Pinnacle Studio 17 vs Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Question

I have my own YouTube channel that I am currently developing graphics for. I use Adobe Photoshop CC to create the graphics and I have been using a trial of Premiere Pro for video editing and I love it.

However, I'm lucky enough to of got Photoshop on a year contract cheap from a special offer on Adobe but Premiere Pro will cost me twice as much each month for a year. I've seen Pinnacle Studio 17 Ultimate Movie Editor in a local store for £75 and that's a one-off cost.

So my question is: would I be able to use Pinnacle Studio as well as I used Premiere Pro?

Needs:

• Accepts video formats that Premiere Pro does including .MP4
• Multiple video & audio layers
• Adjust position and size of separate layers
• Chroma key
• Accept .psd files (if possible)
• Change audio layer volumes independently

Answer 1

Both Pinnacle Studio 17 and Premiere Pro CC will suit the needs you listed, but only Premiere Pro accepts .psd files, Pinnacle Studio does not. Furthermore, Premiere Pro has an option to directly export frames to Photoshop, edit them there, and import them back to Premiere Pro. That sounds like a feature you will find useful.

Answer 2

Both options will achieve most of what you need (possibly not PSDs, but you can use transparent TGAs exported from Photoshop), however Premiere Pro is a far more powerful and professional option. If you don't like the idea of subscribing, I believe Premiere Pro CS6 is still available for one time purchase.

Alternately, Sony's Vegas Pro is also a highly capable professional level software NLE if you want to really maintain the feel and level of functionality of Premiere Pro without buying in to a platform that has moved to the rental model.

Personally, I work with Adobe Premiere CS6 and plan to move to Vegas when it gets too old unless Adobe comes to their senses and allows me to buy software again.