Director and Creator going Subscription based

Discuss anything ProShow Producer related
Valued Member
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 2:20 pm
Location: Berthoud, Colorado

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Lin Evans » Mon Nov 25, 2019 1:43 pm

Folks, the sad truth is that it takes a long, long time even for the very best developers and programmers to create a really great presentation slideshow product. There simply has not been sufficient time for this new software to be created, debugged and thoroughly tested. No matter how skilled the programmers are, there just isn't any reasonable expectation that this new product will be anywhere nearly as bug-free and as solid as Producer and Gold. It just can't happen this quickly regardless of the "hype" and promises.

Stick with Producer or look into PTE which is seasoned, 64 bit, has super advanced features and can do things you can only imagine. No, it can't read and support Producer's files, themes or styles, but it has its own and they are very, very good.

Producer will still work just like it always has and for many it will be just fine. For those who need 64 bit and advanced features such as hierarchical constructs, 3d transforms, unlimited layers, etc., I haven't found anything yet to equal PTE and I have tried about everything out there. The developer of PTE stays on top of what users want and rather than a few beta testers, every registered user of PTE has the opportunity to beta test, comment and help with the product. The Macintosh beta version will be available very, very soon and the Windows version PTE AV Studio 10 Pro has been released and it's going great.

Best regards,

Lin

Active Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:59 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby folkroots » Tue Nov 26, 2019 7:18 am

Hi Lin. Thanks for Information. PTE sounds interesting. I will definetly check it out. Does it have any type of wizard for quick shows or to use as a starting point for a more detailed show? Thanks Lin. :)

Valued Member
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 2:20 pm
Location: Berthoud, Colorado

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Lin Evans » Tue Nov 26, 2019 8:50 am

Hi,

They don't use the name Wizzard, but it has Themes which serve very much the same purpose. There are multitudes of free video tutorials showing how to get started. It's very easy to make your first show. If you're a Facebook user, you may want to see a couple of the videos on how to get started there in the group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/picturestoexefans/

Best regards,

Lin

Active Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:59 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby folkroots » Tue Nov 26, 2019 12:28 pm

Thanks Lin.

Member
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:05 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby fnelsen » Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:28 am

Needless to say I am sad to say goodbye to Photodex and Producer (I will use version 9 until it dies). Director looks interesting but the price is way out of line. I can't see them succeeding with their pricing model for $25 per month or $250 a year. I can get most Adobe products for $9 a month. Currently I am using Camtasia, while not as robust for slide shows I will manage. They charge $249 ($199 on sale) then $99 a year, similar to what Photodex did. I would be willing to give Director a go when they bring their pricing back to the real world. A big thank you to all of you on this forum (I will continue to visit) who have given me inspiration and technical advice for years.

.
User avatar
Posts: 579
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 2:19 am
Location: Britanny (France)

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Jeep » Wed Dec 18, 2019 5:43 am

fnelsen wrote:Needless to say I am sad to say goodbye to Photodex and Producer (I will use version 9 until it dies). Director looks interesting but the price is way out of line. I can't see them succeeding with their pricing model for $25 per month or $250 a year. I can get most Adobe products for $9 a month. Currently I am using Camtasia, while not as robust for slide shows I will manage. They charge $249 ($199 on sale) then $99 a year, similar to what Photodex did. I would be willing to give Director a go when they bring their pricing back to the real world. A big thank you to all of you on this forum (I will continue to visit) who have given me inspiration and technical advice for years.

+1
Director is at the same monthly subscribe price as Premiere Pro. There is a wide world between both. Unfortunately, Photopia will die with their offers if they maintain this way of selling their software.
Jean-Pierre

My blog
Processor: Intel Quad core 2.33 Ghz - RAM: 4 Gb - Windows 8.1 64 bits - Video: Nvidia 720GT 2 Gb- Camera : Canon 5D Mark II + 24-105 + 100-400 - Sharing : jean_pierre

.
User avatar
Posts: 184
Joined: Thu May 14, 2009 11:19 pm
Location: Sydney

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Mokummer » Wed Dec 18, 2019 6:42 pm

To all Proshow Enthusiasts

We are all looking for a solution for the direction the New Year 2020 will take us with either Proshow or Photopia.

If you are still happy with Proshow and it lets you do the shows-videos without too much trouble: stay with it! Hopefully, the registration of products you bought will stay alive and this forum as well.

On the other hand, if you are looking for new and improved features, Director or Creator could be the answer; I think are still in its early stages like Proshow was when they started.

On the question of yearly subscriptions for a program; this is now becoming the norm. Development and coding for a program is an expensive exercise to keep it-up-to-date and competitive with other products on the market.

I paid for quite a few major updates over the years; going from Gold to Producer including Style and Transition packs so in that respect not a lot of difference to yearly subscriptions.

Photodex gave us a unique program and support over the years for that we are thankful. :D

Whatever happens: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)

Bill

Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby OneDollarEarned » Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:25 pm

Eddie2001 wrote:Sorry to hear that the new programs will be subscription based....that is something I just will not do! I have enough monthly bills as it is and I do not want to add another. It would be nice if they would offer a one and done program with updates to be paid for, as opposed to another monthly bill.

Guess I will stay with PSP 8...it works well enough for me :)

Thanks...

Eddie


You should upgrade to the latest version to squeeze every bit of what's left from Photodex.

Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby OneDollarEarned » Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:36 pm

Robert Hatmaker wrote:Photodex went out of business because their business model was not profitable. The talent was there but their business model didn't work. Too much illegal copying, slow program development in an age of rapid innovation, and too few users updating new releases. Of course every users needs are different. But, if we want a good up-to-date product, it must come from a company that is making a reasonable profit. If subscription is necessary to prevent illegal copying and attract new and continuing customers, I will "hold my nose" and subscribe. In the end it is a financial decision for business and consumer. I plan to backup a copy of Producer with all relevant files; use trial period of Creator; and, if satisfied, subscribe for a year with the 15% discount for ProShow users. Then if satisfied with the product and rollout of enhancements, I will stay with Photopia and wish them great success. If not satisfied I'll go back to Producer 9 or change to another product. I'm not rich (retired teacher) but $9.95 is a reasonable price for a good up-to-date product in this economy. Anything to keep my creative juices flowing in my "senior" years.


I wholeheartedly agree with your comment. This is exactly what I will do. In fact I've already purchased a year subscription to see and compare it's offerings and features. I've been a user of Photodex products since March/2004 and have purchased every upgrade, enhancement and add ons they've offered.

Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby OneDollarEarned » Tue Jan 14, 2020 6:55 pm

scorpion wrote:I have been a ProShow Producer user for many years like many of you. I believe I have bought every single effects pack, style pack, transition pack etc. that they ever sold. I also upgraded Producer many times over the years. So I have invested a lot of money into a program that I absolutely love. So it is a shame that they are no longer a business. Unfortunately, the way they decided to go out was not so graceful. You think they would have been honest and communicated with their loyal customers. Though, what is done, is done.

I won't be renting the new Photopia program. I will never do a subscription to any software company. They can say they are doing it that way for many reasons but I can argue each one of them. Anyways.....what now? I will still use ProShow but it is becoming dated and I need something fresh. Searching around the internet I have discovered several slideshow programs that look just as good, if not better than Photopia. Of course I still need to do some more research before taking a different path. Right now, Photostory Deluxe by Magix looks very promising. It has a one time charge and free updates for a year. Then a discounted price on upgrades. Sounds familiar. Has anyone had any experience with this program?

I wish Photopia the best and hope they succeed but I doubt they will. From seeing how many people on this and other forums have said, they will not do a subscription. Maybe they should be listening to the consumer.


I too have bought every single effects pack, style pack, transition pack etc. that they ever sold. I'm going to try Photopia for 1 year to see if it's worth an annual investment, a monthly investment or NO investment beyond the one year.

Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby OneDollarEarned » Tue Jan 14, 2020 7:01 pm

dzacco wrote:I haven't been active on this site for a while but I'm finding all of this rather disappointing. I looked at the Photopia site and it's seriously pathetic. Will the software be lame as well? No video examples like on ProShow and no transition packages or effects? Do we have to download the free trial to have a look? I own Producer version 6, would it be advisable to upgrade for longevity sake?


If you're going to continue using PSP I would recommend upgrading to the latest version and get style/transition/effect packs as well.

Member
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:58 am

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby OneDollarEarned » Tue Jan 14, 2020 7:04 pm

Thanks Lin for the high praise for PTE. I will check it out as well. PSP is a staple of my software library.

.
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2016 4:03 pm

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby JudsonR » Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:13 pm

So, today is February 1, 2020 and Photodex's ProShow Producer is no longer among the living. While I am sad that the company is out of business (and I don't understand why they didn't just sell it to people who could keep it running) I think we do have to understand that there are alternatives to PSP. A bit ago I tried to open my last-produced PSP show and basically it failed to load. Whether or not PSP is going to continue to be a viable application for producing slideshows remains to be seen. Currently I am "testing" Photopia. While the interface is somewhat arcane compared to what I'm used to I'm sure that given practice I will master it. I did use the discount code today to subscribe to Photopia's Director version at the rate of $21.21/month. That's good for three months. The reality here is that for small companies like Photodex and Photopia that are most likely struggling to keep their heads above water (Photodex didn't) a subscription model is the best way to maintain a cash flow and stay afloat. Adobe understood this some time ago. Sure, they got a lot of flack when they changed, but I for one love the Photographers Bundle at $10.00/month and the constant stream of updates that come with it. It really comes down to two choices: support a company that makes a useful product over time or buy a product that just might disappear without warning. At least Photodex warned us and even made a recommendation of where to go once they were gone. Hopefully, Photopia will survive for the forseeable future and continue to improve. I've been impressed with Joshua's responses and the fact that just in the past week there have been three updates to the software. They listen, they investigate and they react. You can't ask for much more than that.

Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:31 pm

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Eddie2001 » Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:49 pm

I did try the PTE program, however I quickly deleted it account it will not handle .tiff files! PSP had no problem with them but PTE will not accept them. It would be more work to save the tiff files as a jpg to work with PTE. I usually enhance the CR2 files and then save them as tiffs for maximum resolution and lossless saving.

Oh well...the search continues for a replacement.

Eddie

Valued Member
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 2:20 pm
Location: Berthoud, Colorado

Re: Director and Creator going Subscription based

Postby Lin Evans » Tue Feb 11, 2020 6:36 am

Hi Eddie,

As with all good software, there are always changes and modifications being made. The latest version of PTE absolutely DOES support tiff. Although very few PTE users use tiff files, the developers decided to include tiff because a number of present PTE users who formerly used Producer and Gold asked for it.

The bottom line is that PTE not only supports TIFF files but also supports several different new versions of Alpha Channel and more are being included with each minor update.

Best regards,

Lin

PreviousNext

Return to PSP - General Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests