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Post by saby on Mar 9, 2024 7:23:33 GMT
Summary :
Legally speaking, a request for “self-administered insolvency” was decided in December 2023 by Magix, opening the door to restructuring and the search for investors. This legal measure seems capable of ensuring the continuity of operation of the company while customers should not be impacted. However, Magix's problems are real. The rise in interest rates but also falling sales, battered by the breakthrough of non-European rivals like Filmora and Blackmagic (DaVinci Resolve) who offer advanced free versions (especially DaVinci Resolve) to start with software disassembly. According to VideoAktiv, Magix's internal commercial policy also explains its demotion: -former founders have reduced their stakes in the company and investment company since 2018 -the company's adaptation to e-commerce is too hesitant -the abandonment of the preferential rate upgrade for old subscribers (instead a single rate) precipitated a significant drop in sales. For the moment, Magix is keeping all of its current products, but instead of three or even four versions of software like Video Deluxe, there will only be two. Furthermore, a common core of functions, already visible, will concern Vegas Pro and Magix Video Deluxe. Magix would invest more in Vegas Pro.
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 9, 2024 11:32:54 GMT
I've been following Magix for a bit. The consumer editing pie has continually gotten smaller as more and more free software becomes available to everyone. For most people, "free" is wonderful. There is no cost (except for the massive data mining of what you do on your computer and internet) to the end user. And while Davinci Resolve is the oft mentioned editing software, I seriously doubt that those in the consumer editing world use it. Yes, it's free, but the learning curve is huge. The hardware requirements in using it are great too. Far higher than what most consumers are using.
Magix consumer editing software lacks the "AI" bling that the free offerings have. Looking at the different upgrades over the years, it's really been, like PS, bug fixes. Go to the Video Pro X webpage, they don't even have a demo video. They do for the consumer editor. But to add to the confusion, it depends on the country you are in, the name of the software. Movie Edit Pro, Magix Movie Studio, and Video Deluxe. Different names for the same software. Then there was the fiasco when VEGAS decided to drop VMS (Vegas Movie Studio) to concentrate on Vegas Pro. Magix offered what appeared to be an upgrade to Movie Studio, turned out to be a lateral cross grade to Movie Edit Pro, which was renamed. It causes a ferver of descent from those who had VMS thinking they are upgrading to a newer version of VMS to find out that the software was entirely different. The rage over this didn't subside for a long time and left people turned off to Magix "deceptive" renaming practice and not saying what the upgrade was.
So where does this leave things with Magix? Anyone's guess. Reading the Vegas forums, there has been a concentrated effort to work on Vegas Pro, adding the engineers from Magix to the mix. This happened last year in the restructuring of programming assets.
Where does this leave their software portfolio? Anyone's guess. Sort of like what happened when Alludo took over Corel. Cutting the "fat". I do know that Vegas is in continual development with re-writing the old coding, implementing "AI" (first with colorization of b&w), speed improvements to timeline playback and rendering with slowly incorporating a new video engine (this takes time), and other improvements. The road is a little bumpy at the moment. But the "elephant" in the room is Resolve Free, and the paid Studio version. The darling of the internet "infuencers". I have the Studio version. So far, all updates/upgrades have been for free. But for editing, it's not my "cup of tea". I have the Speed Editor with it too. In the years of me owning it, I have yet to edit one project on it. Why? We talk about software being "intuitive", which is purely subjective to the user. I do know how to edit with the software, but prefer using other software. Vegas 365 has all the wonderful music, stock footage, text to speech/speech to text, the coming of text based editing, collaboration, and more. Multicam editing, split screen editing, montage themes, titling (for the most part) and other simple but powerful features in Pinnacle make editing life easier. Plus using Smartsound in both PS and Vegas.
So I use the tool that will help me get to the end of my project. Resolve doesn't fit into my workflow today. Maybe tomorrow? I don't know. BMD doesn't depend on software sales at all to keep Resolve going. That is why they can give it away.
