Was "Disable Resample" Removed from Movie Studio Platinum 14.0?

michael-zander wrote on 2/24/2017, 9:44 AM

I sent in a service ticket to Magix on this topic as well, but it's been several days and I haven't heard anything from them. I was hoping the community might be able to help me on this one.

Recently I updated to Movie Studio Platinum 14 from Movie Studio Platinum 11. 11 has served me well for years, but if you're editing 1080p60 video, that video proxy feature is a godsend. When I received a message from Magix offering a discounted upgrade to the new release, I took it.

So far, it's exactly what I wanted... except for one critical feature that renders the entire program a digital paperweight.

Since Version 3 of Vega Movie Studio, a resample feature was introduced to fill in dropped or missing frames when an event's framerate does not match the timeline. This is called the "smart resample" feature. Only problem is that the resample feature makes the output video look terrible, and basically blends adjoining frames together to fill in dropped or missing frames. If you're editing gameplay footage, which is subject to frequent frame drops, it makes the resulting render look blurry and desharpened.

Movie Studio Platinum 11, 12, and 13 (and most likely down to Version 3, to my knowledge) allowed you to manually disable this feature by manually selecting the video events on the timeline, right clicking, going to switches, and selecting "disable resample." This makes gameplay footage in Vegas look significantly better upon output.

The problem is, this feature seems to be missing from Movie Studio Version 14.0 altogether, at least as of writing. I checked in the help system, but it says that the feature should be in the exact same place it was in previous versions. Did Magix remove this basic, critical feature from Vegas, or am I simply looking for it in the wrong place?

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robbif2 wrote on 5/1/2017, 6:41 PM

@Brandigan,

Now that's the kind of well-reasoned, post I am happy to respond to.

As VMS 14 is essentially a reskinned SMS12 with a few features cut'n'pasted from SMS13 to handle 4K (or SMS13 with a darker SMS12 skin; you say poh-tay-toe etc.)

I realize you have no way of knowing it, so I don't blame you for this assumption, but it is unfortunately completely wrong. When we set about to create VMS 14, I made the decision to essentially scrap the code that had evolved into VMS 13. Why? Several reasons, but mainly because under the previous owner, it had begun to diverge greatly from our pro code base (VEGAS Pro) and to maintain that code base separately would mean our small team of developers would have to maintain two similar-but-definitely-and-increasingly different code bases. This, as you saw with VMS 13, also meant that the VMS line would continue to diverge from the pro line in look, feel, and function. Thus anyone who wants to move from VMS to VP would experience a transition that was more and more like learning a new product. As some forum participants seem fond of saying, "not a great user experience."

I knew there would be pain involved. Essentially, we had to start over with VP codebase and strip out everything that is a pro-only feature that shouldn't be in VMS. This is how some of these mistakes happened. I can see how from the outside it looks unbelievable that we could have made such "stupid" errors, but we're talking about hundreds of features and thousand of lines of intertwined code that were involved.

In the end, the good news (hopefully you'll see it that way), is that what we've now implemented is a system where when we work on VP, we're also working on VMS. So, if there is a long-standing bug that we fix in VP, VMS gets that fix too, not automatically, but with less work and less danger of two different solutions being implemented by teams that aren't communicating.

Are there plans to add more (currently) Pro features?

Well, there will be new features in future versions, but they won't be "pro" features. A good example is the multicam workflow we added in VMS 14. It is not a "pro" feature in that it is a bit stripped down from the full feature that is in VP 14. This has to remain the model, otherwise there's no distinction between a pro and consumer product.

Are there other bugs that are unconnected to this issue being worked on that are responsible for the prolonged delay?

Yes, several.

Does Magix have some aversion to putting out incremental updates with, say 10 fixes in them, against more intermittent ones with 50 fixes?

Not in theory, but unfortunately in practice there are limitations. Since you mention a software history, then you understand that every release has to have not only testing on what's been fixed or added, but also regression testing to try and confirm that nothing else has been broken in the process of the fix, and also general release testing to make sure all of the download and other systems are working properly. These things take lots of time, and that makes instant update releases highly impractical for us, especially since we're simultaneously making progress toward new features for future versions. As the Scrum Product Owner, it is my job to try to push for as many updates as possible, and my Scrum Master's job is to push back in an attempt to balance the frequency of such releases with all of the other work his team of developers must do. I may have gotten that balance of this one wrong, and if so, again please accept my apology. To exacerbate the situation, we found this new issue just as we were about to release it--which is why we do the testing in the first place.

I'd prefer both SMS12 and SMS13 would stop bothering me to upgrade to VMS14 every time I open them

If you're talking about the newsfeed or net notify messages that come up when you open your product, there is a checkbox on the newsfeed system to tell us not to send the same message again. In the old Net Notify system, there is a general preference that enables you to turn Net Notify off.

I hope these answers help you understand what's going on here on our end.

As a retired progeneer/engigrammer who has been through your sequence, I'm with you all the way and looking forward to "our" success!

