Very Disappointed with Premiere Elements

Question

I've been a Pinnacle Studio user for many years and decided to make the move to Premiere Elements recently, and possibly move on then to Premiere Pro.
All I can say is that Premiere is probably one of the lowest quality pieces of software I've used in a long time. It takes FOREVER to do anything - even compared to similar tasks in other video editing apps, it tends to just go off in the weeds and hang there without even the decency to fully crash, and the "Organizer" is completely full of itself.
If I could return this to the retailer for a refund I definitely would.

Answer 1

And second, I don't know how I got hold of the program in the first place. What I do know is that I didn't pay for it (shoot me, kill me or do whatever feels necessary, but I was a student back then).
One likely scenario is that you got Pr/PrPro 7.0/PrPro 1.0 as OEM software. That particular version (actually 3 versions, though there could have been subtle differences) was released 3 ways. Adobe was producing Pr (not yet PrPro) 6.5, and then released Pr 7.0. At almost the same time, they changed the name to PrPro 7.0 for a short time, and then changed the name to PrPro 1.0, and thus the general naming convention began. To confuse things a bit more, with PrPro 2.0, Adobe introduced the CS2 Production Studio, which contained PS CS2, EncoreDVD 2.0, AfterEffects CS2 (also called AE 7), AI CS2, On-Location CS2 and Bridge CS2. Though even some Adobe employees, who worked on Premiere at that transitional time did not recall any product being named PrPro 7.0, I have seen the boxes. Most editions were either Pr 7.0, or PrPro 1.0. Many copies of Pr 7.0 (and maybe PrPro 7.0?) were bundled with some computers, and some video cameras. It seems that practice was discontinued, when Pr 7.0 was renamed PrPro 1.0, but when doing research on earlier versions of PrPro, I found old ads for the OEM Pr 7.0's. I do not recall the exact bundled products, but seem to recall that one was a graphics capture card - maybe a Matrox, or from Black Magic. For all practical purposes, Pr 7.0, PrPro 7.0 and PrPro 1.0 are the same program, though there could well have been some subtle differences.
As to why Adobe chose to take the editing commands for PrPro and PrE in different directions, I feel that the development team decided that the different user-bases would want to do things differently by default. With PrE, they assumed that the users would want the Ripple editing, where in PrPro, the users would want the Ripple OFF, unless they needed it ON. At least the developers added the ability to do it either way, in both programs. When one is designing NLE software, they would first base it on some other model. In the case of PrPro, AVID was used as one of those models, as it was probably the preeminent NLE program of the day, before FCP made big inroads. If I recall my old AVID, the Ripple edit was NOT the default operation. When Adobe began work on PrE, they tried to look into a "crystal ball" to determine what the target users would want. The decision was made that they would be more likely to use Ripple editing more often, so that change was made. There are some similar choices elsewhere, where the perceived target audience was thought to be different, with different styles and needs. Much of this decision making is seen with omissions, like the lack of the Trim Monitor (similar to working in the Source Monitor, but with some big differences). PrPro still has that Trim Monitor, though few, that I know, use it, where PrE never got it. IMHO, PrE users are not missing anything there.
It's like some automobile options. The development teams must make decisions, based on what they believe the target audience is. I have options and standard features on my MB S-550 AMG, that are not available on the MB C-class, at any trim level. Like when I go from PrPro to PrE, I spent much of yesterday, searching all over the C-class loaner, which is pretty "tricked out," for certain controls. "Where's the _____?" "Oh, this car does not have that!" Luckily, I do not have to drive it for more than a day, while the dealership has my car. That's about how I feel when switching Adobe NLE programs, "where's the ______?" "Oh yeah, gotta' hit Ctrl for that... "
Buying PrE is easy, but then I could end up feeling limited in my work (and of course, yelling and screaming about the interface).
For most users, PrE is just fine, and works very well. There are not THAT many limitations, until one gets to the authoring phase of production. Now, you, I and a few others, who have worked with PrPro, do miss how some things are done, miss the ultimate power and do have to hunt around a bit. If one learns on PrE, and then move to PrPro, there is that same learning curve. What one knows provides comfort (that's why I have always kept at least one older copy of PS on my computer, though I have upgraded to the new version. If a client calls with the "gotta' make this change, and the courier is on their way over to pick it up... " I want my "old friend," so that I do not have to hunt around a new interface.) The PrE users come to the PrPro Forum, complaining that they don't have all the animation Presets, and scream that "PrE had those!" They bemoan having to do nearly everything by hand, and often in several steps, where their PrE just took care of things behind the interface. This sword cuts both ways. If I had been comfortable with PrE, and then moved to PrPro, I might well have felt that same way. In my case, like yours, I added PrE, after years with PrPro, and am still learning PrE - and probably always will, since PrPro is my main NLE.
My issue with ineffective applying of the effects is still alive though. But I think I'll start a new thread discussing the work flow around that.
Not sure if I have seen this post, but will go back to the forum and check for it. Not sure I'll have anything worthwhile to add to it, but just do not recall it now.
Good luck, and give PrE a chance. With a bit of work, and some patience, one can tailor things to provide a bit more comfort. For instance, though you cannot create the Timeline order of PrPro in PrE, you CAN turn off Audio Tracks in the display, or turn off Video. Here again, Adobe devleopers assumed that most PrE users would have muxed source files, so decided to group Audio 1 & Video 1, etc., rather than separate Audio from Video. They also assumed that most PrE users would have only one monitor, while most PrPro users would have dual monitors. Not sure how true that is, but it was a decision that was made.
Hunt