There probably weren't enough new audio features to warrant or justify a new separate Vegas Audio 3. From a business standpoint, since video is the main focal point anyway, having to market, produce, and maintain just one unified app is probably the most sensible way to go at this juncture. It really doesn't matter to me, since I already have Vegas Video 3. I have been using SONAR as my main sequencing app(much more versatile,IMHO)and using VV3 for CD burning and the video side of things, but I am sure some of the diehard audiophiles out there will be none too happy with this latest turn of events.

Billy Buck

Sonic foundry please set us straight.. are you going to support us audio people or are we gonna have to look elsewhere?

Please keep in mind that Vegas Video is Vegas Audio + Video. Ever
since Sonic Foundry split Vegas into two separate products, the video
version has always included everything that the audio version had. So
if you have Vegas Video, they you do have the complete Vegas Audio
as well. It seems like some of the audio only folks in here forget that
fact sometimes.

I would hope that the audio version is retained simply because it allows
audio only users to purchase the program at a lower price if they don't
want all the video features.

I think Vegas supports audio very well in this release. You need to not be afraid to kick the tires a little. Translation, click the track FX tool to bring up the track compressor, then access the plug-in chain in the upper right hand corner and select from a wide variety of plug-ins. Each track can do its own thing. The possibilites are almost limitless. Reminds me when I was a kid and I built a single chip sound generator from Radio Shack. Kept me busy for hours. Of course Vegas is way beyond that. :-)

I have honestly no idea at how to respond at this news. Good/Bad...not sure.So in other words Sonar is the way to go in terms of audio. I like very much using VA for my mixing needs, but it looks like if I want DX automation,midi,DXi's,etc...I have to go out and spend another couple hundred dollars...THANKS SOFO!!!!!!Really appreciate the hustle!!! Not only am I finally feeling competent with using your product now I have to go out and learn an entirely new animal to boot. Hey, here's an idea...since you guys helped out Cakewalk with giving them acid technology...Why not helping us all out with a $199 purchase of Sonar XL!!!!!!!HAHA...YA I'm sure you guys can work something out! Common buddies! There is simply no way I'm going back to cubase...no way.[sigh] So what now? Is this next upgrade going to have any tweaked audio features? New and amazing shortcuts? Can we at least expect some new AUDIO FEATURES that people have been complaining about? Oh thats right...I forgot...You guys WANT ME TO GO OUT AND BUY A COMPETITORS PRODUCT!!! I'm completely curious as to how close SoFo and Cakewalk really are?...[If its true of course]. Making a cut at least with each Sonar sale?


So the big question now is when will SOFO make a official statement to all of its users and not just hearing it second hand.[Kind of like finding out your parents are getting divorced from the guy at the deli] When will "Rimas Buinevicius" show up in these forums to let us down easy and set the record straight. I would have at least thought that you would see a statement in the last catalog they sent eveyone about such a huge turnaround of the company. I can see the banner on the homepage now...BIG BOLD FREAKIN' TYPE "See you later audio...Hello video". They went from competeing with cubase/logic to premier/pinnacle. In other words...F**K Y*u to all the people who helped us out from the start as an audio company...and hello...whatever...you guys can fill in the rest... I got to get some sleep now...I have work tomorrow and it looks like I'm going to pull some OT so that I can get SONAR XL...Again...THANKYOU SOFO...and have a good night.

No kidding. Wow that investment in Sound Forge, ACID, and Vegas really seems to look great now considering they are all expendable, as SOFO is now a video company. Lovely. There goes hope for DXi, or even DX automation for that matter... and there goes future support.

Nice to know I now depend on discontinued products to do my work. Worst of all to hear it from a NAMM report and not from a Sonic Foundry mailing at least telling me they appreciate my patronage. Instead, we get a third party report which plugs a competitor's product in the same breath that it says Sonic Foundry isn't really a competitor anymore. A thinly-disguised ruse to offload customers to Cakewalk, is it?

Guess Sonic Foundry ain't so sonic anymore.

I think everyone in this thread (and every Sonic Foundry customer who has ever spliced a .wav file for that matter) deserves to know what is going on, and to what degree that report is credible. I could understand a NAMM no-show, since Sonic Foundry really is (IMHO) the undisputed market standard for audio editing (Sound Forge), and what with it having no new products to push. But to link that to the demise of audio support deserves a response/confirmation/denial from someone at Sonic Foundry.

My two cents,

Asylus

video, audio, I dont care. So far the video version has all the audio features as well, fine.

