Sometimes you can't register this product on an XP machine because the correct permissions are not written to the registry. I had this problem and it made me crazy until I called their support line.
This whole thing started when I decided it was time to upgrade from Version 3 of Adobe Premiere Elements. I purchased Version 8 but it crashed so much I sent it back to the Chairman of the Board asking for a refund. I have now received the paperwork for this.
I also tried the Corel product but it does not seem to have a sharpen filter, which is a fatal flaw for me.
From what I have seen so far Movie Studio has very nicely implemented filters. When you drag one to the timeline a screen usually opens up that gives you precise control over the filter and also shows you a list of the filters that have already been applied.
Here is their solution to the registration problem, which worked for me: (1-800-577-6642 is their support line) We found my problem under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Sony Creative Software. You may also find it under HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
If you installed the software to a user account with full administrator privileges, and are still receiving this error, it is likely that the permissions did not get written into the registry correctly during the installation process. To resolve this issue, click on Start > Run and enter REGEDIT.
Within the Registry go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\, find the Sony Media Software folder (for older Sonic Foundry applications you would find the Sonic Foundry folder instead).
Right click on the folder and choose Permissions.
Make sure that Administrators, System, and any user account you log in with are all listed at the top. When you highlight each one they should have the Full Control and Read checkboxes turned on. If not, check each of those. Click Apply and Ok.
Do the same for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Sony Media Software\ folder, and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Sony Creative Software\ folder.
The registry folders our software will create entries in are as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sonic Foundry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Media Software
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Creative Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sonic Foundry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Media Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Creative Software