Jimco Software Reviews - Sonicfire Pro (continued)
Exporting Your Soundtrack
Sonicfire Pro has several options for exporting your project. You can choose to export the video and the audio together or just the audio. Audio formats vary as do video formats. According to the Sonicfire Pro documentation, there should be an option to add exported files to the Vegas project library, but I was not able to activate that option. In fact, in my tests, the checkbox that the documentation refers to offered only the option to export to Adobe Premiere, an application I don't even own.
The reason for the musical quality you get from Sonicfire Pro is not only because SmartSound uses professional musicians for their content, but also because their technology is close to perfect.
The quality of the music that Sonicfire Pro produces is as good as any audio I've heard. Even though the audio has been digitally shuffled, it sounds perfect with no indication that any manipulation has been done. Not only does Sonicfire Pro allow you to score your video much faster than using loops, but the quality of the music that it creates far surpasses what a looping application can create in most cases. The reason for the musical quality you get from Sonicfire Pro is not only because SmartSound uses professional musicians for their content, but also because their technology is close to perfect. It will definitely impress you.
Wrapping It Up
SmartSound doesn't really have any competition in this market. Sonicfire Pro is the only application that does exactly what it does, and once you use it for a project or two, you won't want to be without it. Within a few minutes of launching Sonicfire Pro for the first time, you'll be creating soundtracks that will impress even the greatest critic. In fact, Sonicfire Pro's soundtracks are so good that you'll find yourself humming them for days after working on a project. I can always tell when music is good when I find myself singing it in the shower. The music you'll create with Sonicfire Pro is that good.
I can always tell when music is good when I find myself singing it in the shower. The music you'll create with Sonicfire Pro is that good.
Ratings
Usability : 5/5
Sonicfire Pro is extremely usable. SmartSound has designed it to do one thing and to do that one thing extremely well. They've succeeded.
Interface : 3/5
The Sonicfire Pro interface is a weakness in my opinion. It looks dated and menus have dithered colors akin to looking at a picture in 256 colors.
Intuitiveness : 5/5
As I've said before, SmartSound did a good job of disguising the complexity of what's going on under the covers. Sonicfire Pro is very intuitive.
Features : 4/5
Overall the features in Sonicfire Pro are great. However, I did find the markers a bit limited and wished for the ability to label placeholders. I was also disappointed that Sonicfire Pro wouldn't export to Vegas as the documentation said it would.
Documentation : 1/5
Documentation in Sonicfire Pro is just plain bad. All you get is HTML pages that are long and cover multiple topics. There is no search functionality, no context-sensitive help, and what documentation you do get is often confusing and not much help. For a product at this price point, I would have at least expected decent documentation.
The saving grace here is that Sonicfire Pro is easy to use, but I can't help but think that many users will not get the most out of Sonicfire Pro due to the poor documentation.
Price vs. Value Ratio : 4/5
The value in Sonicfire Pro is quite high. However, it lost a point due to bad documentation.
Reviewer's Tilt : 0/5
No tilt on this product.
Overall : 4/5
Sonicfire Pro has a few shortcomings (most notable being the lack of proper documentation), but there's nothing else available that can do what it does. Not only that, but as I've already said, the output from Sonicfire Pro is great. This application can literally take a lackluster video and turn it into a quality video with a professional flavor.
This application can literally take a lackluster video and turn it into a quality video with a professional flavor.
I feel quite comfortable giving Sonicfire Pro a rating of "highly recommended." It's easy to use, fun to use, and it can make the difference between good and great when it comes to your video projects. Unless you have the resources available to hire your own bands and musical directors to score your video, you owe it to yourself to check out Sonicfire Pro.
Sonicfire Pro
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