SO disappointed in Pinnacle

Stormberg · #1 (**permalink**) 03-16-2008, 07:47 PM

so i got pinnacle ultimate because the box made it sound like it was a superior program for editing videos but i get started and it's so cartoonish that i'm embarassed for buying it, and embarassed for whoever created it! ... i mean, with the cartoonish transitions all im thinking is, "damn, what am i trying to do here? put together a slide show for kindergardners?" wtf... grrrr

Alley · #2 (**permalink**) 03-16-2008, 08:51 PM

Stormberg - there are plenty of transitions for mainstream. In fact, there are more transitions that one could ever imagine using - and they are nicely categorized and easy to preview - that is one thing I really like about Studio.

Cartoonish transitions do work for "some" things, so it's nice to have them if you do have a project - little girl slideshow with Princess theme or Little Boy with a "bug" theme. But those make up just a portion of what is included in the program. What about the professional effects you get with Prodad Vitascene?

I respectfully disagree with your statement.

Stormberg · #3 (**permalink**) 03-23-2008, 01:18 AM

you know what alley you're right, initially when i first got the pinnacle i started messing around and yea i was disappointed with the transitions but i agree for SOME things those might be useful, but i dont really have any use for them. But i took a little bit more time to mess around with the video editing itself and the effects i could do with it blew me away, i think once i get a better feel for it i will be able to do better things with it...

some things still turn me off though : the way the box made it seem like you'll get thousands of effects, but then you buy it and it comes with maybe 100 or so and the rest you have to buy ...

and that ProDad vitascene, i dont know, maybe you could help me with it because, i went to activate it, i put in the activation key, and i used the bonus DVD but when i look in "prodad - transitions' it only added one corny circle transition... and on the video effects options under prodad it gives me the options : "adorage filter , heroglyph 2.5 title filter, vitascene filter"

and i have to buy the adorage filter and the heroglyph 2.5 title filter ... i dont see any additional effects after having loaded up the dvd.

mark hk · #4 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 04:35 PM

Stromberg,
I agree with you on you second post. I use studio, but went to do the honest thing and buy a new program for a second computer. That indeed was a one way street. The box and marketing crap certaintly didn't match up to the contents. What worries me, is that Pinnacle has falling into the same trap as many manufacturers in that it is spending more effort and resources on marketing and advertising than product. It used to be that people made a good product and then sold the daylights out of it. Now they sell the daylights out of a marketing concept and hope that manufacturing can live up to the promised product. The bottom line is "I really don't trust Pinnacle" and wouldn't buy a car from them, much less a program I need to use.

I guess I need to go back to Premier and struggle through learning to use a program that delivers, even though it is more than I need.
mark

Marc Peters · #5 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 05:18 PM

Have you tried Premiere Elements? Same price as Studio, and essentially a slimmer version of Premiere.

mark hk · #6 (**permalink**) 03-30-2008, 07:44 PM

Marc,
I have thought about Elements, but for what I am doing now, Studio does work well. I just wanted folks to know that today we shouldn't take for fact much of what is advertised. Since I didn't bother to try out the programs before I purchased them, I really should not have a right to complain.

Since I am within a few years of retirement and intend to shoot video as a suplement to my income after retirement, I should begin now to use better tools. It is interesting, as a mildly experienced visual communicator, how to balance my studies between editing and shooting good video. To be good, we need both. Perhaps this would be a good discussion topic.
Mark