It's Not Always The Software's Fault, People.

[tbretz]

I have EMC-10 installed on 3 different systems at this time, and it performs differently on each one. Not one of them is 100% functional at this time.

 

On a Winbook Laptop with an AMD Athlon and XP-SP2, I encountered, and am still working out the "run-once" problem. I suspect the Registry Key problem, and I am working that angle now. The bizzare twist to this is that all 3 systems are running the same combination of Norton SystemWorks, Anti-Virus and ZoneAlarm Firewall, full version, yet only the WinBook is affected with this problem.

 

On a MacBook Pro 15 running XP-SP3 under Parallels, VideoWave won't start because it claims the combination of screen resolution and colors is wrong, no matter what combination I select, either in Windows Properties, or in Mac System Preferences. This is likely due to the fact that while it looks and feels like Windows, and is running on an Intel processor, it is still a software emulator running under a foreign operating system, and channeling final display output through whatever scheme the Mac is using. I don't expect to ever resolve that problem except by accident, and I won't even bother mentioning the issue to Tech Support.

 

On my main Desktop, an Athlon 64 and XP-SP2, CinePlay is intermittent and VideoWave hangs if I try to use "hardware" rather than "software" for encoding. That last is probably the older NVidia card which will be replaced as soon as the FedEx truck shows up. Most other functions are just fine, and I expect this one will be the easiest fix.

 

I have done a few projects with EMC-10, and it worked OK. I tried to do a few other things, on all 3 machines, and met with frustration and wasted time, again, all for different reasons. I am not ready to condemn the whole package. The software is somewhat difficult to understand when compared to earlier versions, but, learning curves are sometimes steep. After 27 years of banging keyboards (starting with the venerable CBM Vic-20) I have learned that tenacity and experimentation will usually get you the results you want. However, there ARE times when the combination of hardware and software simply results in a "you can't get there from here" situation. When that happens, you just move on with life. Given the vast, almost infinite combinations of hardware, software, operating systems and user philosophies, it is sometimes a wonder when a software package works at all.

 

I hate to say it, but people who expect software and computers to work in complete harmony every time are living in a fantasy world. At least on the PC side. That's the price we pay for the open architecture, and the ability to construct cheap home-brew mega-systems from the ground up. The reason the Mac side is so stable, reliable, AND expensive is the closed architecture, tightly-controlled operating system and severely limited availability of DIY options. They pay one way, in dollars, and we pay another, in time, effort and frustrations. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, HAL just won't open the pod bay doors.

 

Individual views on software, hardware and operating systems can almost be compared to religion or political beliefs. And there are times when you just can't discuss them in polite company. I don't think that Roxio, Sonic, or EMC-10 sucks. This may not be their best effort, and the company may have overlooked a few things, and maybe Tech Support needs a kick in the fanny, but neither do I believe they're thieves, conspirators, or incompetent. Can you write a comparable application, produce and market it, support it, and take the heat when annoyed customers contact you? If you can, call the SBA, get a loan and start pressing discs. If you can't, stop foaming at the mouth, buckle down, do your research and try to get that $100 investment you just made working.

 

A final note on removing and reinstalling software. When you remove an application, no matter what method you use, take the time to run a defrag utility on your hard drive. This reassembles the fragmented spaces, and will force the new installation into a new physical location on the hard drive. While not as much of a problem as it once was, it is possible for a new install to fail to overwrite older, possibly damaged, code fragments of the same application, which sometimes causes the reinstall to fail to correct a problem. Forcing the install to a new location on the disk platter(s) eliminates this issue.

[Beerman]

I hate to say it, but people who expect software and computers to work in complete harmony every time are living in a fantasy world. At least on the PC side. That's the price we pay for the open architecture, and the ability to construct cheap home-brew mega-systems from the ground up.

I agree totally!

I've got EMC10 running on 4 systems and while I only use it regularly on 2, I've no problems but I am pretty particular about what else is installed and I do take preventive maintenance seriously.

[tbrewst]

Well said

[John at Roxio]

Interesting read. I was happy to hear a level-headed and honest appraisal of the topic. Can you send me a private message with your views on how we could make support better?

 

[d_deweywright]

Sometimes it's your fault, sometimes it's their fault, and sometimes, it's nobody's fault.

Hard to get some people to believe that last option, particularly with the litigious society we're living in, which says that it must be somebody's fault!

[JamesTw]

Wow, what a good article but slightly flawed in that I've yet to see a software publisher make the statement " This may not work on you PC" "You pays yer money and takes pot luck."

No, they normally say things like "Vista Compatible" !!! If my machine can run Vista ok should I expect other so called Vista compatible software to work ??

I don't really accept the argument, I'm living in some sort of fantasy world expecting a product like EMC10 to work. Or, maybe I am?

 

I do however accept the argument there's a multitude of specs out there and it must be difficult to cater for every machine, but normally when problems occur software publishers respond to user feedback and issue patches to eliminate some of the more pressing problems.

EMC10 has been out how long ?? How many patches have been issued to date ?? (I mean proper patches?)

 

I've been lucky with EMC10 as that's worked well for me but version 9 was a nightmare until the patch came out about a year or so after its release. A year is a long time. That didn't smack of good technical support to me!

