Pinnacle Studio: Full Quality Capture

Pinnacle Studio is a computer program used in high quality capture, editing and exporting edited movies into other formats. Before any editing can be done, videos, images and audio must be captured or imported and saved onto the computer system's local hard drive. Consumers who wish to make high quality videos should start with making the highest quality captures. Here are the steps in order to do a full quality capture.

Step 1 - Launch the Pinnacle Studio Program

Find the shortcut or application for the program. This can be found on the desktop or on the list of programs installed on your computer. Double click on the Pinnacle Studio icon to launch.

Step 2 - Click the Capture Tab

The features and functions of the Pinnacle Studio program are arranged under one of three tabs: capture, edit and make movie. Click the "Capture Tab." A separate window will pop up offering you the possible sources of the capture. The program is able to capture from a variety of sources. You may capture from an external device which uses a videotape, a webcam or VCR, a memory card or from discs such as a CD, VCD or DVD.

Click" Videotape" or "Video Source." The screen will change into four distinct parts. On the lower portion is a player in the shape of a video camera. This will allow the user to manually control the video camera through the software.

On the right is a brief info on the drive where the video will be saved on. It will show the capacity of the hard drive as well as the remaining space available. With a video capture, the source can be saved either as DV or as an MPEG file. A DV capture is the highest quality but will require a large amount of disk space. Saved as an MPEG file, the capture will be of good quality without depleting the computer's sources. Choose the first option only if you have a large amount of disk space available.

Step 3 - Select Capture Source

From the main menu, select "Setup" then "Capture Source." A window will open which will let you select how the program should split the scene. You may choose to let the program split the capture according to the time and date of the shoot, the content of the video, a specific time or no detection. Select Automatic Based on Video Content. The capture will be split with each new scene. Click "Ok."

Step 4 - Click Start Capture

Once you click the "Start Capture button", a new window will open. You will be asked to name the capture. Clicking on the folder icon beside the blank will allow you to change where the capture will be saved. You may also choose when to end capture, when the video or hard drive runs out of space or after a specific time. Choose the first option and click "Start Capture." The amount of time it took to shoot the video is the same as how long it will take to capture the entire video.