Nova scores with video, image products
By MIKE BERMAN
Scripps Howard News Service
May 28, 2003

A lot of software companies that promise to make us more productive have appeared - and vanished - since the PC was born. This vanishing breed created everything from resume creation software to clip art collections, becoming a single source for those "extras" we never knew we needed.

It's comforting to know that Nova Development Corp. has been around since 1984 and is still producing those products at affordable prices.

I've been playing with their video and digital imaging software and have found that they offer many features that we never knew - until now - we needed. There are tons for features packed into both of these products, many of which aren't available in higher priced programs.

Video Explosion Deluxe ($79.95) is a complete package for enhancing videos, enabling you to produce high-quality movies complete with sound effects, music and video clips.

Among its key features are:

• The capability to capture video directly from a digital camcorder.
• Picture-in-picture animation support.
• Hundreds of special effects and transitions.
• The ability to create titles and credits.
• More than 250 video clips.
• More than a thousand sound effects.
• More than 200 MP3 music themes.
• The ability to create videotapes, video CDs, DVDs or share videos online.

Features such as one-step capture and automatic scene detection make it intuitive enough for the novice to use, while advanced features, such as picture-in-picture and animation support make it adequate for the professional.

Photo Explosion Deluxe ($49.95) is the company's digital image editing software, and although it's aimed at consumers, it has a lot of features that even a pro could love. Among them are:

• Ability to capture photos from digital cameras, scanners CDs and on-line services.
• An unlimited number of digital photo albums and include video and audio files.
• Color balance and red-eye correct.
• A huge variety of painting tools to enhance images.
• Ability to enhance images using more than a thousand special effects including the ability to play with text; add backgrounds, frames, props or balloons; and create animations or panoramas.
• More than 7,500 customizable projects and photos.
• Ability to create photo gifts and burn slideshow CDs that will play in DVD players.
• Download photos to a Palm, Pocket PC or digital phone.

For more information on these and other Nova products, ranging from resume and business plan creation to clip art collections, check out www.novadevelopment.com.

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