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Post by Candive on Mar 9, 2024 22:35:18 GMT
I'll take this opportunity to bring you guys up-to-date on what I have been up to regarding my review of other NLE's including the products from Magix which I purchased via the Fanatical bundle. First I installed Capcut and played with that until I understood its functionality. Very easy. Then I installed Davinci Resolve but put it aside after it failed to load my old Mpeg-2 and my DV AVI type 1 files unless I transcoded them. I plan to come back to Davinci later. I then started playing with Vegas Pro and Magix Music Maker. I am quite enjoying editing with Vegas Pro and my experience with the user forums at both Vegas Pro and Magix have been very good. The forms themselves are well laid out, similar in nature and as a bonus there's a tab that contains all the video tutorials for their products which is very convenient for new users to access and learn. Now for my impression of the marketing of Magix products. Confusing and perhaps considered a little deceptive? The answer would be yes! The bait and switch fiasco of Vegas Movie Studio to Magix Movie Studio was very deceptive and someone should have been fired for dreaming up that idea. I also had difficulties understanding the marketing for Magix Music Maker until I reached out to the user forum who explained the offering. Music Maker is a free product although you wouldn't know it from the marketing campaign. What you are paying for are the "annual editions" or "special editions" but the base "version" is free. Consider the editions as "bonus packs." So every year, Music Maker has a new version which will contain bug fixes and perhaps a new user interface. This base version is free and everyone is free to upgrade. The paid editions remain in the program. For example, if you install the current version of Music Maker on a new PC, the Magix servers will also download and install the previous editions that you previously bought. I thought that this feature was pretty cool since you don't have to have the old version of the software installed on your computer if you want the bonus pack to migrate to your new version - like you do with Pinnacle Studio. A credit to German efficiency. I found the members on both Vegas and Magix user forums very helpful and enthusiastic. They really have passion for these products. So here is my free advice to Magix if they want to remain in the game. - Pick a name. Don't have three names for the same product; its confusing. Pick a name and stick with it to develop the brand. Movie Studio, Movie Deluxe, Movie Edit. Just pick one! My suggestion would be Movie Studio for my next point.
- Take advantage of Alludo's current weakness (sorry Alludo) and initiate a Blitzkrieg marketing campaign to offer a free upgrade of Magix Movie Studio to Corel Videostudio owners. Videostudio and Movie Studio are very similar products (even similar names) and are targeting the same market. Both products have basically the same look and feel. They have the same top-down approach (overlays are actually underlays) to editing which many consumer editors find more intuitive than professional editors. It would be very easy for Videostudio users to migrate to Movie Studio. In fact when Magix changed the name from Movie Edit to Movie Studio, I thought this was part of the bait and switch strategy to lure Videostudio users!
- Stop pretending Video Pro X is a professional editor. Video Pro X is the big brother to Movie Studio so consolidate the two products. In fact I know you can configure Video Pro X to look exactly like Movie Studio so who is fooling who? Movie Studio should be the entry level offering while Video Pro X is the premium offering with all the bells and whistles. I probably would call it Movie Studio Pro X (X for extra).
- Develop an Apple offering. I'm happy that Vegas Pro is targeting the creator market. That makes a lot of sense for this NLE. The problem is creators by their nature are young and poor. When they do save some cash, they purchase an Apple computer. With no money left, they then resort to using a free editor like Davinci Resolve. So Magix has to bite the bullet and develop an Apple offering to stay in the game. That's a given. Davinci Resolve, Filmora, Power Director all have Apple offerings. Young consumers and creators have moved to Apple. That's the reality. Us old farts and geeky gamers have stuck with Windows - for now...
- As for pricing, the Music Maker concept may be a solution. Offer a free base version which is maintained with bug fixes and enhancements. Then offer new edition packs and a subscription service. Magix already has this setup for Music Maker so it would be easy to roll out the same strategy to their other products.
If Magix wants any more advice, they'll have to reach out and hire me on a consulting basis.
