Pinnacle Studio 9x,10,x versus Adobe PE and Sony Vegas+DVD

8-O Success at last!!!

After a 3 month battle to find a functional consumer level DV capture and video authoring package, it's here! read Test 5

Installation method: Test 1,2,3,4 were installed after MSCONFIG basic services booting. Test 5 (Sony) was installed on a fully loaded boot including firewalls, virus scanners, etc. and LIVE network connections!

In all cases MS themes were off and windows classic UI architecture loomed as a legacy computing interface recount. Active desktop was turned OFF.

Drives were defragmented, registry entries were checked for errors and the patch and security updates were all know and loath were all installed.
All drivers were version checked and updated if required. Admin level log on permission were used.

The test system will process compress MPEG and AVI conversions at up to 120fps with an average of 40fps during heavy compression routines (MPEG2 AVI, WM9). Decompresion is almost real time to standard uncompressed AVI. Audio I/O's are locked at 48k. Screen resolution is 1280x1024x32bit. DV captures were via a Panasonic VID CAM.

"Most of the software vendors recommend a 16bit color depth to increase performance. with 256 MB of accelerated video, I like to see all of the colors, but there's not much visual difference when running in 16bit mode and it saves resources."

In all cases rendering the final output takes time, and faster boxes don't necesarily make the rednering process faster visually, outboard dedicated compression hardware does. In otherwords I didn't want to sit there and wait. Although the Sony Vegas and Adobe software move right along its a "baking process" before bread is made. All would benefit from an obvious pass-through option for already encoded content and faster conversion to required VOB output for DVD discs. All are dependent on DX9c. Some elude to this feature, aka smart rendering. No strange codecs were pre-installed. All system platform components are on the approved WHQL lists. No outboard DV equipment was introduced. No heavy PCI bus pollution was present. Networks were unplugged depending on the software package.

Test 1. Pinnacle Studio 9 Plus :-// (1,2 Most expensive of the bunch)
(2) tech support calls, 0 results, presence of hidden low level artifacts i.e. drivers, garbage left after successive installations and uninstallations. A total of (6) attempts with various hardware and OS configurations in all.

Eventually I was able to completely remove the product (it should be called "malware" and took hours). Using windows explorer search terms Pinnacle and Adorage, helped after some fancy footwork to kill related processes. I considered a blow torch as a viable means to and end. A check through the registry is also advised and successive checks on all drives for more repositories of "left overs" that the registry cleaner tool provided does not remove, nor the uninstall feature. (This is the best feature included with this software, sorta).One 30 minute feature was eventually produced. The include motion options for scene thumbnails and included transitions were nice but hard to eventually see with all the bugs in the software.

Test 2. Pinnacle Studio 10 Plus }:-@ Oops...I did it Again!
(1) tech support calls, 0 results, 0 functionality and the usual cleanup requirements. During install (1 of 3 attempts) several errors were noted including first the windows firewall blocking the core executables, then an abort for the frame server functionality that requires MS SQL 2000 or similar desktop server. of course the software continued to laboriously install, eventually culminating in the presence of a *.JPG for every country's flag in the world.

The installation issues are worse than the previous version and an MFC update is non defeatable. Otherwise this "malware version" was subsequently removed after only 6 hours of attempts at successful operation. No video was processed or produced. Lots of clean up was required and only one video sequence successfully loaded after watching the "clown demo", The suggestion to only install discs 1 and 2 was erroneous since the installation program could not remove previous installation attempts and seemed to revert to full installation mode regardless of the selections offered. Subsequent "temp" file deletions etc.
ensued, then the decent into computer oblivion as instincts and a fatigue took over...

The tech support person provided the standard response to inquires regarding installation and performance, I found most of the issues while moving around the multitude of installation windows...lurch, stick, abort, ??? nicely hidden behind the first rate marketing screen.

Finally a suggestion was made to drag the installation discs to the hardrive and install from there.???%#$@!

Marketing claims that it was rebuilt from the ground up, started and ended "6 feet under" for my experience. When I returned it, there were plenty more on the shelves.

In both cases the experience was grueling, lengthy and unproductive with undesirable low level hardware driver modfications that seem unaware of MS security and DEP functions or version library checking. Eventually it ran on a fully stripped OS, yet still burped and cried. Must have been compiled for Amigas or old TI calculators instead of WXP-SP2 boxes. Maybe it works better as a ringtone editor on my cell phone?

A rare clue came after installing the MS SQL 2000 Desktop server and VBS 6.x, two of the modules started to "at least move on screen" although the edit function was immediately downed once an import was performed.
A redistribution version (developers SDK version of DX9c) also helped the box but only to the extent that I could remove this "evil" from mybrand new OS installation. The manual did sugest that I could re-install Windows and see if that would work.

