Beat Meter - A Must Have?

[Venus]

Hey guys,
I'm currently working on my new project and I'm implementing most of the feedback I got for my first video. Now I came to the question: do I put a beat meter in?
Thanks to the video guides made by brewster I know how to create a beat meter and it's not much work.
Still I tend to do the video without a beat meter because the beats aren't difficult and they are clearly audible, so a beat meter wouldn't be necessary. Additionally I avoid the risk of distraction caused by a beat meter.

In the poll above I want to know your opinion. The outcome will have influence on my project, so that I may add a beat meter in a decent way.
As you see in the poll there's not just "yes" and "no":

1. I like beat meters and videos without do not interest me
Vote for this if a beat meter is a must have and you won't watch a video without beat meter.

2. I like beat meters, but if a video is well done without one it's great too
Vote for this if you like beat meters, but if the video is well done without a beat meter(e.g. Flux Dance, Stroker Ace) it's just as good.

3. I prefer no beat meters, but I don't mind if there is one
Vote for this if you prefer videos without beat meter, but if a video has one it's not immediately a huge turn off especially if there are many beat changes or difficult beats so that a beat meter is very helpful.

4. I don't like beat meters at all
Vote for this if you don't like beat meters at all, and won't watch those videos.

5. Other
Vote for this if you can't identify with the points above. A post with your own opinion is then highly recommended.

Of course you can post your opinion too if you voted 1/2/3/4.

[Nezhul]

I would like to have some indication when the beat changes or is going to change. In that respect beat meter is pretty cool, because you can see when it's going to change with the corner of your eye. However it really is not necessary through the entire interval.
At the same time I don't really like when people do it as a subtitle, like "1-2-123" kinda thing.

For me it would be ideal if 5-10 seconds before beat change - beat meter would appear as a line in the bottom of the screen. You can see the beat changing, and 5-10 seconds after it changed beat meter disappears again.

[Noah]

Hello Venus,

First of all, I love your work (thanks for all the effort)!

I agree with Nezhul. I think that a beatmeter is not really necessary, but an indication would be nice (just to give it some extra interaction). I guess it depends on how you see these videos. For me it is a game and adding a beatmeter makes it feel more like a game to me (increasing my arousal).
Whatever you end up doing, I will check it out anyway!

Good luck!

With kind regards,

Noah

[craftytouch]

Beat meters are great but they take a lot of work. If u want to see a great video w/out a ba metr then see CH Flux Dance Projec. Excellent video.

[jackstock]

It is better without one, as long as the beat is clearly indicated. (flux dance)

[adrianpeenball]

Not sure if anyone's ever noticed/posted this before but I just realised this and think it's hilarious... "beat meter" is a Spoonerism of "meat beater"

[book_guy]

1. Beat Meter.
2. Meat Beater.
3. A, me better.
4. Beer matte.

[pendorbound]

For me, a meter isn't a "must have," but most of my favorite videos do have one. I do think that's more a matter of my favorite, very well-done videos happened to have a meter rather than they're my favorites because they have meters. There are most definitely some videos that do have meters that I don't care for at all, and a number that don't have meters that I really love.

Having a consistent beat that logically follows the music is probably the most important aspect for me. One of the aspects I enjoy about CH videos in general is the control/challenge aspect of being instructed on how to stroke, so videos that just put on a song and say "stroke to the beat" without any kind of guidance don't do anything for me. Having the constant instruction of a meter works well, but videos like Flux Dance that have a click track and a warning of what's coming up work just as well.

Total breakers for me are:
[*] Beats are off from the music (I'll try playing them in VLC, QuickTime, and MPlayer. If they're not synced in at least one of those, I give up.)
[*] No instruction beyond "stroke to the beat". I can put on some thumpy pop music and hit xhamster myself...
[*] Overly complicated beats that don't follow at least one of the major beat elements from the audio. I don't need 4-4 march time the whole video, but if I've gotta do algebra to figure out how the beats relate to the music, I'm thinking with the wrong head...

