>>This is a strange situation. Sony buys out SF's assests and starts reselling the S/W under a different name, but the company they bought also continues to develop and sell the same S/W except that S/W is more current than the company who now owns the rights to it? That's bizarre.<<



I think screenblast was out way before sony bought sofo titles.

Has anyone cantacted SoFo to ask them about what will happen to VF? I am looking at Screenblast and it appears, according to the specs, to be the same as VF but with Chroma keying capability. Will that feature be added to VF in the near future?

I spoke with SoFo customer support this morning and they don't know what’s going to happen to the two products. I can tell you that in my opinion, a lot of work remains to be done in supporting the Screenblast version of VideoFactory.

Here's what I've determined with regards to Screenblast VideoFactory vs. SoFo VideoFactory:

First, the VF version that ships with MovieStudio is 2.0a (build 31), even though many of the files on the CD are more recent than the same files for SoFo's VF 2.0c (build 125). It's hard to tell which is newer: MS 2.0a or VF 2.0c.

Second, even though Screenblast’s support site links to SoFo's web site, VF upgrades (ala 2.0c) cannot be applied to the Screenblast version of VF and there is nothing on the SF website pertaining specifically to MovieStudio. So an attempt to upgrade from 2.0a to 2.0c was fruitless - and I’m not sure it’s necessary.

Third, SoFo offers a standard ($29) and a pro ($99) version of the MainConcept MPEG 2 encoder plugin. But MovieStudio users can only buy the standard version and the pro version of the plugin will NOT work with MovieStudio. I was encouraged to see that the FrameServer plugin from Satish works perfectly with MovieStudio and TMPGEnc (although I imagine it will have the same video capture issues as VideoFactory – search the forum to see what I’m talking about).

I’m debating on whether to return MovieStudio to Amazon and buy VideoFactory from SoFo or just keep MovieStudio. I think SoFo’s VF has more to offer in terms of support, upgrades (ala the MC encoder), and possibly stability – after all, they wrote the code – but I’m wondering how much longer it’s going to be around once Sony get’s their paws on it.

If it was me, i'd return the ScreenBlast version and get the SonicFoundry version. The only thing you'll lose out on is that the SonicFoundry version doesn't include chroma-keying.

The way i see it is that they are essentially the same product, so whatever future one of them has in store, the other one will probably have the same future. However, if you have the SonicFoundry version then you also have the option to upgrade to Vegas in the future. Buying VideoFactory and the upgrade to Vegas is cheaper than buying Vegas outright, so it's a good deal.

Thanks for the tip. I sent an email to Amazon's returns dept to see if they'll let me return it MovieStudio. I may still buy VF anyway. But my desire to get a good (but not great) video solution is starting to cost me more than if I had just gone with the great solution (Vegas) in the first place.

The problem with buying S/W is that it's hard to see exactly what you're getting until you buy it and load it (unless you download a trial version, which Sony doesn't yet offer, and even then I'm not sure that would have answered all of my questions). But once you buy it and open it, you're pretty much screwed -- you bought it, it's yours, pal.

On the other hand, Screen Blast just went on sale on 6 June 2003 at the local CompUSA (that great Mexican company), for exactly $19.95. Can't beat that price. Indicates something is up, to me. New version, new upgrade, something?

What about the Vegas software? I'm new to VideoFactory and I just bought it for $20. Is Vegas a replacement of VideoFactory? Could that be the reason for the low price on VF.

I went from Pinnacle to VF as I could not get the Pin software to work on my Sony Vaio.

Sorry, I mean that I have the Screenblast software (see, how confusing this is)
I really like it.

>Is Vegas a replacement of VideoFactory?
More like a big brother! Although it's a lot more powerful than most (all?) of the other editors in its price band, VF is still viewed as an entry level product. Vegas is aimed more at the "prosumer" market, with a price tag to match.

Ian G.

Yeah I saw that. And I thought I got a good deal with Amazon for $40 (after $20 rebate). I suppose I did. I've looked at a lot of editors and for the price Screenblast/VideoFactory is the best out there. I'll stick with Screenblast. If I figure out a way to magically cram 36 hours into a 24 hour day and can justify a more professional package, I'll go with Vegas.

VF/Screenblast may be an entry-level product, but I looked at a lot of editors (in the $50-$200 price range) before I bought Screenblast (Video Factory, Movie Studio, whatever you want to call it), and in my opinion it offers far more functionality and stability than anything in this price range.

Screenblast isn't the only clone of VideoFactory. The other clone is Video Explosion, which is esstentially VideoFactory bundled with extra content. Does anyone have any experience with Video Explosion, and are there any other major differences?

Thanks.

I noticed on the Screenblast website that there is a news release announcing an updated version of Screenblast MovieStudio which will be available in August 2003.

Here's the link:

http://www.screenblast.com/main/content/index.jsp?name=press_release_070903

This release may forestall the expenditure of larger amounts of money on VV for me. Read the web page! A sixth track now added!!! 177 customizable transitions!!! 125 special effects!!!

And perhaps best of all -
"Screenblast Movie Studio software includes integrated DVD authoring software and features over 40 pre-made, lifestyle and entertainment-themed DVD menu templates."

(I wonder if "the software also supports today’s most popular video and audio formats, such as MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 import" means that the new version will now come with MPEG support already set up for use as opposed to the current arrangement of requiring users to go through a tedious plug-in registration procedure?)

I hope existing Screenblast users get a free or reduced-price upgrade! I like the idea of integrated DVD authoring, extra effects, and a sixth track. Don't know about the extra transitions though. 99.9% of the transitions used should be cuts or crossfades anyway unless one is working on a special "super-cool" project. I'd LOVE too see a waveform monitor and more comprehensive color correction tools, but I guess that's the domain of Vegas 4. :)

Anyway, it looks good. I can't wait to see it.

-Dave

I wonder if the DVD burning function will be "integrated" like Vidcap is. Will it be like DVD Architect LE or something truly built in?

Other features, especially SWF output look kick butt tho'.

I bought VideoFactory 2 from SoFo just a few weeks before the Sony announcement...I wonder if there is a free or reduced-price upgrade path to either this new ScreenBlast or some new SoFo branded version for recent purchases...

I nope since Sony is buying out Sofo, they will give Sonic Foundry users a discount.

So that's what's new in Screenblast Movie Studio 2.0(x). I just saw this on Amazon's web site as Movie Studio 2. But the original was 2.0a. Due for release on August 11th. It will be interesting to see if the authoring S/W beats DVD-lab.

Customizable transitions. That also sounds intriguing. I wonder if 2.0a users will be given a discount.

Bruce

Videocanuck,

Thanks for providing that link. I was just about to buy ACID Music for making royalty free background music for $69 but now I'll definitely hold off and wait for Screenblast ACID 4.0. For the same $69 it sounds like a lot more program AND it comes with a free version of Screenblast Sound Forge. Now that sounds like a deal to me. (yes, I understand its only SoundForge Studio but that costs $69 all by itself... can you say, “two for one?”).

~jr