• Better Multi Cam Support. (I would like to mix HD and SD and be able to use the Audio Tracks from all of the cams for a surround effect.
• Undockable Source and Preview Windows that are resizable as well. (Keeping Correct Aspects though.
• To be able to adjust the duration of multiple stills on the timeline.
• When adjusting the length of a clip I would like a Ballon or an area that indicates the duration where I can easily see it as I dynamically change it.
• Subtitle and Multiple Aduio muxing for DVD/HD/BR export.
• A Cleaner Control panel that helps me retaining my settings. IE (Render Drive, Source Drives etc.)
• 24P Support for the Canon HV20.
• Skin Mode. (This would allow fans of Liquid to keep a similiar LE interface, Studio Fans to be able to keep theirs, and for some of us who would like more control on creating our own interface that works for me. Plus I would like to be able to share my skins with other editors.

 

 

Every single thing that is currently in Liquid plus more. 

• universal 24p support for in/out and include DV 24p as well.
• since Chrome would compete with MC dump it and add in support for the Intensity card.  Most consumers will have a HDMI or component camera by now or they will soon.  Since it doesn't have SDI it isn't really considered pro.  In fact the Intensity card is a consumer based card for consumer cameras.  Must have Intensity and Intensity pro support for those who still have component only cameras.  Intensity really is the key to AVCHD editing right now.  Why invent the wheel all over again.  Just use the Intensity card and be done with it.
• More compositing features so people wouldn't even need to really use After Effects as much.  When people start needing tools such as After Effects they get tempted to switch to Premiere.  True track based blend modes that are RT.
• add some support for other formats and codecs.  While many of us would never think of moving to another platform sometimes we get material from people in other formats.  It is a pain to have to convert it.  This is very true for Cineform.  I talked to Cineform and they would be more then happy to have their codecs work under Liquid and they are ready to give you their full support.  Most Premiere and Vegas users are using some form of Cineform and chances are if any of us ever need to share material for group projects it will be Cineform.
• Native quicktime support.  RT grey slice support.  I would be fine if it was limited to certain codecs but make them photojpeg and uncompressed for sure.  This will cover that other chunk of the people we may work with.
• bring all gpu effects up to the directx9 level of performance and features.  Pretty much every human must by now have a directx9 video card if they do any level of video editing.  We should have 3D that at least matches what Apple Motion can do in RT.  That would be a huge feature on the PC side.
• Enhance TDKPRO and add whatever eye cnady you want to add but keep every single feature that we have now.  This includes the robust style tools, curve editing and custom font design.  do not just make it a dumbed down click once and hey that neat sort of tool.  A good title tool should still be a great tool for 2D text design.  TDKPRO was a great program, it was just the interface that irked people.  That and the fact that there was no training support or information on how to actually use it didn't really help a lot either.  Nobody would like Photoshop either if it didn't have any books or decent help.
• get some new codecs and dump 2vuy.  Be sure to keep read support for the format however.  There will be a lot of people that may have older 2vuy stock footage they will still want to use in the future.
• Integrate HFX into the core of the program.  Make it like a new super 3D gpu filter where you can load 3D models (of other formats other then lightwave 5 models).  Better yet make the program itslef work in a true 3D space like HFX so layers can move in 3D space around other layers.
• RT antialiasing from the gpu and graphics card for any type of gpu processing.
• add motion blur to any form of animated movement.  This is key to high quality graphics animation.  It would be awesome if it could be RT.  Maybe only have the motion blur kick in during final render.

I'll link to the UI improvements thread from the old Avid Liquid forum:

http://www.avid.com/exchange/forums/thread/269559.aspx

 

Everything above but I just want to emphasize better and more first class plug-in support from first class companies.

Include a DVD with some tutorials so that early adopters and converts can hit the ground running.

I would very much like the ability to turn off the Autosave which I hate with a passion and I want to a do a save when I decide to save. I am one who likes to experiment and I prefer to be able to restore a project back the way it was without having to do 45 undos, or jumping through a bunch of hopes. While I can understand that some people like the feature very much, I want the option to turn it off, leave it on by default however so it still behaves as expected.

One thing I've discovered over the years is that a similar program from a different company will frequently give you a few wonderful new things you can do.... but then you find that there are some REALLY useful (and frequently used) features from your old program which are not provided, so after a couple of weeks of euphoria, frustration and disappointment sets in.

