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How to Decide Between muvee autoProducer 6 and muvee Reveal

A Buyer's Guide to the New Media's Killer Apps

By Dave Whittle

When muvee first announced it’s new software, Reveal, it quit selling autoProducer 6 (aP6) on its web site while nonetheless continuing to support the sale of autoProducer through its resellers and business partners. Then, by popular demand, muvee began selling autoProducer on its web site again. This has caused some degree of confusion among those who are familiar with muvee's great software and would like to "buy muvee," but don't know which product is best for them.

So let me try to answer some of the questions you might have. My answers are based on my testing and use of both products, the formal comparison chart offered by muvee, and discussions I’ve hadautoProducer 6 Box with muvee’s CEO and muvee’s Marketing Vice President.

Q: Why should I even consider muvee autoProducer when muvee said that it was replaced by muvee Reveal?

A: The quick and easy answer is “Because muvee was not accurate in so stating. muvee autoProducer 6 (aP6) remained available in the retail channel and through muvee's resellers and marketing partners. What's more, muvee autoProducer 6 has some distinct advantages that muvee Reveal does not have, and vice-versa.

Whereas in the past, muvee only had one high-end offering (autoProducer), they now have two – and each one addresses different needs and types of customers. You may decide you want one or the other or both. I have both on my systems, and use them both as determined by the need, which is what I recommend for muvee enthiasts and professionals. Beginners will probably be better off with aP6, unless they just purchased a new PC or have an HD camcorder, in which case I'd recommend Reveal.

Q: What are the differences between muvee Reveal and muvee autoProducer?

A: Here’s a list of the differences:

muvee RevealReveal Box

  1. Costs between $79.99 and 99.95.
  2. Supports H.264 (High Definition or HD) and .MP4 file formats for input and output.
  3. Lets you have almost total control of your captioning – you can control the text (words), its positioning, the font, the color, and so on. autoProducer let you control only the text.
  4. Requires a PC processor that is at least 2GHz, along with a 3D graphics card. You also need at least 1GB of RAM. This means that only newer PCs (generally newer than two years old) can run muvee Reveal.
  5. Reveal is not compatible with autoProducer’s broad array of styles (or the 19 stylePacks available for autoProducer). Reveal comes with 8 styles, and only a half-dozen or so stylePacks are currently available for purchase. More will be coming in the future, but for now, autoProducer wins the battle for variety when it comes to styles.
  6. Reveal’s styles are 3D styles, however, which means they have greater flexibility and are newer and more sophisticated than autoProducer's.
  7. Reveal gives you high-resolution, real-time previews.

muvee autoProducer 6

  1. Is less expensive than Reveal, with excellent prices available if you do a little shopping around.
  2. Does not support H.264 (HD) or .MP4 file formats.
  3. Lets you designate a caption for a photo or video, but not the placement, font, or color.
  4. Only requires a 1GHz PC and 512MB RAM, and does not require a 3D graphics card. This means that most PCs out there running Windows XP or Windows Vista will be able to run aP6.
  5. autoProducer is not compatible with Reveal’s styles (and stylePacks).
  6. autoProducer comes with 8 superStyles, 24 core styles when you register, and 4 styles in 2 free stylePacks if you purchase the Deluxe DVD Box edition. Additionally, there are over 100 styles in 19 stylePacks available for purchase.
  7. muvee autoProducer’s full-screen preview can be a bit blurry.

Q: Which one is right for me, then: muvee Reveal or muvee autoProducer?

A: Here’s the simplest way to help you decide I can offer:

  1. If you have an HD camcorder or need to work with HD video inputs AND you have a high-end PC that meets Reveal’s minimum PC requirements (see below), then you need muvee Reveal and don’t need to consider autoProducer 6.
  2. If you want to spend less than $99 and don’t need HD video support or don’t have a PC that meets Reveal’s requirements (see below), or if you want the extra flexibility you get by having hundreds of styles available (either free or through purchase), then you need muvee autoProducer 6.
  3. If you want all of the new features of Reveal as well as the stylistic flexibility of autoProducer, then consider buying
  4. If neither of the above descriptions fits you exactly, then you’ll need to make your decision based on a comparison of the extra features you get with Reveal vs. the extra features you get with autoProducer.

Q: Which one do you prefer?

A: I currently have both installed. I've recently started using Reveal more than aP6 because I prefer the look of a few of its styles, and because I'm using more HD video now that I have a Flip Mino HD, but I also use aP6 pretty regularly as well for some of its styles I like.

Q: When will Reveal have more stylePacks available?

A: muvee’s executives tell me that all of their stylePack development efforts will go into releasing a dozen or more stylePacks for Reveal over the next year or so.