I just hope they dont neglect the *few* more features we need in order to make this a truly competitive audio app. Editing, cutting pasting, autocrossfading wise, Vegas is already unbeatable. Doing this in Sonar is truly time consuming and inaccurate, in cubendo or logic, forget it!

I would seriously like to see, audio wise:

1. VST support; I know this is a hot political issue, but UA only makes its DSP card for VST and not for DX, lets stop hoping all the OTHER companies will play ball, and just have native VST support.

2. Plugin parameter automation; its about time

3.true tape style auto input; a few sound card makers already have the implementation in their hardware to switch and mirror the input to the output during record. This would end latency issues forever. I dont know about SF, but I DO like to hear what I'm recording. Sonar's WDM style input monitoring is a step in the right direction, but it still has to go thru the software, which is gonna introduce latency by default.

4. Hardware control of onscreen faders, pans, and such; everyone else has had this for a while, PLEASE why not us?

5. Fader grouping, VCA style; its nice to be able to control select a group of faders, but after you switch back to something else, youll have to group em again

i wish this news was shocking,seems like they left audio a while ago.have you seen this usv security program they are pushing on the homepage?a perfect example of"what the hell are you doing?"

I just started to love Vegas for its audio features and now they decide to bail...just my luck. I guess the news won't be so bad if they do still support audio without marketing it but to me thats completely stupid! If there is a product on its way out it's ACID all the way. I was always thinking that sooner or later they would integrate all of acids features to both Vegas audio 3 and the VA3 le version too. The le version of course would say only be an 8 track recorder with some acid functions...Then you'd buy Vegas Audio 3 for the whole thing...then Vegas Video 3 if just scoring the film wasn't enough for you. I mean what the hell is going to happen to soundforge...Will it become a "AFTER EFFECTS" offshoot. "Not only can you edit audio, it can even BLAH BLAH BLAH video as well!" This has to be some kind of bad joke. I want the guy who came up with this idea of discontinueing VA3 fired...maybe he/she was fired already in that 40% layoff they had recently.[Check the acid pages for that post]

So whats up SoFo???
1. What is going to happen with all of your products from now on?
2. Anymore SoFo directx plugins in the future?[acoustic mirror 2,NR 2,xfx456,etc...]
3. Which products should we expect to get little to no support for[ obviously VV3 will have the most...please list from most to least on your priority scale...be honest!!!]
4. Will you start coming out with your own video plugins or what?[ Not that I really care but someone might]
5. Which of your products is next to go when this USV thing sinks on ya?
6. Do you really think anyone will care about your company if Vegas Video 3/4/5/6 doesn't catch on like you'd hope for and start up your audio department again?[ VV3 has no third party support in terms of FX plugins,no hardware accelleration support,and is going up against companies that made video editing what it is today[Premier,FCP]. What would you say the odds would be if Adobe premier started to go after the audio guys like cubase,logic,sonar...would anyone really care?[audience laughter sample here]Plus adobe doesn't EVER charge a $199 deal for its leading software. You'll never catch a $149 deal at best buy...With all the revenue Adobe pulls in I'm sure if they got pissed at Sofo and flexed its muscles a bit then we'll see how much easier audio will be in Premier. And how long the Vegas Video line will be able to hold out.

My dear Sonic Foundry...Your name implies it all. Giving up your support for audio is digging yourself a grave...If not enough people catch on to this video/world wide security thing well I guess the next merger we'll all be hearing about is CAKEWALK walking over to 1617 Sherman Avenue Madison ,WI 53704 and putting up a "UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT" BANNER in the front of your main office building!!!


Please...leave the stupid developmental decisions to Steinberg[cubase]. They are the best at making themselves look dumb.

Don't say that you weren't warned!


Later. [I hope]

Actually I think VV3 does have the capability of toppling Premiere or a portion of the user base. Premiere to this day can be very buggy and a pain in the ass to use. VV3 is intuitive, very responsive, stable, and feature rich. If Sonic Foundry continues to develop it, many people will switch because they hate Premiere and can't afford the higher end programs. Plus with thev advances in computer technology hardware cards will eventually be a thing of the past (I hope)

Check the Canopus boards, people are raving about VV3 and many are using it instead of their real-time Storm board because they love the edit interface. I personally am will to wait for some render time if I can have a stable and productive edit session.

As far as audio support is everyone complaining because you have pay more to buy VV3 even if you just want to use the audio features, or has Sonic Foundry actually removed audio features that used to exist or were supposed to eventually?

