Vegas Video?????

[focker]

I was wondering if anyone here uses this and if they like it. Before I drop $500 I want to get some opinions first.

THANKS!!!!

[Arky]

I've only played with it myself, but I can tell you three things that immediately struck me:

1) It is quite a different layout and editing style to most other NLEs (this is NOT necessarily a bad thing!).

2) There are some nice touches to the program - it has been very well thought out and includes some nice transitions as standard, incorporates the MainConcept MPEG2 plugin (note that Ulead have ceased using Ligos MPEG technology in their newer versions of their NLEs, and have opted, like S-F, to use MainConcepts offering instead...), and has some reasonably powerful compositing capabilities (I liked the available controls over Picture In Picture (PIP) parameters, for example).

3) The included Audio-manipulation tools put most other comparable (and even some more expensive ones) NLEs to shame - good stuff, S-F!

Why not download the demo from the Sonic Foundry FTP before you buy the full version. If you download this demo, you can use it in trial mode, and can enable it at a later date, with a serial number from the company. As I recall, it's about 30megs, but it's worth it - I think you'll like the program if you take the time to play with it.


Arky ;o)

[focker]

I am getting ready to download it.....do you like it better than Premiere? I am trying to decide on one final solution and I am wondering how the encoding works as opposed to using TMPG / CCE with Premiere....the only problem I see with Vegas Video is that it will only export in MPEG 2....not as a MPV, M2V, or VOB....thoughts? Out of Ulead, Vegas Video, and Premiere can you rate them in the order that you like them?

Thanks

[Arky]

You're going to hate me for this, but as someone who has asked others (not just on this forum) the very same question that you've just asked me, I can tell you that the TRUTH is that NLEs are more about personal preference than anything else (within reason - obviously you've got to choose a reasonably decent one to begin with!).

You must find the one you feel is most intuitive for you. The most intuitive and enjoyable editor I've ever played with is Digital Origin Cinestream 3 (used to be EditDV2.0). Just to confuse matters, this has now been bought by Discreet! Unfortunately, despite my fondness for this editor's interface, it does not offer much for the plugin-fiend :devil: :scared:

Personally, I feel Premiere is very over-rated, but it does offer the widest compatibility with third-party plugins and, if only for this reason, enjoys huge popularity.

Sonic Foundry's offering is, as I said, very powerful, and fairly unusual in it's GUI approach, but this is not a bad thing and you may find it suits you perfectly. If you wish to tranfer your skills to the commercial environment, then you would be well-advised to learn Adobe Premiere or Avid DV Express, but this is only because they are widely used, not necessarily because they are actually superior to other offerings, such as S-F's.

Pinnacle Edit is fast gaining a reputation for itself, even though it's barely been released, and is very 'smart' in that it renders transitions in the 'background', while you work, rather than waiting to do this until you are ready to render the whole timeline - in other words it sensibly and cleverly uses your time and CPU resources far better than the competition. I haven't played with this one yet but am itching to see if it's as good as I'm hoping it will be. I believe this will definitely be one to watch, and may well give Premiere a run for it's money because, quite apart from the above, it also incorporates Premiere-Plugin compatibility...There will be a review of this editor in the forthcoming July issue of Computer Video.

AIST's MoviePack is a real odd-ball, and I enjoyed playing with it (especially the powerful "warping" joystick, but found it horrendously slow and idiosyncratic.

SpeedRazor is a nice piece of kit, and I quite enjoyed the basic editing I ran through it - it has a real hard-core following among ProSumer editors, and is quite efficiently coded, but it offers little more than Premiere (GENERALLY-speaking!) for the average editor.
Ulead MediaStudio Pro is quite easy to use, and has some powerful features. I am still undecided as to whether or not I like it though - it's weird because it can be very powerful, and then be extremely naff in other areas (such as capture, for example).

Honestly, I have to say: "suck them and see". Do not be afraid if you find an NLE that you like, which nobody else seems to be using - it doesn't mean you are "wrong" - it simply means that we are all different and also that you are not a lemming - trust your own judgement and also remember that even if you learn a program and then decide to move on to a competitor, many of the skills are transferable anyway!


Arky ;o)

[Arky]

A relevant forum:

http://www.creativecow.net/index.php?forumid=24


Arky ;o)