What is better, Windows MM2, or Avid FreeDV? at DVinfo.net

Robert Silvers · December 29th, 2003, 07:38 PM

What is better, Windows Movie Maker 2, or Avid Free DV?

I downloaded the Avid and it was DOG SLOW. I have a 3.0 Ghz PC with 2 GB ram and a 9800 graphics card with 256 video ram and an Apple 23 inch Cinema Display. Twin serial ADA Seagate drives raid0. In other works, a killer fast machine! Is this written in BASIC? It also did not refresh all the time.

As long as I am at it, if I buy a program, what is best these days? Vegas 4.0+DVD, Adobe PP, or AvidDV? I would only consider Adobe if it no longer sucks.

Glenn Chan · December 29th, 2003, 08:29 PM

"Which NLE is better?" is always thrashed out in every NLE forum, so you can search and bring up some of the old discussions.

You probably want to list what you want to edit and figure out which NLE suits you best. They each have their strengths/weaknesses. Vegas's audio editing capabilities are the best of any NLE and it's very powerful in other areas.

Robert Silvers · December 29th, 2003, 08:56 PM

If it is a Mercedes BMW question that yes, I should have asked more specifically. But if it is a Volvo, Ford, BMW question then the answer is BMW

Christian Stormbom · December 30th, 2003, 04:15 AM

No Avid Free DV is not slow at all but as every Avid system
demanding - both the system and the operator should know what
they are doing. Avid Free DV is the basic functions from Avid Xpress Pro and makes it possible to test the Avid way of editing for free. Now apparently you have a conflic in your computer as
updating should function very smoothly. another thing Avid does
not recomend the use of the type of Raid you have.
Personally I dont think it was a good idea to offer free DV
like this as most people who try it thinks its "crap" it is simply
not possible to sit down like "that" and edit on an Avid.For schools
it is very good but then you have a teacher there (I use it in my
teaching). Avid is for you only if you are willing to spend quite a long time learing how to use it. In my oppinion it is second to none but only if you are willing to invest time and effort into it.
Vegas on the other hand be used already after a couple of hours
new Premiere Pro - someting inbetween..
Christian

Robert Silvers · December 30th, 2003, 09:57 AM

But even when the UI is doing nothing it does not refresh on my system. I have had the system for 8 weeks and run all sorts of large apps and this is the first program to not refresh itself.

Robert Silvers · December 30th, 2003, 10:01 AM

But seriously, is FreeDV the same code base as the other products? Or is it a parallel product written in some scripting language?

Glenn Chan · January 2nd, 2004, 12:01 AM

Free DV should be based off other Avid code.

There are some installation issues so read up on them or backup before you install.

Marcia Janine Galles · January 5th, 2004, 10:55 AM

Question about "it doesn't refresh all the time." What does this mean, exactly? What does this look like? I'm asking as I finally was able to download AvidFree DV (the site kept giving me error messages) to take it for a test drive and I'm wondering about the viability of buying XpressPro to use on my Sony Vaio, given what I'm seeing... and I'm wondering if what I'm seeing is this "refresh" issue.

Basically the program itself works great (imports, cuts great just like my old Avid edit bay days), and overall I'm happy with what I've done with it (in the last 24 hours) particulary since I'm running it on a non-supported (by Avid) system. But open windows don't always show what they're supposed to without "effort." Sometimes what I see is the "frame" of the open window, but inside it is the desktop visible through that window, instead of the open program... until I click around, or move around said open window, and then the contents appear. Also, the timeline sometimes looks funky, meaning a portion of it "splits," but if I drag it up, then back down again, it redraws/refreshes(?) and looks fine. What's the usual culprit with these sorts of things?

I realize I'm trying to do this on the cheap, and that doesn't always work. (Bought the Sony at Costco and added more memory.) I don't have as great a video card (only 128) or as much RAM (only 1.5 gig) as the first post in this thread, so if he's having issues, I may indeed be doomed. But I'm wanting to get away from Final Cut, I'm not overly impressed with Vegas, and I want the ability to hand this project off to a pro bay if my funding comes through, which is why I was wanting to cut it in Express Pro, if at all possible, at this time. The hand off to a pro bay would be seemless. In the end I'm needing to cut corners at this stage (with no funding) whenever possible. And you all know how that goes... somethings work ok on the cheap, and somethings, well, you'd best not. (sigh) But if it edits fine, and it's just a matter of suffering through with this issue alone, well, for the amount of $ I saved, I can live with that. Then again, this may just be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

As usual, any feedback/thoughts about all this would be most appreciated.
Marcia

Robert Silvers · January 5th, 2004, 12:19 PM

That is what I saw.

I am trying the Vegas demo and it is a very fluid interface. I tried it first on my old old 400 Mhz laptop because that is all I had that day, and I could ot believe it did not seem slow. It is multithreaded so you can often do things while it is doing things.

Marcia Janine Galles · January 6th, 2004, 09:37 AM

Thanks for responding, Robert. Have downloaded the Vegas demo to try out today, but just thought I'd pass along to you what I discovered yesterday regarding this matter. I wandered around various Avid sites looking for answers to what we've discussed here and found a thread that mentioned removing (via add/remove programs) one of the Windows auto updates "Hotfix KB824141" as that might be the problem and had caused issues with all Avid systems. I removed it and voila, AvidFree DV worked flawlessly... not a refresh/redraw issue since. Of course, when I sat down at the computer this morning the Auto Update function told me that in the night it had down loaded Hotfix KB824141 and that it was ready to install... I declined. :-)

Best of luck,
Marcia

December 29th, 2003, 07:38 PM	#1
Robert Silvers Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 64	What is better, Windows MM2, or Avid FreeDV? What is better, Windows Movie Maker 2, or Avid Free DV? I downloaded the Avid and it was DOG SLOW. I have a 3.0 Ghz PC with 2 GB ram and a 9800 graphics card with 256 video ram and an Apple 23 inch Cinema Display. Twin serial ADA Seagate drives raid0. In other works, a killer fast machine! Is this written in BASIC? It also did not refresh all the time. As long as I am at it, if I buy a program, what is best these days? Vegas 4.0+DVD, Adobe PP, or AvidDV? I would only consider Adobe if it no longer sucks.

