Edit Review — Tivity Xtivity

If you've ever wanted to created Flash projects but were daunted by the learning curve of the Macromedia program, you might want to check out Xtivity from Tivity Software.

Xtivity''s interface puts everything up front on the main screen. All the sections are slide-able, docked drawers that work well. In the middle is the main work area.

I've used Flash pretty much since it was released and stuck by it through all its growing pains. I detoured a bit when Adobe LiveMotion appeared on the scene — I loved how it worked like After Effects, and it just seemed to make more sense interface-wise. (It subsequently disappeared from the scene, unfortunately.)

But basically, if you wanted to do Flash, you used Macromedia Flash. Sure, there have been many programs that do a lot of what Flash does, but they always seemed less powerful and just as complex as Flash. And Flash is complex. It's been refined nicely over the years, but it still has a learning curve. You don't need to know scripting/coding to use Flash, but it helps.

I've reviewed Flash for years and have done training videos featuring the extremely popular web video/animation program. So when a contender comes along, I am especially interested. In fact, Xtivity is especially intriguing because it offers, according to Tivity's materials, the power of Flash without the steep learning curve and without diving into code. Does it measure up? Let's find out.

Like Flash, Xtivity is at its core an animation program. You bring stuff in, make things happen, flicker, move, bounce, etc. Video producers who have been intrigued with Flash will certainly be interested in this program. However, one element is noticeably absent: a timeline. Xtivity treats your Flash creation as more a collection of events (rollovers, slideshows, video, etc.) than a production that happens over time.

Xtivity's interface puts everything up front on the main screen. All the sections are slide-able, docked drawers, which actually works well. The main work area is in the middle.

In Xtivity, all elements are drag-and-drop, which is simpler than working around a timeline. This is especially true when dealing with content that is not linear in time — as is often the case on the Web. However, without a timeline, certain processes in Xtivity such as keyframe animation (move Object X from Point A to Point B) take about triple the number of steps that they do in Flash. Thankfully, you'll not do much keyframe work because the program has a lot of pre-built elements packed into it. You don't have to work as hard.

Xtivity separates all elements into layers, so you can easily rearrange and keep track of everything. As in Photoshop, you can keep separate items on separate layers and toggle them off at any time. If you have done Flash, you know that prepping your layered files beforehand makes development a lot easier as you construct your scenes.

A library window houses lots of built-in clip items, such as sound loops, buttons, transition effects, and graphics (such as web and video navigation icons). A document contents window shows exactly what is in the current scene.

Actions are applied to objects, and they can accomplish the usual Flash tricks such as mouse-overs, predesigned motion, scrolling, rotation, progress bars, and much more. There are also lots of built-in components, such as audio and video players, hotspots, infoboxes, lists, menus, email buttons, and just about anything else you would need to construct a Flash creation for the Web.

It's worth noting that all of these actions and components can be tweaked infinitely. Scores of parameters can be changed, and since Xtivity has top-notch support for Photoshop layer files, most of the built-in elements have layers than can be updated with Photoshop quickly. It is obvious that built-in support for Photoshop layers was a focus from the beginning. You can also copy and paste animations and attributes from object to object — a huge timesaver.

There's also a toolbar with the typical controls for adding boxes, resizing elements, magnifying, rotating, adding movies and text, etc. If you just used the basic tools and got up to speed with using mouse-overs and importing graphics (the program ships with tutorial movies to get you rolling), you could construct some very cool stuff very quickly.

It's hard to compare this program to Macromedia Flash, but what the heck, I will. Adobe's program is a high-level tool built for animators as well as coders. It is really expansive, not just in features, but also with its healthy third-party support community, which continually creates new plug-in components. Flash has a steep learning curve, there's no way around it. If you want to tap into the power of the program, it takes time to master it.

Xtivity does have a smaller learning curve, but not as small as I was expecting. I approached the program thinking that it would generate point-and-click results, and it doesn't exactly. It takes a bit of time watching the video tutorials (which are nice, but there should be more) and moving through the Help files to get up to speed.

Both Xtivity and Macromedia Flash are based on nesting. Nesting manifests itself in a simple blue box on screen that does things when you mouse over it, click it, drag it, etc. All of the things that it does are based on assigned commands that are nested into the object.

Xtivity thankfully has a lot of preprogrammed objects, but if you want objects to work the way you want them to, it'll take a little time to learn. Though fairly easy to use, Xtivity does a few things in amazingly clunky ways — text, for example. In Macromedia Flash you click anywhere and type; in Xtivity you draw a box and then need to launch a separate text-editing window. It reminded me of character generator programs when they first hit PCs. Also, as I mentioned, if you just want to do some simple keyframe tasks, you need to click multiple settings in multiple requestors to make things happen.

The best thing about the program is the huge array of built-in effects. Unless you have extremely specific ways that you want things to go, tweaking an existing built-in parameter will work about 95 percent of the time. The deeper you dig, the cooler the stuff you discover. I found some accordion menus (also know as blade menus, like those in the Xbox 360 interface) that slide side to side, which would have taken forever to create in Flash. Here they are, just drag and drop.

For video producers and production studios wanting to get content on the Web, the program does a great job of importing MOV and AVI files, putting them neatly into a customizable player (there are many to choose from in the program), and then expertly exporting them to highly optimized streaming Flash (SWF) files. The program also includes 50 pre-loaders to stimulate your viewer as the video begins to load.

I also loved the built-in audio players. You know those little play buttons with the level meters next to them that you often see on Flash sites? A simple drag and it's in your project.

Xtivity does not include a manual, which is a real drag, but the Help system is robust. In fact, there are actual examples of the components built into the Help pages, which is cool. More tutorials would have been nice, however.

The funny thing is, with most Flash-like programs you might eventually grow out of them as you advance. Xtivity is much deeper than that. With so many features, it should suit your needs for a long time to come (not to mention at half the cost of Flash). If you are an animator, the lack of a timeline and free-form animation tools may make you head toward Macromedia Flash. However, if you are a producer looking to create Flash output using a program with a smaller learning curve and many more pre-built effects, Xtivity will get you started nicely.

Company: Tivity Software
Birmingham, Ala.; (205) 980-7656
www.tivity.com

Product: Xtivity

Assets: Easy drag-and-drop functionality for creating Flash animations and video, tons of pre-built elements with Photoshop layers.

Caveats: Though easier to learn than Macromedia Flash, there's still a considerable learning curve.

Demographic: Producers looking to create Flash output.

PRICE: $399

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