I'm considering purchasing either the Mercalli V5 SAL for windows or the V5 Suite for Magix. Which would you recommend? Does one have a distinct advantages over the other? Also, does proDAD ever have sales or discounts? It's rather expensive, but apparently many feel it's worth it.
I've had some good results with Vegas stabilizer, but only with minor shakes, and am looking for something better suited for crappy video.
A very good question. Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer because each stabilisation product has its advantages and disadvantages. Though from a couple of years ago and using Vegas Pro 17, it would be well worth your while looking at this comparison video from Scrapyard Films:
And I've found that the stabiliser in Mocha Pro (expensive) can do better than Mercalli in some circumstances.
... does proDAD ever have sales or discounts?
I might be wrong but none come to mind. But Black Friday is about 2 months away.
I have long used Mercalli SAL (now version 5) for most stabilisation tasks. Using SAL, a new .mp4 or .mov file needs to be rendered, but the advantage is that it avoids the need to restabilise the event on Vegas Pro's timeline if stabilisation is used as an FX on the event and a change is later made to the length of that event - it will then likely need to be re-stabilised.
If you have a look at:
... it looks like you get the SAL with the MAGIX version. You might want to confirm that before buying.
I forgot to mention - try the trial version of Mercalli 5.
You have to be careful, if you use Vegas Pro, you have to use "Mercalli V5 Suite for Vegas". And yeah, that is what i always highly recommend for fast efficient stabilization.
IIRC, with the Suite, you do get Mecalli 5 SAL, and plugins in Vegas are CMOS Fixr Pro, Mercalli Pro, Mercalli RT and Picture Enhanzr RT.
For mild stabilization, I've also had good results with Vegas.
Den24601,
Check your PM.
Does one have a distinct advantages over the other? Also, does proDAD ever have sales or discounts?
My experience is that they already give preferential treatment to loyal customers. There is still a very personal customer relationship. It can be worthwhile to ask. Try sending a nicely worded e-mail.
I second what @walter-i. wrote.... email them. Download the trial and give it a run.
Mercalli 5 seems to work better than the Vegas 18/19 stabilization plugin. I have played around with the one in Resolve and that one is really great so if Vegas or Mercalli are not working out for you on a clip give that one a try.
Thanks for all your suggestions. I did DL the trial V5 for Vegas (which unfortunately did not include the SAL) and am playing with it. It would appear I'd have to purchase the Windows version if I want the SAL, which brings me to my original question: which works better? The SAL or RT Vegas? Also, I could not find any manual or operating instructions. Perhaps I can DL the Windows trial version too for true comparison.
Also, I was surprised at just how good Vegas's stabilizer is when compared to proDAD's offerings. While proDAD did tame my test footage better, it also introduced intolerable artifacts, and wasn't as usable as Vegas. However, I need to gain more experience with proDAD RT before making a decision.
Mercalli V5 Suite for Magix:
The ultimate image calming and image optimization package for Magix Video Pro X, Magix Vegas and Magix Video Deluxe
The package includes the following products/plug-ins:
*For Magix Video Pro X and Magix Video Deluxe*
+Mercalli Stabilir PRO
+Mercalli CMOS-Fixr PRO
+Mercalli RT
+Mercalli Picture Enhanzr RT
+Mercalli Standalone Version (standalone program, SAL)
*For Magix Vegas*
+Mercalli Stabilir PRO
+Mercalli CMOS-Fixr PRO
+Mercalli RT
+Mercalli Picture Enhanzr RT
+Mercalli Standalone Version (standalone program, SAL)
Jøran
Mercalli RT (real time) doesn't need to analyze your footage and stabilizes it on the fly. Disadvantage, the stabilisation is not as good as with Mercalli Stabilizer Pro/ Mercalli SAL and also rendering the stabilized output takes more time. The end effect is that Mercalli RT is not faster than Mercalli Stabilizer Pro/ Mercalli SAL.
For testing the stabilisation possibilities of Mercalli SAL you can download a fully functional trail of Mercalli SAL, with no limitations of functions or trial period limit. The only limitation is a small watermark in the rendered output.
When I played with RT I've found it is much worse than Pro in terms of quality and workflow. Still, as a new buyer of Vegas Plugin bundle you will have everything: SAL + CMOS Fixr + RT + Pro. Pro is better than Vegas Stabilization in my taste.
P.S. V5 Pro included in Mercalli RT bundle is exactly the same as V4 Pro that I use.
I didn't get the SAL version with the Vegas Suite trial I downloaded. I did get the enhancements, but not the SAL. I email proDAD asking if the SAL was included with the Vegas V5, and am waiting a response.
When I bought the Vegas Suite, (and it comes with a serial number for Video Pro X) it came with Mercalli 5 SAL. As posted above by others, it's a part of the "suite".
Reyfox, what folder is it located? I looked in \programs\prodad\MercalliPlugins-5.0, but don't see it.
On the subject of stabilizers, how does BCC optical stabilizer fare versus the 'gold standard' Mercalli?
And newblue, has one as well... And in vegas post (auto stabilizer from FXhome)
"is there a file named Mercalli.exe (it would probably have a yellow M on black icon)? "
No, I don't see a Mercalli.exe. I asked proDAD if the SAL was included with the Vegas suite, but haven't heard back from them yet. However, since I can't find it, I don't think it's included.
I did find the Mercalli Pro plugin included with the suite did much better than the RT version on my crappy test video.
"No, I don't see a Mercalli.exe. I asked proDAD if the SAL was included with the Vegas suite, but haven't heard back from them yet. However, since I can't find it, I don't think it's included."
@Den24601 have you read the other posts answering the question? Maybe if you go to the website and see for yourself what is included with the Vegas Pro Mercalli V5 Suite. Scroll down to the bottom of the webpage. You are using a trial version of the software.
Good point , @bitman.
I don´t know trustworthy reviews of that bunch of stabilizers (except rants about the minor capabilities of the native Vegas stabilisation) .
Maybe others do know some links.
Definitely trial it first if you can. I could never get the Mercalli SAL version to run on my system, but ProDAD support was very helpful while troubleshooting. At this point, I use Vegas stabilization or ProDAD Respeedr which has a stabilize checkbox (no attributes can be changed), which works ok for my immediate needs - and it renders out CBR which helps Vegas deal with my iPhone clips, whether I'm stabilizing and/or changing the clip speed or not.
I did try the Windows trial version, which includes the SLA, and that was noticeably better than proDAD PRO or RT. However, I forgot Hit Film also has a stabilizer, and that worked almost as good as proDAD's SLA version. Since I already own Hit Film Pro, I will stick with that until Black Friday's sales. Hit Film's stabilizer was much better than Vegas, but not as good as proDAD SLA - but close enough for me.