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Sony Vegas

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Sony Vegas
Developer	Sony Creative Software
Latest release	8.0a / October, 2007
OS	Microsoft Windows
Genre	Digital video editor
License	Proprietary
Website	Sony Creative Software

Sony Vegas is a non-linear editing system produced by Sony Creative Software. Currently, it runs on Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/2003. Vegas 7.0 also runs on Vista but is not yet officially supported. As of Vegas Pro 8.0, Windows Vista is now officially supported. In April 2007, Sony along with AMD jointly demonstrated a soon to be released 64-bit version of Vegas running on 64-bit Vista. Originally developed as an audio editor, it developed quickly into a complete NLE for video and audio from version 2.0. Vegas now features realtime multitrack video and audio editing on unlimited tracks, resolution independent video sequencing, complex effects and compositing tools, 24-bit/192 kHz audio support, VST and DirectX plug-in effect support, and Dolby Digital surround sound mixing. Vegas comes in a variety of price points based on the bundled programs and extensibility of features. The consumer level Vegas Movie Studio version (formerly titled VideoFactory and Screenblast) shares the same interface and underlying code base as the professional Vegas version, but does not include professional features like advanced compositing tools while 24p editing support is unofficial. Previously, Vegas could be purchased separately from Sony's DVD and Blu-Ray Disc authoring suite, DVD Architect Studio Pro (previously called DVD Architect), as a package called 'Vegas + DVD'. With the release of Vegas Pro 8.0, both DVD Architect Studio Pro 4.5, Vegas Pro 8.0, as well as Boris FX LTD and Magic Bullet Movie Looks HD are bundled together and may not be purchased individually.

1 Features
2 Release History
3 Awards & References
4 Criticism
5 External links

Features

Video Features

Vegas has the ability to edit video and audio on unlimited tracks, the only limit is the speed of the host computer. It also supports any aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9) and pixel aspect ratio and edit 23.97, 24, 25, 29.97 or 30 fps video. In fact, Vegas can edit in any chosen custom frame rate or frame size. Vegas will scale accordingly if a user needs to mix and match video of different framerates or resolutions. Vegas also allows external preview via Firewire to Firewire ready broadcast monitors or via DV deck/camera which also incorporates realtime down convert from HD to SD so HD material can be viewed on an external standard definition monitor. As of version 6.0, Vegas can also output video to a second LCD or CRT monitor via component video or DVI connections. Vegas is the only non-linear editing system (NLE) which allows project/timeline settings (frame rate, aspect ratio, etc.) to be changed at any time during editing. In addition, Vegas also has powerful color correction tools, such as a three-wheel color corrector as well as a secondary color corrector to make changes to an isolated element in an image. A user can monitor these changes on accurate vectorscope, waveform, histogram, and parade video scopes. Modified video can be compared against the source via Vegas' split screen previewing. As of version 6.0, Vegas can take advantage of dual-core and dual processor systems to render projects. Vegas, unlike competitor suites such as Avid, does not require any specialized hardware to run properly, allowing it to operate on most any standard Windows computer across a broad range of hardware. In areas of compositing and motion graphics Vegas provides a substantially broader tool set than most NLE systems featuring 3D track motion compositing with control over Z-depth, and spatial arrangement of visual planes including plane intersection. A full range of compositing modes accessed as track/layer controls makes Vegas' use of compositing modes very similar to After Effects and Photoshop which is unlike most NLE systems that usually apply such modes as clip specific effects. Vegas also has keyframeable bézier masking tools with unlimited points. Masks can be feathered and blended, as well as set to certain opacity levels for each layer. The program can also do real-time event reversing and velocity envelopes for manipulating frame-rate and clip speed playback over time using bézier point manipulations. All effects, processes and video transitions--such as crossfades and wipes--are keyframable in Vegas with users having full control over the duration, motion and acceleration of effects and transitions. Much of the visual effects processing in Vegas follows a very audio-like paradigm. Effects can be applied at any stage of the visual signal flow - event level, track level and output level effects, much like reverb, delay and flange audio effects are applied in a digital audio system, like Pro Tools, Cubase or Sonar. Master output effects can also be controlled and manipulated over time by the use of Master Bus track automation envelopes. Vegas is arguably the most format friendly NLE on the market reading and writing a very wide array of file formats and codecs - avi, mpeg 1/2/4, mp4, quicktime mov & QT, tiff, psd, targa, bmp, jpeg, png, mp3, wma, wav, aiff, rm, ogg, ac3, wav64 and pca. It can support all major codecs employing avi wrappers including divx, xvid and various YUV codecs with the proper directshow codecs installed. Vegas is also able to utilise all major QuickTime codecs. Beyond standard formats Vegas also employs some of its own codecs as output options including a well regarded implementation of AVC/H264, a lossless 4:2:2 Sony YUV codec and a Sony DV codec. The Sony DV codec, in its current form, does not upsample chroma and so may appear (e.g. in a rendered MPEG-2 sequence) to be inferior to Microsoft's DV codec which is selectable as an option in "Preferences". Vegas will also accept nearly any format on any timeline and will not have to re-render the footage to fit the timeline, unlike many other NLEs. Vegas will not read MJPEG AVIs (usually from "video" setting on digital still cameras). Many people find that installing a MJPEG codec fixes the problem but some people find that this does not fix it. "3rd party" codecs are supported but it can be difficult to see which codec is being used to play back an AVI. Some of Vegas's codecs are 'native' or built-in. In addition, Vegas has arguably the best integration with 24p DV, making it a favorite choice among those who shoot in that format. It is also one of the few NLEs which can convert other formats to 24p (or any format to any other format) without any kind of a plugin or third-party application support. Vegas is the only pro NLE that allows for multiple instances of the application to be opened simultaneously. Clips and sequences can be copied and pasted between instances of Vegas with ease. Moreover, one instance can be rendering a sequence in the background while the user continues to edit in a different instance of Vegas in the foreground.