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 11, 2024 11:18:24 GMT
I've briefly looked at the webpages of some of the "major" free software like Shotcut and Kdenlive. They do offer some nice features, but not the "AI" of CapCut. I've shared my reasons for not even installing it. I'm always in a constant battle with M$ and it's data mining resetting every update. But they are free. The TikTok/FB/Instagram social media is the "thing" today with young people. And being the "lemmings" that they are, they'll want those horrid (to me) portrait videos with features to make them look better and incorporate animated effects. Videostudio Pro has the AR stickers that work pretty ok surprisingly that might appeal to that group.
And then you have the "traditional" editors, who don't edit 15 second clips in portrait mode. Those who create videos that will be remembered long after that last TikTok video has disappeared among the mess of all the others. Those that do event/corporate/indie editing. Once the "kids" outgrow the simplicity of TikTok, they will start to look at what else in the world is being done in video. This is where editing software like Resolve/Vegas/Magix come into view, with Resolve being the front runner because it's free and pushed in social media. Smart move by BMD. Sort of like how Apple infiltrated the schools in the States many years ago. But look at the dizzying menus/sub menus/etc.. You will be spending a lot of time going through tutorials to even learn "how" to add a transition or even export. You have to be someone really dedicated to the software and put in the time to learn it. Patience is a thing that today's youth do not have. Which brings up, what are the alternatives? Not many really.
As for young people buying Apple computers, Apple makes up about 14% of computers sold. They have the "bling" factor among the youth, but that's it. The vast majority of software is for the PC, which they will soon find out. For say Magix to write for Apple computers would require a great expense (hiring people who code for it), and a lot of time. I don't think they have the resources or time to do this. PS had an iPad version years ago. What happened with that? Then there is the plugin situation with Apple editors. The PC juggernaut, Boris FX, has started to release Continuum for Apple, but it's still in it's infancy/toddler stage. A bit ways to go. Maxon, with it's Red Giant Universe does offer plugins.
While Magix Video Pro X might not be a "professional" editor in every sense, it does more than Movie Studio. To my knowledge, there is no "pro" editor that edits from the top down. But for an enthusiast editor, it does a lot. It has the built in templates and some similar creative tools like in PS/VS. But it certainly doesn't reach the level of what Vegas offers. But trimming the "fat" they can have 3 levels of Magix. Give away Platinum without Travel Routes. Suite to purchase, and Video Pro X as the "full Monty" version at a lower price. I don't know of anyone who will invest $299 for their "Ultimate". Just a couple of years ago, I bought MEP Plus with NBFX Total FX7 for $49 as a upgrade. And it also installed into PS, Vegas and Resolve.
Magix music software is something I really haven't used. While I can install Acid Studio and Soundforge Pro, I haven't. Music editing is not high on my list when I have Smartsound and Vegas 365 with music from Storyblocks.
I would hate to see Magix disappear, removing another competitor from the field, leaving who, Powerdirector? Nah...I'll pass on that one. And yes, marketing at Magix is a disaster for sure. It's like no one knows how to market their products at all. Candive, I don't know if you've read this POST in the Magix forum, "browj2" has some thoughts on Magix failure in marketing too.
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Post by saby on Mar 11, 2024 12:17:43 GMT
I'm discussing with a Magix moderator on a French forum. Like me an dothers he is a volunteer. He said that all his contacts in the dev team left the boat a few days ago and that those ho are supposed to still be employees no longer answer his emails. It reminds me the same with Corel ...
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 11, 2024 12:40:06 GMT
saby, there is the restructuring going on. As always, there is something always going on behind the "curtain". Some people will be let go, others come in to take there place, or there is a consolidation of tasks for a given employee. I've posted that this reminds me of what Alludo did to Corel. What I do know is that there is a big update coming for Vegas. And the rumor is that Vegas Pro 22 development is going forward. After that is anyone's guess. Magix has made Vegas as their "focus" product/project. What the means? I guess in time, we all will find out. While I enjoy editing with Vegas, if it too disappears, I still have (ugh!) Davinci Resolve Studio... I personally have more than enough software to keep me going.
