I used to use Studio v. 7.0. Since then, I've strictly edited in Premiere and then Premiere Pro (not Elements). Studio has always been finnicky, running very well on some computers, crashing and burning on others. Everything I've read suggests that Premiere Elements is far more stable.

I'd also make the following suggestion, if you are really concerned with getting the best quality video. Both these programs are "all in one" do-it-all packages, meaning they everything okay, but not necessarily well. Both programs were initially designed as (or built from) editing packages and, as editors, are quite capable within their limits. This is the work flow for going from video source to dvd:

1. Capture
2. Edit
3. Transcode to mpeg2
4. Author
5. Burn DVD

I'd recommend using inexpensive standalones for each step.

For capture, take a look at Scenealyzer Live. It is extremely robust, can run in the background (an important feature, as video is captured in real time) and offers considerable control over breaking up bulk captures into individual clips. It is particularly good if you're digitizing from an analog source and must depend optical scene break detection.

For editing, either program is fine (assuming you can get Studio to run on your computer).

Transcoding is going to effect final DVD quality more than any other step in the process. The choice here is an easy one: Tmpgenc (either 2.5 or Express 4.0). The program is inexpensive and easy to use. It produces transcodes of the absolute highest quality -- to get anything better, you'd have to spend between $500 and $1,000 on software. The only downside is that it is slow -- it takes up to 20 hours to transcode 2 hours of DV-codec-encoded AVI on my 3.1 GHz P4 computer. However, it runs just fine in the background. Information on setting Tmpgenc for the best video quality can be found here:

http://dvd-hq.info/Compression.html

I can't make a recommendation on authoring software (perhaps someone else can). I use Adober Encore, which is fairly expensive.

For burning, I use Nero. It's very reliable, inexpensive and never produces a coaster. It also runs in the background, allowing me to do other things.