Compatibility between Photostory deluxe and Video Pro software

SCOTT-WATTERSON wrote on 4/9/2021, 1:39 PM

I currently have the Magix photostory deluxe software installed on my laptop. I want to install it on my NEW laptop...do I have to buy a whole new package? Also - if I wanted to purchase the MAGIX video editing software - will my photostory files work on the new video software?

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 4/9/2021, 2:35 PM

@SCOTT-WATTERSON

. . . . I want to install it on my NEW laptop . . . .

You do not have to pay again, the program can be installed on 2 computers - download the installer from your account at magix.com - login with the email address and password used to activate the program on the old laptop - and select My Products

There you will see the download link and serial number and if you click the link for more details you will see your registered computers - if you are not going to use the old laptop any more then you can deactivate its installation.

Both Movie Edit Pro (MEP) and Video Pro X (VPX) can open, convert and import a Photostory project, however once converted and saved as a MEP/VPX project there is no going back to Photostory.

However do make sure your new laptop meets the minimum system requirements for MEP , for VPX - if in doubt or the specs are not clear, post your laptop specification here for advice - see this topic for details of what is required.

HTH

John EB
Forum Moderator

SCOTT-WATTERSON wrote on 4/9/2021, 5:36 PM

Thank you John. Just downloaded the photostory and was able to get in no problem with my email and activation code. As for my laptop...some specs:

Dell XPS 15 7590

Intel i7-9750 (12MB cache, 4.5ghz, 6 cores), 32 GB RAM DDR4-2666mhz, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5, 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD

Let me know your thoughts? Its designed for 4k video editing, 3D rendering, etc. Hoping it will do the trick

johnebaker wrote on 4/10/2021, 12:47 PM

@SCOTT-WATTERSON

. . . . Dell XPS 15 7590 . . . . Its designed for 4k video editing, 3D rendering, etc. Hoping it will do the trick . . . .

The laptop will run Photostory, however not to its at its maximum potential as the Intel UHD 630 graphics chip in the processor may be disabled.

Being able to use the Intel UHD 630 integrated GPU (iGPU) is essential for maximum performance when previewing the timeline and for exporting to h.264/AVC and h.265/HEVC encoded video.

The GTX 1650 cannot be used by Photostory and, without an active iGPU, with 4K video on the timeline the preview playback may stutter and, as the program will revert to software encoding which means export times for h.264/AVC, and h.265/HEVC if supported, and burning to Blu-Ray disc are going to take longer - possibly up to 5x longer, 10x for h.265/HEVC, or more than the slideshow is on the timeline depending on effects applied to the video/images

I would suggest you contact Dell support and ask the following:-

Can the Intel UHD 630 be used by a program that must use it for maximum performance, either independent of the GTX 1650 or in a 'hybrid mode'.
How do you activate the UHD 630, if this is possible, and does it need a monitor or 'Headless Ghost' monitor emulator plugged in to the HDMI port.

I have just recently replaced my old laptop with a new one by Lenovo and it does have the Hybrid Mode feature which allows both the iGPU and Nvidia graphics chip to be used when possible. When I was looking for a new laptop Lenovo were the only maker who actually stated this upfront and highlighted this feature.

HTH

John EB

SCOTT-WATTERSON wrote on 4/10/2021, 2:08 PM

Thanks for teh info. Kinda weird the Magix program wouldn't use the dedicated graphics card to process video. Not sure why I would have specc'ed such an expensive GPU if a program doesn't even use it. Do the Magix video programs do the same thing?

Also - Just attempted to import some jobs from the old laptop and Magix is not recognizing any of the M4A audio files? They work just fine on my other PC. Thoughts?

Thanks - Scott

johnebaker wrote on 4/10/2021, 3:25 PM

@SCOTT-WATTERSON

. . . . Not sure why I would have specc'ed such an expensive GPU if a program doesn't even use it. Do the Magix video programs do the same thing? . . . .

If you look at my system specs in my Signature you will see I also have a Nvidia graphics card, however this was add to my PC late 2019 specifically for use with Blender.

Movie Edit Pro (MEP) can use the Nvidia for preview playback, often in conjunction with the Intel GPU depending on what effects have been applied to video and images. For exporting it also plays a significant part for effects such as Neat Video De-noiser increasing the through put by as much as 10 x before passing the video on to the Intel GPU for encoding.

Video Pro X is the same as MEP for preview playback, and encoding, however the Nvidia card can also be used for encoding h.265/HEVC.

. . . . not recognizing any of the M4A audio files . . . .

The M4A are MPEG-4 audio files and are usually AAC encoded audio.

You can analyse the audio file with MediaInfo and see the audio codec in the Text view - if it says AC3 did you get any message popup saying an expansion package was needed and give you the option of downloading it?

Depending on version number of Photostory, if it is not the current version 20.0.1.62 then the AC3 decoder may not be available as support for this has been dropped for older program versions, this also includes MEP and VPX.

John EB