Minor gripes with VS

[CycleWriter]

OK, so I got my copy of the VS 10+ upgrade today, uninstalled the TBYB version, installed the upgrade, transferred all my stuff from ver. 8 and uninstalled it, installed the V.10 patch, started up the new version and all went well. Changed my settings to use my second HD and what not and began editing a video I had already been working on with the trial. Was very happy to see much more content included than what comes with the TBYB version.

Tried some basic editing and titling tasks and caught some aggravating little bugs that I thought I'd share.

First, for some reason not all the SmartSounds tracks from version 8 or 10 installed correctly. Every time I access the Auto Music I get an error message saying the file is not found and I have to click cancel twice to get out. Then, some of the selections trigger the same error and I can't load them to the timeline. When I check them via the SS applet, it says they are not copied from the disc. There's no way to copy them from the install discs and using the Migration button to navigate to the folder where I know the files are results in a "No files to migrate" message.

Second, this has been a problem since before Ver. 8. When you click on a music track in the timeline you get transported back to the beginning of where that track begins. This is a pain when you are trying to synchronize the end of a music track as it requires you to have to scroll all the way forward to where you just were.

Third, when creating custom libraries for a project it is a pain to have to continually reselect them in the drop-down box every time you switch from the Edit space to the FX or Title or Audio spaces. Some of my custom libraries have over 30 thumbnails and the extra mouse clicks just add more work and slow the workflow.

Fourth, when inserting an audio file such as a sound effect to the audio track, it places it at either the beginning or the end of the video. You then have to drag it all the way over to where you want it. This is a PITA.

Fifth, when you click on an audio file (music or audio track), the position indicator jumps to that point with your mouse cursor. This makes it impossible to set the beginning of the file to that exact point in the video where you stopped playback. Again, more time wasted fine tuning when it would be much easier to snap the file right to where you left the position indicator.

I'm sure there's more I can come up with, but I'm burning a DVD as I type so I'll wait to see the result before I go on with my bitching. I'm pretty pleased so far, despite these glitches. VS won't yet be my single video editing solution, but for the easier stuff or when I need SmartSounds, I won't hesitate to use it.

[Ken Berry]

Smartsound is a known problem, and it apparently has to do with which version of Quicktime you have installed. Smartsound itself has brought out a patch for the Quicktracks plug-in in VS and other editing packages. You can find it at the SmartSound.com website, under Downloads if I recall correctly.

[sjj1805]

Please view Frequently asked questions - smartsound

[Black Lab]

#1 - Ken & Steve have addressed.

#2 - If you click on the actual time line (above the main video track - your cursor will change to crosshairs) you cursor will move to that point. Now click on your audo clip. The cursor stays put.

#3 - I kind of agree, but how is VS supposed to know which library you want to use next?

#4 - Not sure what you mean on this one. Are you using the Insert Audio function? If I drag a clip to the audio track it stays where I put it.

#5 - see #2.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi just a bit more

1 / uninstall smartsound then reinstall the Full Spectrum 22k.exe and Quicktracks.exe from the installation disc in (VS 10 program\Program\UVS10\SmartSound)

#2 - If you click on the actual time line (above the main video track - your cursor will change to crosshairs) you cursor will move to that point. Now click on your audo clip. The cursor stays put. (provided the curser is within the audio clip)

4 / insert the audio clip to the library, then drag to the timeline.

5 / to the top of the timeline is a thin section, this is for positioning the chapter points, but can be used as a position indicator. Click on this to set a position inserting an arrow. Drag the audio to this point, it should snap-to.

Trevor

[CycleWriter]

#3 - I kind of agree, but how is VS supposed to know which library you want to use next?

It doesn't have to. It should simply remain in the library last used. As it is, every switch of workspace (like moving from Edit to Audio and back) causes the library to default back to the plain "Video" library.

#4 - Not sure what you mean on this one. Are you using the Insert Audio function? If I drag a clip to the audio track it stays where I put it.

Yes, when inserting an audio clip, whether by right-clicking on the Audio track or by using the command menu, the result is it gets put at the beginning or end of the video and has to be dragged into position. I have hundreds of sound effects so creating a library for all of them would be unwieldy. Common sense would dictate that if you click directly on a position in the audio track that anything inserted should be placed there. much like when you CTRL-V something from the clipboard into a text document. It should go to where the cursor was last.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

Open the folder on your hard drive containing your audio files.

Drag the files to the timeline.

Trevor

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi

As for the library jumping about its totally ridicules.

It should only default to your click when selecting the tabs at the top.

Selecting clips in the timeline should not effect the library status.

I find it a real pain.

Trevor

[CycleWriter]

Hi

As for the library jumping about its totally ridicules.

It should only default to your click when selecting the tabs at the top.

Selecting clips in the timeline should not effect the library status.

I find it a real pain.

