Last spring I investigated installing either VMS or Studio9 on my 15-year-old daughter's PC, since she is now getting into video editing. I had started with Studio7 back in 2001, and completed a one-hour documentary with it. Still, when I found Vegas, there was no going back. It wasn't just the increased power; the Vegas program is as solid as a rock. Look cross-eyed at Studio and it'll crash, as my daughter discovered. But it IS easy to learn to use for newbies.

I think you can download a trial of VMS so you can see for yourself if the interface is easy or hard to learn. For me, Studio was a good learning platform but was far too tender for serious use.

I don't know anything about the VMS DVD authoring product.

My DVD/RW came with a version of Studio 8 - I found it very limiting and buggy (It crashed more than it ran) - It was also counter-inuitive for me.

I researched and found VMS (actually, it was Screenblast Movie Studio at the time). Purchased it and was using it successfully on day one. I have since moved up to Vegas and am still getting used to it's raw power .

You may want to look at VMS Platinum as it has many of the features I moved up tp Vegas for.

Thanks for the replies. I'm an amateur user, at best.

DSE:
- What are the obvious things that VMS+DVD can't do that the more advanced versions of the product can?
- I'm confused by the phrase "HDV capability". I have some HD-quality content that I'm hoping to edit; does the basic VMS+DVD lack that capability?
- Thanks for the offer for the training files. Where can I obtain them?

Do all versions of the product use SQL Server (MSDE, actually, I believe) as their storage mechanism?

- What are the obvious things that VMS+DVD can't do that the more advanced versions of the product can?
The basic version can't do HDV, the Platinum version can. Platinum comes with ACID XMC, HDV handbook, 650 preset effects, (standard comes with about 290) you get pro color correction in Platinum, Platinum has Direct X audio FX, nearly 200 transitions in VMS, nearly 600 in Platinum.

- I'm confused by the phrase "HDV capability". I have some HD-quality content that I'm hoping to edit; does the basic VMS+DVD lack that capability?
The most basic of the VMS packages does not offer HDV support, only Platinum.

- Thanks for the offer for the training files. Where can I obtain them?
Search for Vegas Movie Studio on the

Douglas

I own both Sony Vegas 6 and Sony Movie Studio 6 Platinum (I haven’t used Platinum since I bought it to get the extras, in particular the Pixelan software, which I have upgraded to the Pro version.)

I quote: “Platinum comes with ACID XMC, HDV handbook, 650 preset effects, (standard comes with about 290) you get pro color correction in Platinum, Platinum has Direct X audio FX, nearly 200 transitions in VMS, nearly 600 in Platinum.”

Questions:
1. Are all these 650 preset effects and the nearly 600 transitions included in Vegas 6?
2. If not, is it possible to “import” these effects and transitions to Vegas 6?

Joran

1. Are all these 650 preset effects and the nearly 600 transitions included in Vegas 6?
not specifically, no. Those numbers come from each of the presets in each transition and each effect. The Pixelan plugs add significantly to that number. I had Pixelan 2.5 already loaded on my Vegas system, so I don't know if it's showing up in Vegas because I installed VMSP or not. I suspect it is, because all my DX plugs show up in VMSP as well as in Vegas.
2. If not, is it possible to “import” these effects and transitions to Vegas 6?
The Direct X plugs that show up in VMS show up in Vegas too, and vice versa. Kinda cool, actually. So, I guess they import correctly. Maybe someone from Sony could offer a more concrete statement. All my plugs that were installed in Vegas, show up in VMSP, including Mike Crash's plugs, the Zenote plugs, and others.

The basic version can't do HDV, the Platinum version can.
The most basic of the VMS packages does not offer HDV support, only Platinum.
I have some HD-quality content that I'm hoping to edit; i.e., content that is high-resolution and widescreen. Is that the same as HDV? The features page for VMS+DVD indicates that it can edit widescreen content. I'm probably mixing-up multiple technologies. Will I be able to edit my HD content?

The only thing that the high end/professional verson of Vegas doesn't offer that the lighter/consumer versions offer is the ACID XMC bundle, and built in music beds/fx/video clips, and built in "show me" tutorials.
More newbie questions: Are there comparable versions of these tools in the high-end/pro versions? Doesn't the lack of the "show me" tutorials in the high-end/pro versions make it more difficult to learn to use the product? FWIW, I've seen a tutorial DVD marketed on some of the sites that sell the high-end/pro versions.

If you have the *most* basic version of VMS, you won't be able to edit/convert your HD, no. Widescreen and HD aren't at all the same. There is standard def widescreen and high def, all high def by definition is widescreen, although sometimes it's cropped to 4:3.

I don't think the lack of "show me" tutorials hinders the professional product at all.
As far as the DVDs you see marketed along with bundles, those are either VASST DVDs or one from Class On Demand. Or, it's the Sony series, but they don't have a Vegas 6 series out.