[The Highlander]

Cannot say it better myself tbretz, very good, and i agree

[tbretz]

Interesting read. I was happy to hear a level-headed and honest appraisal of the topic. Can you send me a private message with your views on how we could make support better?

 

Hi John,

 

Thanks for those kind words for a forum newbie. Actually, I have not had any experience with your Tech Support people. I was merely commenting on what others had observed. Once I did a clean reinstall on the WinBook, and shut off the Registry Cleaner, everything is fine. The new ATI Radeon video card ended the CinePlay and VideoWave issues, as I suspected they would.

 

The Mac issue? Well, that's something that isn't worth pursuing, as I have a native Mac version of Final Cut, should I choose to use the MacBook for those purposes. Although you might log that as an issue which has arisen, and others may experience. However, given the nature of the beast, I would say you shouldn't feel any guilt if you choose not to expend huge efforts to resolve video driver issues on a Virtual PC. That's almost like trying to bottle smoke.

 

As an aside, I put in seven years for CompuServe Tech Support before they outsourced the entire department overseas. So I am very familiar with the kinds of vitriolic phone calls, forum posts, emails, and live-chat messages you can get from confused, irritated and just plain cranky end users. Sometimes it's your fault, sometimes it's their fault, and sometimes, it's nobody's fault.

[RoxieOh]

I hate to say it, but people who expect software and computers to work in complete harmony every time are living in a fantasy world.

 

I couldn't disagree more with you and your above quote! In that case software OUGHT to come with a "WARNING: you may shell out 100 bucks for nothing as this software is very unlikely to work in complete harmony with your computer/laptop!"

 

It's like buying a TV only to get it home and pressing power but all you get is channel 4 without video or sound, no matter how many times you press "channel up" or "volume" nothing works.

 

It's like buying a brand new car and finding out that when you turn the key the ignition won't allow it to start!

 

It's like buying a frozen entree and putting it in your microwave, which works fine otherwise, and pressing "5 min" only to find it won't let your microwave start! (??)

 

It's like....you get the point!

 

No one should be expected to keep a pair of jeans once you get it home and find that the zipper is permanent fused shut! That's insanity and a major rip off in my book. But then again, some people prefer drama and murder mysteries to a light comedy or a good "how to" guide. It's a lot like "thanks for the money, suckaz! It'll be $35 just to talk to help department, if you can get thru"

Cheers

[Larry]

.........It's like buying a TV only to get it home and pressing power but all you get is channel 4 without video or sound, no matter how many times you press "channel up" or "volume" nothing works.....

Maybe the antennae or cable isn't hooked up correctly???

[grandpabruce]

I couldn't disagree more with you and your above quote! In that case software OUGHT to come with a "WARNING: you may shell out 100 bucks for nothing as this software is very unlikely to work in complete harmony with your computer/laptop!"

 

It's like buying a TV only to get it home and pressing power but all you get is channel 4 without video or sound, no matter how many times you press "channel up" or "volume" nothing works.

 

It's like buying a brand new car and finding out that when you turn the key the ignition won't allow it to start!

 

It's like buying a frozen entree and putting it in your microwave, which works fine otherwise, and pressing "5 min" only to find it won't let your microwave start! (??)

 

It's like....you get the point!

 

No one should be expected to keep a pair of jeans once you get it home and find that the zipper is permanent fused shut! That's insanity and a major rip off in my book. But then again, some people prefer drama and murder mysteries to a light comedy or a good "how to" guide. It's a lot like "thanks for the money, suckaz! It'll be $35 just to talk to help department, if you can get thru"

Cheers

 

tbretz hasn't visited the forums since June 1, and your analogies, like all analogies, don't hold water.

 

Computers 101 is a good place to start, to learn how to mitigate problems that some have with computer maintenance and understanding computers. Re-read the posts, in the other thread, where you posted your problems.

[duydaniel]

Wow, what a good article but slightly flawed in that I've yet to see a software publisher make the statement " This may not work on you PC" "You pays yer money and takes pot luck."

No, they normally say things like "Vista Compatible" !!! If my machine can run Vista ok should I expect other so called Vista compatible software to work ??

I don't really accept the argument, I'm living in some sort of fantasy world expecting a product like EMC10 to work. Or, maybe I am?

 

I do however accept the argument there's a multitude of specs out there and it must be difficult to cater for every machine, but normally when problems occur software publishers respond to user feedback and issue patches to eliminate some of the more pressing problems.

EMC10 has been out how long ?? How many patches have been issued to date ?? (I mean proper patches?)

 

I've been lucky with EMC10 as that's worked well for me but version 9 was a nightmare until the patch came out about a year or so after its release. A year is a long time. That didn't smack of good technical support to me!

 

I have tried EMC 9 on XP Home before and VideoWave ran flawlessly.

But have not tried EMC 10 on XP because I only have Vista... and EMC 10 is unstable... I hope they will issue patches for version 10 instead of making (EMC 11 = patches + EMC 10) to force customers to buy.

[grandpabruce]

I have tried EMC 9 on XP Home before and VideoWave ran flawlessly.

But have not tried EMC 10 on XP because I only have Vista... and EMC 10 is unstable... I hope they will issue patches for version 10 instead of making (EMC 11 = patches + EMC 10) to force customers to buy.

 

It is? Maybe your Vista Basic is unstable.