muvee autoProducer 3.0 Released [Archive]

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Jason Dunn

11-05-2003, 06:35 AM

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.muvee.com/?promo=jdunn' target='_blank'>http://www.muvee.com/?promo=jdunn</a> </div>I'm a huge fan of the muvee autoProducer software (<a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9010">read this to see why</a>), so I was thrilled when they recently released version 3.0. The biggest features they've added that I like are the ability to use WMA sound files (all my latest music is in WMA), and the ability to use photos for creating your muvee. It remains a very slick product, although I wish they'd add support for Windows Media Video files rather than just AVI and MPEG. <a href="http://www.muvee.com/?promo=jdunn">Check out the free demo</a> to learn more (it's a hefty download, but worth it). muvee rocks! <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/muveeTech_logo.gif" /> "muvee Technologies, the pioneer in automatic video production for the PC, is proud to release the latest version of its *award-winning muvee autoProducer software. The new muvee autoProducer 3 debuts with a host of new features including support for still images, plug-in styles and improved integration with DVD authoring packages. muvee autoProducer 3 now lets users blend digital pictures (JPG/JPEG, GIF and BMP) with their video, and introduces new panning and zooming photo effects that bring stills to life. In response to user requests for a wider selection of video effects and transitions, the new release also supports plug-in styles that users can purchase and download to augment the set of 24 built-in styles that come with the software. muvee autoProducer 3 also sports a host of improvements including direct launching of popular DVD authoring applications, support for Windows MediaR audio files (WMA), and greater user control over the sequencing of video clips." [Affiliate]

danmanmayer

11-05-2003, 08:34 AM

it sounds interesting perhaps i will have to mess with it.

sheik

11-05-2003, 11:44 AM

Does it allow the user to specify that certain clips will be guaranteed to appear in the final edit? I downloaded the demo of Muvee 2 and tried the workaround of including the same short clip 5 times but it still didn't include what I wanted. Other than this problem version 2 was excellent, but even as a quick "trailer" creator it just wasn't usable when vital scenes would be missing from my final cut.

The part on their website about extra downloadable styles sounds promising provided they don't put a silly price tag on them. Ideally it would be nice if they opened up their API to allow their user community to release new styles for free and concentrate on the core product for revenue.

Oh, one more question. Does anybody remember if there used to be a community forum on muvee.com? When I was trying the demo I'm *sure* I found an active community posting tips and wishlists etc but when I checked last week the forum seemed to have disappeared. Did I just imagine it or did I stumble across an unofficial fansite?!

/\dam

Ipaq2210

11-05-2003, 01:06 PM

Played with the demo of this a few weeks ago, and loved it, but was waiting for the new version. Thanks Jason for the heads up on V3 - I have parted with my $50 + European digital download tax (whatever that is !!)

Ipaq2210

Kevin Remhof

11-05-2003, 02:14 PM

It remains a very slick product, although I wish they'd add support for Windows Media Video files rather than just AVI and MPEG.

Darn, that's the one feature I was hoping for. I really like how simple Windows Movie Maker 2 is to use. What would be great is if Muvee could be a plug-in to replace WMM2's "auto movies".

Regardless, if they supported Windows Media Video files, I'd be happy to buy this product. I hate waiting for video to render into AVIs so that I can use Muvee (using the demo, that is).

Jason Dunn

11-05-2003, 04:48 PM

Does it allow the user to specify that certain clips will be guaranteed to appear in the final edit?

Nope, I'm afraid not. I know that's something they're working on, but it didn't make it into this version.

Bill Gunn

11-05-2003, 07:57 PM

Muvee can distill hours of boring home movies into a music video that your friends and family will find enjoyable to watch. It is well worth the price.

Brad Adrian

11-05-2003, 11:08 PM

I'm glad to see that they now support still images. I don't have a digital camcorder, but wanted a way to quickly put together some slideshows for my parents to watch on their DVD/VCD player.

Jason Dunn

11-06-2003, 12:18 AM

Muvee can distill hours of boring home movies into a music video that your friends and family will find enjoyable to watch. It is well worth the price.

Absolutely - don't you just LOVE it? :-D I took 6 HOURS of mind-numbingly bad video footage (in terms of cuts, jittery camera action, and everything else I did wrong with a camera when I was 12 years old), and it did an amazingly good job of making an entertaining video. muvee rocks!

Jason Dunn

11-06-2003, 12:21 AM

Oh, one more question. Does anybody remember if there used to be a community forum on muvee.com? When I was trying the demo I'm *sure* I found an active community posting tips and wishlists etc but when I checked last week the forum seemed to have disappeared. Did I just imagine it or did I stumble across an unofficial fansite?!

I don't think they've ever had one - but I could be wrong about that. I know that I've never seen that, but I don't visit their site all that often...

SassKwatch

11-06-2003, 01:30 AM

Oh, one more question. Does anybody remember if there used to be a community forum on muvee.com?

I don't think they've ever had one - but I could be wrong about that. I know that I've never seen that, but I don't visit their site all that often...

