My Video Problems

AndyB01 · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Shropshire

Anytime - Google image for flying pigs! Laughing

I did see a midi guitar once but it's not the same as the real thing - midi drum pads have been around for a while but it will come eventually. Look at how the Wii has transformed video games - apply the same principles to music technology and it starts to get interesting.

My drum synth (EZDrummer) has a 'humaniser' function (which varies the velocity of the beats) something you used to have to do manually on a beat by beat basis in a piano roll on screen. A right pain in the proverbial so coding decent drum tracks could take hours. Now I just use grooves and fills, drag and drop and use the keyboard to add a few accents here and there.

I recall my first ever drum machine - bought in 1982 for £60 and sounded like a demented woodpecker on speed - truly awful.
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God loves an optimist Wink

flyfisher · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 133 Location: Hertford, UK

I remember reading about drum machines with a 'human' element (i.e. variability) built in, although I've never had the chance to play with one. And yes, weren't those early drum machines (and the ones in cheap 'toy' keyboards) so absolutely awful??!! Shocked

As for the Wii, I'm completely disconnected from the gaming world and have little idea about why everyone seems to rave about the 'Wii breakthrough'.

What with my evident midi shortcomings and no idea about Wii, you're all making feel like a right old fogey.
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A SimplyDV refugee - no longer wandering aimlessly through cyberspace

Colin · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 117 Location: Milton Keynes, UK

Back on topic - Studio 11 hasn't crashed once in a day of editing! It's much faster and fluid than ever the previous versions were - and the version I have hasn't even been optimised either.

In addition to reviewing it for "Digital Video" and "Computer Buyer" magazines, I'll be producing several Flash-based online movies to show it in action on SimplyDV. I might even do a video podcast or two.

Perhaps Avid really did shake up the Pinnacle crowd, as is rumoured to have happened!

Colin

PS: And the new audio package is much better than SmartSound.
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Look out for some great digital video-making features in "Digital Video" (Issue 0232), "Computer Buyer" (Issue 195) and "Computer Shopper" (Issue 235) magazines. And others I can't remember!!!

AndyB01 · Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 76 Location: Shropshire

Colin · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 117 Location: Milton Keynes, UK

Unfortunately I don't know much about the workings of the application yet because all I've received is a pair of DVD-R and CD-R discs to install, accompanied by a photocopied "reviewers notes" guide. So, really, I don't know much more than is available on the Avid/Pinnacle website.

As for Midi, I never did get the hang of that whole thing even though I can see its uses. I'll have a poke around when I get a boxed retail copy later in the week (well, if Pinnacle UK is on schedule anyhow!) and it'll be the manual that will give me a better idea.

As for system, all I can say that I'm still running video apps on my Sony Vaio, 2.6Ghz P4+HT, 1GB RAM, NVidia FX5200 (Sony version) and it works fine - mind you, so does Premiere Pro 2! I have a built-in something-or-other soundcard, but I rely on a M-Audio Fast Track external USB 2.0 interface for most stuff as I hate the crappy internal sound card connections that come with PCs.

It's definitely much more nippy than v10 - I use JKL and Spacebar keys a lot when working quickly, and where v10 sometimes paused between functions this one gets on with it instantly. Scrubbing the timeline fast is also very responsive.

I'd imagine that it works very well with a sooped-up system based around Dual Core processing.

I'm planning on getting rid of two of my PCs and replacing with a new Core 2 Duo Intel Apple Mac and running Bootcamp or Parallels for dual Mac/Vista operation in order to save desk space and give me one set of physical / peripheral connections. I'm sure that Studio v11 will fly on such a system!

Colin
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Look out for some great digital video-making features in "Digital Video" (Issue 0232), "Computer Buyer" (Issue 195) and "Computer Shopper" (Issue 235) magazines. And others I can't remember!!!