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Bardos59  
#1 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 8:44:24 AM(UTC)
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I was playing around with Livestream Studio last night, and have seen some very interesting things....Some things I mentioned in Feature request some time back......
I like its layout, especially the "T" Bar that looks real, and works like a real "T"Bar should work (It stays in position after a Take It does NOT slips back to the start position.........The 'TABS' layout at the bottom is great....I like how you just open exactly what you want and close it to keep the desktop from being over crowded....All the transitions are located under one Tab, you open it, and just click the one you want, and its done.....It has a realistic looking audio mixer... I like the Clips Bin....it shows a thumbnail of the clips, so by just looking, I could find my clips more quickly......All this is done by just selecting the Tab corresponding to what I want......a more organised layout....That is what most producers and directors look for...

Now, the real TEST...It can not touch vMix where features are concerned, vMix is the BEST out there.......but I like the ease and comfort of the Livestream GUI....more attractive, more like a real Tv Studio setting....I did not use the multiview, since I am only testing it for a friend who has plans on using it, so we downloaded the free version to test....like I said, it is a nicer GUI, a better layout to me, but vMix is still much better for me.....

This is just MY View, so do NOT hit me too hard.....
admin  
#2 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 10:27:06 AM(UTC)
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Hi,

A couple of things to consider:

A basic interface is easy when you only have a limited number of features!

vMix has an extremely vast number of features that can all be used in a multitude of different ways.
It's just not possible to fit all these into a single window!

Fixed switcher vs flexible input interface

This is ultimately what the debate comes down to. Traditional video switchers have a fixed number of inputs placed into specific categories.
This is usually 4 or more Cameras, 2 GFX (titles and graphics) and 2 DDR (video playback).
You can usually only select from the GFX for the overlays (or downstream keys), and things start getting really complicated when you need to combine
a few cameras and graphics together as you need a whole new switcher level (called the M/E or Mix/Effects bus)

This is what some software products are now trying to emulate. I am convinced that is not the right approach.

In vMix, cameras, graphics and videos are treated the same. Any type of input can be used as an overlay and
any multiple inputs can be combined together with only a few clicks.

T Bar and Transitions

The vMix T Bar has been designed to be logical to a first time user.
When you move it from Left to Right, you are physically fading in the Left preview into the Right preview.

You can also select up to four transition presets with two clicks in vMix. Not sure tabs are necessary here.

Clip thumbnails

Clip thumbnails is an interesting idea, but also challenging given the vast number if video formats vMix supports.
My understanding is Livestream Studio has to transcode everything first.

The future of the vMix user interface

There is certainly room for improvement with the vMix interface and a debate is always welcome.
Here are some ideas on how I think customers can suggest improvements:

"I would like a new button or widget on the main window that does x as I think it will make it easier to do y"

"I would like move/remove/combine/expand button or widget x because it will make it possible to do y in one step instead of three"

As you can see, these suggestions are all about making specific tasks quicker and easier and are exactly the sorts of things
that will make it to the top of my todo list.

To kick things off, here is a list of some of the UI changes going into vMix 13:

* Start button added for Streaming from the main window.
* Open Preset dropdown menu with recent presets to choose from
* Solo button in Audio Mixer
* New Add Input vertical menu with icons for easy identification
* Current preset listed in title bar

Regards,

Martin
vMix
thanks 1 user thanked admin for this useful post.
doggy on 5/31/2014(UTC)
sontoloyo  
#3 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 11:47:57 AM(UTC)
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Hi Martin,
The reason is quite reasonable.
One thing I had in mind, whether there may be additional feather in the menu transition effect (wipe, slide, etc)?
richardgatarski  
#4 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 12:28:38 PM(UTC)
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I would like to finally get som time to check out Livestream's, the new Wirecast, and some other software based switchers. But rather as a way to check out design things and perhaps get inspired for new ways to do things. So far, in my humble view, vMix rocks in terms of features and efficiency!

I agree with Martin about the general approach (eg not emulating traditional switchers). That is one of the reasons that I am interested in seeing an option to control vMix without preview. Including the option to switch to an input by clicking on it. Any newbie easily can operate in this way, even though it is more limited. This is just an example.

vMix's past development, and what vMix 13 promises, is fantastic.

So, let's play, be constructive and borrow ideas from outside. As the outside certainly will borrow from vMix. eg social features :)

Thanks Martin and everyone who contribute in the Forum.
Bardos59  
#5 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 1:00:29 PM(UTC)
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admin wrote:
Hi,

A couple of things to consider:

A basic interface is easy when you only have a limited number of features!

vMix has an extremely vast number of features that can all be used in a multitude of different ways.
It's just not possible to fit all these into a single window!

Fixed switcher vs flexible input interface

This is ultimately what the debate comes down to. Traditional video switchers have a fixed number of inputs placed into specific categories.
This is usually 4 or more Cameras, 2 GFX (titles and graphics) and 2 DDR (video playback).
You can usually only select from the GFX for the overlays (or downstream keys), and things start getting really complicated when you need to combine
a few cameras and graphics together as you need a whole new switcher level (called the M/E or Mix/Effects bus)

This is what some software products are now trying to emulate. I am convinced that is not the right approach.

