This is what I read.
So I'm done my gig early tonight (a reception that epitomized the
concept of "eat and run") and I'm cruising home and thinking (always a
dangerous thing). I realize that two years ago, just about to the day,
I got my first copy of the first version of FX.
About a year or so ago I added KJ to the system since I was doing more
and more Karaoke shows. I don't know how many hundreds of dollars I
spent between the two, but I know it was a marked bit more than they
go for today.
In that time my music library has swelled from about 20k songs and 5k
Karaoke covers to over 60k songs and 26k Karaoke. My business has also
taken off like a shot to the point I've cut loose my other company to
spend more time focusing on DJ/entertainment and sound/lighting work.
What makes this interesting is that, aside from a handfull of
scattered gigs, I've NEVER used FX/KJ. And the few times that I did
were acts of careful button/screen pushing (I have a touch-screen)
along with careful avoidance of certain features/functions so as not
to "spill the beans" and cause the software to do something I'd regret
(like peg the CPU for minutes at a time, skip/stutter, or outright
fail in the middle of a song).
In that time I've seen (and downloaded/applied) any number of
patches/upgrades, read more than a few workarounds and bodged fixes
and counted still more issues that have arisen as we go. I've also
indulged in more "uninstall/wipe/reinstall" operations (with the
periodic "run this little utility - just becasue you might need to"
blurbs) for the FX core than I can count (kinda reminded me of the old
Micro$oft days where the usual recommended fix was a reinstallation of
the whole OS).
I've also had about a good half-dozen or more run-ins with the famed
FX "security system" that has killed or otherwise invalidated my
installation serials (this would be the same system that's routinely
by-passed with a few simple downloads from the Internet) to the point
I've had to brave the Visio "press 1 to be connected to yet another
unanswered phone with a full voicemail box" telephone system -
sometimes taking a much as a week (and several posts here and Emails
there) before I get a response.
Kudos go to Ryan for personally helping me through several of these
issues - but at the same time nasty thoughts go to the tech (same guy
several times) who spoke down his nose to me like I was some sort of
retard who was wasting his time because I needed his help in doing
something only he could do (resetting my codes after FX ate them).
Considering I've been working around (and in) computers since 1985 I
found his attitude of treating me like I was lucky to find the Power
button somewhat offensive.
While I value intellectual property and all that goes into it, I also
marvel that I have to go through less hassle to get a $30,000
compositing program running than I do to get a <$350 MP3/Karaoke
package to work.
Now I don't want to sound like I'm bashing here - these are all
stone-cold FACTS - easily replicated at your convenience. I will also
add that I've been a major support of Visio since I first came across
their software years ago and have been using it since going pro-mobile
back then.
The problem is that I paid a considerable amount of non-refundable and
barely-recoverable money for a product I can't use - even two years,
many fixes and much grief later. Don't get me wrong - it's an
excellent product - when it works (which is seldom with consistency).
The issue I have is that Visio, while they -are- working towards
fixing known issues, seems to be showing a track record that tends
more towards developing new features and technologies rather than
buckling down and giving us a ROCK-SOLID WORKING PRODUCT. And what
upgrades/fixes are coming out of the Visio offices now seem to be
doing so at a rather glacial rate (how many months since the last
one??). I'm doing multiple gigs PER WEEK - I don't have time to wait
MONTHS for software fixes, let alone YEARS for a reliable working
product!
So you understand, my background includes 6yrs of product testing and
review for a television technology magazine. My area of expertise is
the handling of digital media. I've written dozens of articles and
been published in several books. During this time I've had the
opportunity to both work and play with computer equipment the likes of
which most geeks don't even dare to have wet dreams about (can most
people even comprehend the speed of a computer with 64 processors in
it??). I've built and deployed server farms and managed my own
webhosting company for 5yrs. It's safe to say that I'm familiar with
computers...
And I just can't figure out FX. Not the software, itself (that's easy
to run), but why I'm sitting here planning time next week to uninstall
and remove it from my gig boxes because all its doing is sucking up
drive space and collecting digital dust. I'm simply tired of waiting
for the promised Working Version.
Many of you might remember what that's like - especially if you're a
Visio-Veteran like me. When I go to a gig and boot up my box
(affectionately named Rufus) I don't even think twice as I begin
tapping my touch screen. My finger goes straight from the Start button
right up to PCDJ RED (I'm completely ignoring the FX button above it).
I'm talking about VINTAGE Red here, not the
"Red-that-looks-like-FX-but-isn't-quite" version. Red 5.3.1010 (the
last of the venreable line of solid software) is the workhorse package
for me. Where FX can peg my CPU for 3-5min just by selecting a file in
my Recordcase, the supposedly "dated technology" of Vintage Red can
load that very same case in about 5-10sec. This is the same Red that
"works" my CPU around 2-5% normally, as opposed to FX pushing it well
up into high double-digits just because I initiated a Find function
(assuming it actually FINDs and doesn't crash).
As for KJ - one of the worst things I ever did was go "what's this
do?" and hit the Kamikaze button. The CPU slammed to 100% and stayed
there for a good 10min in an un-abortable (and un-defined) task before
the system ran out of RAM and first timed-out then crashed
(necessitating a forced reboot of the whole workstation). Much like
FX, I dare not touch the Recordcase - to do so means I lose my CPU to
the software for minutes at a stretch. Seeing as I usually live off of
the Find function this isn't a major problem, but every so often I
want to scroll through a case - preferably without having a 3-5min
wait, or longer, during which the music sometimes skips and the
computer is virtually non-responsive. I'll re-iterate, also, that this
is a non-abortable function - once pushed you're STUCK until FX is
done with its mechanations.
Considering Rufus is an AMD 2800+ with 1Gb of dual-channel (400mhz)
RAM that's running a glorified MP3 player - this should NOT happen...
I find it funny that my freeware Karaoke player can juggle the entire
26k song Karaoke library so effortlessly that a search (simultaneous
Title, Artist, Disc) usually takes less than a second (no, I'm _not_
BSing here). What software am I using? Sorry - I'm going to keep that
one to myself as a "trade secret." It hasn't been made for some years
now anyhow. It runs full-rez video quite nicely, too... and even that
only jacks the CPU up to ~45-50%.
No - I'm sorry - as far as the enigma that is FX goes - you can have
it. I'm done here - for now. Perhaps in another year or two I'll catch
a review or swing by here and discover that the software is now solid,
fast and reliable. Chances are I'll pay a fair chunk less for it then
than I did two years ago for my "pre-release reserved" copy of FX and
the eventual KJ add-on. If someone reading this would like my serials
feel free to Email me with a reasonable offer.
And before you start leaving messages here with questions, fixes and
comments about "it works perfectly on my system if I..." or "now that
I..." I'll state one simple thing - it DOESN'T work on any of the
workstations I have it on now or in the past. Vintage Red has worked
on them ALL. I'm sure I could probably get it to work if I did/changed
any number of things. Then again, with enough coat hangers and
aluminum foil I could probably talk to aliens, too...
__________________
DJ Shadowfax
www.availablesound.com
Linear Mode
