It was Sonic Foundry with video. I don't know what version video became, in fact I am not sure it even had a version number.

Dave T2

I believe version 1 was only audio.

I know it was because that was my introduction to Vegas when I used it for audio sweetening on a 3/4" edit suite.
I got out of it for a few years with a different NLE (dpsVelocity) and then jumped back in at Vegas 4 and have stayed with it ever since.
There's information on most of the older versions on the Updates: Vegas page.

Mike

Exactly, but there is somewhat of a lost point to all of this. The release notes are interesting reading written by marketeers. It has little to do with the working result of code changes or feature success stories.

What we really need from development like this, is not only the SCS marketing, but an honest thorough evaluation by users of each build showing the success or failure of feature implementation.

For programmers, in the scripting SDK there's a text file called CHANGES.txt which give some insight into the capabilities of the product as they developed. It goes back to 6.0A but hasn't been updated since 2010.

Version 1 was audio only.

Vegas LE was a limited edition, with only 8 audio tracks. It was offered free for a while.

Version 2 was released as two separate products: Vegas Audio 2, and Vegas Video 2. The Video version contained all the capabilities of the Audio version, plus a video track.

Movie Factory 1 released with a small subset of Vegas Video 2 features, with 3 video and 3 audio tracks.

Vegas Video LE 2 was a limited edition with only 8 audio tracks and (i think) 1 video track. This two was offered free for a short while, then moved to paid version. ACID 1 seemed to have grown out of this, and the Vegas LE line was apparently later replaced by ACID Express.

Version 3 was only released as Vegas Video 3. Sonic Foundry promised an Audio version 3, but it never materialized. This version was also supposed to replace CD Architect as the standard RedBook AudioCD burning application. Many people bought it for this reason alone.

Movie Factory 2 released with a more robust subset of Vegas Video 2 features.

I don't recall if it was during version 4 or version 5 that Sony took over, but i remember one of the update releases did little more than rebrand the splash screen as "Sony" instead of "Sonic Foundry".

Some "Factory" or "Studio" version 3 released, then version 4. There was no version 5.

Vegas Movie Studio 6 released, with 4 audio and 4 video tracks. From this point forward the "Studio" version preceded the "Pro" version, and seemed to be a way for Sony to test the new feature set, as new features appeared here first. Those that made the cut moved up to Pro, while the Studio version got some more home-user oriented features that the Pro version lacks.

- Early Vegas history, as Kelly remembers it.

> "I don't recall if it was during version 4 or version 5 that Sony took over, but i remember one of the update releases did little more than rebrand the splash screen as "Sony" instead of "Sonic Foundry"."

I do.. Vegas 4.0d was Sonic Foundry and Vegas 4.0e was Sony. This was the re-brand release. I still have the installers and they date back to 2003.

~jr

And 4 was very stable. Probably one of the best releases.

Dave T2

I started with 3, 4 brought in the color correction wheels I think. Skipped 5, worked a bit with 6 (I think HDV came in with 6), worked for years with 7, moved to 9 just for the Elastique, though I also happily noted my occasional "black frames" issue with V7 was gone. And the smart-render feature in 9 was useful.

That's where I am now, and probably will remain until I fully retire from this obsession and just sit around drinking margaritas on the beach somewhere.

I see on my SCS software page I had two versions of Vegas-2 and 2-LE. I recall the LE came bungled with Sound Forge-? (5 maybe) In any case it was audio only.

Yes, that's right. I think it was mostly a ploy to get staunch Sound Forge users to consider trying Vegas.

Vegas 3 had a LE version too.

Vegas 5 took out the (so sorely missed by me) path display in the pan/crop & track motion.

I still feel :p about that one. :)

Most I don't remember, but "My Software" shows:

Vegas Audio LE 2.0
Vegas Audio 2.0
Vegas Video LE 3.0
Vegas Video 3.0
Vegas 4.0
Vegas 5.0
Vegas 6.0
Vegas Pro
Vegas Pro 8.0
Vegas Pro 9.0
Vegas Pro 10.0
Vegas Pro 11.0
Vegas Pro 12.0

Vegas 12 was released September 2012 (IBC)
Vegas 11 was released September 2011 (IBC)
Vegas 10 was released October 2010 (just after IBC)
Vegas 9 was released April 2009 (NAB)
Vegas 8 was released September 2007. (IBC)
Vegas 7 was released September 2006. (IBC)
Vegas 6 was released April 2005. (NAB)
Vegas 5 was released April 2004. (NAB)
(Sony purchased it in mid 2003)
Vegas 4 was released April 2003 but had a public beta starting around January.
Vegas 3 was somewhere around December 2001/January 2002

When was the release of version 2 (the introduction of video)
When was the first release?

When was the release of version 2 (the introduction of video)
When was the first release?

Why?

Why?

Because I am a researcher and I want to know the historical background. My thesis is that specific software features allowed for new kind of creative techniques that come with a certain aesthetic and thus have created a general popular style. To test if this thesis can hold up, I need to know when specific features have been introduced. I am looking at some artefacts, and I know the year they were made and that the artist used Vegas to create it. The info that's harder to get is the version history of Vegas. Normally there would be a sort of changelog, but because of the owner of this software changing twice, this sort of record keeping and history preservation was disrupted.

For future reference, here is another thread with similar topic, but all the links are broken because they direct to sonys website. https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/history-versions-of-vegas-movie-studio--95220/

My thesis is that specific software features allowed for new kind of creative techniques that come with a certain aesthetic and thus have created a general popular style.

What a terrific pursuit. Right up my street. If I can lend help - don't know if I can - please get in touch.

So, in essence, you're testing Sir Betrand Russell's "The Act of Apprehension versus the Object Apprehended" what came first in the evolutionary pursuit of clarity. And maybe even Sir Peter B. Medawar's "The Art of the Soluble" - only going for stuff we know we can prove. Did the software bring about the change or was the change a wished-for result? There's the Socratic thought, well it DID happen, and that's that. Great Greek word for this - Pragma:

"The opposite of idealistic is pragmatic, a word that describes a philosophy of "doing what works best." From Greek pragma "deed," the word has historically described philosophers and politicians who were concerned more with real-world application of ideas than with abstract notions".

Fascinating study you've got going. I don't think Socrates would mind too much me calling him a pragmatist?

In 1999 Sonic Foundry released "Vegas Pro" as an audio multitracker at a price of $599.

In 2000 they released "Vegas Video 2" which was the first version as video editor.

Grazie and Marco: Many thanks!
Marco: I'm not doubting what you write, but a forum post is not a good reference for a paper. Do you have a source for that information? Do you happen to know the month of the releases? I have read elsewhere (wikipedia) that version 1.0 was officially released in 2000, albeit public betas have been available since 1999.

A sneak preview of Vegas Pro was released in June 1999 while the final release followed end of July 1999.

The first announcement and a public beta version of Vegas Video (2) was released in April 2000 while the final release followed June 2000.

There is always some confusion because of the naming and the feature set. "Vegas Pro" was the first version of this software while "Vegas Video" was the second. But Vegas Video was the first version which included video editing in addition to pure audio mixing, recording and editing of the first version Vegas Pro (which only allowed to import video but not to edit video).

 

Awesome, Thank you very much for digging those pages out!