Creative's sound boxes are getting more and more sophisticated. They started by selling a set of sockets and controls tucked into a drive bay, but now the company's decided it needs more room than that and has come up with the SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS Video Editor, a break-out box with just about all the connections you could want along its back and front sides.

It's perhaps easiest to list the available connections, so you can see what the Video Editor can do. At the front you have two independently-powered USB 2 sockets, along with a miniature connection for a digital video camera. Next to these is a mini-DIN for S-Video input, together with composite video and stereo audio on three phonos. Below this set are optical connectors for S/PDIF in and out, alongside mic level and master output controls. Finally, there's a power button and one to engage Creative's CMSS stereo to multi-channel surround sound software.

At the back are two more USB 2 sockets, as well as composite and S-Video outputs with stereo audio. There are separate phono line in and line out pairs and three mini jacks for full Audigy2, 7.1-channel output. All pretty comprehensive.

To power all this connectivity, particularly the USB 2 hub, the Video Editor comes with a notebook-style, black block power supply. We'd prefer to see an internal supply, as it creates less clutter, but at least this way it puts no strain on your PC's PSU.

Once you've installed the wealth of Creative drivers and support applications, you can start to use the Video Editor. On the sound side, you have a full Audigy2 ZS sound card, but also a way to take in MPEG video from digital video cameras and other sources, edit it using the bundled copy of Ulead's VideoStudio8 SE editor and burn the result to DVD using DVD MovieFactory 3SE, also supplied. You can output video directly to your PC's screen or to a domestic TV.

VideoStudio is one of the best budget video editing applications and is versatile and easy to use, but there's nothing to stop you using the Creative hardware with fully professional software, such as Adobe Premiere, too. However, it's important to note you'll need a USB 2 socket on your PC to make best use of Video Editor. Although the unit will work via a USB connection, you'll have trouble importing or exporting video at higher bit-rates.

This is a logical extension to the way Creative has been marketing add-on sound cards. As well as a full Audigy2 ZS sound module, you get a powered USB 2 hub and a full video break-out box, complete with application software. It's an ideal tool, particularly for working with video on a laptop.