December 29th, 2003, 08:29 PM	#2
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	"Which NLE is better?" is always thrashed out in every NLE forum, so you can search and bring up some of the old discussions. You probably want to list what you want to edit and figure out which NLE suits you best. They each have their strengths/weaknesses. Vegas's audio editing capabilities are the best of any NLE and it's very powerful in other areas.

December 29th, 2003, 08:56 PM	#3
Robert Silvers Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 64	If it is a Mercedes BMW question that yes, I should have asked more specifically. But if it is a Volvo, Ford, BMW question then the answer is BMW

December 30th, 2003, 04:15 AM	#4
Christian Stormbom New Boot Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Mariehamn,the Aaland islands,Finland Posts: 14	No Avid Free DV is not slow at all but as every Avid system demanding - both the system and the operator should know what they are doing. Avid Free DV is the basic functions from Avid Xpress Pro and makes it possible to test the Avid way of editing for free. Now apparently you have a conflic in your computer as updating should function very smoothly. another thing Avid does not recomend the use of the type of Raid you have. Personally I dont think it was a good idea to offer free DV like this as most people who try it thinks its "crap" it is simply not possible to sit down like "that" and edit on an Avid.For schools it is very good but then you have a teacher there (I use it in my teaching). Avid is for you only if you are willing to spend quite a long time learing how to use it. In my oppinion it is second to none but only if you are willing to invest time and effort into it. Vegas on the other hand be used already after a couple of hours new Premiere Pro - someting inbetween.. Christian

December 30th, 2003, 09:57 AM	#5
Robert Silvers Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 64	But even when the UI is doing nothing it does not refresh on my system. I have had the system for 8 weeks and run all sorts of large apps and this is the first program to not refresh itself.

December 30th, 2003, 10:01 AM	#6
Robert Silvers Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 64	But seriously, is FreeDV the same code base as the other products? Or is it a parallel product written in some scripting language?

January 2nd, 2004, 12:01 AM	#7
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Free DV should be based off other Avid code. There are some installation issues so read up on them or backup before you install.

January 5th, 2004, 10:55 AM	#8
Marcia Janine Galles Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Camarillo, CA Posts: 340	Question about "it doesn't refresh all the time." What does this mean, exactly? What does this look like? I'm asking as I finally was able to download AvidFree DV (the site kept giving me error messages) to take it for a test drive and I'm wondering about the viability of buying XpressPro to use on my Sony Vaio, given what I'm seeing... and I'm wondering if what I'm seeing is this "refresh" issue. Basically the program itself works great (imports, cuts great just like my old Avid edit bay days), and overall I'm happy with what I've done with it (in the last 24 hours) particulary since I'm running it on a non-supported (by Avid) system. But open windows don't always show what they're supposed to without "effort." Sometimes what I see is the "frame" of the open window, but inside it is the desktop visible through that window, instead of the open program... until I click around, or move around said open window, and then the contents appear. Also, the timeline sometimes looks funky, meaning a portion of it "splits," but if I drag it up, then back down again, it redraws/refreshes(?) and looks fine. What's the usual culprit with these sorts of things? I realize I'm trying to do this on the cheap, and that doesn't always work. (Bought the Sony at Costco and added more memory.) I don't have as great a video card (only 128) or as much RAM (only 1.5 gig) as the first post in this thread, so if he's having issues, I may indeed be doomed. But I'm wanting to get away from Final Cut, I'm not overly impressed with Vegas, and I want the ability to hand this project off to a pro bay if my funding comes through, which is why I was wanting to cut it in Express Pro, if at all possible, at this time. The hand off to a pro bay would be seemless. In the end I'm needing to cut corners at this stage (with no funding) whenever possible. And you all know how that goes... somethings work ok on the cheap, and somethings, well, you'd best not. (sigh) But if it edits fine, and it's just a matter of suffering through with this issue alone, well, for the amount of $ I saved, I can live with that. Then again, this may just be the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. As usual, any feedback/thoughts about all this would be most appreciated. Marcia

January 5th, 2004, 12:19 PM	#9
Robert Silvers Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 64	That is what I saw. I am trying the Vegas demo and it is a very fluid interface. I tried it first on my old old 400 Mhz laptop because that is all I had that day, and I could ot believe it did not seem slow. It is multithreaded so you can often do things while it is doing things.

January 6th, 2004, 09:37 AM	#10
Marcia Janine Galles Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Camarillo, CA Posts: 340	Thanks for responding, Robert. Have downloaded the Vegas demo to try out today, but just thought I'd pass along to you what I discovered yesterday regarding this matter. I wandered around various Avid sites looking for answers to what we've discussed here and found a thread that mentioned removing (via add/remove programs) one of the Windows auto updates "Hotfix KB824141" as that might be the problem and had caused issues with all Avid systems. I removed it and voila, AvidFree DV worked flawlessly... not a refresh/redraw issue since. Of course, when I sat down at the computer this morning the Auto Update function told me that in the night it had down loaded Hotfix KB824141 and that it was ready to install... I declined. :-) Best of luck, Marcia