Comments

BillyBoy wrote on 7/22/2003, 12:21 AM
My crystal ball is broke. Sorry.

Its hard to be serious when the question is so open ended. Maybe a better response would simply be, who knows. That's the truth. Nobody does.

SoFo has been in deep do-do for years. They had no focus. They kept chasing after the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow using the shotgun approach trying to fine a nitch. Once upon a time their stock price was almost $200 a share. Recently is has been under a dollar!

The problem OBVIOUSLY was the management. Or lack of it. That is no reflection on the great team that develops the software. SoFo for years had a good reputation for first rate audio software. A few years ago somebody had a good idea, lets see if we can develop a decent video editor based on some of what they already had developed on the audio side. And so Vegas, then called Vegas Video was born.

And here we are now into the forth version. Vegas has turned out very well. It gets rave reviews. Most people that try it, love it. Vegas has raised a few eyebrows. Maybe caused a few upset stomachs over at Adobe. I suspect the success of Vegas its probably one of the biggest reasons, maybe the main reason Sony noticed and decided to grab that division for what to Sony is petty cash.

What will the future hold? Like I said, my crystal ball is in the shop for repairs. While Sony isn't known for stelar customer support, they do have a SMART and well informed seasoned management team. Of course they also have a name everybody knows and very deep pockets.

One could hope Sony will give the SoFo division a much needed cash infusion. Vegas is one of the rare exceptions in software: Powerful, yet easy to use. With the right marketing Vegas could give Adobe a run for their money and knock that "P" thing into a tail spin. Vegas is superior in nearly every way. Trouble is many people haven't heard about Vegas... yet. If I know Sony, they will pump some cash into marketing. They may come up with two versions. One following the current path and perhaps a version on sterioids with a hefty price tag. I think that would be a mistake. But again, who knows.

Sony may be somewhat arrogant like Microsoft, but neither Sony or Microsoft are stupid. They know when they have a winner. I expect Vegas in one form or another will be around for a long time into the future and just keep getting better and better. I hope for the development team they stay in Madison Wis and not run off to California or some other nerd place.
Grazie wrote on 7/22/2003, 12:39 AM
Agree.
PeterWright wrote on 7/22/2003, 4:45 AM
Yeah - nice summary BillyBoy

We're either optimists or not ...

Hope you get your ball back soon :)
Jay_Mitchell wrote on 7/22/2003, 5:32 AM
Everybody Relax!

Good Times and Good Things are Ahead for Vegas!

There is nothing to fear - but, fear itself! FDR



--Jay Mitchell

Southern California Vegas Users Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoCalVegasUsers/


mikkie wrote on 7/22/2003, 8:30 AM
"Since SoFo sold their desktop apps to Sony Pictures, how will this affect my product, VV?"

Worse case, you've still got something you can use for the foreseeable future, and when/if you transfer to something else, your editing skills won't get left behind.

FWIW, BillyBoy's crystal ball might not be broken after all... IF it's running true to form as a Japanese company, Sony doesn't know yet just what will happen. Their approach has always tended towards steady, incremental product improvement, and fully exploring options for new biz. At this early date, most likely haven't had time to put on their swim suits let alone dip a toe in the water.
farss wrote on 7/22/2003, 8:50 AM
I just don't get it.
The company that has the stranglehold on the industry buys out our beloved product and we're worried!
This is the VV forum isn't it?
If it was the Premier or Avid or FCP forum I could understand.
Sony are not fools, they wouldn't be where they are today if they were. And they can absorb new things, just look at their response to JVCs GR-HD1, they saw its potential and decided to go with it.

The other big plus for them is unlike most others they can afford to have the Sofo division run forever at a loss if need be, its just petty cash to them.
They can offset those losses against say camera sales. The upside is that they can now offer a decent end to end solution starting from the consummer market and well into the prosummer market. This may not mean much in many parts of the world but I think you'll find it significant in the Asian markets. We'll quite happily buy a Sony camera, capture into a Dell PC running VV, print out to a JVC deck and view on a Teac TV. Other places though have a lot of brand loyalty.
ronaldf wrote on 7/22/2003, 6:56 PM

"Since SoFo sold their desktop apps to Sony Pictures, how will this affect my product, VV?"