SO..... I am very happy with most aspects of AL7, and would be keen to see it continue (and we won't speculate/suggest on the name!) because most of it works for me, and works well.

But I WOULD like to see an improvement in the Media Management, preferably whereby all media associated with a particular project is directed into its own matching directory, allowing easy indentification of which bits are what and allowing easy archiving or deletion after a project is over.  It can be done if you are disciplined and make a new directory as you start a project, but that can be a pain when working on two projects at once -- it's all too easy to forget to change back, leaving you with bits of one project in the directory of the other.  I WISH it were automatic!

This is a way of working that suits a single operator, and I appreciate that the current system may be more suitable to multiple users on a network.  Perhaps a selectable option on first installation?

I would like to have a method (printout, visual, etc) whereby I can see EVERY file that is associated with Liquid, or with a project, or with a sequence, and where it is.

This could be presented as a tree, where all files show up as branches. In addition, I want to be able to FIND every file that has some obscure name. For example, when I make a snapshot, it creates this odd binary name, and stores who knows where! Tell me where they all are and what they are named!!!

bigrock:

I would very much like the ability to turn off the Autosave which I hate with a passion and I want to a do a save when I decide to save. I am one who likes to experiment and I prefer to be able to restore a project back the way it was without having to do 45 undos, or jumping through a bunch of hopes. While I can understand that some people like the feature very much, I want the option to turn it off, leave it on by default however so it still behaves as expected.

Why not just save a copy of the sequence before you start experimenting? Then if the experiment turns into a Frankensten, you can just go back to that copy. That way you still have InstantSave to save your butt if something crashes and you still have your before and after sequences. Seems like a better option to me. I do this all the time. Never lost one second of work and always have something to revert to. I also save copies of the projects at different stages just in case InstantSave fails. That said, I would support being able to turn off InstantSave for those who don't like this workflow.

• Everything that Smetvid said earlier
• First-class plug-in support as per Sam the Sham
• First-class DVD / BR / HD-DVD authoring. The current DVD menu editor is somewhere between terrible and useless. I'd like to see built-in authoring that rivals the stand-alone authoring packages now available.
• 2-pass encoding for variable bitrate CODECs.
• Encode-by-parts for DVD / HD formats (required for multi-angle support in DVDs).
  
• Better support for multi-channel audio (7.1, export AC-3 to other files and not just to DVD).
• Continued support for the Pro BOB / MBD / PCI-700 etc.
• Ability to set timecode for imported files.
• Better error reporting (don't tell me you can't import a file; tell my precisely why you can't import it).

A drop-down undo/redo list would also be useful.

Re - Instant save and manually saving to revert back to a previous edit or experimentation ... Lew beat me to the alternative, which I do all the time -  copy the sequence(s) and work on the copy. Same as saving the whole thing.  Takes just as long (or short).

I'd like to see

* better compositing tools - interpolated keyframing on masks and mattes for example
* better integration of HFX - (and a cleaning up of the editor to be more in line with the Liquid editors) - as well as bug cures of course (I agree with the request for HFX accepting 3d models other than just Lightwave). 
* 3D modelling (for use in HFX or in a new 3D editor).  Probably as a plug-in.
*  Morphing capabilities.  Probably as a plug-in..

For the record, I'm coming at Liquid from a non-professional angle, so I don't have the same needs as those who use it to earn their living.  My requests are, therefore, of a secondary nature. I make movies purely for fun. And public showing.  So a lot of the requests here aren't just beyond my needs (but that doesn't mean I don't want to see them happen) - many are also beyond my understanding. 

Nick T:

A drop-down undo/redo list would also be useful.

While pointing at undo or redo, hold down the control + shift keys.

LewS:

Nick T:

A drop-down undo/redo list would also be useful.

While pointing at undo or redo, hold down the control + shift keys.

 Wow that was quick!  

Ok here is a feature...

How about documenting all the undocumented features Liquid already has so people can actually use those features. 

A few other ones...

