Thanks, Swampler. I already tried that, but I'm only running Windows 98 on my current computer. . .it's a no-go. I will be getting a new computer in a month, running Windows XP Pro.

Another question: How good is SoFo at releasing updates that fix problems that users are having?

Thanks again for the help.

Kyle

Kyle: are you running only 98 and not 98SE? If you are running SE then Vegas will run just as well as it would under XP. It won't run with plain ol' 98 though. What happened when you tried running it that was a no-go?

I am running plain ole' Windows 98. It only runs on 98SE or above. That's why it wouldn't let me install it.

Kyle,

Compared to premiere it's like night and day. Vegas image pans and zooms are smooth as silk. Vegas has brought so much fresh creativity to my slide shows that I would not even consider using Premiere for the task. Being able to "loop play" a picture while I test pans and zooms, or effects and transitions and getting some level of realtime preview (better the faster the computer) is fantastic. The only thing I would like to see is a storyboard feature like Premiere and 3d movement within image pan. (currently you can use a free plugin for image 3D axis). I'd also like to see transitions applied to tracks that are scaled with track motion not cut off at the dimensions of the track motion scale.

When doing a show, I make sure I name the files in the order I want to place them. Then I select all of them in the bin drop them on the timeline and it adds your default transition at the length you choose. Them I start working on the movment. There are also scripts that will allow you to place them to predefined markers.

I've dabbled in AE and would never put that great program down, but Vegas offers great audio Preview which I've found AE to be weak in and the "loop play" of Vegas is a big advantage. Vegas doesn't not have Bezier curves (yet, hopefully?) but does have the normal keyframe speed settings.

Good luck,

Marc

I tried quite a few editors and had nothing but problems, but Vegas has been nothing but solid. Very few problem related posts here too, most of those that suggest a problem or a bug turn out too be user error because Vegas's interface/workflow is a little different then the norm, but all here would say so much better, so it does take some people some getting used to, but everybody that has given it time to sink in has said they won't go back.

SoFo seems to spend more time making sure their updates are rock solid before releasing them, then making updates. So they don't come out as frequently as other companies do, but there are hardly any instances where an update has caused problems. Instead of downloading an update patch, you download the whole install file, which makes for much cleaner and less problematic updates, very nice, but really slow if you are on dialup, just let it download overnight.

There is a site where user's upload samples of their work. I followed a link from another post, but can't remember which post, (luckily the link was still in my history), from someone who had uploaded a sample "slide show". You can follow the link below to the page, then click on download in the upper right of the screen to view it, its a long one, may not want to try it if you are on dial up. But I think it will more than answer your question!

http://www.vegasusers.com/vidshare/textdisp?azedit-johnsonbank

PS. I thought Vegas would run on Win98, I just did a search on this forum for "windows 98 Win98" and came up with alot of people who are doing that. I know there are some other editors that work only on Win2k and XP, but I thought Vegas could do Win98, I could be wrong. But a newer system with 2k or XP would definately be better all the way around!

Edit: Ok I see from a post that beat me to it that it has to be 98SE, that's another thing you will find about SoFo products, lot of nice and informative people here on the boards!!!

Thanks for the insight, guys. I am still worried about finding a broad range of programs and plug-ins that will work with Vegas Video. One of the nice things about Premiere is its software support from many different companies. I am also very worried about integration with Adobe After Effects. I would like to create intros using After Effects.

Premiere's image pan/zoom is kind of a joke. It is not very flexible.

Does Vegas Video allow image stills to fade into a black background very well?

At least the demo version of Vegas Video only runs on Windows 98 SE and up (not plain Windows 98).

Thank you so much for all the help and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

Kyle

>>I am still worried about finding a broad range of programs and plug-ins that will
>>work with Vegas Video.

It is amazing the amount of stuff that is built into Vegas that is overlooked because "we're looking for the plug-in." I've done that myself. I've tried tracking down a plug-in that created a particular effect only to find out that it was made using native
Vegas functionality. There are some plug-ins, not to mention, BorisFX Red for Vegas about to be released any day. Truly, Vegas 4.0 does have a LOT built in to it.

>>Does Vegas Video allow image stills to fade into a black background very well?

Yes. Easily.

Vegas works with almost all media types, so there isn't as much need for it to interface with other software directly. It does have a small amount of direct 3rd party support, but for other programs it's very easy to export a clip to be editing in the other program, then import that program's output back into Vegas. You can use any photo editing software you wish, as long as that software opens/saves JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, TGA, GIF, etc. files. You can use any other video processing software that opens/saves AVI, MPEG, MOV, etc.

