Contour Shuttle Pro with Vegas at DVinfo.net

Garrett Low · September 17th, 2008, 03:05 PM

Has anyone used one of these Shuttle Pro's with Vegas?

Contour Design, Inc. - Innovative Ergonomic products for your computer.

A long time ago I had one made by Focus Enhancements but I wasn't doing as much editing as I am now so I didn't use it much. I'm thinking about getting one and would like to know if anyone has any experience with them. If there is an appreciable increase in efficiency I think the $79 (at B&H) may be worth it.

Thanks,
Garrett

Mark Stavar · September 17th, 2008, 05:00 PM

Hey Garrett,

I just purchased one a couple of weeks ago (happy father's day to me!). It's great.

Has taken a little while to get used to (I still find myself automatically reaching for the keyboard sometimes), and I have had to put a little thought into working out just which functions I want to assign to which buttons, but I am finding what works for me.

I have found that the benefits are as much ergonomic as economic. Since I now work a lot more "left hand on shuttle, right hand on mouse", i have a bit less of that computer slump that one invariably gets after long sessions; so it is less tiring.

Added benefit is that it works just as well with SoundForge, though I haven't worked on setting up my own key functions on that yet.

So for me, definitely worth having; I would recommend it.

Ciao,

marks

Ron Evans · September 17th, 2008, 06:52 PM

Yes I have the Shuttle V2 and I have it set up so that the buttons all do the same thing whether I am editing with Vegas or Edius, nice. Saves a lot of confusion!!! have it set up for Sound Forge as well.

Ron Evans

Jon Fairhurst · September 17th, 2008, 07:31 PM

I have one. I started using it a lot, but before long I drifted back to the keyboard shortcuts. Vegas' shortcuts are great!

I still use the shuttle and jog controls on occasion, but not the Shuttle buttons.

Dave Blackhurst · September 17th, 2008, 09:26 PM

Use mine for editing, wouldn't be without it, as mentioned, shuttle on left arm of my comfy office chair, mouse on the right arm... lean back and edit! hardly ever use KBD, but I have anything I regularly do assigned to a button... takes a bit to program the buttons to your own style/taste, but it's worth it!

Garrett Low · September 17th, 2008, 11:48 PM

Thanks everyone for the info. You all must have read my mind cause I was going to ask if you were using it on your left. Sounds like it mayb e a workth while investment.

Thanks again,
Garrett

Jon Fairhurst · September 18th, 2008, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garrett Low

Sounds like it mayb e a workth while investment.

It's more of a luxury than an investment. But luxury is nice. :)

If you haven't done it yet, learn as many keyboard shortcuts as possible. That really adds efficiency. They keyboard is also faster than the jog wheel for frame accurate cursor placement, IMHO. But if you do a lot of scrubbing, the jog/shuttle control is nice to have. I don't know that it speeds me up though.

Tony Spring · September 18th, 2008, 01:25 AM

I use a shuttle pro with a wacom pen tablet, great combination!

Jon Fairhurst · September 18th, 2008, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Spring

I use a shuttle pro with a wacom pen tablet, great combination!

I have a Wacom as well. I can't live without it!

Seth Bloombaum · September 18th, 2008, 09:20 AM

Wacom & shuttlepro & mouse & track ball & touch pad...

Which touches on another aspect of using the shuttle pro and these other devices. Ergonomically, it's very good to have a variety of input devices. I have all the above and use them all at various times for relief from repetitive motion.

And, I use keyboard shortcuts for scrubbing as much as possible, which is great because when I'm on the road with my laptop I can still be a speedy editor.

