Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 4

[tarekma7]

Overview:

Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 4 is a software that will transform your images into wonderful slideshow movies. It will bring your sweet memories into life with nice movies, music and effects.
It doesn’t need any previous experience especially with the help of the built in wizard that guide you in a fast easy way till you create an amazing slideshow with your personal touch. It includes a lot of features to help you such as themes, templates, music, transitions. In addition, the program supports 4k resolution, small in size and available in a reasonable price. It will enable you to create professional slideshows.

Homepage:

https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/1066...tudio-HD-4

Current version: 4.0.3
Release date: 2016/08/05

System Requirements:

Before using the program, please revise its system requirements to be sure that it is compatible with your computer. Requirements include Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10. Both 32 and 64 bit versions are supported. Typical installation of all components requires 2 GB RAM and 160MB free space on your hard drive space. Other requirements include 2 GHz AMD or Intel® processor, CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc recordable or rewritable drive for burning, up to 25 GB hard drive space for disk images and temporary files, Microsoft® DirectX® 9.0 compliant graphics card, support of NVIDIA® CUDA a capable graphics card with a minimum of 256 MB video memory and Windows Media® Player 10 or higher

Download and installation:












The program installer is small in size (51.5 Mb) and can be easily downloaded as a free trial from the official website. Simply copy this link into your download manager to start the download:
https://cdn1.ashampoo.net/ashampoo/1066/...0.3_sm.exe

After download is complete, double click on the installer and follow simple on screen instructions to have the program installed on your computer. When you launch the program for the first time, a pop up alert will inform you about your 10 days’ free trial period with some limitations in functions. The free trial can be easily extended for 30 more days by visiting this page and submitting your email address:
https://www.ashampoo.com/frontend/regist...popinstall
After the free trial is over you will need to purchase a license from the official website to continue using the program and enjoying its features. This can be done easily with a reasonable price here:
https://shop.ashampoo.com/10/purl-online...art=169601
If you have a previous version of the program, upgrade to the latest version is available at a discounted price.





After your purchase is completed, you will receive an e mail with the license key and instructions needed to download and activate your software. Activation is very easy. All you have to do is to open help menu, select register, then copy your license key and activate while connected online. You will see a pop up message to confirm your registration and unlimited use. That’s all! 
 
User interface:









The program has a very friendly user interface. A menu bar is present on the upper part and include file, edit, insert, element, view, settings, MyAshampoo and help. The bar below shows the program name and a reminder to purchase if not already done. This purchase reminder disappears after you register the program. The next bar (toolbar) includes some important function buttons such as rotate, cut, copy, delete, undo, redo, send to back or front and flip.
The main program panel includes two main parts. On the left side, you will find the “slide editor” window where you can edit the selected image and add objects such as text and graphic overlays. On the right side there is a collection of themes, logos, subtitles, music effects and recordings. There is an option to download more themes. The will make your output movie stylish and characteristic. Below this panel, there is “timeline toolbar” which includes many buttons.  In the middle, there are buttons to play and record. on the left side, there are buttons to add images, blank item, settings and delete. On the right side there are buttons to show picture information, add credits, transition, and music. 
The lower part of the program window shows the timeline panel for adjustment of the order of your slides, slide transitions and any added objects. There are options (plus and minus tools) on the lower right side of the timeline) to zoom in and out of the timeline. The lowermost bar show help and produce slideshow



Menus:

File:



Edit:



Insert:



Element:



View:



Setting:




MyAshampoo:



Help:



Languages: the program is multilingual. It supports more than 30 languages. This lets you enjoy using the program and all its features in your own language. The default language is English, if you want to change it, simply click settings button and select language then choose your language from the available list and click OK. That’s all!



Features:

• Smart wizards to create slideshows with ease
  
  
• Blazingly fast movie creation
  
  
• Numerous new templates, transition and sound effects
  
  
• Slideshows now also as MKV, VP9 and MP4 files with resolutions up to 4K
  
  
• New wizards for brilliant results
  
  
• New format support for iPads, cellphones and gaming consoles
  
  
•  Logically structured, self-explanatory user interface
  
  
• Cinematic experiences with opening/closing credits, subtitles and tracking shots
  
  
• Useful recommendations and guide you through the creation process.
  