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Post by saby on Mar 11, 2024 12:47:11 GMT
It's time to dig up Windows Movie Maker !
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 11, 2024 14:09:37 GMT
I never had a single crash with WMM!
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Post by Bob Keen on Mar 11, 2024 14:55:29 GMT
Easy to learn too.
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Post by Candive on Mar 11, 2024 19:18:28 GMT
Hi tonypThanks for the link to the post to the Magix forum. I was not aware of it and found it very interesting. I have a lot of respect for browj2. He was the one who explained to me the difference between Music Maker "version" versus "edition." Also, he has a number of excellent training videos on Magix products. He is a wealth of information. As an aside, Music Maker isn't your typical audio editing program like Audacity or Sound Forage; you can actually compose music using different instruments and sound pools! I've really had a lot of fun playing with it. According to wikipedia, Music Maker was Magix's fist product offering. Anyway, it would be a shame if Magix follows Alludo; they have many good products. As browj2 indicates in his post, they just need to work out the synergies and marketing. Funny, as I mentioned in my post, he also says that Magix should heavily market to Corel users. Its really a no brainer - the products are very similar. When I took a look at Movie Edit/Studio and Video Pro X a couple of years ago, I thought; this is Videostudio! with a more updated/integrated interface. It also could handle a lot of 3rd party analog video capture devices (dongles) where VS and PS failed. I was impressed! As for Video Pro X, to broaden its appeal, all they have to do is create a preference switch to reorient the timeline UI (ie overlays on top of main track; like PS). Power Director did just that, so their users can have it both ways. There is so much potential, I hope for the best. tonyp and saby , thank you for the update. You obviously have closer ties to Magix than the rest of us; please keep us informed.
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Post by saby on Mar 11, 2024 19:43:54 GMT
Candive , I don't know if you've read this POST in the Magix forum, "browj2" has some thoughts on Magix failure in marketing too. Amazing to see how people think that Alludo took over Corel. It's just a rebranding matter.
The last actual took over happened in 2019 when KKR (US global investment compagny) acquired Corel.
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 11, 2024 21:35:54 GMT
It's not so much that Alludo took over, they did the trimming and weren't polite about it. Staples of the Corel brand were ended by them. I mean, who is using WordPerfect today? There are several free apps (OpenOffice, LibreOffice and others). I have zero idea of what "rebranding" actually means. But I do know what happened after the rebranding.
As for "browj2", he is known for his over the top loyalty to Magix editors. I've had to correct him more than one time, and a lengthy correcting at that, about products he only has a cursory knowledge of, but writing as if he actually knows what he is writing about.
Candive , I do have MEP2022 and Video Pro X14 installed. IF they would turn things the "right way" for editing, I would explore it more. You do get Travel Maps and Music Maker with it. For me, top down editing I can't adjust to. And their OFX implementation isn't as robust as Vegas or Resolve, yet, browj2 tried to blame Boris FX. So I asked the lead engineer and senior engineer there if that was the case. Nope. It's something on Magix end. The same with NBFX TotalFX7. You can't use their transitions and stabilizer in Magix editing software. So NBFX came out with a "Magix" version of TotalFX, sans what didn't work. Yes, browj2 has some excellent tutorial videos using Magix products for sure. But his understanding of other editing software is only surface knowledge, not actual use knowledge. HERE is one of our exchanges. You can guess who Reyfox is. We've had several exchanges like this and other software. Nothing wrong with liking what you are using. But do not give the illusion that you know a product when you don't.
