Product Choices

jbpete116 wrote on 9/6/2003, 8:01 AM
I would like to buy a program that is more flexible than Movie Maker 2 from microsoft. I have made several "movies" with movie maker and would like to move to the next level. However I am very confused about the different products. Most of them have multiple products with different names. I would like to know about this product. I did download a copy of Vegas LE and was curious if that is similar to screenblaster? I hesitate to buy this type of software without a trial because most of the software I have tested in this area has been poor. Currently I am leaning toward Pinnacle Studio 8 even though the performance of the program seems sub-standard. I just can't find anything else that works better. I have heard good things about this product and would like some opinions from those in the know. I don't need a high end professional app, but rather something for intermediate users. Please advise.

Comments

JohnnyRoy wrote on 9/6/2003, 8:40 AM
> I did download a copy of Vegas LE and was curious if that is similar to screenblaster?

Yes, the interface is the same, but MovieStudio now has more features. So it’s better that Vegas LE which is a limited version of Vegas 3. (The Vegas product is now at version 4) If you like Vegas LE, you’re gonna love MovieStudio 3.

> Currently I am leaning toward Pinnacle Studio 8 even though the performance of the program seems sub-standard.

A lot of people came here to VideoFactory and now MovieStudio from the Pinnacle Studio product. Myself included. Sub-standard is an understatement. The product is a mine field and you will waste most of your time debugging the product and get a real bad taste for video editing because you won’t be doing much of it. Go check out the Pinnacle forums if you don’t believe me. It’s filled with unhappy users screaming at Pinnacle for a product that should never have been released and threatening for their money back. Not a pretty sight.

> I don't need a high end professional app, but rather something for intermediate users.

Then you definitely DON'T want Studio 8. It is a beginner's application that you will grow out of quickly. It only has one video track with no ability to do even the simplest of video overlays. I think that you will find that MovieStudio has more features than Pinnacle Studio 8 and is extremely stable. It is very unfortunate that they removed the download and I would send an email to: retailsales@screenblast.com and ask where you can get a demo. Maybe they can send you a CD? There is a link on the web site so I’m sure they plan to offer one but it doesn't work right now.

I would not buy Pinnacle Studio just because they have a demo available. The Studio demo does not capture or burn. That’s where a lot of their bugs are and you can’t even test it in the demo. This is a very deceiving demo. (I bought Studio 8 for $9 at Fry’s and have never been able to make a DVD longer than 30 minutes due to bugs in the software) Pinnacle Studio 8 is a very unstable piece of software and people are leaving it in droves. Even loyal customers who have promoted the product are leaving. Don’t make the same mistake. I assure you, that you will not regret buying Screenblast MovieStudio 3.

~jr
filmy wrote on 9/6/2003, 9:44 AM
>>>It is very unfortunate that they removed the download and I would send an email to: retailsales@screenblast.com and ask where you can get a demo.<<<

Do you mean Video Factory/Screenblast? The demo is here - SoFo I mean. I dunno about the actual Screenblast site but if they took it down there is might be because they moved it over here.

http://sonicfoundry.com/Products/showproduct.asp?PID=856&FeatureID=7231 for the comparison.

Screen Blast Movie Studio demo download from SoFo.
JohnnyRoy wrote on 9/6/2003, 10:18 AM
Filmy, That’s terrific! Yes, I was talking about the Screenblast site. I just looked for someone last night and noticed the demo link didn’t work. It’s great that SoFo has it. I need to go back to the “other forum” and let them know it’s on the SoFo site. How did you find that download link? I don't see it anywhere on the page you referenced. Thanks,

~jr
GerryLeacock wrote on 9/6/2003, 11:32 AM
Filmy, I went to the link you provided and downloaded the demo. However, after installing it, it asks me for a serial number from the jewel case or in the email confirmation if I downloaded it. Where do you get the serial # for the demo???

Interesting to note: When the program starts installing, it definately says "Sony". Yet it asked me for the email conf # if I downloaded it. I thought Sony wasn't making this available for download!!
Chienworks wrote on 9/6/2003, 12:16 PM
Gerry Leacock, i haven't tried this demo yet myself, but typically SonicFoundry software has an option to select "Run in Demo mode" right underneath the serial number blank. Look carefully; it's probably there somewhere.
jbpete116 wrote on 9/6/2003, 12:28 PM
Thanks everyone for the comments and the help. I will just buy the product from the sonicfoundry site and have it shipped. Gotta say they are making this hard to buy. It seems like when you go to the link "Buy downloadbles" you can buy it but only a shipped version. Don't get the downloadable part. I did download the version from the link provided by one of the group members but I don't quite understand how I even did that. Hopefully things will work with the snail mail process.

Hopefully the product works better than their web site.

