I am one who favours useability over beauty when it comes to tools. If everything is black it looks uniform but harder to use.

In the old days, electronic boxes were light grey with black lettering, and easily read in poor light. Nowadays they have white lettering on a black background which is harder to read.

My printer is black with a black tray that you insert to print disc labels. It sits on a table in front of the window, so the front of the printer is in the shade. I needed to use a torch to insert the tray, so I painted some white guides around the tray entrance slot.

My new computer case is black with charcoal trim. The lettering next to the switches and sockets is dark grey, and I need a torch to read it, but the case does look elegant! It also comes with fan lights that you can switch on, but I don't. My computer is a tool, not a work of art.

Many people have black cars but I would never buy one. Harder to see in poor light and hotter on sunny days.

So far as Vegas is concerned, there is a case for a black background near the monitor so that colours are perceived correctly, but elsewhere please keep everything bright and easily readable.

am of the opinion that the gui is way too bright, but obviously this is highly subjective, so i would appreciate a gui that is user adjustable, rather like adobe has. that way we can all have our cake and eat it ;-)

usher,

do you have the "Use Vegas color scheme" unchecked? If not I don't see how it can "way too" bright, bright maybe.

I am one who favours useability over beauty when it comes to tools.

William Morris, and many other designers, taught, preached and executed that these two vectors - usability and beauty - were mutually dependant on each other.

I'd like an option to darken/lighten, contrast according to my environment and the "mood" I'm in.

NLE activity is a Creative process and the outcome of this are often most authentic when the Viewer is emotionally respected and not pandered to. Consequently, having tool/s that respond to my emotional state has got to be a bonus.

What a great "authentic" Thread.

Let the Games begin!

i've tried both oldsmoke - still too bright for my taste, especially so now i'm using resolve / photoshop so much. still, as grazie points out, it's very 'mood' dependent. for editing art work it's a distraction, for a talking head i couldn't care less ;-)

I guess if you consider a dark background and flattening button style a UI change, then yes AVID changed their interface. A UI change to me is actually moving the buttons and changing the way the UI actually works. AVID has not changed its core interface layout since the dawn of NLE, which they were pretty much the 1st.

I believe there were options to change the background color, as well as a fair amount of color customization even back in 1998 AVID MC. You could have had a dark interface back then too.

Neutral medium grey tones are actually best for framing images. The grey tones impact the colors the least.

A good UI makes the info you need easy to discern, take for instance the speedometer and fuel gauge in your car.

Vegas has always struggled with media management in terms of meta data, but I like the windows folder organization simplicity vs the db driven Avid counterpart.

I guess if you consider a dark background and flattening button style a UI change, then yes AVID changed their interface. A UI change to me is actually moving the buttons and changing the way the UI actually works. AVID has not changed its core interface layout since the dawn of NLE, which they were pretty much the 1st.

I believe there were options to change the background color, as well as a fair amount of color customization even back in 1998 AVID MC. You could have had a dark interface back then too.

Neutral medium grey tones are actually best for framing images. The grey tones impact the colors the least.

A good UI makes the info you need easy to discern, take for instance the speedometer and fuel gauge in your car.

Vegas has always struggled with media management in terms of meta data, but I like the windows folder organization simplicity vs the db driven Avid counterpart.

Yes, I am talking about that exactly, just what Avid did with MC. They made the interface darker with new icons.

I do not wish to change the layout of the interface. After all, the current layout is what makes Vegas unique, very functional, and so easy to use. I believe we all love the current layout, and many just wish if we can have it in a darker theme, and updated colored icons, NOT the ugly B&W icons in Vegas Pro 14.

I guess if you consider a dark background and flattening button style a UI change, then yes AVID changed their interface. A UI change to me is actually moving the buttons and changing the way the UI actually works. AVID has not changed its core interface layout since the dawn of NLE, which they were pretty much the 1st.

I believe there were options to change the background color, as well as a fair amount of color customization even back in 1998 AVID MC. You could have had a dark interface back then too.

Neutral medium grey tones are actually best for framing images. The grey tones impact the colors the least.

A good UI makes the info you need easy to discern, take for instance the speedometer and fuel gauge in your car.

Vegas has always struggled with media management in terms of meta data, but I like the windows folder organization simplicity vs the db driven Avid counterpart.

Yes, I am talking about that exactly, just what Avid did with MC. They made the interface darker with new icons.

I do not wish to change the layout of the interface. After all, the current layout is what makes Vegas unique, very functional, and so easy to use. I believe we all love the current layout, and many just wish if we can have it in a darker theme, and updated colored icons, NOT the ugly B&W icons in Vegas Pro 14.

And different icon shapes if possible.

JJK

And another important point is psychological! Many changes and improvements are not always visible, especially bug fixes. But external changes are always on the surface, and they show that there is a movement and development. Any visual improvements, attracting attention. Sometimes people are just curious! Perhaps that is why car manufacturers are constantly doing restyling.