Repetitive motion is the enemy. A variety of input devices is one of the solutions. Good ergonomics of chair, desk, monitors, and wrist relief are the others. Oh, maybe some time for rest, too :-)

Graham Bernard · September 19th, 2008, 01:40 AM

I had an issue with what I thought was Vegas. Nope. I was getting cursors that I couldn't place and regions being made willy-nilly. Ugh . . . OK, thinking back to a similar situation I had with my keyboard, a sticky shift key, I went through and by a method of elimination it appeared to be a mouse click not being "taken" - time for a new mouse. Now, in all this elimination I disconnected all my USB pointers - KB, mouse, graph pad AND my CSP.

I plug back everything and forgot my CSP.

I started to use VEgas and I quickly became aware just HOW dependant, important, flexible and necessary the CSP has become. I started reaching for the scrubbing wheel and remembered .. I reached for the STOP button, and remembered . . I tried to Jog through a small section . . well . . you get the picture.

I literally just read this post and thought this was a pertinent story to tell.

CSP? Pure luxury? Necessary? For me it is.

Grazie

Jon Fairhurst · September 19th, 2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham Bernard

CSP? Pure luxury? Necessary? For me it is.

User interfaces are extremely personal. Some people use menus, others use keyboard shortcuts - and some use voice recognition. Some people can't send a text to save their lives, others can touch type on their phones.

For Shuttle Pro I think the question is, "do you feel frustrated or slow when navigating the timeline?" If the answer is "yes", Shuttle Pro could be your savior. If the answer is "no", then it might be a luxury.

That said, Vegas has excellent shortcuts. Learning them is quick and free. Having and knowing shortcuts AND and Shuttle Pro AND and tablet would qualify most anyone as a power user.

Josh Chesarek · September 19th, 2008, 01:37 PM

I have had one for about 2 years now. It has saved me a lot of time. Its only reason for it over the keyboard was the jog shuttle. It has sped up my editing of sports considerably. It was was worth the cost and even works with Windows Vista 64Bit. I highly recommend it.

Dave Blackhurst · September 19th, 2008, 10:15 PM

Seth, with the laptop...

if the laptop has USB, you can always install and customize the software, it's only active if the CSP itself is plugged in, and the device is thin enough to slip in a laptop bag - I have a backup shuttle that resides there...

Seth Bloombaum · September 20th, 2008, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

Seth, with the laptop...

if the laptop has USB, you can always install and customize the software, it's only active if the CSP itself is plugged in, and the device is thin enough to slip in a laptop bag - I have a backup shuttle that resides there...

Thanks Dave - it is so configured.

It just so happens that in the general run of my work I'm likely to use Vegas on the laptop only occasionally, for minor fixes. In these situations j-k-l and alt-left/right are fine scrubbing controls.

OTOH, when I'm at the desktop machine I might be editing for hours or days, and for my workflow, this is where the ShuttlePro really shines.

Others may find themselves working on laptops for hours, the ShuttlePro is a good solution. I also recommend looking into a dedicated USB numpad, it offers some specialized functions for slipping & sliding, for moving clips between tracks, event edge editing (that's not what Sony calls it...?), etc. The built-in numpad is usually a little hard to work with on most laptops, at least I've found it so.

September 17th, 2008, 03:05 PM	#1
Garrett Low Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Novato, CA Posts: 1,774	Contour Shuttle Pro with Vegas Has anyone used one of these Shuttle Pro's with Vegas? Contour Design, Inc. - Innovative Ergonomic products for your computer. A long time ago I had one made by Focus Enhancements but I wasn't doing as much editing as I am now so I didn't use it much. I'm thinking about getting one and would like to know if anyone has any experience with them. If there is an appreciable increase in efficiency I think the $79 (at B&H) may be worth it. Thanks, Garrett

September 17th, 2008, 05:00 PM	#2
Mark Stavar Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 95	Hey Garrett, I just purchased one a couple of weeks ago (happy father's day to me!). It's great. Has taken a little while to get used to (I still find myself automatically reaching for the keyboard sometimes), and I have had to put a little thought into working out just which functions I want to assign to which buttons, but I am finding what works for me. I have found that the benefits are as much ergonomic as economic. Since I now work a lot more "left hand on shuttle, right hand on mouse", i have a bit less of that computer slump that one invariably gets after long sessions; so it is less tiring. Added benefit is that it works just as well with SoundForge, though I haven't worked on setting up my own key functions on that yet. So for me, definitely worth having; I would recommend it. Ciao, marks Last edited by Mark Stavar; September 17th, 2008 at 05:01 PM. Reason: typo

