Oooooooooooo....a RUMOR!! Yummy ;-]

Those that would know can't say and those that can say don't know anything, so all you can hope for is speculation I think.

I think your post's title is a bit misleading, Sony never picked up SoFo and ran with the product line anyway so you could hardly say they'd be dumping it.

Bob.

I don't see any logical reason why Sony would dump the product, and there certainly is tremendous evidence that they have spent significant marketing money on it in the past six months.

So, I don't think Sony is dumping Vegas. Completely unfounded.

That said, I have been totally underwhelmed with the past release and to Madison's very slow response to some pretty fundamental problems in Vegas. Therefore, I think perhaps a better question to ask -- as long as we are speculating without any evidence, and spreading unfounded rumors -- is whether the development team is abandoning the product. Very often, after many iterations of a product, the engineers come to the VP of Engineering and announce that the underlying architecture of the code is completely broken and can't be carried forward without a complete re-write using all sorts of modern conventions. Management resists for several releases, during which time not many features get added (V7 and V8). Eventually, the VP leaves, a new guy/gal comes in and gives in, mostly in order to be seen as taking bold action. Many years go by without a release, and then finally something comes out that is slower, buggier, and about five times larger. And, oh yeah, it has about three new features.

It is a rare engineer who will work on a product for more than three releases.

My guess is that the 64-bit implementation ended up being a complete re-write, with the idea that this new code could be used as a basis for future 32-bit versions as well. Unless they have discovered cold fusion in Madison (i.e., they have learned to defy the laws of gravity, physics, and software development), this is probably taking a LOT longer than was originally planned.

But, since I don't know any inside information whatsoever, this is completely idle speculation, and not worth the paper it isn't written on.

Sony never picked up SoFo and ran with the product line anyway so you could hardly say they'd be dumping it.

lol.

I wish my source was speculating, but he's an freakin' engineer for cryin' out loud. He hasn't the personality nor the time to start rumors. This was straight from his mouth to my fingers to this thread (If I had a brain it would've been included in the process...). This is why I thought I'd drop this in the Forum think tank for a swirl. See what I can learn.

And yes, those who do know can't say, which makes this quite pointless (but juicy at the same time).

Wow John, that's more insightful than you expect... or do you already... hmmmm.

Vegas doesn't really add anything to Sony's bottom line. They didn't pay much for it, so it wouldn't be a loss to them.

The really important aspect is WHO would want to buy Vegas? It's not really on the NLE radar for most potential buyers, either now or in the future. So I have to wonder about it's value.

Well this isn't a rumour or idle speculation.

http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=74514138

A similar sounding position was advertised some time ago but that position reported to SCA.

Bob.

I definitely think Vegas has Value, particular for folks new to video. That is probably go to have value for a long time.

However to a company that already makes cameras, having an NLE might cause some problems.

I think, if this is true it's more a case of Sony selling the Creative Software Group. I doubt they would get rid of just a piece of it.

I don't know how big SCS is but they have about 10 postings made in the last day - counting the one listed above.

http://jobs.myspace.com/a/ms-jobs/list/q-Sony+Creative+Software

Maybe they are just loading up before a big marketing push... yeah, that's the ticket.

the Monster job listing is old, Curtis Palmer retired after having been one of the founders of Sonic Foundry, and the brains behind the origination and code for many, many applications.
Can't speak for him, but family does become priority at some point for many folks. He's a *very* hard guy to replace. Passion, talent, experience (part of the original Direct X development team at M$), creative as hell, more driven than anyone I've ever experienced in my life....
I miss the late night toe-to-toe spitting matches with him.
Vegas isn't going anywhere.

This ad fits John Meyer's scenario pretty tight.

whether the development team is abandoning the product.

This is how software acquisitions work:

1/ Small company creates great product because they have people who care and know what they are doing

2/ Small company gets noticed by big company, either in their business or who wants to get into that business

3/ Big company buys small company

4/ Big company pisses off the lead people who made the whole thing come to life (the superheros). They leave within 18-24 months

5/ The also-rans in the engineering and sales staff hang in there and do not quit the big company, they are just hangers on anyway, and don't have that kind of initiative

6/ Without the superheros the product development slows to a crawl, weird features are added in peculiar ways, often with brand new technologies, "just because we can"

7/ Customer base slowly gets pissed off because things slow down and after a while they start breaking, breakages are not fixed

8/ Customers starts leaving

9/ Big company sells what is now a division to some minor player in the market or to a major player that intends to shut the product down to rid it self of a minor nuisance

10/ Product more or less dies. Some time lives on in a weird disguise



I have seen it happen too many times to count, and honestly, I haven't really seen it not happen. Big companies who buy small companies rarely are able to utilize the technology they just bought, simply because they don't understand it. A major problem in this regard is the development and engineering staff at the Big Company. The always think the acquisition was a bad idea since they "could have written it in 6 months for a fraction of the cost". The engineering staff at Big Company always has the inside track and they will passively or actively sabotage the acquired engineering staff, contributing to the departure of the superheros.