Tech Support again made claims that "most people" were having great luck. Where? If you have the "magical undefined perfect system" that doesn't mind applications that act like a virus outbreak, the experience is somewhat like playing a good combat video game. Eventually this player lost, but I got some good strikes in against the enemy before my "life meter": expired.

The discs included "lots" of locked graphical content and filters, transitions etc. which after installation reveal that you need to "log-in" and pay for a host of unlocks, in some cases patches were released because the included ones are locked. All the way around a running commercial, plus (pardon the pun) the TCP/IP requirement "that doesn't contact the internet" according to the support board but is required for rendering and authoring footage seem unique.

The extensive printed manual dedicates considerable content to troubleshooting. How about recompile it and check version libraries?
Maybe a beta test would help for bored people with spare boxes to destroy.
They could get a "free crash test dummy" poster in exchange.

They were "pretty" interfaces with new alpha channel gel blended graphics adorning version10x. Total wasted time, 60 hours. Offers HD editing in V10+. on a Cray mainframe though in a contained environment. Got one handy?

I took some screen shots as a post war memoir, for the dart board.
The marketing and packaging bespeaks authority and lulled me into a consumer trance, I suspect the colors which look like a Verizon product deluded me into think the "upgrade" was going to be "the bomb", overall I liked the interface and workflow logic. but eventually I wanted stability and production. I can still overcome great obstacles and play dangerous games on my XBOX.

Test 3. Adobe Premiere Elements 1.0 :?
(0) tech support calls, good results, minimal functionality issues and decent quality video output resulted. Installation was predictable and painless. In general Adobe software is exceptional and a staple software company. (do you know where your reader software is?) A support call reveals the ugly side of things with a required payment for the first tier option to read standard responses from the database. Some emotional support is provided and everyone sound real artsy. Everyone else wanted the same thing.

2.0 promises more functionality for creating custom titles and menus, otherwise its former vesion (1.0) was friendly and easy to use for persons familiar with Adobe's iconic UI interfaces. (every little icon present does something). Many things are not immediately obvious in the help files and can be found eventually in the owners manual or performing the "three blind mice routine" on the interface. I used a logical workflow method, then pecked at the screen until I found the command option that was relevant. The screen gets extremely dense when jumping between edit modes and "does not speak" dual display so prepare for lots of task switching. The interface becomes muddled quickly as a result and "without dual monitor support" resembles I am sure many users desktops on Monday morning. Why?

Otherwise, well compiled and after some exploration, you can create a disc fairly easily. the provided menus and titles are not nice and effectively look like newbee graphics (typical generic bundled art) but expected for a home version package in this price. For alot more more they have a "professional graphics package" and an upgrade call Premiere Pro.

At that level everything is first rate and fast with only some issues depending on your system. Basic functionality for VCD's and wannabe home DVD productions are provided for in the "Elements" version. DV capture was functional on all of the above with varying results. For $1499.00 you're in business with professional level software. A cheap price considering the investment in development and worldwide acceptance of it's standards. Offers HD editing and post production in V2 Elements. Overall fast and efficient. But the free MS Photostory and Moviemaker might get a lot of typical things done at this level also for computer playback.

"Elements" was uninstalled primarily because of my titling and menuing requirements and otherwise worked fine. The new version offers customization options for the menuing now, but alas we move on.

Test 4: Magix Movie Edit Pro 10 (Cheapest of the bunch)
Installation was predictable and efficient. The gorgeous "dark skins" interface had so many options, features and sub-categories that the application almost appears to be a mistake for the price. Did they really mean to include all that stuff?

Editing uses modules and methods similar to MS Visio to assemble productions by connecting "wired modules" using drag-and-drop, but it takes a while for imports of some types of video content, (decode) and again tries to read everything in the target content folder "all at once" which results in an application crash depending on how much content is being read. There are so many things taking processor time at once that it can become frustrating waiting for assemblies to load in project view. Still I want to experiment more with this offer. The registration seems to be stuck in loop mode when you click on the "check for upgrades" option. I dunno...but did recieve a confirmation....3 times.

A cryptic screen resolution method resulted in an undersized display when viewed on a wide screen, i.e 16:9 wide screen in a 4:3 window. (1) DVD resulted before it hit the showers. reasons, sound disappeared, videos were scaled strangely due to selections in the editor for 16:9 that did not traslate in the DVD authoring portion and instead reverted to 4:3. I'm guessing it is highly dependent on the original contents header information but still tries to accomodate the user at output selections butseems to get a little confused between edit and authoring modes. Some of this is probably user error but...