Maybe for the old-timers, this is not the most significant change, but from a marketing point of view, and to attract new users is very important! As stated in the Russian proverb, meet on clothes :)

Peace!

Dark background with white letters ... we had that 30 years ago, but doctors found that's bad for the eyes ...

Very dark background with dark letters ... even worse ..

Because AVID is doing something, that's no reason to copy.

I don't want a sexy GUI, I want to stand eight hours working and not beeing half blind afterwards.

Never change a proofed GUI. There are a lot of other things to improve.

Dark background with white letters ... we had that 30 years ago, but doctors found that's bad for the eyes ...

Very dark background with dark letters ... even worse ..

Because AVID is doing something, that's no reason to copy.

I don't want a sexy GUI, I want to stand eight hours working and not beeing half blind afterwards.

Never change a proofed GUI. There are a lot of other things to improve.

 

30 years ago!!!! What are you talking about?

It is well known that bright interface on computer screens do strain and hurt the eyes, unlike dark interface.

We do not want "black" or very dark interface which also could strain the eyes, something in the middle is always best...

We do not want "black" or very dark interface which also could strain the eyes, something in the middle is always best...

Who are this "we" that you speak of?

In my opinion, adjustability is best, so different people can customize the luminance and contrast of the interface to suit their own eyes and working environment.

Dark background with white letters ... we had that 30 years ago, but doctors found that's bad for the eyes ...

Where did you get this information? Maybe there are some studies on this subject?

I don't want a sexy GUI, I want to stand eight hours working and not beeing half blind afterwards.

Everyone wants to have a beautiful girlfriend. And you want to tell your friends that you have a beautiful girlfriend, but not the fact that she is good at cooking.

I understand your point, and I agree with you. But let's look wider. We are all interested in the growth of Vegas, and its success. And now it is important to attract new users. And the best option to sell something that is sexy look! :) Advertising and promotion, it's always about sex.

Everyone wants to have a beautiful girlfriend. And you want to tell your friends that you have a beautiful girlfriend, but not the fact that she is good at cooking.

As implied earlier, "beauty is [still] in the eyes of the beholder". And I wouldn't want to tell my friends that my girlfriend (or whoever) is beautiful, but we just don't get along at all. I haven't seen many comments giving reasons to suspect that (m)any of us would want to "lick" the new buttons of VP 14 either. If you're just attracted to your new acquaintance by the good looks, you'll be all the more disappointed if things don't work out.

+1 to our host (as usual).

We do not want "black" or very dark interface which also could strain the eyes, something in the middle is always best...

Who are this "we" that you speak of?

In my opinion, adjustability is best, so different people can customize the luminance and contrast of the interface to suit their own eyes and working environment.

"We" = the people who wish for darker interface. Example: the creator of this thread 😉

Indeed, adjustability is the best option to make every one happy 👍

My objections to interface change/update have nothing to do with style or artsiness. I'm all about functionality. I can't think of a single 'artistic' skin or update for an interface that has improved functionality. I can recall most of them making functionality worse, buttons and menus harder to find, controls more difficult to mouse around.

So, if you want an updated UI, i'm all for it. But, absolutely primary, above all other concerns, it has to be at least as easy to use as what it is replacing.

This is weird. A lot of debate on how it would look. But there is a reason why to go darker. It's not just taste.

In fact, I want a darker interface for this reason : whenever I am editing, I am editing in a dark room with a reference monitor hooked up for preview. The reference monitor needs a dark room. If the interface of your NLE is dark enough, your screens (with the UI) won't light up the room you're trying to keep dark.

Especially now - my UI is displayed on a 55" 4K screen, beside that is a reference monitor (21.5") hooked up via SDI for preview. Black walls all around. You understand that the 55" screen lights up the room too much as it is.

I welcome the slider....

What I don't understand is that there has been a thread for suggestions on the UI. darker was almost uniformly heard - so, there seems to be a chuck of users looking for the darker interface.

There is just one thing that you might consider taste : wether the buttons are color or black/white. I found them easier to recognise in colour rather than B/W; but I guess I'm already used to it. I wouldn't mind getting the color back in the buttons - perhaps a slider for the color gain on the buttons :-)

What I don't understand is that there has been a thread for suggestions on the UI. darker was almost uniformly heard - so, there seems to be a chuck of users looking for the darker interface.

If you read this thread, you'll notice that there seems to be quite a few users not looking for the darker UI.

 

If you read this thread, you'll notice that there seems to be quite a few users not looking for the darker UI.

That's the beauty with a slider - those that don't : don't change it to darker.

I'm sure that there are users that don't want it changed at all, but just the same there are users that do - isn't that all that's needed to justify the *option* of making it darker? And, again - it really is not a matter of taste...

If you read this thread, you noticed that a slider would be widely accepted. And personal working environments do differ.

Sli-der!
Sli-der!!
Sli-der!!!

🏌🏆😁

Slider? I do not really understand what you are talking about?