VMS 13 Platinum - first impressions...

ohmayamusic wrote on 6/11/2014, 9:30 AM
Just downloaded the trial for VMS 13 64 bit to see if I should upgrade from VMS 11 32 bit Platinum. My first impression is the visually it looks childish and WAY dumbed down. The larger icons and layout are confusing to this long time user. I still cant figure out how to get my old top toolbar and move the set of icons (NORMAL, ENVELOPE, FADE etc) from the bottom to the top in ADVANCED mode. Performance seems better in 64 bit version than with my old 32 bit version running Win7 64 bit OS, but I am not sure about getting used to the visual of it all.
Has anyone else had any problems adjusting to this new layout or is it just really that hard to teach an old dog new tricks?
:)

Comments

D7K wrote on 6/11/2014, 9:47 AM
Your first impression is very wrong. The layout is different but very functional IMHO. The MS13 suite comes with some very, very powerful plugins. Among them are a very good stabilizer and something akin to the Photoshop content aware fill for lines.

I sure it would take most users at least a year to become a competent users of these plugins. IMHO MS13 suite would work well for most industrial, wedding, and other some houses as well as hobby folks who are serious or just learning.
Jillian wrote on 6/11/2014, 3:50 PM
It's interesting how opinions can differ so greatly. However, I must agree with the OP's first impression. In my view the new interface is an absolute disaster for serious editors. The entire concept of the MS13 overhaul may very well work against Sony in the long run, since most people will simply not see a need to upgrade or buy new. Touch screens are wonderful on phones and tablets, but in work-oriented PCs they add very little.

I believe Sony is convinced that camcorder/SLR video editing as many of us see it is dead, and that the only viable market is people who shoot vertical videos on their phones or tablets and want to do a quick edit and throw something on the Web. This may very well be the primary market of tomorrow, but I don't think MS13 is a viable product for that market when there are better and free or inexpensive apps available.

Sony and users would have been better served if Sony would have improved MS12 and thrown in a free app for people who want to edit on touch screens. Messing up the interface is not going to win many buyers or reviewers.

The only worthwhile addition to MS13 IMO is the Color Match effect and starting (at last) to begin using wasted space on the bottom of the interface. But, then they destroy it all by adding those huge touch buttons to the advanced interface and by not allowing customization.

As for the freebies, I have the full version of HitFilm, and a free version is available, so the plug-ins are of little value to me. Also, I've always found Boris effects much too complicated and time consuming to be of real value. Now that I think about it, the BCC stabilizer is somewhat useful. If you spend many minutes fiddling with it you can get passable results, but in much less time and with less effort I can get better results with another program. The main "effect" of the BCC Stabilizer is to show just how bad the Sony stabilizer can be.

Plus, after a while, all these 3rd party add-ons just become repetitive. How many ways does one really need to fuzz-up an event??? And, I won't even mention the minimal value of a give-away, end-of-life product like Acid.

Enough ranting. I think MS 13 is a disaster, but I'm sure some people think it is wonderful. All this is just opinion and the proof will come with either the death of Movie Studio or a new version 14 next year, and then15, etc....
D7K wrote on 6/11/2014, 6:13 PM
Yes its all personal opinion, but after trying all of the consumer products MS IMHO is by far the best. But since these editors are so inexpensive and the trails are free, everyone gets to make up his or her mind.

As for the future, who knows what the still/video camera markets are going to look like in a year. But until it breaks for me, I'm not throwing away my learning curve in MS for any of the other consumer products. If I decide to expand my MFT system with a Gh4, then I'm sure I'll have to move to Vegas for 4k editing.

Mercalli ProDAD is easier to use for stablization but if I had not bought it about 7 months before 13 came out, I'd have saved $100 as the Boris stabilizer is good enough for me.
Sherz wrote on 6/12/2014, 5:33 AM
I'm REALLY glad a kept MS12 installed. Workflow is so much better than MS13. They really messed things up with MS13, it really frustrates me working in this new environment. While I agree MS is probably the best consumer NLE around... MS13 is not the best of the family... unless they restore some of the functionality I enjoyed in MS12 and earlier I think I'll be sticking with MS12.
ohmayamusic wrote on 6/16/2014, 1:13 PM
I just bought an old copy of VMS12 just to get the 64bit version. I uninstalled VMS13 and I wish those who like it the best of luck using it. For me, Ill be sticking with the VMS 12 64 bit for a while...
JustOneOldMan wrote on 6/16/2014, 9:03 PM
I've had 13 for a while now, and gave it a shot. Even bought Steve's book to help ease into the new layout.

There's absolutely nothing good I can say about the UI. It just looks and feels (to me) like a 20 year old UI created for non-tech minded people. For years most software has worked on improving the UI, the workflow, and the ability to customize to please. 13 took a huge leap in the opposite direction.

I know some people really like it, but then some people really like an adjustable wrench for auto maintenance - whereas I'll take a good set of end wrenches and a socket set. I agree with the above thought that 13 should have been an improvement on 12, with possibly a separate 'touch' editor being tossed in the box...