Premiere 6, Media Studio Pro 6, Vegas Video 2: whiche one.....?

[hapz]

I have a G400 Max + RRG combination and want to capture Hi8, edit it, and transfer it to SVHS and other formats. Preferably under Win2000.

It is my understanding that none of the programs (Premiere 6, MS Pro 6, Vegas Video 2) is officially supported by Matrox for the RRG. Does that apply to capture only, or does that include the editing portion too?

In other words, if I am not able to capture with any of these programs, and I am forced to use PC-VCR or some other program (e.g. AVI_IO or Virtual Dub), would I be able to edit these capture files with Premiere, MSP, or Vegas?

Which of these programs would you recommend?

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Harald

[Dr Mordrid]

MSPro6 works just fine with the Marvels and RR-G, it just takes a setting change in its *.ini file to tweak it. When you get it give a holler & we'll get you sraight with it, OK?

Vegas Video is nice for audiophiles, but it's very much a new and somewhat twitchy product. Been there, done that....

Premiere6 is just plain Premiere. The earlier versions can be quite twitchy and I don't think version 6 will be any different, especially as a new product.

Your biggest problem will be getting the RR-G to work under Win2K. The Matrox Win2K drivers are not-yet-ready-for-primetime. Win98SE is the OS of choice right now.

Dr. Mordrid

[hapz]

Dr. Mordrid,

thanks for your quick response

What do you mean with twitchy? Reason for asking: Matrox is providing Premiere w/RT2000 and MSP w/RRG. Wouldn't that be an indication that Premiere is the superior product, or is it "just" a marketing ploy?

With rspect to MSP, I do not yet have a very positive experience with 5.2. Video Capture crashes under Win2000 (an acknowledged Matrox problem), and I have an audio problem under Win98 and WinME. I.e. when I switch to Preview or Overlay mode with my tape deck providing the input, audio is muted and not recorded if captured. As soon as I switch out of any of these 2 modes, audio is back.
This is not a problem when using the Video Editor (or any other software). I have not been able to get this problem resolved, so I am somewhat hesitant with respect to version 6. On the other hand, I am not sure whether this is a Matrox or an MSP issue.

Vegas seems to support dual processors. I am currently running only one, but a 2nd one is in the future as soon as prices go down
I don't know whether Premiere or MSP support dual processors?

I assume all of them support production lengths of up to 120 minutes, independent of file size?

Do any of these programs support scene detection, either during capture or afterwards?

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Harald

[Hulk]

Another vote for MS Pro 6.0

I just purchased it and am very happy. I'm using a MSI 6163 motherboard and a PIII 850 and have to report that it's seems to be very stable. I'm running Win98SE with an ATI All In Wonder 128. I don't use MS Pro to capture so I can't comment on that. I use avi_io for all analog captures.

[Dr Mordrid]

Premiere is a marketing sucess and an operational freakazoid. It has been known for its long list of bugs and instability for some time and I see no reason why Premiere6 will change that.

The decision on Matrox's part to use Premiere 5.1c with the RT-2000 was purely practical: a realtime version of MSPro was unavalable at the time the RT-2000 was being developed. This didn't appear until MSPro6 came to market some months later. Also they had previous programming experience with Premiere from their DigiSuite products.

Relief is coming however as Ulead is widely rumored to be actively working on an RT-2000 plugin for MSPro6. When that comes a lot of RT-2000 users are going to switch. I'm one of 'em, although I'll have to keep using Premiere for the RT-2000 betas (sigh).

As for your instabilities there are at least a couple of reasons for this. First of all you are correct that the RRG drivers are unstable under Win2K. Much of this is because Win2K itself has some significant multimedia problems that won't be solved until Service Pack 2 arrives. It's in beta now.

As for Windows98, are you using the original version or Windows98SE? Windows98 had some WDM driver issues that caused some folks problems. After being fixed in Win98SE these problems resurfaced in Win2K.

Also Windows ME is A LOUSY editing OS. Many Win98 drivers are unstable with it and ME drivers are slow in coming. This is not unexpected since ME is seen by many as just a short-term cash flow resource for Micro$oft that is expected to have a short lifespan. It's also slower than Win98SE in important areas.

The uppance: use a fresh installation of Win98SE if at all possible.

I also agree that AVI_IO is the BEST way to capture your video. It's head over heels better from a functional standpoint than the other capture programs, MSPro's included.

As for multiprocessor support I don't believe MSPro6 has this as yet. Premiere does support multiprocessors.

That said MSPro6 is quite fast compared to Premiere on a single CPU, so how much of an Premiere would gain due to its MP support would be is up for grabs. MP's certainly don't double overall performance. That's used-car salesman stuff....

Dr. Mordrid

[Anatoly Neverov]

I use both the MSP and AP, sometimes AE (After Effects). In my system AP works more stable. Besides, I like tha fact that it has enormous quantity of various plugins. MSP supports DV Type-1 format, Premiere 5.1c supports DV Type-2. MSP works better capturing and outputting video in DV format. But if you use AVI_IO for $25.00 its MSP's possibility is not needed at all. Anyway, AVI_IO does it better than anything else. Recently in one Russian forum was a big long-time discussion: MSP vs AP. The final conclusion is: they are equal. You just choose what you like the best. One likes ice-cream, another one likes dry solty fish. One likes blondes, another one likes brunettes. What and who is better, who can say? Both the packages can give the same result and are the best semi-professional programs on the market. Both the packages have bugs which are corrected by various patches. MSP 6.0 has 2 patches which heal its imperfection. And still it has some minor bugs anyway. As well as AP. No one program is better than these two in this weight. AE is more professional program, with enormous quantity of possibilities which usually aren't required. Vegas Video is a nice software, but its possibilities can be compared rather with VideoWave than with AP or MSP. Although, for home video they are more than satisfactory.

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Anatoly Neverov
Minsk, Belarus

[hapz]

Thanks for all the responses. Excellent advice which should make my life easier making a decision

Doc, with respect to my audio problem in MSP 5.2 Video Capture, I have this under Win98SE and WinME. Exactly the same problem. It is really weird because it is like hitting a switch turning audio off.

On the other hand, if I go with the recommendations, I need not worry about this any way because I will be using AVI_IO

[hapz]

Thanks for all the responses. Excellent advice which should make my life easier making a decision

Doc, with respect to my audio problem in MSP 5.2 Video Capture, I have this under Win98SE and WinME. Exactly the same problem. It is really weird because it is like hitting a switch turning audio off.

On the other hand, if I go with the recommendations, I need not worry about this any way because I will be using AVI_IO

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Harald