The main reason to buy a software company is to move the customer base from the acquired company on to the products already owned and developed by the Big Company. Then you dump the acquired software.

The main reason to buy a software company is to move the customer base from the acquired company on to the products already owned and developed by the Big Company. Then you dump the acquired software.

But what we we supposed to migrate to? Xpri? That high-end Sony NLE was abandoned by Sony. Maybe Vegas is next.

You would at least hope someone would step in to squelch these rumors, if that is all they are.

The same approach is used to manipulate the stock market.

I often think belief is given far too much importance.

My reality is that Vegas is a brilliant product.

I think we might be reading too much into this. "changing ownership" could mean that SCS is changing its place in the Sony corporate structure. I think this has happened at least once before since Sony bought SoFo.
That would make some sense. It seems the current owner is Sony Corp. of America which if it's anything like Sony AU it'd be odd for them to control a business unit such as SCS. I could be wrong but I don't think SCA are involved in manufacturing or R&D, it'd be a better fit if SCS reported directly to Sony Japan.

Bob.

Interesting.

I doubt there's any real truth to this rumor... just look at the bottom of this thread. Sony's new advertising/Linking of all its programs at the bottom of every post/thread. It doesn't look to me that they're going anywhere. Not withstanding Vegas Pro and Vegas movie Studio are kind of linked to each other... what you do with one you would pretty much be prepared to do with the other, and the way I understand it is that Vegas usage (both versions) is very much on the rise.

This is however clearly "make or break" times for NLE's. With the rapidly advancing hardware, 64 bit technology on the rise, and the change in the way that OS's operate (DRM and all of that rubbish).... you either get with the times.... or you quit. Ulead's media studio pro has folded, along with Avid Express and Avid Liquid.... all in the same year. NONE of these users had ANY idea as to what was about to take place.

Sony has also clearly had problems with its 64 bit technology. I bought Vista 64 pretty much a year ago in prep for Vegas 64...... and I'm still waiting.... 8c is also now overdue.

Soooo... are there changes in store? That could very well be. I doubt it would go so far as to unload Vegas (Sony likes the idea of diversity.... always has.... and it would go against their grain to function otherwise), but if something is going to change, then at least according to other companies..... now is the time.





I should also add that when Avid Express and Avid Liquid folded.... NO ONE knew about it.... not even the Engineers. It was a top level, closed-door, board room decision that caught ALL by surprise. I doubt that it would be any different with Vegas.

I'll tell you though, the SoFo boys put together a great product. And they weren't even
video-oriented. Vegas caught many of the NLE top dogs with their pants down.

While we may have our various issues with Vegas, there is NO doubt that they helped change the NLE landscape for the better.

Maybe Vegas is the Tucker automobile of NLE's. An innovative product that has never really seen the acceptance it deserves.

Interesting trying to figure what the bean counters will do. Example, Ford Motor invests 600 million in new paint facillity then shuts it down without painting a single car. People wonder why. This means that no matter what is invested in the software 10 minutes later the big guys can shut it down with a couple of keystrokes.
JJK

"An innovative product that has never really seen the acceptance it deserves."

Well, Vegas is an absolutely incredible program when you think that it does all that it does on purely a software basis, but having said that, I think it now REALLY NEEDS to change or it will risk losing the popularity that it has gained to this point.

Vegas is a software based program which had a distinct advantage back in the days it was developed. Hardware was expensive and computers were slower. But today it's a different ball game. Hardware is cheap and machines are pretty fast. There is no advantage at all today in being purely software based.

That coupled with the fact that complicated formats such as avchd are hitting the store shelves means a software based product stands a great chance of being buried in the dust. I think it is now time for Sony to shift gears and start taking better advantage of the hardware in these machines. With the video cards they have out now preview should be almost instantaneous and we shouldn't have to sit there and watch frame rates drop down to nothing.

This COULD be one of those "make or break" times/decisions for Vegas and I hope they make the right choice!

R.I.P jeez, I really am disturbed that my sense about SCS and vegas was right. I think vegas is a great little app for what it used to do. In recent times, as I've whined about so many times, it's fallen on its marketing sword. I've been thru this many times in my career with small engineering companies I've worked for that were bought out by the big tin benders(at least twice with Boeing and General Dynamics).Terje is right in his post above. The one thing these BIG companies don't get is that the best and most innovative employess will jump their corporate ship before living under their draconian rules. The scientists and engineers quit, leaving the mega-buck ad men.I'm truly sorry if this rumor is true...R.I.P.

But, on a brighter note...maybe someone who is willing to invest in a large dedicated group of users will give Vegas the attention it deserves.

Well, a friend of mine in Germany just got hired by SCS for Vegas tech support there. So I personally don't see it going anywhere.