Hi again Chris!!! I just posted a follow up on another post about what I think could be a fix. Might and I say again---> Might be a dual processor glitch. I haven't read enough to say for sure but I have read if you turn off one of the processors it might fix the problem. I know, ya paid good money for this stuff and I am finding that my old system I surf with is just as good as my production machine. I have even been looking at the G5s... Oh man, my book keeper is gonna kill me :( Hope this helps!!!! John

Oh!!! I forgot to thank you all for the advice.. Great advice!!!!!!!!

The same can be said of Vegas. I find it very fast and easy for all of the above tasks.

I know many people are successfully doing exactly that. I'm assuming you are capturing via firewire? I prefer having the external drive hooked up via firewire but I've used it both ways.

Hi Chris....
Firstly, I'm not sure if this is relevant. But I did have loads of problems editing footage via usb2 from my laptop to firewire on my external harddrive. Then when I changed to editing via firewire from my laptop to firewire on my ext hd....the issues vanished.

Secondly, I have used Premiere (which I dont particularly like) and am now thinking of getting the Sony Plat movie studio + Dvd. I was wondering what your opinion was of it(pleasantness&ease of use, features etc) before I make a final decision....

Tracey

Sony Platinum Movie Studio
 

Tracey:

To start off with, I am so used to Premiere, and working with its time line, that I am having some trouble adapting to and working with the programs in Movie Studio, but my impression is that once I learn the changes in the workflow, I will likely be a confirmed Vegas user-- mainly because its seems to be becoming the one to use and has the most support in the community. Right now, however, if I want to put something together fast and simple, I rely on Premiere, or Pinnacles Studio Plus 10 just because I don't have to think about it in detail.

As to Movie Studio + DVD, the first thing you need to know is that the three main components are three separate programs - Vegas, Acid XCM, and DVD Architect. All are "reduced" featured vsersions of the professional programs available, but have plenty of features to put together a fine edit, from the editing of video footage, to the editing of the sound track to the end product, the DVD.

I've not really designed a DVD with it yet. I have made most of DVD productions in the past with Pinnacle Studio. Again, its what I am used to, and Architect's process and terminology is quite different, so there is a learning curve. I have burnt one test DVD without menus, the the resulting burn was just fine. In fact, I have a Sony DVD player. It is touchy in display titles and transitions from a Pinnacle Studio produced DVD, but it does fine with the DVD architect version of the same video. It is strange, but most of the cheap player I have in the house don't have proplems with the Pinnacle DVD- just the Sony.

In any event, from what I have seen so far, I am sure Vegas has a good process and will eventually become my mainstay..

Chris Barcellos

May be me!!
 

I have been using PPro1.5 and others for about 3 months now and I have found that Pinnacle is so much easier to use. I have tried most of the demos out there and I like PP1 the best but it's preview mode when you try to set cut and past points it doesn't preview the points in real time very good at all. May be me being new to it and not knowing it very well but when I use Pinnacle it's great. Real time editing on all points of efx to inserting text and everything. I just downloaded the Vegas 6 demo and of course it's a whole learning curve again. I don't plan on doing lots of efx and stuff I just want to do plain videos on instructional content so for me it looks like Pinnacle is the way to go and it's very inexpensive compaired to the "Pro" stuff.

One more thing--> Is there a webserver or a site you can upload samples so others can view them??? I haven't tried to do this on my little website, might be able to. I build PCs but I don't know nuttin about websites....

John:

Re: Pinnacle Studio: Thats kind of the way I feel. Why complicate things if you don't need it.

As to the website, I use the one called epowhost.com. I just took a shot in the dark. For under $100.00 they set up a domain name, and give you six gigs of web space, with 90 gig of bandwidth monthly That give you a full year of service. Has been prettly reliable. You've gone to my site. I don't know anything about doing web pages, etc., and they give you access to Site Studio which is a template driven web design tool. Its limited, but it gets something up there. My law office page is through them also. (www.elkgrovelaw.com)

As to uploading samples for others to look at, it is done easily through their system. If you go that way, I can give you some pointers.


