Its not a revolutionary upgrade, but there are features that you might find useful. Previous owners can get the package for 149----both Vegas and DVDA.

I did the reading of the forum and have not seen anything really explaining the benefits between v6 and v7. I would like your own examples of how you utilize the benefits. Just looking for real world stuff.

Also, the Soney My Software page still says $234 to upgrade to Vegas 7. No mail to me and no other prices shown on the Sony site. Seems dishonest to charge two users a different price.

Rextillian, can you give examples of how those features help you?

If V6 does all you need and there's not something you've been itching to get then I can think of no reason to upgrade.

For me I just treat it as rent. I don't care much about what it costs, $200 is very small change in this game. If I could pay $2,000 and get ALL my needs met I'd be even happier, heck I just laid out that much to buy a new VCR.

It's the new stuff that no one has discoverd yet. Those extra Christmas packages that were forgotton in the closet. (not put under the tree.)

JJK

PeterRabby, your Software page still says 234 but click on it as though you're going to buy the upgrade and you should see a different story!

Nope, no discount for me yet. I guess I asked one too many questions about why this upgrade is worth an investment. :-) Still hoping to see some examples, but I guess I understand for those of you who use it every single day.

If you order over the phone they will give you the discount.

JJK

1. There are at least half a dozen threads (not posts, threads) on this board that tell you how to get the upgrade for $134. One even has a discount price in the subject line ($149 at the time, but that's for a boxed edition; $135 is for a download). You don't have to get the e-mail notice, all you have to do is follow the link already provided. It's in Sony's knowledge base, so it's public infromation. ;-) Want it again, here it is.

2. If you don't want the upgrade, then just don't get it. Why should anyone try to convince you? Not my business what you do with your money, nor is it anyone else's. You've looked at the app, you've read the other "reviews," and you're not impressed. So, what could anyone possibly say to change your mind, or why should they (unless they have a stake in Sony sales)?

Rob

Actually, if you get the Cinescore deal, it's almost like paying for Cinescore and the additional theme packs and getting the upgrade for nearly nothing!

Thanks for the feedback. Although I don't understand the defensiveness.

Even if the upgrade was $19.99, I would still like to hear honest feedback from users on what holds value to them in the upgrade. I am a firm believer in innovation and that's what I am looking for in a software product upgrade.

"Although I don't understand the defensiveness."

Well - you are always gonna ruffle some feathers - especially those who believe upgrades should be purchased simply because they are available. Features be damned! :)

"Even if the upgrade was $19.99, I would still like to hear honest feedback from users on what holds value to them in the upgrade. I am a firm believer in innovation and that's what I am looking for in a software product upgrade."

I am a firm believer in getting the job done with the right tools. Vegas is a tool. If the tool works and that allows you to complete whatever it is you are doing then you are good to go. If you suddenly find yourself in a bind because you cannot complete whatever it is you are doing and see that said feature is now available in new upgrade - then maybe investigate.

For me and what I do with the tool (VO and basic video work) - Vegas V4/V5 is still just fine. The app hasn't let me down for my needs so there's no need to worry about upgrading. V7 really is a bit of a let down - especially for the audio crowd...I may mess with the trial a bit but moved onto Nuendo for serious audio work several years ago. Vegas get pulled into my workflow maybe a half dozen times a year...

Bottom line - no one can really convince you one way or the other. You have to ask yourself what's important. And above all - don't get caught up in the hype of a new version suddenly appearing. It's not like your older version is gonna wear out or something. I like the older ones cause they run a helluva lot faster on newer hardware - just helps me get done faster so I can go golfing!

Cheers!

VP

Although I don't understand the defensiveness.

I saw no one in this thread being defensive. Example, please? If you're referring to me, all I did was point out where you could find the discount since you indicated that you coudln't find it. I also said that it's your choice whether or not you get the upgrade, not anyone elses. If anything, I was suggesting that you ignore all the "Vegas promoters" and do what you want.

Rob

Bottom line - no one can really convince you one way or the other.

That was my point, too, but apparently I was being "defensive." And now I'm being defensive about getting called defensive...vidious cycle, that's what it is. ;-)

Rob

You can look at upgrade costs in a couple of ways. Perhaps first is will better tools let me earn at a greater rate (less time in post, more clients, better product)? The second way of looking is to consider the cost as an ongoing contribution that keeps the Madison guys fixing bugs and improving the tools you use. $200 doesn't buy a lot of a programmer's time. It's the cost of a couple of restaurant outings. It's 1/3 the cost of an ND filter. It's not much money, actually, and $149 is even less.

I upgraded for $149 (to get the physical CDs and fold-out keyboarding page), which is both V7 and DVDA4, for these reasons. I am an occasional indie filmmaker and writer/director. The below are actual reasons why I bought, not merely repetition of sales bullet points.

1. Several posts of higher rendering speed (leap of faith).

2. Color-coded snap bars + across tracks. Rendering a feature DV film there were about a million events I had to trudge through, sync, and match. I used the color snaps for a while in the trial version and got used to it REAL quick.

