MSP8 three main gripes, maybe four...

[zzstudio]

This isnt particuarly a request for assisitance, but any suggestions are welcome. Like a lot of other Ulead users I am here to air my opinions.
And maybe I havent found the soultions or workarounds and they DO exist
I admit to not having spent much time with the v.8 so enlighten me if you can!

To start off with there are many things about the new MSP8 that I like

But here are the items I dont like...

1) Lack of Fx channel, I really preferred the A/B/FX timeline and Ulead should have been thoughtful enough to provide v.8 with the option of using the either of the timeline styles (if there is a WAY to change this I would like to know. But I think I know the reason why... (see #2)

2) No backward compatibility DVP/ Gallery files with v.8 are imcompatible with v.7. Seems like roadblocks were thrown up to keep us from going back to use v.7 & v.8 in conjunction. This I assume also has to do with the timelines being different. You cant start a project in v.8 and open in v.7, wont work.
As to why Gallery files are incompatible too?

3) Some folks will probably say this "gripe" has to do with my system, granted the PC (specs in profile) isnt a speeddemon BUT it works fine with MSP7.
Using v.7 I will often manually time video events with audio events just by listening carefully to the audio while scrubbing and placing the clips where the events will sync. Not the most scientfic method, but it works well enough after a couple of times fiddling with the clips.

Here is the important part, using Instant playback with v.7 I can see and hear the result and how accurate it is, AND when rendered it is still the same.

What I have experienced with v.8 in this area is that I simply cant do this at all - even with a smart render what you experience in instant play or by listening to the audio clip isnt going to come out the same, what I could accomplish in v.7 on the fly is a nightmare in v.8...I wont discount that THIS could be a case PC graphics arent "up to snuff" but I really dont have any problem with v.7 in this area.

4) Where are the Overlay and Moving Path buttons above Timeline? Gone?
I guess you always have to right click to get them now. Ulead should give us the option to "build" our own custom toolbars, if thats possible I havent figured it out.

Thats it for now...any comments?

[Gorf]

1) Lack of Fx channel, I really preferred the A/B/FX timeline and Ulead should have been thoughtful enough to provide v.8 with the option...

There is an option. Go back to MSP7
Seriously - there have been some gimmicks added, but the two most fundamental changes are the loss of Fx and the implementation of nested timelines.

2) No backward compatibility DVP/ Gallery files with v.8 are imcompatible with v.7. Seems like roadblocks were thrown up to keep us from going back to use v.7 & v.8 in conjunction.

Fundamental changes do that to software.

Thats it for now...any comments?

I'm cross that the "auto crossfade" option has been removed, and that you can't see the "zoom level" that you're currently using.

At this stage, the gripes match the bonuses, so I haven't yet decided whther to ditch MSP8 and go back to MSP7, but there's not a big deal in it.

[Terry Stetler]

Onboard video and and particularly onboard audio will certainly make things more difficult to stream bits for realtime previews.

Exactly which Acer mainboard are you using? Different models by the same manufacturer can differ radically in how well they perform for video. Boards with Intel, SiS, ATI and NVIDIA chipsets generally do well in editing systems. Those with VIA chipsets often do not, especially if there are a lot of embedded devices or the system has a several PCI cards installed, mainly because of the chipsets relatively limited bandwidth.

One thing I notice is that your system has 512 mb of RAM. While Ulead lists a minimum configuration of 256 megs in my opinion that is somewhat optimistic. In my experience unless you have at least 1 gig of ram it tends to hit the swapfile enough to become annoying, and the only thing that can stop that is more RAM.

Another important thing for video is to have a dedicated video hard drive. Not a partition of the existing boot drive but a whole 2nd hard drive just for projects, captures and other source files; images, animations etc.

1. the Fx track is a dying paradigm. These days "single track" main tracks are the way it's done. Some don't like them, but most do. Are there advantages to each? Sure, but single track won long ago....MSPro was just late getting it.

I argued for single track well before the MSPro7 beta. I was in another beta at the time and that editor was going single track, as many other programs had already done. The handwriting was on the wall for Fx tracks.

