If you want to use the avatar I am using as a protest in this matter you can download it here: http://timeless-moments.co.uk/html/smartsound.html

Right click and select save target as, then go into your profile and upload the avatar from the appropriate tab.

 

Cheers

Ian

I like the updated look, new content, and latest video plug-ins in S14.  However ...

I am hooked on SmartSound - extensive music selection (for purchase), it's integrated into the video editing process, and dramatically enhances my end product.

Nice avatar Ian.  Count me in.

I too have purchased every Studio version from 8 to 12. But with out Smartsound in Version 14, I will not purchase it. The dropping of the Smartsound plug-in just makes my work flow to long. I have talked to Smartsound Tech support about this, and in short they have no plans on re-writing there plug-in anytime in the for see-able future. They have provided a list of other NLE's that there plug-ins do work with. And I'm in the process of reviewing these.

Avid has lost a customer, not with just Studio products, but all Avid products. Avid seems to be pushing there Music generation software as of late. I personally would not purchase this software because I'm not musically incline, but that's right up my son's interest. I have steered him away of these Avid products onto there competitors as well. I also sit on his schools technical advisory committee, and have steered them away from Avid products also. It does not take much convincing after laying out facts like these to convince people that other software has just as many features, and we should expect better software compatibility from them. That's a lot of lost potential customers every year. At my son's school, we always try to find good software that the kids can learn skills that will care forward onto High School and College, that would also give them a running head start. Given the fact that Kids tend to stuck with with they know, when doing projects in other areas of there school work, while at the same time spreading out this information on there network. If you don't believe how fast information (Good and bad) can travel these days, just watch any of My son's You-Tube videos. Like me, he likes to give credit at the end, listing the software and people that help make the video. Studio was always listed among other software like Gimp, Blender etc. Now after I make the switch, I'm sure he will also, since he is only 11 and still requires my expertise on a lot of his work. His friends see's these and many times is a starting point for there own work.

Years ago I had a nasty bug in a Ulead product, lots of other people had reported this same import bug, they promised to fix it in there next release, and never did. I have not purchased or even looked at a Ulead product since then. I also steer people away from there products. This incident made me a firm Studio user and backer. I back and support products that make my live more enjoyable, I do not support products that my life harder. Don't believe me, check out the Blender project Durian when it comes out next year, you will see my name in the financial backer section of the movie.

There are lots of software companies out there that produce quality software. For reasons I'll never understand companies like to chase there costumers base away to there competitors. But they do. By making one bad decision, the snowball affect of lost revenue as started. Avid needs to swallow there pride and do what right, put back what they have taken out!

I would speculate that there is probably a ratio of one million Studio purchasers to maybe 1000 that will find the Scorerfitter sound adequate. There is a simple case of economics in play here. Remember, Studio serves the casual consumer as a primary market. Those using Studio for professional purposes are going to have to eventually accept that they are going to pay their media suppliers a different rate of compensation for the material that they are using for profit. 

It is unfortunate for those people that have amassed a large store of SS. At least you can still use your older versions of Studio as you did before. The commercial people have a number of additional options.     

Disclaimer up front:  I have used every version of Studio since S7.  I also have a number of $$ discs that I received in a Pinhead Video competition drawing. (I wouldn't have paid for the stuff. Like a previous poster, whenever I use $mart$ound, SWMBO's comment is, "change the music.") I have also used most of the other consumer-level NLE's, including products that still use the $$ plug-in, and have at least 4 others currently on my desktop.  Studio remains my favorite.

 So, having said that, how many of you have voiced your complaints to $mart$ound with the same enthusiasm as you are doing here? (OK, I see a couple of hands.)

It is $mart$ound who has the capability of giving you what you want.

It is $mart$ound to whom you have paid all that money for your huge library of discs.

It is $mart$ound who will be making money if they create the plug-in for use in S14 that you are all clamoring for.