• A decent level of training materials for people new to video editing included in the product.  Not just a this is what button A and B do but some real creative stuff.
• I would like to add on to what Dave said about authoring.  Add in everything from Pinnacle Impression or whatever it was called.  You guys already have the technology there.  Sure simple DVD authoring is nice but there also be the option to get real down and dirty into the authoring process.  Give us DVD Lab Pro features to really make the program stand out.
• HD-DVD and Blu-Ray advanced authoring with the interactive layer support for both formats.  Support for VC1 and AVCHD encoding for the HD formats as well.  This is key to getting more video of equal quality onto a disc.  With VC1 even a blank DVD could get an hour of HD-DVD video.  Become the leader in disc creation and people will move away from other products just for that fact alone.
• frameserving.  This is not a pro feature.  If you look at the people who use products such as Avisynth it is mostly consumers messing around with their own home video.
• optical flow based timewarps.  Sure it is slow but sometimes you need that perfect level of quality.
• To build on the plugin support request.  Just add in native support for After Effects plugins.  Pretty much any plugin people could ever want you can already get for After Effects.
• 4 corner match moving and single point match moving.  This isn't just a pro feature anymore.  People for home use and wedding type stuff like to do a 4 corner match to put somethign new on a board a bride holds up or something like that.  It is a fun and creative and easy to learn thing people would get a kick out of.  Of course that would mean people would over use the feature but hey what the heck.
• option to use alpha as un-multiplied or pre-multiplied.  ok maybe more of a pro feature but pretty please.
• filtery factory where you can drag and drop gpu and cpu style commands and compile your own gpu or cpu filter.  For example start with some basic 2D commands and drop in a blur slider.  Then allow people to share their evil creations.  make the FX modular.

I would like to see Vector/waveform combo that I can have on all the time if I want. It would be nice to be able to monitor my levels on playback, actually, it wouldn't be nice, it would be a necessity. It would also be nice if Liquid could adopt ther AVX plugin architecture. This would open up lots of plugs :-)

Better integration with compositing apps, such as After Effects...X-Send is not an option as it is unreliable, and also you cannot perform a replace in AE with X-Send.

Thanks

Mark

I like the idea of documenting the undocumented features! I thnk they're un documented though because they don't always work - or don't work on every system?

4 corner match moving and single point match moving Isn't that 'Corner pinning'? Liquid already has it - and it works reasonably well.  However, I'd like it to have better keyframe interpolation - in fact, keyframe interpolatikon is missing from several compositing features.

Good list though - if we get those I'd be well happy.

1. A way to zoom in on the waveform/ histograms.
2. realtime video peak or toggable zebra in the source viewer.

Motion tracking / stabilization w/ corner pinning option (see AfterEffects).

Masks that can be animated (rotoscoping, Bezier handles)

Something similar to AfterEffects' pre-compositing - it's not just containers.

Better keyframe editing - Liquid is good, but it can be better, particularly where editing the curves is concerned.

Real 3D layers with adjustable camera position.

Titler that performs 3D character animations, lighting, works with external objects - sort of a combination of HFX and a titling package - with up-to-date rendering engine.

 

Most of these are AfterEffects compositing features - it would be very nice to be able to work within Liquid for many of these operations.

I go along with all those, except that Corner Pinning is already in Liquid - in the Commotion effects. 

Mind you, the Commotion effects need to be sharpened up a bit I think...

Mike, corner pinning in after effects is tied to motion tracking (and that's not in Commotion filters). It's a very important aspect of the feature because it lets you map a region to a moving 4-corner target.

Ah yes, motion tracking. Agreed. That is HIGHLY desirable and makes the corner pinning more usable.

Yes, I go along with that - motion tracking has been very high on my wish list for a long time - not just for the corner pinning, but also for masks.

Also on the wish list is mask interpolation - so garbage masks can change shape smoothly without having to be re-drawn on every frame, for example.

Bliss!

dun4cheap:

• A Cleaner Control panel that helps me retaining my settings. IE (Render Drive, Source Drives etc.)

It would be great that from a single File Preference screen I can lock down the absolute location for the following... (1) Project Files, Captured Media, Rendered Media, Imported Media, Smartsound Files, TitleDeko files, Voice Overs, DVD files etc.  In fact... give me one button to direct ALL FILES associated with any project to just one location.

Such a feature would allow me to very easily map an entire project to a removable hard drive.  This way, whenever I create a project, I put it on a separate (removable) hard drive.  I know I can most of that today but it is a tedious process and one can easily make a mistake.

a) Hardware acceleration of rendering and dvd writing

b) Ability to use quad core cababilities

c) Render directory location with Media Management options - ideally with an auto prompt at the start of a new project

d) All the various things that don't work as designed fixed