Let's face it, MF4 stinks..

VideoGoat · Post by **VideoGoat** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:00 am

After reading all these problems on the web board and I look up on google and yahoo and see there are a billion problems with this program, I think only 5% could say it works great and never has any issues. I know every software can have quarks on peoples sysytems,, but this is beyond. I knew this program was too good to be true...
Lets just face it, MF4 stinks...

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:55 am

I'm afraid I have to agree. I've had sound problems when editing video and also can't get the transitions to work properly. Ever since spending my hard earned money ($A105) to upgrade to MF4 I've had nothing but trouble. I have delved through this forum, had good response from ULead support but all to no avail, read tips from users. Even installed a new HDD and loaded XP on a clean system - still no luck.

I have been told to uninstall MF4 which I did and followed all the instructions about deleting folders, registry keys etc. etc. Last email from TS told me to do a disk cleanup then delete Temp files again. I've also uninstalled old versions but had to reinstall because the upgrade won't upgrade without them. The list goes on and on! I don't think ULead should release an upgrade version if a user has to contact Support and then play around with the registry just to get it to work! I guess I have to write off the expense as a bad experience and revert to Version 3 until a solution comes out but it appears ULead are happy to try and provide individual "quick fixes" to those that contact them rather than fix the bugs in the program in the first place.

I like to support products by buying upgrades but this experience has made me very wary!

George

ruggy1 · Post by **ruggy1** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:19 am

I have upgraded several times, and finally I believe that MF4 gives most people what they want. It now works for me. The reason it may not work for many people is the number of other Codecs and stuff you have on the disk. I was a severe critic of MF3, but on my system, MF4 actually works. All PC software is designed to work on a relatively clean PC. So clean it up.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:30 pm

Maybe you didn't read my post properly.... I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I have installed innumerable amounts of software in my career having spent most of it as an IT manager. As I pointed out I even tried a clean disk. I tried all the solutions presented by support, not once but many times. An upgrade should not be as prone to many install issues as this is. It obviously works on some installs but as this forum shows there appear to be a lot more where thye have problems. It sounds like you are one of the lucky 5%!

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:45 pm

yikes, 95 people out of 100 are having problems with this software?????

Let me ask you this, if a consumer buys software, goes home and runs it, and it does exactly what they want, do they go to the message boards to shout "hey, go get this software because it works great"? Well, I suppose some folks might, but I think a majority won't ever go looking for help because the software works fine, and they don't need any help...

My point is there are probably a whole lot of folks that have the software running fine that you never hear from

The nature of message boards is to "trouble shoot" (or resolve issues), so of the people who post, almost all of them have problems -- but that's not the entire sampling because we aren't seeing the "works fine" people posting on the forums.

bluesman · Post by **bluesman** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 9:07 pm

Unfortunately, many Ulead products suffer from many issues.

They seem more interested in getting a product to market, rather than getting a reasonably tested solution.

MF3 and DVDPS3 are prime examples.

I bought them through the offers and found both to be appaling products.

The fact that you have other programs on your PC is no excuse.
How many people purchase a product and then set-up their PC from scratch in order that it may work correctly.

Ulead simply do not have a decent testing policy in place, otherwise many issues would be found far earlier.

Many other software vendors are also guilty of the same thing but it is us that continue to purchase them, with many inexperieced users blissfully unaware of the shoddy nature of some products.

It would help if vendors reacted quickly to resolve issues but this is just not the case.

I wonder how many Senior Ulead Managers bother to actually read this forum for example to see the frustration of many.

I am voting with my wallet and will not purchase further products until I see improvements.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:31 pm

Thanks Bluesman - my point exactly.

The reference to 5% was figuratively speaking and refers to the people posting on the board. The fact is there are so many reported problems of similar ilk yet it doesn't appear, to me anyway, that Ulead are addressing the core issue viz. the software requires an extraordinary amount of "tweaking" to get it to work. I won't be unique in the fact that I have existing software on my system before I tried to install DVDMF 4. However given the "clean" system requirements being talked about then the system install procedure should have highlighted this as a requirement prior to install. Notwithstanding, I still can't get it to work. I still have the issues -

1. When previewing a video the playback lasts for just 10 seconds and then music and video stops.

2. The transitions are loaded but I can only get the Basics to work. (I have read similar posts that refer to unistalling earlier versions of DVDMF. I have tried this with no success).

Don't get me wrong, I have upgraded through various Ulead products because I like them but the sheer frustration of repeated "cleaning" and reinstallation with no result is evident in my posting.

I should point out that I have posted here a few times before over the last 8 months but lost my login and just rejoined so I am not a complete newcomer.

George

VideoGoat · Post by **VideoGoat** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:26 pm

Face it, MF4 has too many bugs & errors on it, you can't argue that unless your working for Ulead and need to say otherwise or you'll get fired. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to bash Ulead, I really liked the looks of MF4 and I'm sure Ulead makes some good stuff,, I just think if Ulead was to say what software are they most proud of and least proud of, I would guess MF4 would be in the least proud section.
I don't have problem with Ulead, I just have one with MF4. I hope they take some more time if they ever make version 5 and do it right or fix 4, but it sounds like there are millons of problems on it? Maybe I'm wrong, but I just have not heard much praise for this software anywhere.

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 12:08 am

VideoGoat, what could I say that you wouldn't have an argument for? I do not work for Ulead. MF4 works fine here.

Not sure what else to say other than I would gladly try to help you troubleshoot your issues... But you haven't even listed them here, so it's tough to offer help not knowing all the problems you are having.

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 12:19 am

GeorgeW,

I'm a willing listener and I have listed my problems. I have "cleaned" and reinstalled numerous times. The last email from Tech Support -

Open My Computer. Right Click on the (C:) drive. Select Properties, then click on the Disk Cleanup button. Check the Temporary Files, Recycle Bin, and other option you want to delete then click OK. Select YES on the dialog box then the cleanup process will start.

Delete the files inside the following temporary directories:

C:\Documents and Settings\[your username]\Local Settings\Temp

C:\WINDOWS\Temp

Any help would really be appreciated.

GeorgeC

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 12:31 am

Hi George,

What are your system specs, and what types of videos are you dealing with (the source videos)?

If you right click them, and select Media Clip properties, what shows up? How long are they, and also how big are the files?

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:22 am

Hi George,

Hopefully my computer specs are listed in the signature below. It is slide shows I am using not videos. The project size says <1mb but the photos may total 600mb.

Any help to get this going is appreciated.

George

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 2:44 am

Any background music involved here? If so, what type of audio are you using?

And what type of disc are you creating -- VCD/SVCD/DVD?

Start off small (just for trouble shooting). Try using just a handful of pics -- maybe 20 or so. See if that will let you create the disc image to your hard drive (or DVD Folders if you are creating a DVD).

GeorgeC · Post by **GeorgeC** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:18 am

Audio is mp3 however I disabled during troubleshooting.

DVD

I'll try with a smaller qty. However I have unistalled everything, deleted temp folders etc again and wanted to make sure I have a "clean" install. So before I start do you have any tips so I give it my best shot?

Thanks,
George

GeorgeW · Post by **GeorgeW** » Mon Jun 06, 2005 3:28 am

Convert your .mp3's to 48khz .wav -- .mp3's can be problematic.