  
• Support burning your work on CD / DVD and Blu-ray disc
  
  
• Friendly intuitive user interface
  
  
• Fast, easy to use, doesn’t need experience
  
  
• Supports the highest resolutions including 4K
  
  
• Ready-to-use presets for various devices (cellphones, gaming consoles, iPads etc.) to help you find the ideal movie format
  
  
• New contents included to help you, such as; templates, transitions and sound effects. This will add more life and vibrance to your slideshows.
  
  
• Preview images and slideshow before production
  
  

New Features:

There are a lot of new features added in the new version. Some of these features were added based on many user wishes.
New Supported Formats; include VP9 - Next Gen Open Video (.webm), container format MKV (.mkv), MPG-4 m4v format (.m4v), ready-to-use presets for various Apple, Android, Sony, Microsoft devices, Save DVDs and Blu-rays to folders
Slideshow features; Wizards for easy slideshow designs, new customizable transition effects,  faster encoding with NVENC and Intel Media support, slideshows with resolutions up to 4K,  new music and sound effects, new image editing dialog, improved new high-quality themes and select different fade effects
For a full list of features and improvements in the current version please check this page:
https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pdf/1066...tudio-HD-4
Now, we will discuss in details how can you create a new slideshow?
You have two options the simple and the standard ways

Simple new slideshow creation Wizard:



















From file menu select a new project create, a dialogue will appear with 4 options, new simple project, new project, existing project (saved project which you will edit or complete) and service (report a problem, check for updates, ashampoo deals and more downloads)
You will select New simple project to start. Next step will let you choose the theme you will use with your project. You can download and install more themes if you want and use anyone you like.
Next step lets you select your preferred mode, either freestyle or adapt to music or to time. If you select adapt to music the slideshow will be limited to the music duration, on the other hand adapt to music mode, you select the total time of your slideshow movie. In the freestyle, you will set the slideshow settings in the next step including transitions, ken burns, background music track and energy, then finally add image and optionally you can record your sound for the new slideshow (for example to explain something), this will be automatically saved in the recordings tab. Click next to go to the last step where you can preview your project, Also, you can use "Randomize" button to restart the preview with a new KenBurns effect unless you have selected a fixed effect on the previous step. Enable "Save the project file for the slideshow" to save your project to a file after this step (so that you can edit or add images and complete later) or finish to produce your video.
The adapt to music option runs in the same steps with one difference that you select the music tracks on the first step. You can select many tracks and rearrange them according to your wish. The slideshow will be automatically adapted to the duration of the songs you add. Next steps are the same as the free style
The adapt to time option ask you to specify the duration of the slideshow from the given sections or manually add your preferred duration then run in the same steps as the freestyle mode

New project Creation Wizards:

This project creation wizard is different from the simple one. It offers you more advanced options for better slideshow creations. In the first step you will select the desired aspect ratio. Two options are present; 16:9 or 4:3 according to the type of your screen wide or normal. Then click finish button. The dialogue will ask you to add images if you have not already done before. Click next to move to the next step which allows you to easily arrange the files you will add to your slideshow. You have many arrangement options, for example alphanumeric, date, random.
Click OK to have the files added to your slideshow with the transition effects added inbetween.
You can easily modify or set the images or the transition effects (for example add new image, add blank file, edit, delete, copy) using the right click menu or the toolbar buttons. You can add some effects such as music background, theme, logo and credit.
To add music background simply click on the music tab and select from the built in tracks or browse your computer to choose any song you like.










The built in credit tool lets you add your animated customized personal touch (credit) to confirm your ownership in a stylish way. You can do this simply by first selecting the position of the credit you will add, namely beginning (opening) or end (closing) of the slideshow. Next you will specify the type you want whether large scrolling page (credits will appear as scrolling on a single page) or multiple fading pages (credits are spread across multiple pages). Then select the background (display settings) for your credit. If you use "Use credits as overlay", your credits will be overlaid on top of the first/last slides in your slideshow. Otherwise, your credits will appear as a separate block. The last step; you select the credit contents; this will depend on the type of credit you have selected before. Simply, use the top left controls to add text, image and shape objects. There are many options to let you edit and customize the credit according to your wish. Also, you can double-click an entry in the right list to insert a template. Opening or closing animated credit can be easily added to your slideshow.