It is $mart$ound who wants you to use $onicFire, instead of an NLE plug-in, so that they can charge you even more for all that wonderful music.

It is $mart$ound who has made a decision not to update their 6-year old software.

Oh, and BTW, one of the reasons $mart$ound doesn't want to upgrade their QuickTracks software is because of lack of compatibility with versions of Vista and Windows 7. So maybe you should be directing your wrath at M$FT.

As far as I am concerned, your Avatars say it best:  SmartSound - RIP.
 

 
 

TVJohn, I agree with you assessment, but with one added comment, what's is professional quality by today's standard is consumer grade in a few years. Look at video loops, it was just a few years ago you had to pay big bucks to use most of them, today you can get very good ones for just a few bucks if not for free (I'm referring to royalty free ones) for broadcast use, the selection is still a little limited but it grows in leaps and bounds every time I look for one. If you look at the free open source NLE's there about at level if where I believe studio was before version 8. But the bar is moving up fast, and with the next generation of computers supporting up to thirty-two cores (IBM has there server done today, the consumer market will be there in just a few years, 8 cores just coming out now, with support for 4 8-core CPU's on the same mother board inter-tied with Intel's propriety interface), the video editing software business will not be held back by computer speed, requiring special hardware to get work done eugenically. I'd think the video consumer grade software will get much better a lot faster then in the past, once the consumer processors can handle everything we can throw at it.

It is not that I'm insensitive. Liquid users have plenty to feel annoyed about. Arguably Liquid Edition was one of the best values in the NLE market, probably a victim of undermarketing, certainly comparable in many ways to Avid's flagship, now an uncertain future awaits.

Whilst SS Studio customers have invested money in their music library, Liquid users have invested much time in gaining fluency in that product. At 55, I place a premium on the time factor.

Of course, it will be possible to apply techniques learned in Liquid to another product, but there will be some fall-off in production.

There can be no stopping progress, nor should there be. we have to accept that for every mile we drive forward, we will run some material off our tires.  

As I said earlier in this thread, I tend to have an optimistic outlook on life (cup being half full, not half empty!).  I remember that it was a struggle when Quicktracks were not supported in Edition and the early versions of Liquid, making the SS libraries from Premiere unusable.  I did the obvious thing, when I wanted to use a Quicktrack, I would fire up Premiere, do the audio thing in it and save the WAV file for use in Liquid.  Very cumbersome.  That's when I discovered Sonicfire Pro 3.2, which gave me an additional work flow possibility.  Then in Liquid 7 the Quicktracks were back and now I use both, the built-in Quicktracks and Sonicfire Pro 5 (upgraded from the early version).

I wouldn't be surprised that a future version of Studio will also get SS back, particularly if many of us complain to SmartSound directly.  After all, the early versions of Studio (like my original Studio 400) didn't have SS and the first Premiere that came with the DV500 board had only ACID Music, a loop-based music generator as a plug-in.  We have come a long way since then (and boy, am I dating myself!).

ghuck:

 I have talked to Smartsound Tech support about this, and in short they have no plans on re-writing there plug-in anytime in the for see-able future. They have provided a list of other NLE's that there plug-ins do work with.

I have a SmartSound plugin for Premier Pro CS4.  It doesn't work.  I have to use Sonicfire.

I do not use Smartsound at all but I do use the other plug ins and what happens in the next upgrade when Pinnacle decides to drop another plug in. It is a shame that a supposed upgrade goes backward. So what's next,Vitascene, Boris etc?

You would be surprised how much professionals deliberate before they "upgrade" a piece of hardware OR software. The questions you must ask are:

1. does the new version provide something that I need?

2. will the new version "break" any other programs in the machine?

3. will the new version work with all my existing hardware?

4. what about all my third party add-ons and plug-ins?

If you visit some of the pro forums, you'll see that few want to be the first to jump on new releases. 

I believe there are plenty of pros in this forum that haven't jumped to 14 yet.

strawberrybob:

I believe there are plenty of pros in this forum that haven't jumped to 14 yet.

