Has anyone every used Sonic Scenarist 3.0? And if so, any opinions ?

Kim,

Yes, I have used Scenarist for the last several years, since version 2.7 anyway. First of all, the latest release is something like 3.0.1 or something, which is probably just a little different than 3.0, I don't remember the exact updates. Sonic released 3.1, but then had to pull it after like a week because they screwed a bunch of things up.

Anyway, on to how I like it...

I love it. Many people I have worked with on projects hate it. It gives you access to all the features of DVD, so you can do some very advanced authoring with it if you want. Some people know they will never need anything more than a Main Menu, maybe a Chapters menu, and don't care to set the little things that can make a DVD a little more elegant. I think that's fine and do a lot of those myself. But when you really want to "get under the hood" and create some more advanced behavior, some of the lesser authoring packages just won't do it.

Because it's so powerful, though, Scenarist is difficult for some people to get their heads around. Some of it is like computer programming. After all, that's essentially what you are doing by setting parameters that can be checked later - much like BASIC computer language with setting a variable then programming an IF THEN ELSE command (anybody else remember BASIC?). You can also do closed captioning, multi-angle, etc.

Scenarist is one of the premier DVD authoring packages out there. It has been used to author thousands of Hollywood titles. I have myself used it to author at least a couple of hundred DVD titles. Like I said, I love it, you may not.

Now for the biggie...

I hope you are asking this because someone is giving it to you or you just won the lottery. Brand new the entry level version of the software costs something like $25,000 (US). That's a lot of shiny little discs authored to pay for that bad boy. Also if you have somebody offering you the software, know that you also need a valid dongle to be able to run the software. You also need the right video card and drivers to be able to proof your authoring in real time.

Hope I helped in some way. Have fun!

Rob

Thanks! You're the only person who has contacted me anywhere with any experience with this software. I'm checking to see if it is a full version, as they said the retail is only $5000, quite a bit less than what you said.

Hi

I dont think there is any other program that has all the capabilities, but there is somewhat of a learning curve.

I use 3.1 and have had scenarist since it was made by daiken (sp?). I think the 5k price is correct and I thought I heard it could be had for 3K.

Original price paid here was 25K!

They have simply made the switch to HD and now offer modules at 30K each!

Chuck