September 17th, 2008, 07:31 PM	#4
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	I have one. I started using it a lot, but before long I drifted back to the keyboard shortcuts. Vegas' shortcuts are great! I still use the shuttle and jog controls on occasion, but not the Shuttle buttons. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

September 18th, 2008, 01:25 AM	#8
Tony Spring Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: london UK Posts: 170	I use a shuttle pro with a wacom pen tablet, great combination! __________________ www.springproductions.co.uk

September 19th, 2008, 01:37 PM	#13
Josh Chesarek Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 978	I have had one for about 2 years now. It has saved me a lot of time. Its only reason for it over the keyboard was the jog shuttle. It has sped up my editing of sports considerably. It was was worth the cost and even works with Windows Vista 64Bit. I highly recommend it. __________________ Simple Thought Productions - Life @ 30,000 Words per second

September 17th, 2008, 06:52 PM	#3
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Yes I have the Shuttle V2 and I have it set up so that the buttons all do the same thing whether I am editing with Vegas or Edius, nice. Saves a lot of confusion!!! have it set up for Sound Forge as well. Ron Evans

September 17th, 2008, 09:26 PM	#5
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Use mine for editing, wouldn't be without it, as mentioned, shuttle on left arm of my comfy office chair, mouse on the right arm... lean back and edit! hardly ever use KBD, but I have anything I regularly do assigned to a button... takes a bit to program the buttons to your own style/taste, but it's worth it!

September 17th, 2008, 11:48 PM	#6
Garrett Low Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Novato, CA Posts: 1,774	Thanks everyone for the info. You all must have read my mind cause I was going to ask if you were using it on your left. Sounds like it mayb e a workth while investment. Thanks again, Garrett

September 18th, 2008, 09:20 AM	#10
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Wacom & shuttlepro & mouse & track ball & touch pad... Which touches on another aspect of using the shuttle pro and these other devices. Ergonomically, it's very good to have a variety of input devices. I have all the above and use them all at various times for relief from repetitive motion. And, I use keyboard shortcuts for scrubbing as much as possible, which is great because when I'm on the road with my laptop I can still be a speedy editor. Repetitive motion is the enemy. A variety of input devices is one of the solutions. Good ergonomics of chair, desk, monitors, and wrist relief are the others. Oh, maybe some time for rest, too :-)

September 19th, 2008, 01:40 AM	#11
Graham Bernard Old Boot Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London UK Posts: 3,633	I had an issue with what I thought was Vegas. Nope. I was getting cursors that I couldn't place and regions being made willy-nilly. Ugh . . . OK, thinking back to a similar situation I had with my keyboard, a sticky shift key, I went through and by a method of elimination it appeared to be a mouse click not being "taken" - time for a new mouse. Now, in all this elimination I disconnected all my USB pointers - KB, mouse, graph pad AND my CSP. I plug back everything and forgot my CSP. I started to use VEgas and I quickly became aware just HOW dependant, important, flexible and necessary the CSP has become. I started reaching for the scrubbing wheel and remembered .. I reached for the STOP button, and remembered . . I tried to Jog through a small section . . well . . you get the picture. I literally just read this post and thought this was a pertinent story to tell. CSP? Pure luxury? Necessary? For me it is. Grazie

September 19th, 2008, 10:15 PM	#14
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Seth, with the laptop... if the laptop has USB, you can always install and customize the software, it's only active if the CSP itself is plugged in, and the device is thin enough to slip in a laptop bag - I have a backup shuttle that resides there...