Hi John EB,

Thanks for testing. Strange. Did you try with some Brightness/Contrast effects on a couple of the photos? That is what causes the thumbnail to go white and the programs to crash. I have confirmation of this from 3 others on the French side. Actually, it was a French user who raised the issue. The 98% problem seems to be just my computer, I think.

I have always used MEP/VPX panorama creation tool and have always found it very good up to 6 images, of course. Beyond that, I use Magix Panorama Studio 3, which is also very good. I came with Xara Designer Pro X. Actually, I used it to make a few interesting pan-type collages with completely independent photos. There are some interesting effects to be had.

John CB

FWIW, I've found a few cases in the VPX-9 update where mixing various exposure and color correction *combinations* results in black (blank) object/clips.

One that I recently remember was applying a (the) Magix GoPro ProRes LUT to a clip, then trying to tweak the contrast a bit further in the contrast/effects tab curve editor. The clip went black until I disabled either the LUT or the contrast change in the list of effects in the effects tab. I mention this in this topic because I believe this has little or nothing to do with panoramas. There are a bunch of these conflicting exposure setting issues in VPX-9, so this isn't an isolated efffect, or limited to VPX-9 new features. It's a regression. Even the mention of this in their own forum should get Magix QA jumping into action to reproduce and fix it before too many users notice... but probably not gonna happen. Even a cheap intern could be paid to keep a bead on these issues.

To be honest, trying to get any help from Magix support isn't worth the trouble in their current system (gotta install and submit simpletech garbage to even be considered beyond the initial bug-report, regardless the completeness of the report. - protocol, you know - gotta be followed, or it's not OUR problem...) To hell with 'em.

I just upgraded and am revisiting my Corel VSP SW because my bug report (Magix) that clearly indicates the steps taken, AND that a reported problem (3D blank render issue mentioned elsewhere) *still* works in VPX-7 but they won't even dignify it until I go through their simpletech hoops..., all the while spamming me when I start the app to upgrade for $150 bucks. right... screw 'em. I paid real $$ for the *Pro* SW and my hours are worth more than the SW, and it seems that they think we're volunteer Beta-testers. (I'm not, and won't play that game.). Hit Film, Da-Vinci, Corel - all viable alternatives... I've got a job to get done. Magix behaves like they're doing me a favor by considering my bug report. No response to my bug report and no fix ===>>> no more money for Magix.

For the wonderful/patient moderators in here - thanks for your constant attention to users and issues. I hope maybe one of you can pass this perspective to someone in Magix QA or product support who might give a damn. Not gonna be me.

If their QA aren't in this forum scratching to ID, reproduce, and fix *mentioned* issues, rather than waiting for bug reporters to follow some irrelevant protocol... users will go elsewhere.

watch me.

cheers

(edits to clarify)

Hi John CB

. . . . Did you try with some Brightness/Contrast effects on a couple of the photos? That is what causes the thumbnail to go white and the programs to crash. . . . .

Yes I did and also tested with Colour correction.

However I repeated the testing this morning first with Colour correction - worked OK, then with Brightness/Contrast.

As the Panorama dialog was loading/updating I noticed a 'flash' on the screen and the panorama preview changed to show the images with the brightness/contrast adjustment as white, the unadjusted images were OK and VPX now hangs.

This is not the first time I have seen an issue was OK, then on retesting have been able to reproduce it - it is as though after first time use, something is triggered and than the issue is reproducible.

John EB

@mindsong

. . . . gotta install and submit simpletech garbage . . . . regardless the completeness of the report . . . .

In your complete report did you include data on your Windows version/build, hardware configuration and rev/version numbers, hardware driver versions, faulting module data, stack status, etc?

This is what the software that support ask you to run and send back the data from does - that data is essential information required for bug checking/fixing an issue and is a common request from many software manufacturers.

You stated why should I do this? The simple answer is that there so many hardware configurations, driver combinations, and user customisations that can affect software, the manufacturers cannot test all possible combinations.

John EB

@johnbaker, thanks for taking the time to do what you guys do. Not sure what motivates you, but am certain good karma comes back to you somewhere later. My gripe is with Magix, and I appreciate you covering their back, but I'm not-so-certain covering for folks that don't do their job is doing anyone a favor.

I've spent enough of my professional career doing SW QA that I completely understand why they want the simpletech data (even though the same SW sequence works fine in VPX-7 on the same HW, and was part of the report...). But I've also spent enough of my career doing QA to know a functionally untested product release when I see one, and this is hardly the first from Magix - just look at the usual release notes for the flavor of the usual issues and it's clear unit-testing isn't being done. Amateur QA and support for a supposed 'Pro' (or Pro-sumer if one prefers) product.

So we waste our time trying to A) figure out what *we're* doing wrong when something simple stops working the way it used to, and B) figure out a way to trick the SW into actually doing what we know it could do before, because we need to get something done. If I add 2 hours to every video editing job estimation for 'Magix SW beta-testing', I'll be out of business.

Clearly, you reproduced this problem without the simpletech data, yes?

Without the simpletech data they don't even try?, as if I somehow have a responsibility to follow their QA protocol for them to be responsible to provide software support and a product that actually accomplishes the promises on their sales brochures?

Sadly this is a trend that is not only growing in all SW disciplines, but is being considered acceptable by consumers. (windows-update anyone?)

Magix is *not* an open-source project, but seems to think (by the evidence) that calling a development cycle 'agile', and following the 'release often' development model that they're hip.

I know better than to remove older versions that I depend on before relying on an update, but the fellow in the other thread who has had to re-install windows 10, what seven times so far to get his 'Pro' product to work? even at minimum wage, the costs of that in time and frustration are mind-bogglingly NOT OK for a 'Pro' product in my book.

So yeah, you forum guys rock (I mean that), and yes, simpleltech data would probably help, but a proper QA team/cycle would probably have prevented this whole issue from the start - and I think deep in your mind, you know I'm right but are more tolerant and optimistic than many of us.

cheers to you guys.

To not take this thread hijacking any further, I re-iterate that the panorama function in the original post/question is probably not related to the color adjustment issues, which seem to permeate the VPX-9 update. It's good to have this sort of feedback when debugging the problem, so you can debug the right problem. I wish us all well in that endeavor.

cheers,

--mindsong