Trevor

The thing that bothers me most is that these are not just little quirks or minor inconveniences. Collectively, these are major impediments to a smooth workflow. And most aggravating is that they will likely be fixed, eventually, in a later version, one that we'll again be forced to pay an upgrade fee to get when in actuality, fixes like these should be part of an update release. These significant annoyances go unfixed while the developers continue to add more features to boost sales. Features that are really beyond the scope of what a sub-$100 video editor should do. Workarounds shouldn't have to be employed because of poor design.

[Ken Berry]

At the risk of entering the Wide World of CycleWriter gripes, and actually agreeing with you, I would go one step further and say that I am not even sure some of these problems will ever be corrected. The reverting to the general video pane, and similar quirks, have been a gripe of mine since I started using VS with version 7. Lots of people over the years have complained about them, and here we are with VS10, and they are still there! Ditto the idiotic file names. And the beat goes on! I have learned to live with them, though it is certainly extremely annoying, and in particular does interrupt what could otherwise be a much smoother work flow.

[sjj1805]

In defence of cyclewriter and his list of 'gripes.'
Over the years I have used several major computer systems at my workplace. I have noticed that it is a new user who notices what could be termed minor annoyances that would require some modification to make things better.

Unfortunately no one listens to a 'newbie' and the suggestions often get ignored. A few months later the 'newbie' has learned how to use various 'workarounds' and then the 'problem' is no longer a 'problem.'

I welcome serious observations from newbies, providing that they are 'serious observations' and not just an excuse to moan at anything and everything.

[Black Lab]

At the risk of entering the Wide World of CycleWriter gripes

I agree, Ken. Some of these "quirks" have been around forever. But like you say, you have to learn to live with them because, apparently, they aren't going to be "fixed" (obviously Ulead doesn't see them as "broken").

If we all went about our daily lives complaining about every little "quirk" that bothered us we would sound like.....CycleWriter.

[CycleWriter]

In defence of cyclewriter and his list of 'gripes.'
I welcome serious observations from newbies, providing that they are 'serious observations' and not just an excuse to moan at anything and everything.

I'm not so sure that was a "defence," but you get the benefit of my doubt.

I may be a "newbie" to this forum, but I'm not a newbie to video editing or Video Studio. Since 1998 I have been creating videos on my PC and making a secondary income with them since 2001. I've tried many different editing programs during that time and come to one simple conclusion: there is no single editing solution that works for all video tasks. Some do things better/easier than others, some are better suited to certain projects than another.

That said, I have seen many software developers focus too much energy on making their next iteration of a program more attractive to new purchasers by adding new features rather than fixing the program's faults or bugs and making current users happy. This attitude shortchanges those of us who have stuck with a program through numerous releases and have had to invest inordinate amounts of time to find solutions and workarounds to make the program do the things it should do natively. As it pertains to VS, some of the gripes I posted in this thread are a perfect example. Why does VS still insist on using a ridiculous naming scheme for captures instead of allowing the user to name them? Why do "Recommended Methods" for doing certain tasks have to be adopted over what the program offers as part of its design (not burning from the timeline comes to mind)? Why does the library default to "Video" every time one changes workspace? These kind of petty annoyances are what make a program, no matter how sophisticated or feature rich, a PITA to use. Ulead goes out of its way to present VS as an easy, powerful video editing solution, but having to spend lots of time in this forum to find out how to actually use it and overcome its faults is neither easy or powerful.

I'm really glad this forum is here as it's been an invaluable resource, but I long for the day when my visits here will be fewer and further between. Not that I don't like all you helpful guys, but that would mean I'm actually spending more time using the program instead of looking for fixes and workarounds.

[CycleWriter]

I agree, Ken. Some of these "quirks" have been around forever. But like you say, you have to learn to live with them because, apparently, they aren't going to be "fixed" (obviously Ulead doesn't see them as "broken").

Acceptance breeds complacency, which begets the status quo. Usability is a serious concern for software users and any company that overlooks that will not last long, regardless of how many features they can cram into their code.

If we all went about our daily lives complaining about every little "quirk" that bothered us we would sound like.....CycleWriter.

Change doesn't happen in a vacuum. The only way to be heard is to speak up.

[Black Lab]

I agree, Ken. Some of these "quirks" have been around forever. But like you say, you have to learn to live with them because, apparently, they aren't going to be "fixed" (obviously Ulead doesn't see them as "broken").

Acceptance breeds complacency, which begets the status quo. Usability is a serious concern for software users and any company that overlooks that will not last long, regardless of how many features they can cram into their code.

Well, in this case I'd rather get on with my video editing rather than constantly complain about it.

If we all went about our daily lives complaining about every little "quirk" that bothered us we would sound like.....CycleWriter.

Change doesn't happen in a vacuum. The only way to be heard is to speak up.

Then you are preaching to the choir. There are 154 pages on this forum, with the vast majority being complaints. Ulead never, or very rarely, reads this forum. That's is very obvious because these "basic" changes are not being made. As you say, not every piece of editing software is going to do everything. I'm a bookkeeper by trade, and Quicken and QuickBooks are fine products, but for the life of me I don't know why they do (and don't do) some of the things they do. I could spend my days complaining about it, or I can adapt my needs to the program. I choose the latter. It's not perfect, but that's life, ain't it?