Sothink HD Movie Maker 1.2

Overview

The Sothink HD Movie Makes is ideal for people who want to create HD videos using MP4, WMV, AVI, DivX and H.264 AVC sources. Record movie moments via DVDs and Blu-ray to grab those precious short bursts of interesting content and mold them into a new video moment created by the user. Create movie clips that are shareable with others via mobile phones and the Sony PS3. The software works with different video formats including the US NTSC and the European PAL system. Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound is also fully supported.

Multi-core PCs can benefit from multi-threading during the DVD or Blu-ray capture and movie authoring tasks. The program supports 1920 x 1080p, 1440 x 1080p and 1280 x 720p HD resolutions. Digital encode files and add an appropriate subtitles track too.

Installation

The setup installation begins with the license, then information about the program about to be installed. Then the software will require 59.3 MB of free space to install completely. The installation folder can be decided or just accept the default one suggested. A Start menu folder, desktop shortcut and Quick launch icon are all created but can be opted out. Then the install goes ahead.

The program does ask to reboot the PC before continuing which is surprising.

There were no extra software installed with the movie package.

Interface

The interface includes a few top line menu items, some large toolbar buttons to control the basic adding of video clips, burning to a disc, and making adjustments to how the list of videos is displayed.

The list of videos added to the package are details below this. Each one can be included in changes by clicking the checkbox. A video thumbnail can be displayed or this can be turned off. The name, dimension, duration, status and time left are all displayed for each video.

To the right is a Settings and Advanced tab pane which offers ways to tweak the settings for videos by adjusting the screen resolution, frame rates and other details.

Overall, the interface is pleasing and not overwhelming at all.

Pros

• Grab movie clips from DVDs and Blu-ray discs
• Convert HD video movie files into more easily viewable video files
• Burn movies to BluRay and DVD discs
• Package can support 1280x720p, 1440x1080p, 1920x1080p video resolutions
• Multi-core processor support for faster encoding speeds
• Add subtitles to movies
• Burn in various video formats including AVI, DivX, WMV, QuickTime, MP4 and H.264/AVC
• Works with several versions of Windows including Windows 7

Cons

• No support for latest 4K UHD (2160p) video editing
• 8K UHD (4320p) format is also valid, but few packages support that.
• Lacks H.265 support

Conclusion

Sothink HD Movie Maker does a good job of offering support for ripping parts of DVDs and Blu-ray discs in order to create your own mini movies complete with new subtitles.