I also had my first experience recently with using the Planer jig, though I used it for 6" jointer knives. Did it take a long time? Yeah, sort of. I can blame myself for much of that because I waited far too long to sharpen them and they were pretty uneven. I fully expect the next sharpening to be much quicker (as long as I don't ignore them again for too long).
As for setup and use of the jig, once you read the pamphlet and understand the concepts, it all just kind of falls into place. I think next time I will be able to do the setup without resorting to the manual - it's that straightforward.
One complaint I do have is that the AngleMaster doesn't work unless the knives are pretty wide. I have Freud knives that are 5/8" wide (standard for my jointer) and the AngleMaster was useless on them. That is something I think could be improved upon.