Marc

Maybe VV3 is a little too complex for the audio only crowd. :-)

Am I missing something? Has there been some kind of official anouncement that Sonic Foundry isn't supporting their previous product line or what?

Maybe the price is a little steep?

What?

Maybe VV3 is a little too complex for the audio only crowd. :-)- wvg

Dude what are you talking about. The whole point to this rant is that it looks like SoFo will be spending all the R and D money on the video side of vegas and leaving all the new audio tweaks to whenever they get to it. That was the feeling I got from Vegas Audio 3 being abscent at the NAMM show and that statement that was made in the first post.

All Sofo has to do now is just make a statement that it is untrue and the audio update is on the way. Then we'll all go back and enjoy mixing on a great audio/video editor. Had a session today that went awesome using the audio functions of VV3 and I would be pissed if that was it. I don't consider getting a "master fader" among other things a worthy update. Thats just keeping up with the times[a bit late if you ask me].I would accept a 60/40% development shift towards video for a update or two so that it solidifys itself in the market[that I can except]. But to just bail on Vegas audio tweaks...I want a detailed explanation on what that entails...no less.

By the way...many of us were told that there would be an AUDIO update with the first bugfix release[VV3a]. I think that SonicEPM said it. Sorry if I got the name wrong dude...but I know I did read it.

What was reported was either misunderstood or misquoted. We are NOT abandoning audio! I don't know how Steve got this impression when we spoke at NAMM. The fact that we were there, just with no booth, means that we are very intersted and will continue to support our audio specific users. I appologize if it has caused any concerns or confusion.

Vegas has awesome audio features and we will always continue to improve upon and provide what the users want. While it is true that Vegas 3 had many video specific enhancements, I know what we did for audio was no small portion. I am very much responsible and involved in all things audio in our products. I was specifically at NAMM to talk with user and discuss technology issues with other vendors and interested parties in the Music Industry.

One of the major features that the video centric users love about Vegas are the powerful audio DAW. The audio improvements from Vegas 2 to Vegas 3, while not earth shattering, were significant. I understand that some of you are waiting for specific things. We don't ignore our installed base and do everything we can to advance both the video and the audio features of Vegas. It takes time to do it right.

We wont let you down, and we are definitely NOT abandoning audio!

Peter

Thanks for clearing that up Peter.

George Ware

I'd been using only the Vegas Audio for quite some time and loving its features. Great for recording and everything I needed. Never thought I'd want the video. Then, upon preparing to go to NY at Christmas, decided to invest in a dv camera and upgraded to VV3. Not only did I get a better audio product but I am floored by the video production capabilities. I put together a wonderful production, 5 video tracks with scanned slides, digital video, .jpg's, the works plus 7 audio tracks, never even a hiccup. I used dozens of transitions...everything worked flawlessly, printed to VCD and I've had several public showings to rave reviews. OK, I never thought I'd use the video capabilities but now that I am, I love having the best of both worlds. Look forward to further audio and video upgrades of a great product. I've tried others and although nothing seems to give EVERY feature an end user might want, SF products are the slickest to use by far. Hope your patience pays off and don't get stuck on rumors.

To be fair to Steve his report didn't say that SoFo are abandoning audio, just that you now saw yourself as *primarily* a video software company - it seems that people have read more into his brief paragraph than was actually there.

However, he did state that Vegas Audio 3 (which many people here have been eagerly waiting for, and I at least was under the impression that it was to be launched at NAMM) would not in fact be appearing. Presumably he is correct on this point?

If so, can we expect the audio enhancements that were planned for VA3 to be included in the update for VV3, expected at the end of the month?

Although I'm an audio-only person, I decided to take advantage of the cheap upgrade from VA2 to VV3 when it was first announced, so this doesn't really affect me personally. But I can see those audio-only people who decided to wait for VA3 being highly miffed if they find that they now have to upgrade to VV3 at the full price because they have missed the cheap launch upgrade price window, particularly as they will be paying for some (admittedly excellent) video features that they will never use. Perhaps you could consider reopening the cheap upgrade price window for a month or two for these audio-only people to keep them happy?

Despite the fact that I have paid for a lot of video stuff I'll never use, I'm very pleased indeed with VV3 - it's undoubtedly got the best user interface of any audio software I have. And with just a few additions it could replace all the others I use. (At the moment I still need Sonar to do anything involving MIDI, softsynths, etc, but having go that part of the project completed I'll often move it over to Vegas to do the rest.) I was rather hoping that VA3 (or maybe VA4, or VA5, or whatever) would add facilities that would allow me to do everything I need to do in one app, and my favourite app at that.