2. to do auto audio crossfades turn it on in the Preferences/Edit tab. All clips that are overlaid on the same track will get an auto audio crossfade along with the default transition.



3. another method to do auto audio crossfades is to import and arrange your clips order in the Project Tray/Storyboard. Now group select them and select "Add to timeline" in the context menu.

The subsequent dialog will let you elect to auto-audio crossfade, auto-transition, synch audio to timeline cues, auto-Pan & Zoom etc. Great for doing the basic layout of a project and slideshows.



4. Overlays, Moving Paths, Video and Audio filters etc. are still available in the clips context menu, but the major change for effects is the new Effects Manager;



Note the zoomable keyframer and ability to choose the effect you want to manage from the list at the left. A centralized location for setting up all effects associated with a given clip.

[zzstudio]

There is an option. Go back to MSP7

Gorf: No doubt... I missed the bit about the zoom level indicator but youre right.

Terry: - thanks for the tips. I would be the first to admit this Acer (I am not sure of the MB model) isnt a souped up video machine. Its not my studio computer anyway - just installed MSP8 on it because it was more
convienent for the project I had in mind to test it with.

I also experienced crashes when trying to stack 2-3 clips as overlays
it just wouldnt abide that at all. But to give the new ware a fair shake I should try installing it in the faster computer, but I think its VIA chipset
as its an inexpensive MB but its proved quite stable with MSP7, DVD WS2, etc.

But the premise of the post was that MSP7 performs well, just as well as in my studio PC as my little ACer, but MSP8 didnt fare so well. But that may be because MSP8 make greater demands on the system than its predecesor.

Maybe I can get accustomed to single channel clips, but I tell you that Fx channel was visually better - and there are some things I could do with Fx that I dont think will be possible in single channel.

Like using a 3D spin door to make two clips look like they are "flipping over" from one to another on black blkground...because this requires TWO spin door efx back to back with one reversed and set at 0 to 50 how can that be done in a single channel where the effect can only be during the overlapping of the two clips? MSP8 transitions are not separate clip-like entities, just part of the video/image clips so the ability to stack multiple efx as above is lost.

[zzstudio]

Hmm...I didnt care much for the auto-Xfade anyway. I like my Xfades a little longer and smoother than the auto thing does them.

[Gorf]

2. to do auto audio crossfades turn it on in the Preferences/Edit tab. All clips that are overlaid on the same track will get an auto audio crossfade along with the default transition.

Sorry - that's not what I meant by auto audio crossfade.

What I need is a few frames of audio overlap because jump cuts in audio are a lot harsher than jump cuts in video.

The way I did it in MSP7 is below. The "pressed" button on the toolbar shows the tool I miss in MSP8. Pressing {Shift} and clicking on tracks Aa then Ab applies the crossfade to all overlapping audio on those two tracks.

There isn't an easy way to do this in MSP8. You have to manually adjust the volume levels at each clip edge. Brian Ellis on mug-sw explained a way to do it automatically, but it's as much work as changing the individual clips.

[Devil]

Sorry, Gareth, what you illustrate is not what I said in MUG-SW.

If you take the files in Va and Vb and overlap then in MSP8 V1, then you will still get the audio crossfade. If you don't w'llant the video transitions, you can set the start and end keyframes to 0 or 100% transitions, copy, select all the other transitions you wish to eliminate, right-click and paste attributes.

Alternatively, (I haven't tried this but I think it should work), do everything on V1, then split the video from the audio and select alternate clips and shift to V2.

There are often many ways of skinning cats.

[Gorf]

Can you split clips en masse?

[Devil]

Of course not, stupid me! Sorry! However, the rest works!

[zzstudio]

Update:

On the a/v sync issue - I am retracting my comment that it may have
related to v.8. Surprised I found the same files behaved badly on another
PC -- it was like the audio was never in the same place while scrubbing or using instant, or quick play.

Problem was audio was MP3, maybe some kind of high compression MP3?

But converting to WAV gave me the control I wanted for a/v sync.

MSP8 you are innocent of the charges, at least in that respect...