    
Image edit:





This can be easily done using the right context menu of any selected image or the setting button in the timeline toolbar. You have many options including the general settings which enables you to crop image, rotate and change display duration. The Ken-Burns effect provides virtual camera panning between a start and end area. You can adjust these areas manually by dragging their border markers. To make this easier the program includes built in presets such as horizontal or vertical or diagonal ban, zoom in or out or no effect. Also you can add to the template or delete it.  Additionally, there are options to swap start and end rectangles or make both similar.  After you finish, you can use the play button to preview your current settings.

Slide Options:


The slide editor enables you to add text, image and shape objects to your slideshow. There are many options to edit and customize your slide. You can access these options using the toolbar or the right context menu. For example, you can apply image editing effects such as undo, redo, cut, copy, paste, rotate, zoom in and out, delete, sent to back and front, flip horizontal and vertical and change display duration. In addition, you can insert text, image, table, shape, circular text.










Timeline:

Using the timeline feature; you can do many functions such as:
 
Add new image, add blank item (single color or gradient color)





Settings: check settings for an image or transition effect





Delete image from your slideshow using right context menu or delete icon in the toolbar

Record your sound to be used in the slideshow you create. The process is very easy. Simply, click the record button and select the name you want for the recording then use the computer input device and start recording. The recorded voice will be seen under the recording button and can be deleted if you don’t need it.



Add music: This can be easily done using add music button in the toolbar. You can add music track from the built in collection or browse to select the song you want. After adding the song, you can use the play button to preview the added song. There are many options to move songs up and down, delete, shuffle the current playlist and adapt the slideshow to the song duration.





Transition effects: You can manually add a specific transition or leave it as random pattern. Also you may select the display duration for transitions and slides. Common options are available and allows you to add some effects to your slideshow such as fad in and out at the start and end, add color background and use ken burns effects. You can add individual settings for each slide.







Picture information you can use this option to show image information as a subtitle for the image and you can specify its position, font type and size.



Produce slideshow:













This is the last step you need to create your movie. The process is very easy. After you complete the previous steps (whether using simple or standard ways), you have to start the produce (Create) slideshow wizard. The wizard will make it very easy for you to complete your job.
First select the output format you need. You have four choices namely; create file, burn a disc, create for video portal or create for device. Next step depends on your selection and lets you specify the target format type and quality needed. Next, you will set the quality of the output video using a slider. This will change the video size. Of course higher quality offers larger video size. Finally, you will select file name and location. That’s all!
Some additional steps may be needed depending on your selection. For example, burn a disc option will ask you more steps to select the burner and file name. In addition, you also need to specify the TV system to be used. If you're uncertain, select "Use default".

Settings:

The program settings are present under setting menu in the toolbar. It has 4 main buttons; view, common, duration and service channel settings


 
Pros:

Create amazing slideshow videos
Easy to use
Built in wizard to guide and help you
Many added themes, cool effects, music, templates, transitions included for stylish video production
Animated effects
Ability to add customized animated credits
Support a lot of formats to suite your needs
Multilingual support
High resolution support up to 4k
And many more

Cons: None

Conclusion:

The program is a must have tool that will help you to create stunning slideshow movies from your images. It will bring your memories to life. The software is easy to use for anyone even with no experience. The license is available at a reasonable price. I recommend using the program.

This video is created using the Ashampoo Slideshow Studio HD 4:

[Mike]

One of your best reviews yet Tarek. The slideshow at the end was a great addition.

[lpe]

Good One Bro....

[asus73]

Good review. Thanks.

[Mohammad]

Very good review, review master

[baziroll]

thanks for pro review

[Askanag]

Good review. Ashampoo makes a really good software.