Conclusion
Tenomichi’s 3D Edit is a curious beast, and a very British kind of editing application. The DirectX rendering engine is fiendishly clever, and capable of quite amazing amounts of effects in close to real time.On our dual-processor test system we were able to place a clip with an alpha channel effect on top of a chroma keyed clip on top of a picture-in-picture on top of a 3D transition between two clips, and still maintain a respectable frame rate – that’s five layers of DV with multiple filters applied. Even Canopus Edius would be hard pushed to achieve this.
The graphics card in our system was one of the fastest currently available – a Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 XT. But graphics performance is improving all the time, so 3D Edit’s rendering abilities will only improve.
However, the underlying engine is not the whole story. This is also a very strange application to use. It’s missing many tools and abilities that are taken for granted in more prosaic editors. For example, and perversely, it’s not possible to copy and paste clips on the timeline.
The paltry output options are disappointing, too, and the lack of titling really puts it out of the equation for any serious editing of a project end-to-end. And, the unique interface being rather difficult to learn is off putting, though the way it works is quite effective once learnt. What must be pointed out, though, is that – although what we tested was V2 - it was the first release, and new features are being added at a rate of knots.
While 3D Edit isn’t yet likely to become an everyday editor of choice, it has massive potential. It’s well worth downloading the trial version and giving it a whirl. Once Tenomichi has added the missing essential features, in particular titling, and perhaps made the interface a bit more user-friendly, 3D Edit could well become the entry-level video editing program against which all others will be judged.
James Morris