Methinks this be what you're looking for....

http://www.muvee.com/community/index.php

BugDude10

11-06-2003, 01:42 AM

I agree that Muvee is very, very cool. I just bought v3 Sunday to slap together a kid's birthday video, and, man, did it do a nice job. (And fast too -- I had 16 clips totalling ~25 min and a .wma file, and the finished product was ready in just a couple minutes!)

The only problems I have:

* $50 is kinda steep for something that doesn't (yet) give you a bit more control (like ensuring that a particular clip gets used).

* If you're not very into digital video, then $50 might be too pricey. If you're very into it, then you'll want more control for $50 (unless, of course, you're already comfortable spending $600 on Premiere).

* I couldn't get Muvee itself to output properly to my DV cam; I had to save it to my hard drive then import it into WMM then export it from there.

* Better titles would be nice. (The output problem led me to an idea: Let Muvee create the video with music, then use another program to make better titles.)

Like I said, if you're more than just a very casual digital videographer, then Muvee will impress you very much.

Just my $0.02.

Jason Dunn

11-06-2003, 04:15 AM

Good comments! Here are my 2 cents...

1) I think $50 is quite resonable actually, especially considering the killer technology they have. Most of the video editing packages I see in stores here are about $100 CAN, so $50 seems "entry level" enough for me. That said, I too would VERY much like to see a way for certain clips to get included.

2) See above

3) Thankfully, I haven't had any problems in this regard - it always talks to my Canon GL2 very nicely. :-)

4) 110% agree. muvees titles are...well...not great. :( I love the app, but the titles need dramatic improvement. The auto-editing looks really professional, but the titles do not. I typically generate the video in muvee, then create the titles in Pinnacle Studio 8.

I'm more than a casual videographer (though not MUCH more), and muvee still impresses me. ;-)

Jason Dunn

11-06-2003, 04:37 AM

An additional comment: I pointed muvee at a 46.5 GB video file and told it to do its thing, and it didn't complain at all. You have to imagine that they didn't use 46.5 GB files during testing, because it's freakishly abnormal in size, but kudos to the muvee software design team for making a program that actually SCALES to the task. Well done! :way to go:

Ipaq2210

11-06-2003, 08:15 AM

Fully agree with Jason (and others here). There is loads of other good software out there to add titles/DVD menus/whatever to you "muvee".
Last night I took some old DV footage I had used before and let muvee loose on it. It made a fantastic job, far better than the hours and hours of work I had originally spent on the same footage.
I then output the whole thing to AVI-DV (Type 2) and pointed Pinnacle Studio 8 at it, added a DVD menu, broke the 15 min muvee into a few chapters, added some titles and a few overlays and job done.

This software is worth every penny, er sorry, cent.

p.s. Still images - muvee - awesome - enough said :rock on dude!:

Jeff Rutledge

11-07-2003, 03:14 AM

Jason Dunn

11-07-2003, 06:07 AM

I can't seem to find this on the website, but I bought v2.1 not too long ago. Is the upgrade to 3.0 free? I'm guessing not, but is there an upgrade fee that's not full price? I don't really want to install the new version if it's going to be a headache to backout.

No, the upgrade isn't free:

http://www.muvee.com/website/store_english_upgrade.php

You might not need the new features, depending on how you use the software, but I think 3.0 is pretty cool. :-)

Jeff Rutledge

11-08-2003, 09:53 PM

icatar

11-10-2003, 04:14 PM

Hey Jason,

When will DigitalMediaThoughts be online? It says it will be coming in 2003, so you're running out of time! :devilboy:

Jason Dunn

11-10-2003, 04:24 PM

It says it will be coming in 2003, so you're running out of time! :devilboy:

We're trying! We might not quite make it... :|

BugDude10

11-10-2003, 09:21 PM

All I mean about the price point is that:

If you're a more serious videographer (and, Jason, you literally wrote the book on the subject, so I think you'd fall into this category :D ), and you've been spending $100 to $600 on video editing software, then $50 on a package without more control might be a bit uncomfortable. You might be inclined to save that $50 for the next version of something that gives you more control.

If you're a pretty casual video user, then $50 might seem too steep, especially when Windows Movie Maker 2 is free.

If you're right in the middle -- you care enough to be willing to spend some money, but you're not already broke thanks to Adobe and MGI and Ulead and Pinnacle -- then the price point might be ideal.

Don't anyone misunderstand: I think the product is outstanding, and would be just about perfect with some measure of control over clip selection and placement (and some more impressive titling). While I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about and proficient with digital video & editing, I was willing to pay $50 for the software *and* was very pleased to see (and to take credit for) the fabulous video it put together for me.

(Perhaps a solution to the pricing dilemma would be two versions: One without any significant user-control for, say, $30; and one with additional user-controls for $70? But a free upgrade for me, of course, for suggesting this brilliant solution. :D )

Again, just my $0.02.

Jason Dunn

11-10-2003, 09:25 PM

Oh, FWIW, as much as I like muvee 3.0's still photo abilities, the image quality of every output method I tried is inferior to Microsoft's Photo Story. If you want to do a still image show, Photo Story is the best way to go for maximum quality. I think it has to do with muvee not wanting to play nice with the Windows Media Video 9 Image codec setting...