Audio Features

Vegas has full resolution 24-bit/192 kHz audio support, with over 30 customizable real-time audio effects included with the application. All audio effects can be controlled via envelopes for each parameter. Effects include Track EQ, Reverb, Chorus, Delay, Noise Gate, and Flange/Wah/Phase. Audio effects for 5.1 projects are also included with the program, including EQ, Dither, and Wave Hammer™ Surround compression tools. Users can expand the program via its VST and DirectX plugin support. As of version 6.0, Vegas also supports professional-quality low latency ASIO drivers, as well as broadcast wave format. The software provides many tools for 5.1 surround mixes, including keyframeable surround panning and effects for tracks and busses. Surround projects can be rendered with the included Dolby-certified AC-3 encoder, included with the Vegas+DVD package. Film-style surround panning mode supports panning between speakers using a constant power model, which is optimized for theater-style speaker placement. The program includes 19 timestretch modes that allows users to choose the resampling method that best fits the audio. Users can also change the pitch of any event in a project. Pitch, tempo and stretch amount information is displayed in timeline events. New to version 6.0 is tape-style audio scrubbing, which mimics the effect of dragging an analog tape past the playhead. If users don't have 5.1 speakers, Vegas offers real-time downmixing of audio from 5.1 surround to stereo. Users can also downmix from stereo to mono. Complicated mixes can be obtained with bus-to-bus routing, as well as with bus envelopes to set track effect parameters, volume, and panning for a Vegas project.

Other Features

Vegas has the ability to run user created scripts. Microsoft .NET is required for scripting functionality. Scripts can be written in Visual Basic or Javascript and can be built to control, manipulate or automate almost any aspect of Vegas. The online community of Vegas users has produced a vast array of such scripts which can be downloaded and run without any scripting knowledge. Vegas provides full functionality for nested timelines allowing individual project files to be placed within each other and utilised as singular clips without pre-rendering on the timeline. Vegas has native support for network rendering, allowing up to 2 'render nodes' per license to be installed on extra machines. This allows long renders to be shared across 3 total computers as long as the project is on a networked folder. When network rendering, the file is broken up into smaller pieces in which the three computers render separately, then the 'stitch host' pieces them back together to form the fully rendered file.

Vegas Pro 8.0

Released on September 10, 2007, the Vegas Pro collection combines Vegas Pro 8.0, DVD Architect Pro 4.5, and Dolby® Digital AC-3 encoding software to offer an integrated environment for all phases of professional video, audio, DVD, and broadcast production. These tools let you edit and process DV, AVCHD, HDV, SD/HD-SDI, and all XDCAM™ formats in real time, fine-tune audio with precision, and author surround sound, dual-layer DVDs.

Edit SD or HD video with drag-and-drop functionality, mouse and keyboard trimming, and ripple editing. Features include ProType Titling technology, multicamera editing tools, 32-bit floating point video processing, customizable window layouts, color-coded snapping, improved HDV/SDI/XDCAM support, Cinescore plug-in support, A/V synchronization detection and repair, and auto-frame quantization.
The Vegas Pro 8.0 interface provides a fully customizable workspace for accomplishing a wide range of production requirements. Dock multiple windows across multiple monitors, and save your layouts to fit specific editing tasks; nest Vegas projects within the timeline, customize and save keyboard commands, and use application scripting to automate repetitive tasks. System-wide media management produces maximum efficiency. Network rendering saves time by using multiple computers and networked drive arrays to render complex projects. Vegas Pro software also supports 24p, HD and HDV editing.
Use unlimited tracks, 24-bit/192 kHz audio, punch-in recording, 5.1 surround mixing, effects automation, and time compress/expand. Apply customizable, real-time audio effects like EQ, Reverb, Delay, and more. Expand your audio processing and mixing options with supported third-party DirectX® and VST audio plug-ins. Use the Mixing Console for precise audio control.
Burn Blu-ray discs directly from the timeline for high-definition delivery. Create standard DVDs with multiple video angles, subtitles, multiple languages, and running commentary. Apply Brightness and Contrast, Auto Levels, Crop, and Anti-Flicker filters. Set CSS and Macrovision® copy-protection flags for masters. DVD Architect Pro 4.5 software supports the latest devices, including dual-layer DVD burners.
Vegas Pro 8.0 software has a comprehensive help system, as well as detailed interactive tutorials that provide walk-through demonstrations of common features and functionality. These tutorials provide an easy step-by-step method of learning the product and the workflow necessary to complete most common tasks.