In vMix, cameras, graphics and videos are treated the same. Any type of input can be used as an overlay and
any multiple inputs can be combined together with only a few clicks.

T Bar and Transitions

The vMix T Bar has been designed to be logical to a first time user.
When you move it from Left to Right, you are physically fading in the Left preview into the Right preview.

You can also select up to four transition presets with two clicks in vMix. Not sure tabs are necessary here.

Clip thumbnails

Clip thumbnails is an interesting idea, but also challenging given the vast number if video formats vMix supports.
My understanding is Livestream Studio has to transcode everything first.

The future of the vMix user interface

There is certainly room for improvement with the vMix interface and a debate is always welcome.
Here are some ideas on how I think customers can suggest improvements:

"I would like a new button or widget on the main window that does x as I think it will make it easier to do y"

"I would like move/remove/combine/expand button or widget x because it will make it possible to do y in one step instead of three"

As you can see, these suggestions are all about making specific tasks quicker and easier and are exactly the sorts of things
that will make it to the top of my todo list.

To kick things off, here is a list of some of the UI changes going into vMix 13:

* Start button added for Streaming from the main window.
* Open Preset dropdown menu with recent presets to choose from
* Solo button in Audio Mixer
* New Add Input vertical menu with icons for easy identification
* Current preset listed in title bar

Regards,

Martin
vMix



Like I said, vMix is the BEST out there, and I know that Livestream is designed after a traditional type mixer and I see you understand what I say, ..... vMix is loaded with with some great features that others do not have.....but it is just an opinion that could be looked at, not that all if any , can be implemented easily.....but, most users are usually acquainted to traditional layouts etc...but the "T" Bar, is a common thing in all mixers......the returning to the left, as you explained, is the way you have it to work to help the less experienced user.....

what I really like though about Livestream, is the TABS that open different pallets....if that could be done in some instances, such as the transitions,..that would be so welcoming...all the transitions shown at the same time....and yes, all clips loaded into livestream has to be transcoded in order to be played...very frustrating,....thank God you had the foresight to make vMix to accept all formats without transcoding.....

Thanks again for your response.....your work is great.....

I have an idea....what if you design a new switcher along the lines of a traditional switcher, call it something different, and give us a choice of two programs with different styles and make them kind of interactive,...similar to how Adobe products are, with plugins and addons to suit the user's preference, in that way, you, or any authorized programmer, can work on the addons and plugins, similar to how it is done for editing software, so that there would not have to be a complete rewrite of the program to update it......Just an idea.....Sometime my ideas make me sound crazy.....
thecloudmediagroup  
#6 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 2:44:37 PM(UTC)
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Like Bardos59 said, vmix is by far the best program out there.

Our company mainly provides CDN Streaming services and integration/consulting for churches and we have spent lots of time researching software solutions that work both for video pros and volunteers. vMix has come out ahead every time, whether it is Wirecast or Vidblaster or Livestream Studio or Xsplit, you name it, vMix is going to win every time.

One of the greatest things that I appreciate about Martin and the team is how quick they are in developing and releasing updates and upgrades to the software. For what they release in the time period that they do and that it is stable is really astonishing. They are down in the trenches with us trying to make the best product possible for all of us.
Bardos59  
#7 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 3:25:51 PM(UTC)
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richardgatarski wrote:
I would like to finally get som time to check out Livestream's, the new Wirecast, and some other software based switchers. But rather as a way to check out design things and perhaps get inspired for new ways to do things. So far, in my humble view, vMix rocks in terms of features and efficiency!

I agree with Martin about the general approach (eg not emulating traditional switchers). That is one of the reasons that I am interested in seeing an option to control vMix without preview. Including the option to switch to an input by clicking on it. Any newbie easily can operate in this way, even though it is more limited. This is just an example.

vMix's past development, and what vMix 13 promises, is fantastic.

So, let's play, be constructive and borrow ideas from outside. As the outside certainly will borrow from vMix. eg social features :)

Thanks Martin and everyone who contribute in the Forum.



I have test many....and like I said, NONE can beat vMix in features, stability, and the ability to use a fairly basic PC without frame drop or hangings.....I must say richardgatarski, check the Help files, you will see that there are built-in keyboard shortcuts, Think it is the row of keys that start with 'A' to "L", you can do a cut to the corresponding input, and the row from "Z" to "M", dissolves without having to first load that input into the preview, although it auto loads to Preview before going to Program window.....
ceejay7777  
#8 Posted : Saturday, May 31, 2014 9:02:50 PM(UTC)
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Interesting discussion ....

Being an "old school" vision mixer - operating hardware panels from the likes of CDL, Grass Valley, Ross, Ampex, etc for many years - the vMix interface is certainly "different", but not impossible to learn and become adept at.

There are plenty of people out there hooking up hardware interfaces to software switchers so that they can have the best of both worlds, but as Martin says, there are things that vMix does that would be difficult or impossible to implement in a hardware controller, so yer makes yer choices!

For myself, I'm relishing the challenge of doing things a "new" way.
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