Otherwise if you have the time this one is pretty interesting. It does speak all versions of NVIDiA desktop manager and can be spread across dual monitors confined to one then drag previews to the other etc. teh learning curve and if nothing else entertainment value of marveling over the advanced choices for DVD menu's is fun.

-> :D Test 5: THE WINNER IS SONY VEGAS + DVD :D (Second cheapest of the bunch)

Blown away right out of the box!, the installation is remarkably shorter than the competitive products, (Under 15 minutes) yet contains considerably more features, (475 compared to a teamed effort of 8 key features for Adobe and Pinnacle). No tech calls required and two clicks to check for updates. Maybe I'v passed out and am dreaming all of this?
This means I'll upgrade to the professional versions. There's a marketing concept. NO hardware issues, NO display issues, first DVD compilation in less than 45 minutes to burn.

Vegas Movie Studio 6.0 Launches perfectly everytime and does not hang waiting to decode embedded video and audio footage of a given project like some of the others and it runs like a well oiled machine. Desktop performance actually "speeded up". After a brief pause at the welcome screen, magical events occured that resolved problems caused by the other software installations. It clocks to SMPTE immediately, and runs like a "scared rabbit" on the test box. I dropped 14, "up to" 800MB AVI files into the timeline editor after a brief delay for the application to process the footage successfully and observed that the multi-tasking and background tasking performance is excellent. A weird audio drop out has occured since the application requires conversion from uncompressed PCM data (48k@16bit) to LPCM, but this is probably a codec issue. A DVD rendered successfully the first time (32 minutes) with "great" video quality. Previews are instant and the software seems very intuitive. The benefits far distance the minor audio event. ( Missing audio is not minor, but the fix is). Both "Elements" and Sony Vegas use ASIO well.

What? I can even drag more content across the network while working?
Yep...Can I open both applications included at the same time? Yep...
Who Ha!!! After 20 years as a professional and casual user of a bunch of OS's (Amiga, Comodore, Dos's, all Windows releases, GEM, Dr Dos, etal most Macintosh OS releases, several IBM (O Sh_t 2) releases, brief skirmishes in UNIX, Linux land) and software efforts, I recognize that illusive silky feel and response that acts like a super computer upgrade.

DVD Architect Studio runs as a separate application and is very cool to work with offering low overhead and bullet fast load times and feedback responsiveness.You can just drop pre-edited material into the interface and marvel at how fast they load. Compared to the other packages there is no fair comparision. I suspect there are more kernel optimizations for various processor choices and just better development. The Adobe offering is a near miss only from a bundled features perspective, but I feel like I have installed "pro quality applications" with Sony Vegas 6.0+DVD for less money and have more task specific "dedicated options" with the two bundled applications.

Unlike all the other packages, this one makes sense immediately, runs lightening fast, loads files fast and has some nice menu templates included with the option of customizing new ones to suit your personal taste. The default ones look good too.

In conclusion I paid for every package to make this fair and only bought "full versions". I gave every chance to ferit claimed system deficiencies first before tossing the losing software offerings. I burned at least 15 DVD's amongst the offerings and played them on HDTV Theatre Systems and both MS and Mac desktops.

I kept all the versions except PS 10 Plus, for future reference. Hopefully the next wave of patches will help users stuck with this and the previous version. Otherwise I am finally getting non-stressful results!

Grading:

1. PS 9x = -5 (newly from the AVID family of companies)
2. PS 10x = -10

3. APE 1.0 = 6 (interesting acronymn eh? from the postscript people)

4. MME10x = 6 (from the makers of Samplitude and Sequoia audio systems.)

5. SMS with DVDAS = 9 (from the big electronics company and movie studio)

I Hope this helps anyone considering a purchase to avoid the pitfalls and get into magic movie making sooner. In all cases a "shut down" option would be great for long rendering requirements.

In general applications that require strident configurations to run, did'nt win any points here. Other previous version software evaluated includes Roxio offerings which strike a balance between each of the features of the others and for basic work was uneventful and faithful. Ulead and Sonic offerings were for the most part well behaved as well but I didn't keep them for various reasons. The famed Nero was technically decent but the interface is an "invasion" by comparison and focuses on "cute".

I was able to download a trial for the Sony product, I was not able to download a trial of many of the other principle applications previewed. In hindsight, I would do this first...doaooh..we all suffer from mental retardism at times.

Now for a nice outboard MPEG2 compresion and a capture engine...Enjoy

Pinnacle Studio 9x,10,x versus Adobe PE and Sony Vegas+DVD

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