Release History

Vegas was originally developed by Sonic Foundry out of Madison, Wisconsin. From version 4.0, Vegas has been developed under Sony after the corporation bought a portion of Sonic Foundry. Vegas was the first non-linear editor to offer external preview without any form of acceleration hardware. Native 24p editing was first made possible in Vegas; more than a year in advance of the competition. It was also the first NLE with serious audio tools, such as integrated 5.1 surround mixing, 24-bit/192 kHz audio support, and ASIO driver support. Vegas started life as an audio-only tool with particular focus on rescaling and resampling audio, making it arguably a leader in its category with substantially more sophisticated audio tools than any other NLE. Vegas was among the first NLEs to embrace HDV support both as native TS files and through lossless transcoding tools such as Cineform Connect HD.

Date	Version	Name	Major features added
September 2007	8.0	Vegas Pro 8.0	ProType Titling technology Multicamera editing tools 32-bit floating point video processing Customizable window layouts Color-coded snapping Improved HDV/SDI/XDCAM support
September 2006	7.0	Vegas 7	Support of AVCHD

Awards & References

Vegas has won awards for major broadcasters using it, including Nightline w/Ted Koppel [1]. Several film festival winners have used Vegas to cut their features. [2] Vegas has been used by engineers and artists as diverse as the 5.1 surround mix for Yes, as well as recordings by Shania Twain, Rod Stewart, and Quiet Riot and music video/live recordings for Sheryl Crow. Vegas is also widely popular for documentary video production and mobile news reporting because of its high level of efficiency requiring no hardware and able to run on very moderately powered computer systems.

Criticism

Vegas is still a relatively new NLE by comparison to the long standing apps of Avid, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro. Originally developed by small independent software developer, Sonic Foundry, and only relatively recently taken over by Sony, Vegas has not had the massive marketing and promotion budgets of its competition so doesn't hold the same market recognition or large scale user base. However, Vegas's profile and popularity have grown steadily and substantially in recent years and its community of users is well known as very proactive in online discussions and forums. How Sony chooses to develop Vegas into the future will depend in some part on its intentions for their high-end hardware-based system XPRI which has struggled to find a substantial foothold in the TV broadcast market it was intended to penetrate. The fact that Vegas now supports IMF XDCAM files for both SD and HD might indicate that Sony plans to continue to develop Vegas as a potential replacement or partner to XPRI. With every release, Sony continues to improve and with the recent release of Vegas Pro 8.0, much of the prior criticism is no longer relevant. Vegas' greatest perceived weakness in the face of its main competitors, Avid and Final Cut Pro, is in some areas. The lack of hardware support was initially a problem, but Vegas now enjoys compatibility with Blackmagic Design DeckLink, Multibridge and AJA SDI interfaces. Vegas previously only functioned in 8bit colour space with no support for 10-bit. However, with the release of Vegas Pro 8.0, 32-bit floating point video processing is now available, surpassing traditional 8-bit and 10-bit support. Text titling tools in Vegas are also regarded as weak by comparison to Premiere Pro's title engine (inherited from Photoshop), however; Vegas Pro 8.0 now includes a much more powerful titler called ProType. The other area often criticized is media management. This criticism is largely unfounded as Vegas employs a complete bin structure to its media pool including sub-clips, takes and full search functionality. Vegas did implement a media manager tool in version 6.0; however, it is not integrated with the main media pool and is intended more as media mangagement system for stock media libraries for production houses and broadcast facilities rather than a project-based sorting system. Vegas was also criticized for its interface which moves away from several long standing NLE conventions that have drawn their legacy from linear production methods - flatbed and tape-to-tape. An example being Vegas' combined source/preview window and its focus on timeline rather than source window as central process area. New users also often dislike the "upside down" arrangement, in which the timeline is situated at the top of the screen and tools are placed at the bottom--the opposite of the arrangement of its competitors. The interface, however, can be inverted to a traditional layout using settings in the application preferences. Since version 6.0, The window arrangement has been fully-customizable and savable, allowing quick recall of different layouts for various tasks. For example, you could have a large timeline, and have it set up for your video preview to be on another monitor, and save that preset, and have another preset for when you want to focus on the audio, etc. Finally, Vegas also lacks the wide-ranging third-party plug-in support of its competitors, or the integration with other applications in a bundle such as the Adobe production studio or Apple's Final Cut Studio. This is slowly changing, however. Notably, in 2006, NewBlue, Inc. released NewBlueFX, a wide-ranging collection of audio and video plugins for Sony Vegas, a subset of which Sony is now including with its Vegas-based products. Also, another plug-in suite available for Vegas is Magic Bullet for Editors from Red Giant Software, a collection of post-processing filters and effects.