Thanks again everyone for the help

jbpete116
discdude wrote on 9/6/2003, 2:13 PM
Unfortunately Gerry is right, there is no option to run in demo mode.
gogiants wrote on 9/6/2003, 2:59 PM
Sounds like you've made your choice (a good one), but I felt compelled to throw a comment out there.

I was in a situation very similar to the one you described. Spent 2 days with the freebie software (ULEAD VideoStudio) that came with my Firewire card, and was already wondering what else I might do.

I came across Movie Studio (then Video Factory) and I've never once regretted buying it. As has been said many times before, this forum alone is reason enough to buy it. You'll soon start surprising yourself with the videos you'll make.

Troop on through the strange download/purchase process; it will be worth it.
filmy wrote on 9/6/2003, 4:50 PM
Maybe they put up the wrong version. I dunno - but like Cheinworks says most all of the stuff you just install and it runs in demo mode until you put in a serial. Oh wait - duh! I know what it probably is. When you register to download you get an email from SoFo. That may be it.
IanG wrote on 9/7/2003, 5:51 AM
That sounds reasonable, but where's the registration? I can't find it anywhere!

Ian G.
filmy wrote on 9/7/2003, 7:49 AM
>>> That sounds reasonable, but where's the registration? I can't find it anywhere!<<<

When you go to the download page and click on what you want to download if you have not already registered to download you fill out the little form, After that you get kicked over to the download. I believe that after you download you will get an email from SoFo/Sony with more information.
beren wrote on 9/7/2003, 10:48 PM
JR: I think you're being a little rough there on S8. It's really not as bad as you make it. I did have trouble with it when using analog clips (although even then I was able to produce several hour-long movies), but since I've gone digital, it has really done a fine job, and it's really easy and intuitive to learn to use.
My problems are: a) S8 can slow down sometimes, and b) it does sometimes crash.
I'm thinking about trying Screenblast because of these two reasons and to get the extra video tracks. I can to pic-in-pic, and transparent video with HFX, but it's pretty complicated. I'd love to be able to try out a demo first though.
IanG wrote on 9/8/2003, 3:05 AM
>but it's pretty complicated

I think it's different, rather than complicated. As a convert from Studio I found it a bit of a culture shock when I started using VF. Follow the tutorials, play with it for a couple of hours and you'll find that you're thinking about what you want to do rather than how you're going to do it.

Hopefully, Sony will get their act together soon and make a demo available - the lack of one's got to be hurting their sales. As a VF user I'll buy Screenblast on trust, but I wouldn't expect anyone else to.

Ian G.
JohnnyRoy wrote on 9/8/2003, 3:16 PM
Ian, I think Beren was saying that Hollywood FX (HFX) was complicated for simple transparent overlays or pic-in-pic. Not that VideoFactory was complicated. VideoFactory makes it very easy.

Beren, As for not being fair to Studio 8, that depends on your experiences. I’ve had some really bad experiences where I lost two weeks of work because the project file got corrupt early on in the project and all my backups after that were corrupt but I didn’t know any of this until I needed to render. It would just loop after about 2 minutes of rendering with no solution from Pinnacle except to start the project over. That’s when I listened to Pinnacle and started the project over in VideoFactory. I don’t think customers should have to tolerate that.

~jr
IanG wrote on 9/8/2003, 4:12 PM
~jr, I'm developing a problem solving technique whereby I offer a solution without wasting time on tedious details such as finding out what the actual problem is. It needs more work!

Ian G.
corey13d wrote on 9/9/2003, 8:12 AM
I agree with many of the previous comments.

I wound up with VF two years ago simply because they had a downloadable demo version. It was critical to my buying decision. Had no trouble with the download, and subsequently purchased the package. The next issue was Sonic's terrible documentation. For such a feature-rich product, the manual was pretty skimpy.

Having said all this, I really think it is a great product. It does sooo much. The new version from SONY has a MUCH better manual, although it still needs some more detail. If you can overcome the so-so documentation (for example, by making use of these forums), you will be HIGHLY rewarded.

Also, it has always been a stable product for me. I initially ran on a low end machine (P3@600mhz and win98) and never had a problem. Should work even better on newer platforms.

But, a side note to SONY: You'd better solve these problems (download confusion, documentation) or you'll lose customers. This is the best product with the worst promo and p.r. that I've ever seen. Just my two cents.

Corey
discdude wrote on 9/9/2003, 8:26 AM
corey13d said:
>This is the best product with the worst promo and p.r. that I've ever seen.

Sad thing is that most people thought PR would be better with Sony. I hope they "wake up" soon.

You know, if Movie Studio 3 was released by Sonic Foundry, I probably would of bought it sight unseen. But Sony has to earn my trust (and my $$$) especially due to my overwhelmingly negative experiences with their past products. So I'm not buying until I see a demo.
beren wrote on 9/16/2003, 10:09 PM
Okay, I hear you.