3. Variable preview window size. Didn't seem like much but with the trial version I find myself using it a lot.

4. In the coming year or so we wil be purchasing an HD camera and relegating our DVX100 to b-roll status. Wanted to be prepared in advance with the latest continuing HD and HDV support.

5. Envelope brush paint tool. Invaluable for on-the-fly rough mixing of dialog and music or FX.

6. Red eye reduction (Just kidding--if only it worked on MY eyes.)
(P.S. Someone will find an interesting use for red eye, like depth of field effects or something--just wait.)

7. Copy-trim envelopes with media. Not having this was a huge pain on the feature project.

8. MPEG-2 project markers at I-frames.

9. View media marker names in events (not big but a plus).

10. Better customization of keyboard mapping.

11. Better window docking customization options

12. Import direct from a camcorder disc.

13. Turn off audio proxy creation for quicker print to tape.

14. DVD button overlap indicators (red square).

15. DVD keyframing.

16. DVD buttons on video.

17. DVD-graphical subtitles.

18. (Subjective observation.) I see smoother play in the preview window, and could swear the color looks better in the window.

(19. Updating of Veggie Toolkit to be compatible with V7-yes it's that important to me. Sony Madison should help Mr. Campbell retire and buy out his product for inclusion in V8.)

20. And--having the newest version since future updates/bug fixes will only pertain to it.

Each of the above improvements was worth a good average of $8-$10 to me, so at a $149 upgrade price it seemed worth it.

(I have to remember to print this out and show it to my wife--she's ticked.)
.

...........That was my point, too, but apparently I was being "defensive." And now I'm being defensive about getting called defensive...vidious cycle, that's what it is. ;-)....


That was great, been there a time or 10 !

- also much-much better PTT through Decklink/AJA.
- able to output 4 tracks of sound to Digibeta/designate buses to video tracks
- insert edit to tape - picture or sound or both
- simultaneous preview on video card out as well as preview window

Any of the above are must have features if you intend to work in a professional environment and we would have happily payed the price for any one feature alone.

Well done MMS on concentrating on giving us professional improvements that really make a difference to people working professionally. Maybe they should have put some wanky colour changes on the interface to keep all the moaners happy.

Break it down pet day Mac and that will help you feel more better. Is that about .40 cents per day? Maybe you can put your daily Big Mac on hold or just not "super size" it. Vegas rules; and we need to support it. You cant ask for the world on every update. Besides how much of the program do you not use? I do a bunch of audio on it and it rocks! I did a couple of nice CD,s on Vegas and now I am getting into the Video part more. Go out and spend a few grand on Final Cut with plugs and you will see that a measly 100+ bucks is worth it.

Speaking personally as someone who makes lots of DVDs, just being able to render I-frames exactly where I want them, which equates to frame-accurate chapters, is almost worth the $200 alone.

You can create the fanciest project in the world but inaccurate chapters always make it look sloppy (few frames late/early) but v7 solves that.

>>...just being able to render I-frames exactly where I want them...

The stand-alone MainConcept MPG2 encode also does this.

>>...inaccurate chapters always make it look sloppy...

Oh yeah. Definitely.

I could not have said it better than vitalforce did. All those little tweaks sure do add up. My absolute favorite is the snapping. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve needed to sap to an event on another track and I would place the cursor at the end of that event or drop a temporary marker so that the event I’m working with would snap. Now I just move the event and the blue lines show me exactly what I’m snapping to. An incredible productivity enhancement.

I also like the fact that ripple edit now works correctly when deleting events. Before if you had three events with 1 second crossfades and you deleted the middle event, ripple edit would crossfade the remaining two events by 2 seconds! (adding them together). It now respects the 1 second crossfade and simply removes the middle event like it was never there. I can’t tell you how many times I had to readjust crossfades because ripple edit kept adding the times together. This is another productivity boost.

Add to that Cinescore plug-in support and better HDV playback (I’m an HD shooter) and this upgrade is a real winner. Just when you think the Vegas workflow couldn’t be any easier, Sony Madison comes up with a bunch of little tweaks to make it even better. It’s truly amazing.

That doesn’t include the all new features in DVD Architect 4. The scripting alone means you have much greater control over navigation. You can even make games like you see on Hollywood DVDs.

Nobody can tell you if $149 is worth it, but to put it in perspective, here on the east coast USA it costs $60 for a tank of gas and once the gas is gone... it’s gone. $149 for an application that will improve your productivity for at least the next year is not a lot of money ($0.41 a day to be exact).

~jr

I have to agree with JR. While I hate to throw money away on anything, $149 isnt a bad deal for what we get. Now if we were charged the same upgrade price as V6, then I would have passed. If anyone is making ANY money with Vegas, $149 shouldnt be too hard to manage especially if it will increase your workflow and turnaround times which translates into more $$$ or more free time.