Adobe Premiere Elements 4 and Photoshop Elements 6 Software for Windows

Premiere Elements

• HDV Support

Premiere Elements features native support for the high-definition HDV video format. Many consumer HD camcorders utilize HDV, making this an excellent choice for editing your footage. The software also supports DVD camcorders, web cameras, MPEG-4 video recorders, and select mobile phones.

• Video Capture and Editing Tools

Premiere Elements gives you a wealth of capture options. You can import images from a still camera or cell phone, capture video from a webcam, and even capture stop-motion animation. The program gives you 99 tracks of video and audio to work with in your sceneline and a dedicated preview window to trim and split clips.

• Titles and Effects

The software lets you easily create and edit titles from within the preview window. You can even drag and drop standard and picture-in-picture effects into the preview window. Freeze frame and multiple PIP effects are also at your disposal.

• DVDs and Sharing

Premiere Elements allows you to create multi-page DVD menu templates that include movie playback and scene selection options. You can even export to iPod or PSP in H.264 format or make a Flash video for your web site. The software has tools to burn HD video content to Blu-ray disc.

• User Interface and Workflow

The software allows you to customize your workspace via re-sizable windows and docking pallets. It even features video themes, allowing you to easily get started on a project. If you ever find yourself stuck you can access the task-based how-to help file for an answer.

Photoshop Elements

• Organize

Digital cameras have given us the ability to take literally thousands of images, with no hefty developing costs. Photoshop Elements helps to organize these images in a logical manner. You'll be able to apply tags to any picture; tags can include the location, an event, or the name of a person shown in the photo. It's easy to assign multiple tag. Want to find every picture you have of your dog, Indiana? Just click on her tag.

You can also create albums manually, or use Smart Albums based on search criteria. Smart Albums are dynamic, automatically updating as you add and tag photos, or when you change their search criteria. Up to 10 criteria can be selected for any Smart Album.

• Edit

Red eye? Poor lighting? Lens distortion? These are all common problems that are inherent in snapshots. Photoshop Elements features tools to easily correct these issues, and the program does much more. You'll be able to combine multiple pictures to create a composite image, apply artistic filters, add text and graphics to photos, remove wrinkles from portraits, and control color temperature. Photoshop Elements even gives you access to advanced darkroom tools, including dodge, burn, and sponge.

• Create

There's no point in taking photos to simply have them sit on your hard drive. Elements features tools to help you turn snapshots into scrapbooks, calendars, greeting cards, and photo albums. You'll be able to print your creations at home, from within the program.

• Share

The Internet has made sharing pictures with family and friends easier than it has ever been before. Elements gives you a plethora of options to share your photos digitally. You'll be able to create web albums, e-mail photos to friends, and even create Ken Burnsesque movies of your snapshots.

It will also let you send photos to CEIVA Digital Photo Frames, order professional prints and photo albums, and even create your own custom US postage stamps. All these great sharing features are accessible from Elements' Sharing Center.