I happen to be one of those you are making free with your accusations about... and while I don't exactly appreciate it, I know where you are coming from.Exactly. That's why I wonder most. They saw this crap, they knew it, still they decided to support company with their money.
I was also one of the as far as I can recall unanimous beta testers who criticised the new so called authoring module from just about every point of view. The only new thing it offered was to be able to burn AVCHD folders, which in itself was a good thing, but like every other aspect of that module, it was incredibly slow to run.
That being said, I still like the X3 main editing module and in most respects to my mind it marks a step forward on X2 and VS11.5+ before it. I was the one who probably most tested the program with a wide variety of AVCHD files, and found that X3 worked without the blips which had beggared so many users of X2... I realise that some people still have problems with the blip or something analogous, but I tested that with footage from the hitherto problematic Panasonic SD-9; I tested it with the new international standard AVCHD maximum bitrate of 25 Mbps (though accept that, stupidly, while it can process that bitrate it cannot output at it); I tested it even with AVCHD 1280 x 720p (though only with rendering Same As), and all of them worked with no apparent problem.
One or two things worry me about the editing module, and particularly the disappearance of mpeg-2 as a general choice under Share > Create Video File > Custom (as opposed to the set DVD/mpeg-2 modules). But in a sense I personally have moved on and these days only deal with HD video... I realise, however, that others are still working with SD...
But yes, I continue to support the main editing module in X3, and think it marks a step forward.
I won't argue with you, however, about the ethics of Corel's decision not to release patches for X2 as I agree with you totally. I also won't argue with anyone about how bad the current authoring module really is and what a monumental step backward it represents in anyone's terms. I simply can't understand why they even vaguely thought for one moment it would be accepted -- especially after the independent earlier release to universal disdain of the 2010 express suite, which is what they included with X3; let alone the no-holes-barred language we used about the same in the beta testing process. At the end of the day we were ignored.
All I can say in my own defence, however, is that for my own personal needs, which is primarily HDV/AVCHD hybrid disc focused, X3's main editor more than meets my needs. It produces what I need with more sophistication and more simply than, say Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, which I also have but despite working with its predecessors (and it) successfully with SD, find hopelessly limited to its own (professional end) formats when it comes to HD.
I also no longer really even need to burn any discs, hybrid or otherwise, as I have my computer networked to my HDTV via my PS3, and again, the results are more than satisfying with X3, particularly with some of its new features (and especially the PinP filter which to me alone is worth the upgrade price...) Moreover, I can transfer my videos to large USB sticks and play those on the increasingly large number of friends Blu-Ray players or PS3s...
But again I realise that the program will always and inevitably represent different things to different users. But equally inevitably, unfortunately, venting here is not going to do a thing in changing Corel policy. We pass on what we can to our really very limited contacts in Corel, and believe me again, we do it in no holes barred terms -- and for the very first time, at least for me, we are getting some positive feedback from at least some of them.
But the only real thing the broader Corel hierarchy will inevitably listen to is the concerted voices of other users like yourself. So vent here by all means, but you will only be preaching to the converted. Preach instead directly to Corel. And if they continue not to listen, then if they continue in their current course, they can hardly be expected to retain what market share remains with them...