Mark

Hello,

Sonic, You still didn't answer weather or not Vegas Audio 3 will be released or not, And if not, will there still be further Audio Updates to VV 3?
I would like to know.

Please respond, Rockit

Guys -
relax!!! Peter just cleared up that Sonic Foundry is not abandoning us audio guys. This is how urban legends get started. Look at this thread. It took off like a time bomb. It's not as though we're sitting around with a shitty piece of software we paid hundreds of dollars for. It's a GREAT piece of software. It may not have every feature everyone wants but I do respect and am thankful for the fact that this time around - in Vegas Video 3 - all of the audio features are stable as hell, and there are quite a few nice new ones. Yes, SF could support every new and upcoming "standard" but frankly I believe the software, with its current brilliantly simple and useable design, would suffer tremendous instability since all of these technologies are flawed at best. I'd rather wait 6 months to get a solid piece of software with a few new features (and frankly - screw the sequencer thing. I believe it's just not going to happen and I'm thankful for it if it means everything else in there for editing, tracking and mastering is solid and professional). As for Vegas Audio 3 - obviously the audio only people out there are annoyed at having to wait. I'm sure I would be too if I didn't have some video needs. But look at it this way - if Vegas Audio 3 was going to be just like Vegas Video 3, they would have put it out. And if they are merging the two products into one, so be it. It doesn't me they are going to stop developing the audio side of it. Remember, Vegas started out as audio only. That's why it's so powerful and unique - BECAUSE it's the first non-linear editor with serious video editing AND audio editing and tracking functionality. The delay in a Vegas Audio only means they're taking it seriously and want to do the right thing. It's what everyone's been bitching about: give us audio guys a serious upgrade. Well, maybe they're doing just that. And maybe they're not announcing anything specific because everytime they do, they get bitten in the ass.

anyway, there's my Sunday rant. In the wonderfully wise and hysterically written words of Samuel L. Jackson in Long Kiss Goodnight: "You know what happens when you make an assumption? It makes an ass out of U and Umption."

take care.

cdm

I started with VV3 becuase of the Audio features and abilities. I needed a protools like tool for my PC. I started by only using it for the audio, but lets face it, the video makes it hard not to have made it my favorite video tool as well.

I recently got a friend with a full blown protools rig (he did Braveheart, Prince of Egypt and a few others) to try it. He bought it that day. He uses it as his portable tool and now his home vid.

Audio Guys, your vegas is still there, but now you can use it in your spare time to do your home vids if you want too.

K

In response to Charlesdem's posting, I think that Sonic Foundry may already have issued what could be called Vegas Audio 3, in Vegas Video 3. Earlier in this thread, Peter said that there are some upgrades incorporated in the audio portion of V V 3, resulting in improvements and new features not found in Vegas Audio 2. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

For those Vegas Audio 2 users who are looking for the best sound quality and features in digital audio editing software, I recommend SEK'D's Sequoia. Sequoia, which I have been using for more than a year now, is a very fine piece of Windows-based digital-audio-editing and CD-burning software which works with 24-bit, 96 kHZ and 192 kHZ audio files. It allows for a nearly unlimited number of tracks, plug-ins, etc. It has a very sophisticated yet user-friendly interface. It operates in 32-bit "floating-point" internal architecture and is, in my experience, the best-sounding DAW I know of, short of the very expensive Sonic Solutions program with 48-bit internal architecture (not to be confused with Sonic Foundry and which runs only on Apple's Macintosh platform). I plan to use Sequoia with Vegas Video 3, since it offers me so many more features and higher performance than Vegas Audio does.

You can learn more about Sequoia on SEK'D's website, www.sekd.com. SEK'D is based in Dresden, Germany and has a US office in Los Angeles offering tech support, product purchase, etc.

Meanwhile, back to Sonic Foundry: I'm very pleased with Vegas Video 3, and I'm looking forward to doing all my DV editing on it.

I don't think that's right.
When VA3 is released what ever audio improvements it has SF will update VV3 with those improvements. Sorry I don't know what they are doing, but I think they want the audio side of the house to be a ROCK SOLID System. Lets just wait and see. I too check everyday for any word!

George Ware

Hello,

Well I checked out the secquoia software you were talking about, But I don't think I can afford $3000.00 for a program, and that's on sale, the retail is $3749.00! Dude, I don't know about you but that's alot of money, I think I'll be sticking to Vegas, But it does look like a real nice program.

See ya, Rockit