And never jumped to Vista either.

I cannot post comments about this in this forum on what I was told, because it will be deleted (And has been). This story is very one sided on this forum.

Gerry, as I have told you before, you are welcome to post whatever comment you wish on the Video Friends Forum.  Since SmartSound doesn't even have a user forum that I am aware of, it can't really complain if the other side of the story is not being told.  Nor do I blame Pinnacle/Avid for deleting any posts that may be detrimental to its business.  Having been a regular reader of these forums since S7, in my view Pinnacle has been very tolerant of many of the criticisms that are posted here. However, if you feel that you have something to say that Pinnacle wishes to censor on its forum, then feel free to tell the rest of the story at VFF.  Just telling us that you know something that the rest of us don't is not going to convince me that Pinnacle/Avid bears the responsibility for the complaints that are being made here.

 

Greg;

I have posted the one fact that I was told by SmartSound on the VFF forum that anytime I say it here, the posting is deleted. I might not have said it as loudly as I have said in the forum, or with all the smaller details but it's there. And I would agree with you in a lot of cases Pinnacle has been very tolerant on what has been said in this forum. But I seem to have it a nerve with Pinnacle on this subject, and they are taking a very hard line on this subject, for reasons only they know. But It seems there is a lot more going on with this topic then either side is fully disclosing. For Pinnacle this is usually the norm. they seldom ever commit on there decisions as to why they made the decisions that they did.

Studio without Smartsound = pizza without cheese...

In S10.7 & S12U, I have SmartSound Quicktracks & 4 Library CDs. All at 22K. Yet I read recently that SmartSound are Developing 44K or is it 48K? Quicktracks as a Plugin for a number of NLE Progs. Pinnacle Studio was one of them..

Pinnacle offered SmartSound a ToolKit for presumably a 22K  Plugin for S14. SmartSound declined, since 22K is defunct.

Is the above the "Final Answer"? (Bearing in mind I know zilch about the technicalites re: SmartSound) or do you want to go "50/50" or "Call a Friend"

Hilltop:

Studio without Smartsound = pizza without cheese...

Or Studio without Automatically Generated Music = Videos without Cheesy music?

jjn:

So... who has actually used the new music program in S14? Is it still Scorefitter?

To my eyes and ears, it appears and sounds identical to the tool in S12.

I just tried to use Scorefitter in Studio 14, and nothing?  What's going on?

Pattycam:

jjn:

So... who has actually used the new music program in S14? Is it still Scorefitter?

To my eyes and ears, it appears and sounds identical to the tool in S12.

I just tried to use Scorefitter in Studio 14, and nothing?  What's going on?

Everyone here is talking about SmartSound, so Scorefitter got into a "fit" and went on strike1

RIght, official letter from my company has been sent to CEO of AVID, and VP of Smartsound. I will post a reply if I get one.

Ian

Timeless Moments:

RIght, official letter from my company has been sent to CEO of AVID, and VP of Smartsound. I will post a reply if I get one.

Ian

Like the new Avatar, Ian

colour:

Timeless Moments:

RIght, official letter from my company has been sent to CEO of AVID, and VP of Smartsound. I will post a reply if I get one.

Ian

Like the new Avatar, Ian

Gee thanks Colour

Timeless Moments:

RIght, official letter from my company has been sent to CEO of AVID, and VP of Smartsound. I will post a reply if I get one.

Ian

UPDATE:I have been told that the letter has now been internally forwarded to Smartsound President

Thanks for the update Ian. I just installed S14U and I do have to say, it has some really nice import features that I didn't have with S12. All the plug ins went smooth except SS and NewBlue Video Essentials II. Gotta see why. But, if there is something that requires SS, I will have to either do it in S12 or SFP. Yes, it's a work-a-round, but that's how it has always been with video programs. As long as S12 wasn't "broken", I am ok.

Still would pay for SS plug in for S14.