way to 3DTV Play to display 3D content on
your 3D capable television. Many 3D TVs allow to manually set the stereoscopic input. If your
TV allows you to select Side-By-Side as 3D input format you are usually able to watch 16:9
timelines on your TV.
To activate the mode attach your TV as a secondary display and configure Studio to display full
screen on your second display. Switch your TV to Side-By-Side mode, select “3D TV (Side-By-
Side)” as display mode inside Studio and then press the full screen button to preview.

Overview of supported stereoscopic 3D devices in Pinnacle Studio:

Studio 3D viewing mode Special hardware equipment Special Glasses

Anaglyph - Red-Cyan (Anaglyph)
glasses
3D TV (Side-By-Side) 3D TV which allows a manually selection of Glasses provided by TV
Side-By-Side material as 3D input
NVIDIA 3D Vision NVIDIA 3D Vision 3D Vision glasses
- Supported GeForce/Quadro® graphics card
 - Compatible 3D monitor
NVIDIA 3D Vision NVIDIA 3D Vision Pro 3D Vision Pro glasses
- Supported GeForce/Quadro graphics card
- Compatible 3D monitor
NVIDIA 3D Vision NVIDIA 3DTV Play Glasses provided by TV
- Compatible GeForce/Quadro graphics card
- Compatible 3D TV (typically HDMI 1.4 3D)

9. Playing Video on a Second Display

To activate in Pinnacle Studio, go to: Setup/Control Panel/Preview/Show full-screen preview on

second monitor.
On some displays, video may show an incorrect aspect ratio (e.g. vertically zoomed or
squashed video) or be shifted off-center. This is caused by some monitors using lower refresh
rates. To correct this, set your monitor’s refresh rate to 50Hz. If that setting is not available,
adjust the monitor’s Scan Timing.