Selah wrote on 5/2/2017, 8:04 PM

I've been following this thread for the past couple months since upgrading from Movie Studio Platinum 13 to 14 (and subsequently downgrading back to 13 because of this very issue). I'm pleased to hear about the forthcoming update and, thanks to the lengthy post, understand why it could not be pushed out so quickly.

I've had very little experience with 14 as I need resampling disabled for my videos and only had to re-create one project to continue using it with 13 (thankfully I hadn't went ahead and converted all active projects at this point).

The only thing I wish I could do with this, that I have the now outdated Movie Maker for, is timelapses faster than 4X.

Again, irritated by the lack of resampling out the gate, understand, and looking forward to the fix in 14.

Brandigan wrote on 5/3/2017, 6:48 AM

Brandigan - which MS12 plugins aren't working for you in MS14?

@EricLNZ Through SMS11,12 and 13 (and VMS14) I've acquired the following Plugins from NewBlue:

1) NewBlue VideoFX for Sony Vegas MSPPS (Auto Contrast, Color Fixer, Paper Collage etc.)
2) NewBlue Starter Pack (Colored Pencil, Dream Glow, Film Camera, Lens Correction etc.)
3) NewBlue Titler Ex for Sony Vegas MSPPS (works pretty well for a 'cutdown')
4) NewBlue Video Essentials V6 (VI) for Windows (Chroma Key Pro, Color Replace, Cut away, Garbage Matte etc.)
5) NewBlue Elements (Active Camera, Background Generator, Drop Shadow, Flying PIP etc.)
6) NewBlue Titler Pro Express (Very cutdown, disappointingly crippled)

Despite some of them being included with VMS14, all of them work with SMS12 and SMS13, so NewBlue's Effects are backwardly compatible with SONY products.

However, in VMS14 the following happens:

1) Yes. NewBlue VIdeo FX for Sony Vegas MSPPS Works fine,
2) No. NewBlue Starter Pack has Demo Cross and Watermark
3) No. NewBlue Titler Ex for Sony Vegas MSPPS goes into Demo Mode (wants activation key) with Watermark
4) Yes. NewBlue Video Essentials V6 (VI) Works Fine
5) Yes. NewBlue Elements Works fine.
6) Yes. NewBlue Titler Pro Express Works fine, but...doesn't do what the advertising blurb says it does. bait'n'switch by NewBlue.

So, although 1 and 3 came as a pair, only one: Titler Ex (which is the one thing I miss the most) does not work, and the replacement, 6) Titler Pro Express is no replacement. 😒

The fact they all work with SMS12 and 13 means that all VMS14 has to do is lie about what it is to those Specific plugins, because NewBlue have said they aren't going to fix old plugins to work with VMS14, as they'd rather sell you $299 Titler Pro 5 than fix Titler Ex. Not really worked out their customer base, have they? 😂

But they're still 'looking' for a Sony signature and/or a Vegas/Magix signature, as the more recent VMS14 plugins, Pro Express and Essentials 6, all slide into home with no problems at all.

So, while I could potentially swap between SMS13 exporting clip segments to be reloaded into VMS14, or play with a version changer to allow me to go backwards after I've been using VMS14 and need an effect from SMS13...I'd rather not if the fix is simple.

And I suspect it is: Check plugin, if it says NewBlue in the header: Lie. Work. Everyone's happy. 😀

Homicidal_Oatmeal wrote on 5/3/2017, 10:46 AM

I just downloaded the new 122 build, and the option still isn't there. Is it still supposed to be under the video properties?

Homicidal_Oatmeal wrote on 5/3/2017, 11:24 AM

You have to be looking at "switches"

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I'm still getting used to this new UI. It's much different than 13.

robbif2 wrote on 5/3/2017, 11:29 AM

I just downloaded the new 122 build, and the option still isn't there. Is it still supposed to be under the video properties?

122 Build? VMS 14? Nothing in the News option.

Brandigan wrote on 5/31/2017, 7:24 AM

@Cornico, au contraire. It is different. It's still missing in Right Click>Properties in built 122.

It was also in Edit>Switches in previous versions of SMS 13,12,11 etc., but that's not useful if you also want to change the Playback rate, which is what you do/check in Right Click>Properties at the same time as selecting your Resample preference.

Having it in Edit>Switches was always slightly weird anyway IMO, because it's not a global setting.

Selah wrote on 5/31/2017, 9:47 AM

I finally just installed the latest build myself. It is, indeed, there. It seems it was a complete re-install, though.

Brandigan wrote on 5/31/2017, 10:52 AM

@Selah which 'it' are you referring to? If you mean the option is present in Right Click >Properties as it used to be, it still isn't. It is only back in Edit>Switches.

I already mentioned this in the 'Bugs to be fixed' thread, but might as well tag @gary-rebholz as he's the one who has the power to get it fixed. 😉

Selah wrote on 5/31/2017, 11:03 AM

XD you just taught me something about SMS13. You don't have to go to properties. It's available (and previously was in at least 13) by going right click -> switches.

I was talking about right click and edit... did not know it was in properties. never used it there.

gary-rebholz wrote on 5/31/2017, 11:27 AM

@Brandigan

If you mean the option is present in Right Click >Properties as it used to be, it still isn't. It is only back in Edit>Switches.