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Post by Candive on Mar 12, 2024 16:48:55 GMT
Hi tonyp, So there you are!! I was looking for you on the Vegas and Magix forums... There were only a couple of posts attributable to a tonyp so I thought you were too busy with the Pinnacle and Videostudio forums to spend time on other sites. Good to see you are contributing and helping out. I read the post you linked and all I can say is that everyone has their preferred editor. As you are well aware, consumer and prosumer editors provide a lot of templates, music libraries and hundreds of transitions to help amateurs like me produce a movie quick and easy while professional editors are all about collaboration, specialisation and integration with other products. Its like comparing my cooking ability to a Michelin chef. The chef prefers to cook from scratch and I "shake and bake." All I can say is that I'm proud of my cooked chicken!! Who is using Wordperfect? Well I did a very long time ago; showing my age. I always thought Corel built a niche market with law firms since the legal industry's main production is documentation and Wordperfect had good formatting tools and easily accessible reveal codes. But I guess Corel blew that - one reason; lawyers wanted to look cool walking around with Apple laptops and Wordperfect was Windows only... I agree, I think Video Pro X and his little brother (what's its name?) are good editing programs. If they could develop the optional preference switch to turn things the "right way", I too would be closely looking at it. My first editor was Videostudio and it has the top down approach preferred by many users but when I started using Pinnacle Studio, I just fell in love with the layout; especially when you are adding a whole bunch of overlay tracks on top and keeping your sound and music below the main track. I still use Videostudio and prefer it for photo slideshows. Again using the right tool for the job. As I said before, Magix marketing should target Movie Studio and Video Pro X to the Videostudio crowd - its a natural fit.
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tonyp
Junior Member
Still Editing
Posts: 60
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Post by tonyp on Mar 12, 2024 17:54:01 GMT
Candive , yes, I go by Reyfox in the Vegas/Magix user forums. My usual "name" is TonyP, but that was taken when I registered, so went to my old BBS name. I've had several encounters with browj2 over his inaccurate writings on software he knows little about. He has blinders on when it comes to Magix. Nothing wrong with that, but at least be accurate when referring to other software. As for software. Unless you are exporting (rendering in the world of Vegas) in 10bit 4:2:2 and a "professional" lossless codec, I doubt if anyone could tell you what editor was used. Unless someone is using the "cheese" which is associated with consumer editing software, no one will have a clue watching it on youtube or Vimeo. Software is a tool. Place it in the hands of someone who is more skilled, they will produce an exceptional video with a consumer editor. Nine out of 10 of this year’s Oscar nominees were edited on Avid Media Composer, with only Killers of the Flower Moon bucking the trend with Thelma Schoonmaker sticking to her trusty Lightworks. I don't see Premiere there. I don't see Resolve there, nor FCP. But could anyone tell which editing software was used in any of the films listed? I doubt it. As for collaboration with others. Yes, professionals need this pipeline for sure. But in the hands of a pro, they can use PS/VS and you will be amazed at the results. DigitalREV TV had a segment called the "cheap camera challenge". They would give a cheap camera to a pro to shot stills if that was what they do, or shoot video. I mean really CHEAP cameras. But as you can imagine, the results transcend the cameras. It was the artist holding the camera. It's the same with video editing. Here is PHILIP BLOOM who shot with a Barbie video camera. Some of my best videos were editing with PS. When I first came to Poland, no one back in the States (where I am from), had any idea of what Poland looks like. So I would get my backpack with cameras and tripod, and head out to shoot where I live. A lot was almost "run and gun", so some of the footage would have benefited from stabilization or a gimbal. Oh well. But this VIDEO was edited in PS16.
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Post by Candive on Mar 12, 2024 22:20:40 GMT
Hi tonyp That Barbie movie took a lot of imagination. Part of this whole hobby is just having fun! So we shouldn't take it too seriously. I went to this pub in Sydney, Australia and I really liked the band that was playing and one particular song. I spoke to the drummer after the gig and he said he used is dad's old VHS camera and made a video of the song I liked. The old camera created that old 70's endless summer surfing vibe with a bit of glitch added. Apparently, the camera didn't last long because it got wet and full of sand! It made me feel nostalgic. I might have to pull out my old 8mm Sony and start shooting it again!! KUNJIFURI
Nice video of Poland. Being of Polish heritage I'll have to visit one day but on the same trip I want to drop by the south of France and party with saby ! Then cross into Germany and have a pint with Hansi.
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