Need a Little Help with a few Questions regarding files/folders VST and codecs

jerancampy22 wrote on 3/6/2016, 3:17 AM

Hello all-

First, and I will say it again... after using Pinnacle since Pinnacle 12, I am so happy to have found Magix MEP 2016. Best $50 I ever spent. The only thing that I thought Pinnacle did better was transitions. So, I will start my question there.

Since I have the latest Pinnacle v19.1, is there a way to use Pinnacle transitions in Magix? If so, what folder would I put them in and what extension should I make sure they have?

Next, in regards to the ton of bmp's 16x9 backgrounds, and other various elements I have in my Pinnacle folders,

Can I transfer any of them easily to Magix and if so, which, and where should I put them?

Next my question is in regards to the tab "folders" in settings. Do you change these or leave them as is? Also, the two buttons on the bottom regarding VST files. I have seen these files in the folders before.

Do I need to enter them? If so, which?

Next, how do I use the New Blue FX since I see it in file manager under docs but it is not under Magix, it stands alone. For example, under user/docs/newbluefx/ I see a titler but do not know how to access it.

Is there a way to use Blue FX in magix?

Next is strange and maybe I already know the answer. Earlier today, I made a 10 minute video but it was very detailed, and took a long time. Sometimes, I like to save and clean my computer up a bit, re-enter and export (seems to go slightly faster but who knows) and when I went back in it opened and I exported. About an hour later after it was done, I opened it to watch it and about 9/10 minutes was blank. I went back in MEP and it appeared that the pieces from 1:30 on were just gone. I was a bit scared but in looking around, I found all the files in User/Docs/magixprojects/audio temp and /myrecord but I can't seem to find a way to open the original and finished video.

Is there anyway besides rebuilding to get my video back?

On to some setting issues/ Under Preview in Arranger, I have Compat mode, Standard and Alternative . It also asks about de-interlacing with options of re-, unknown, No, Standard, Pixel Adapt and BOB vertical. These same options are above under preview.

Is one better?

Can someone tell me which is best and if not, is there an awesome one I can buy? The videos are tough to make mostly because of the poor view I get in the view window.

Under import export codecs I have 2 listed -default and -Main Concept. I believe I paid $5 extra for a better export code but the Main Concept always errors out.

Is there a bad ass codec I can buy that will move things quicker?

Lastly, I'd love to hear some of your best practices out there regarding the many settings.

Thanks for your time, it is most appreciated. Byt the way, all my videos are for YouTube. I have Windows 10 on a decent computer with 8gb ram.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 3/6/2016, 4:15 AM

. . . . Best $50 I ever spent . . . .

This would suggest you have bought the Basic version - is this correct? If so then you are going to be missing some features which are only available in the Plus and Premium versions eg the NewBlue FX.

As you are just beginning with MEP the best advise I can give you is to leave all the default settings alone, except for the one listed below, until you encounter an issue. The program will have optimised itself for your computer during installation.

Pinnacle stuff - yes you can transfer the images and audio, MEP will not work with the transitions - where you put them is entirely up to you - I keep them in seperate folder.

NewBlueFX - if you have the Plus or Premium versions of MEP they are here under the Effects tab

. . . . Under import export codecs I have 2 listed -default and -Main Concept. I believe I paid $5 extra for a better export code but the Main Concept always errors out. . . .

There is very little difference between the two codecs - the Default is slightly faster then the MC codec .

Which you use depends on the graphics card/chipset you are using and if you are wanting to alter the default settings - which is not advisable unless you know exactly what you are doing - all the export presets are optimised for their specific applications.

There is an issue with the MainConcept codec and Hardware Acceleration (Quicksync) in that you can end up with an empty mp4 file - I have reported this to Magix - however it would appear that this is an issue with the codec which may or may not get fixed - MC appear to have stopped developing/supporting the codec.

. . . . Is there a bad ass codec I can buy that will move things quicker? . . . .

No - the speed of rendering depends entirely on your computer hardware and the complexity of the project on the timeline.

. . . . Lastly, I'd love to hear some of your best practices out there regarding the many settings. . . .

Bad question you will get so many different answers on this one - mine advice is to leave them alone except for the following:

Use Hardware Acceleration in the programs setting but do not use the GPU acceleration in the export dialogs - this can cause problems

HTH

John EB

jerancampy22 wrote on 3/6/2016, 4:20 AM

Thanks John-

Very helpful.

Do you have any idea on how I recover my video from earlier today? Do I just drag all of the content back on the timeline and start over?

johnebaker wrote on 3/6/2016, 4:46 AM

. . . . Do you have any idea on how I recover my video from earlier today? Do I just drag all of the content back on the timeline and start over? . . . .

If you saved the project then it should appear under File, Last opened projects - if you did not save the project then there may be a backup file saved - in which case look under File, Load backup project.

Otherwise it is a case of rebuilding the project.

HTH

John EB

browj2 wrote on 3/6/2016, 1:38 PM

Hi,

In another post you indicated MEP2016 Plus. Please confirm. It would be a good idea to add this information along with computer specs to About me under your profile.

I didn't mention it before, but you may want to take a look at my tutorial on Getting started to make sure that you have everything.

In your original post above, you mentioned Blue FX. Did you mean NewBlue FX or Blue FX? Blue FX only has a few lower thirds that are usable. Beyond that, everything is for After Effects.

Pinnacle has a lot of effects and I keep it for that. For transitions, MEP has a lot of transitions, assuming that you downloaded everything for the program. See the tutorial.

If you had proDAD Adorage and if you actually used it, you can always use the standalone part, create the transition, save it and then import it into MEP and edit it. Or, you can purchase the plugin for MEP by buying one of the packages, I believe; then the others all work.

I also use Pixelan. See my tutorials about Pixelan Spicemaster under the Tutorials tab. SpiceMaster can be used for more than transitions as you will see in the tutorials. Pixelan has a couple of others transition products, like DissolveMaster and 3D Six-pack, but SpiceMaster is the most useful. I bought then entire suite of plugins. I find them much more useful than similar NewBlue stuff.