You're half right...It did indeed drop off of the Properties dialog box. That wasn't intentional, so we should probably add it back. However, it's not "only" back in Edit>Switches. As @Selah points out, it's at Right Click>Switches. Since that's a more direct route than going through properties, I don't see it's lack at Properties an urgent issue to fix, but I'd be curious to know whether for you it is urgent and why.

Brandigan wrote on 5/31/2017, 12:01 PM

@gary-rebholz Thanks, your posts are always more useful than the "If you don't like it, go elsewhere" attitude of the post above yours. That must do wonders for sales. 😒

I already explained my preference in the 'Bugs still to be fixed' thread, but ...Right Click>Switches is just Edit>Switches again. (Thanks, didn't know it was there too, neither are as useful to me.) I always used Right Click>Properties because that's where the Playback and Undersample Rate is. They are intertwined. If I want to set the Playback rate first, I also want to decide if that speed needs Resample on or off.

If x2 then probably not needed, if x1.333 probably would be an improvement.

Also, if I've CTRL-dragged something roughly first, I'll check the Playback rate to see if it's a nice number, and not x1.367 or something that's going to be skippity/lumpy even with resampling on, or at x2.01 and maybe adjust it a bit and at the same time decide if it needs Resample On or Off. I can then adjust the clip length slightly if required. The two options belong in the same place. One is Ying, the other is Yang. 😃

I've done it that way for so long the muscle memory (and extra steps involved without it) will take some relearning. So, if you could slip that in a future update: good on you. 😄

gary-rebholz wrote on 5/31/2017, 1:46 PM

Ha. The things I learn from you guys just by asking! Your workflow makes complete sense to me now that you describe it, and this issue just got more important in my estimation. Let's see what we can do about it. Thanks for the great explanation.

Brandigan wrote on 5/31/2017, 2:03 PM

Great, I'm confident more people than just me will appreciate it. 😊

EricLNZ wrote on 5/31/2017, 5:52 PM

Gary, I'm with Brandigan on this one so hope you can put it back in the Properties box.

gary-rebholz wrote on 6/1/2017, 8:01 AM

Yep; I'm convinced.

ducky wrote on 6/13/2017, 7:50 PM

Hey guys. I followed through this thread, and I either missed it, or something... I have Movie Studio (not platinum) and there is no build 122 available for me. Are we "low end users" going to see this disable resampling in our options as well? I cut down Rocket League tournament videos, but the quality is worse than the live stream... This is my last hope to have not wasted my money on the software.

EricLNZ wrote on 6/13/2017, 8:34 PM

Refer https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/de/forum/vegas-movie-studio-14-platinum-build-122-basic-build-114--106573/

In brief:

1. Build 114 is the latest for Basic version.

2. Resampling options are only available in Platinum.

So sorry you are out of luck. Best upgrade to Platinum as I gather the basic version has much missing compared to Platinum.

ducky wrote on 6/13/2017, 8:58 PM

Refer https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/de/forum/vegas-movie-studio-14-platinum-build-122-basic-build-114--106573/

In brief:

1. Build 114 is the latest for Basic version.

2. Resampling options are only available in Platinum.

So sorry you are out of luck. Best upgrade to Platinum as I gather the basic version has much missing compared to Platinum.

good info. going to request refund tomorrow. poor business practice

Brandigan wrote on 9/5/2017, 12:13 PM

And they're back. Nice! 😃

PatrickJackson wrote on 9/26/2017, 11:12 AM

In VegasPro 14 the resampling options have been moved into the project options settings and are valid project wide, which makes more sense. Probably this principle should also be implemented in VMS14, but is not working yet. Definitely a bug.

THANK YOU. Having to disable interlacing on files one by one was tedious work.

cris wrote on 9/29/2017, 4:01 AM

realize you have no way of knowing it, so I don't blame you for this assumption

Hi Gary! Besides the explanations (whose lines, having been in software building for decades, I understand very well) it's incredibly good to see the actual product owner take the time and attention to reply in a forum.

Your post has singlehandedly made me willing to look at Vegas Pro version for the features I'm missing in MS rather than go someplace else. It testifies to a company that actually interacts with its customers. In internet times, that's become more the exception than the rule. Well done!

gary-rebholz wrote on 9/29/2017, 8:56 AM

@cris

...it's incredibly good to see the actual product owner take the time and attention to reply in a forum...Well done!

Thank you so much for taking the time to say that. I needed a positive start to my day, and you've given it to me. We're not perfect by a long stretch, but we are sincerely trying and will keep getting better.

EricLNZ wrote on 10/10/2017, 10:01 PM

As we are aware from comments made the Resampling option isn't available globally (Project Properties) in MS14 Platinum. Only Vegas Pro has this. With MS Platinum it has to be actioned on an event basis, either in Switches or Properties.

Okay (well to a degree) but the MS Help says otherwise clearly indicating it's available in Project Properties. Obviously an error that needs correcting as it must cause confusion to newcomers.