And as long as I'm whining about what really gets *me me MEEEE* off, might as well list the up-sides too. =)

[*] Adaptable difficulty: Love that the Flux videos use the "rest" period as either rest or stroke (or edge) as needed. Some videos or beats don't get me as hot, and I can "catch up" during the break, others leave me desperately needing that break!
[*] Number descriptions of the up-coming beat. Even with a meter, "123 fast" or "1234567" gives an instant visual queue of what's coming up without having to count blips on the meter.
[*] Audible but not over-powering click tracks. I'll admit I sometimes "cheat" and have other visual elements on my screen while playing. Having the audio feedback of when the beat jumps to a different subset of the music's beat helps a bunch there. One other thing about the click track is I prefer a mid-range pitch click rather than a "thump" for two reasons: I'll either play the audio through my Mac's speaker or the 5.1 system I've got wired into it, depending how much privacy I expect to have. Very low pitched thumpy beats tend to be inaudible on the crummy little speaker in my Mac, and they tend to be overpowering earth shattering throw the sub on the 5.1. Clicks work either way, and they also tend to stand out from the underlying thumpy beat of the music better so I'm sure which beats are supposed to "count".
[*] Video that "syncs" with the beat. Not to say I'm looking for seizure inducing strobe lights, but I love when the video content goes from foreplay to OMG hawt as the beats get harder. When the visual makes the game even more difficult as the beats get more taxing, it's a real challenge.

There's probably way more stuff that I can't think of, but that's the big stuff. My thanks go out to all the CH authors! It's always a great pick-me-up to see a new torrent sitting here waiting to download. =)

Thanks all!

-Pendorbound

[book_guy]

I like having a beat-meter because it gives an element of "you MUST do this" to the experience. In the absence of a beat-meter, I would prefer, at the least, to have text instructions that scroll past. The text instructions have the problem that writing them out in a sensible format is a bit confusing sometimes (what does "4--1-2" really MEAN?). And ALL beat-instructions, whether presented as text or as beat-meter, have the disadvantage (as mentioned) of distracting from the porn on the screen at some point er other. But without the instructions, I kind of feel like it's just another video with hot girls and good music. I don't just want hot girls and good music, I want the challenge of the game. But in order for a vid to have game challenge, the vid has to present SOME kind of direct literal instructions, "do this now; then do that." Frankly, I can't figure out any other way to indicate those instructions, other than what's already been presented in all the past CH vids: either a beat-meter or textual instructions.

Just my personal preference, of course -- other dudes like other things, more power to 'em!

[book_guy]

what does "4--1-2" really MEAN?

That reminds me.

If you're not gonna do a meter you can't put anything excessively complex. Frankly even with a meter some beats are headache-inducing. A beat doesn't have to be complex to be challenging. It just has to be fast.

Well, I disagree on that one. :)

If a beat is too fast, I don't find it "challenging" as much as just "annoying." I do agree with Anonhero that, in the absence of a beat-meter, you can't do anything excessively complex, because of the inability to communicate the concept in any other efficient format.

But sometimes complex, even TOO complex, is good. Some of the CH creators are actually trying to put in a type of challenge by which the beat's complexity distracts from the porn, thus allowing the porn in to the "unaware" portion of our perception because we're so busy thinking about the beat. I like that kind of trick, sometimes, and if done by a good video creator it can be very effective. On the other hand, if done by a mediocre video creator it can be, as above, "annoying." :P

I do find that many of the CH beats are simply WAY too fast. If you're expecting people to move at 240 BPM (that would be four strokes per second!) then you're expecting only professional drummers to participate in your CH video (unless the definition of "stroke" gets reduced from (1) up and down = one stroke, to (2) up = one stroke, then down = the next stoke). Generally, faster and more is not necessarily better all the time. Some of the most tantalizing experiences that I've had, were at 30 BPM and slower, thump ... very teasing ... thump ... there she is ... thump ... looking at me ... thump ... ooh gets me turned on just thinking about it ... thump ...

[supermokkori]

Personally, I don't like the Beat Meter and always prefer simple text instructions that appear for a brief moment. As long as the text instructions are there briefly, I usually just ignore the Beat Meter all together.

I have seen some good uses of the Beat Meter, especially in specific areas of the music where the user is asked to follow the "melody" of the music (I believe Andyp does it in CH15 and it's done really well). And if you are going to do more complex beats, then having a beat meter is pretty necessary - writing complex text instructions would be really distracting. That's the one advantage of having the Beat Meter over just text instructions - if there's a complex stroke sequence, it's much easier to display it in Beat Meter sequence than describing it in a text sequence.

But that's just me, Venus. And I know the greater majority of CH fans actually prefer having a beat meter - it adds to the "video game" atmosphere.

Looking forward to seeing your work, Venus.

[316sean]

I prefer to have the beat sound rather than a bar. The bar is distracting and takes me away from becoming truely invested in the porn.

[amerisarahrio]

Definitely agree that the beat meter for me is distracting. A clear beat, not too loud and not too complex and I'm a happy stroker!
I also agree fully with ANONHERO that the music and girls are way more important than the beats!

[cockheroaddict]

not necessary, a defining and very clear beat is all we need

[Venus]

I want to thank everyone who participated in the poll or posted their opinion. This thread was quite revealing for me