If yours is like mine, nothing should be affected. Mine still edits just as wonderful as it did before Sony did the buy out! It didn't crash, self destruct, or disappear! In fact I don't think it even knows that Sony bought its' parents!

beerandchips wrote on 7/23/2003, 10:31 AM
Sony loves copy protection. I gaurantee they will make vegas so copy protected, even with footage we shoot and edit, it won't let us copy or use without going through hoops.
But I still love this software.
riredale wrote on 7/23/2003, 11:09 AM
Yesterday I received in the mail a slickly-produced "magazine" that turned out to be basically a multi-paged Sony ad. It contained articles about success with various Sony products, and showed a number of new products also. I can imagine Vegas being folded into this mix, and would assume it will be targeted at the prosumer to professional level, while a simpler version would be bundled with consumer hardware. Sony is a VERY big name in the video industry, and I see very little downside to the Vegas purchase. As mentioned by others, if I was an Adobe Product Manager I wouldn't be adding that house extension just yet.
SonyDennis wrote on 7/31/2003, 5:49 PM
From the Sony Pictures Digital Purchase of Sonic Foundry Desktop Software Assets FAQ:

Q: What are Sony Pictures Digital's plans for the professional line of products?
A: Sony intends to continue support and development of the existing Sonic Foundry professional products. <more>

///d@
Chienworks wrote on 7/31/2003, 6:09 PM
Beeranchips, ummmm ... not trying to sound too harsh here, but that really doesn't make any sense. Footage you shoot yourself is yours to use. No company should ever try to impose copy protection on it, nor would Sony have any reasons or legal basis for doing so.
Begbie wrote on 7/31/2003, 9:17 PM
Curiously no mention at all about Vegas....
MyST wrote on 7/31/2003, 9:33 PM
Didn't you see the comparison chart? Vegas and Vegas+DVD were both listed, no?
They didn't mention Acid Pro 4.0 either except in the comparison chart. Does that mean IT will get phased out?? I don't think so.
Someone who's glass is half full would look at those FAQs and figure that since it isn't mentioned, it means nothing is changing as far as those apps are concerned.

M
snicholshms wrote on 7/31/2003, 11:49 PM
My guess is that SONY saw the tremendous acceptance and growth of Final Cut Pro and bought Vegas to compete with FCP and Premiere in that humongous market. That's a BIG pie to start slicing into.

SONY already has a HUGE customer base to market Vegas to, as well. If only 10% of all SONY camcorder owners bought Vegas it would increase the Vegas user base tremendously!

Can you imagine what Vegas could become under sound, financially stable management? ...with HUGE amounts of R&D funds? ...and a BRAND with immediate credibility?

The next time a potential customer asks me what I use to edit video
I'll say,"SONY's Vegas4.0."

And I'll smile when I say that!
Wondering wrote on 8/1/2003, 12:15 AM
Guess, things are pretty much settled?

Regards
Grazie wrote on 8/1/2003, 12:46 AM
That is SOOOOO excellent - "The next time a potential customer asks me what I use to edit video I'll say,"SONY's Vegas4.0."

I didn't even think of that! ! !

Grazie

beerandchips wrote on 8/1/2003, 8:08 AM
Chienworks,

I have already had problems with print to tape on a dsr-11 machine. It gave me a copy protection error when everything (footage, graphics, animation, etc.) was all mine.

I believe it will be an issue in the near future. I hope I'm wrong, but I know Sony.
Erk wrote on 8/1/2003, 10:23 AM
Beerandchips,

I've gotten maybe 2 false "copy protection" erros in printing to tape with Vegas 3/4, and ADS 1394 card, to a Sony Digital 8. Each case, it was a corrupted frame or some such weirdness that gave the false alarm. The last one was some weird spike of noise in the audio track created in captuing. (bad bits or whatever its called technically). I think a few others have experienced a bit of this on occassion. cleaned up easily once identified. Of course, I can't speak to you dsr-11 or other equipment, but in my case, these hiccups were not by design.

G