Chris Barcellos

Chris, thanks for putting forth your views on vegas. But is sounds like you and John really like Pinnacle..... So Im assuming you think vegas has more to offer once you get to know it, which is why you are planning to make it your mainstay.. That is encouraging to know. I must admit Iam sick of chopping and changing between editing programmes and would like to stick with one (the next one I buy) and master it inside out. Sounds like vegas has an edge in some respects. I have to make a decision within the next few weeks and your comments have made me continue to lean toward vegas.... :) Although..... I am curious to know...what do you think vegas has over pinnacle??

Tracey

Vegas Movie Studio
 

What I like about Pinnacle Studio Plus 10

1. Pinnacle Studio Plus 10 actually edits in the native HDV file stream, using Liquid engine.

2. Has a basic editing format that I have been working with 6 years or more. It is simple and a lot easier to master than Vegas or Premiere.

3. Drag and drop clips from the folder I'm working

4. There are three different modes for editing, but I have always used the time line. You trim you clips to in and out points, and drag and drop but end to last clip, or insert by drag and drop in between two clips on the line. Transitions are dropped between clips, and are easily edit for length.

5. Pinnacle 10 continuously renders in background, so you have a near real time output to review as you edit. When you make a lot of changes, though, that is a little "buggy" sometime.

6. I have acquired, over the years, a lot of SmartSound music, and SmartSound works inside of Pinnacle. (Smart Sound allows you to pick a music track, and it adjusts the track to length of your video, and makes a seamless song. I also have a stand alone version, so it can be used in Vegas too.

7. Has a decent titler, that I ve learned to work with over years.

8. DVD burning, including menu set up and systems, works right on the same time line, inside Pinnacle. You even burn the DVD, or your disk image right from Pinnacle 10.

What Movie Studio + DVD improves on:

1. Multiple video tracks. Pinnacle only has 2.

2. While I am not versed in it yet, I understand the sound utilities will be better.

3. More stable transitions and titling. Again, I have learned this aspect yet, Pinnacle DVD encoding sometime create problems in transitions and titling. Most notable is a stuttering effect on some DVD players. I note that on my Sony DVD player. I actually rendered exactly the same movie to 2 DVDs, one through Pinnacle, and one through DVD Architect Studio. The Pinnacle showed the problem, and the Architect Studio did not. work right. This bothered me about Pinnacle as I was always worried about sending a DVD to a client that might act up in there DVD player.

4. Most importantly, I think there are a lot more third party plug ins out there for the Vegas format.

5. User support-- there seem to be a lot more users out there willing to share about use of the Sony programs.

What I don't like is the fact that if I want to edit HDV decently, I have to buy Cinneform HDConnect to convert to easier editing format. Thats $200.00. If you want full versions of the three programs, you have to upgrade. I actually upgraded the XMC Acid to Acid Music Studio, for better functionality. I will play a little bit with the .m2t editing capabilities now to see if that can work out.

That's where I'm at at this point.

Chris Barcellos

User support is the one thing I've learnt is important to consider! I remember when I first learnt Premiere(the first editing programme I'd ever used).....I couldnt get any advice, tips(no one I knew at the time had used it) and it was a kind of nightmare really...... although I figured it out in the end...as you do. But I don't ever want to go through that again.

Pinnacle sounds good.....but......

I cant wait to try out Vegas!

Tracey

Everything needed to edit HDV is included with the Platinum version. You do not have to buy Cineform in addition to VMS (or the full version of Vegas). Cineform does add some abilities not found in Vegas but is not a requirement. And, yes, Vegas can directly edit from the m2t stream (though that's not generally recommended).

I gave up on this a long time ago.

The 2 track timeline limitations are too few for me. But this problem is overshadowed by the fact Pinnacle (Avid) still can't get a stable product out without a year's worth of updates.

I know the product is only $89 but before you make that plunge I think a visit to the Pinnacle Studio 10 forums will change your mind.

It seems there isn't anyone who has abandoned Vegas for Premiere and that's understandable. And now, with the realease of PPro 2.0 I don't see anyone jumping to it considering the lackluster new features which Vegas has had for some time.

My only concern right now with Vegas is its plug-in support (or lack of it). The titler really sucks and my add-on's from BorisFX don't interact well inside of Vegas. (Whereas in Premiere they work seemlessly with the rest of the UI).

Thanks Chris!!

Speaking of support, I've never seen anyone more responsive and knowledgeable than Edward Troxel on Vegas.