If you have the *most* basic version of VMS, you won't be able to edit/convert your HD, no. Widescreen and HD aren't at all the same. There is standard def widescreen and high def, all high def by definition is widescreen, although sometimes it's cropped to 4:3.
Then I guess I need to determine whether my widescreen content really is HD. What differentiates HD from SD? Is it resolution, bitrate, something else? Is it strictly video? Does audio also make HD distinct? Thanks, again!

SD-NTSC=720 x 480 (DV)
SD-PAL=720 x 576 (DV)
HD1-1280 x 720 (progressive)
HD2=1920 x 1080 (progressive or interlaced, can also be 1440 x 1080 anamorphic/stretched pixels)
In other words, there is a monstrous difference between the SD resolutions and HD resolutions.

I came from Studio 9+, add-ons, plug-ins, etc... and tried the demo versions of VMP and Vegas+DVD. There are a few things that are in pittiful 9 that are not in Vegas and DVD architect but the other advantages of ANY Vegas over Pittiful, IMO, are overwhelming.

Like was said, it is very stable. I have not had it hang, crash or render out-of-sync any. I'm not sure if this was touched on, but between the Platinum and Vegas+DVD (full) is that there is no way to use a second monitor in Platinum other than a 1394 external monitor - I like that Vegas will use a 2nd windows monitor. Also, Media Manager is not in the lower end packages but they do have the effects bundles. Haven't tried the HD yet. If you are capturing from a pinn-debacle card, it is highly unlikely it is HD - unless you spent about $1k(?) on it...

Honestly, for $30 you can't go wrong. The only time I use Pittiful 9+ now is to capture from the AV/DV card. I'm still working on getting the issues with the utility in Vegas to try and resolve those - which likely stems from the AV/DV card.

Sorry if this seems biased but, well, I guess you now know how I feel about the "competitor"...

> There are a few things that are in pittiful 9 that are not in Vegas and DVD architect but the other advantages of ANY Vegas over Pittiful, IMO, are overwhelming.

The difference in functionality was overwhelming 3 years ago when I left Studio 7 behind and got VideoFactory 2 (the predecessor to Screenblast MS and Vegas MS) Anyone with half a brain can follow the trail of bugs from Studio 7 to Studio 8 to Studio 9. The same problems again, and again, and instead of fixing them, they come out with a new version and get you to pay for the bug fixes with a batch of new bugs. And just so you don’t get homesick, every once in a while they reintroduce an old bug or two. I can’t for the life of me understand how they stay in business.

> I'm still working on getting the issues with the utility in Vegas to try and resolve those - which likely stems from the AV/DV card.

Don’t waste your time. Pinnacle doesn’t want their card to work with any other application. That’s why their drivers are proprietary. You can get Scenalyzer to capture with the AV Deluxe card but it won’t print to tape. Vegas and other applications won’t even see the proprietary Pinncale drivers. I gave up and bought an ADS Pyro A/V Link for analog capture and I’m glad I did. Captures analog right into Vegas without a hitch and prints back to tape right from the timeline. It even comes bundled with Vegas+DVD as PYRO Studio if you don’t already have it.

> Sorry if this seems biased but, well, I guess you now know how I feel about the "competitor"...

You are in good company and would be surprised at how many Ex-Pinnacle customers have moved on to VMS and Vegas and are here in this forum.

~jr

Replying with a "me-too" post is kinda lame, but...well...it's Wednesday. So I'll add a me-too to JR's post. Speaking as an ex-Studio 7 and 8 user, I too came to Videofactory and then Vegas.

Whether you're on some bundle of VMS or the full Vegas product, you won't regret it. One of the most stable applications I've ever used. Workflow is a little different than Studio, but is second nature once you take the time to learn it.

And don't forget - this forum is the best-kept secret in the computer industry.

I'm another one of those people that used Pinnacle Studio 8 before discovering Vegas Video. Pinnacle offered me a discounted price to upgrade to Pinnacle Studio 9 and all I could think of was "not if it's as buggy as version 8!". While I was waiting for the inevitable patches for version 9 before upgrading, I decided to give the trial version of Vegas Video 5 a try. I have never looked back!

THERE IS NO COMPARISON! With the introduction of the inexpensive Vegas Movie Studio, Pinnacle Studio should die a quick and merciful death. With Studio 8, I spent countless hours trying to figure out why my project was continually crashing.... not to mention that any project over 5 minutes in length was painfully slow to modify and extend!

With Vegas, you can actually have fun editing video. It's so intuative and flexible!

.... and NO, I'm not a Sony employee.

I tend to write long posts. No need in this case.

Ditto everything dmcknight and VanLazarus said. I'm an ex-Studio user. All I miss is TitleDekko.