A Vegas user named Satish has created a few addon modules for Vegas. One of these adds 3D image effects and Morphing. The other is a "frame server" that allows Vegas and other software to interact with each other simultaniously by making each program look like a media file to the other. With this you can use many existing applications from within Vegas.

More on point to original question... YES Vegas is great for making simple to complex slideshows and does it easily once you master a few basics. With version four you can now drag and drop any number of images at once and have the same overlap (crossfade) or transition with just a couple steps. A big plus is how easy it is to pan/zoom stills to add motion. You can do much more with compositing, using Satish's 3D plug-ins, etc..

Wow, thanks for all the help, everyone. It sounds like Vegas could do a really good job.

How are its sound editing capabilities? I know it can do AC-3 and stuff, but I've never worked with anything like that before. Does anyone know what that would mean for the average user?

And can anyone tell me what the DISADVANTAGES are for moving from Premiere to Vegas? I know there have to be some. Also, are there any known problems that Vegas has?

Thanks again for all the help. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.

Kyle

Kyle,

In regards to the sound it's the best of any NLE out there and by far. Premiere audio support is an absolute joke in comparison. Examples: The waveform view in Premiere is almost useless for matching camera audio (Vegas allows any size waveform and auto normalizing), There are issues with Premiere sometimes not remembering audio fades, The new Premiere audio TC works plug-ins have click/pop problems, Premiere has a direct X plug-in that does not even work and it's been that way in 6.0 and 6.5 versions. Adobe does not fix bugs until they feel like it. Vegas started as a sound editing program so it's very advanced. I've suffered with Premiere for a while and I can honestly say that there is almost nothing wrong with Vegas.

There are definitely new features I would like to see implemented, but there is really nothing broken like there is in Premiere. Premiere has some features I still like but the more I use Vegas the more I realize that it has better and faster ways of doing things. Another thing that really bugs me about Premiere is that it has all kinds of auto jumping to the end of the clip features when dropped on the timeline or zooming in. I have begged Adobe to allow us to turn this off to no avail. They say the majority of their users want it --I have never met one who did. I say give us a choice to edit the way we want to without feeling like we're using MS Word.

The only major advantages Premiere has IMO is real-time hardware support, major plug-in support (which it needs to get the job done) and some basic After Effects import support. Boris is implementing Vegas plug-in support with the next version of Red and most likely with the next version of Graffiti and Effects. Other than that Vegas is really that good and the company behind it is very responsive unlike Adobe.

I think it comes down to this: Adobe has rested on it's laurels and kept Premiere from shining in fear of depriving After Effects of it's glory. Sonic Foundry is an innovator which has pushed the limits and discovered better ways to edit. There are rumours that the next version of Premiere will be great but I prefer to buy what works now.

Marc

"can anyone tell me what the DISADVANTAGES are for moving from Premiere to Vegas?"

The main disadvantage is that with Premiere you've paid for something you're not likely to use much more. There will be a transition period while you learn the slightly different work flow for some functions, but everything is faster once you master these. I used Premiere from 4.2 to 6.02 and I don't any more.

You really should get at least W98SE if you're not going to go to XP.

Regarding Vegas' sound capabilities - it's a fully professional multitrack audio editor - it started life as an audio only app - visit the SF Vegas Audio forum and you'll find many users who use it solely for audio recording - you'll be delighted.

as you'll find, Vegas users and Sonic Foundry staff are a helpful bunch, and make a superb product even better.

The biggest disadvantage is that the interface is VERY Different. So there can be a very steep learning curve for Premiere people -- but believe me it is well worth it.

worthwhile tip in the default setup for vegas when you hit the space bar, the cursor returns to its starting position which I found very iritating (even if more logical) but this can be reset in general preferences to be Premiere like.

cheers

Thank you all so very much for responding and helping me out. I have another question: How good is the Vegas Video codec? I am looking for quality more than anything else.

Also, do you guys think I would run into any problems if I tried to run Vegas Video and Premiere on the same computer?

And how is DVD Architect? Would I want to buy a different Authoring application?

Thanks, again, everyone. I believe this forum has already beat out Adobe's forum. Thanks.

Kyle

Yes.

Thank you all so very much for responding and helping me out. I have another question: How good is the Vegas Video codec? I am looking for quality more than anything else.

Also, do you guys think I would run into any problems if I tried to run Vegas Video and Premiere on the same computer?

And how is DVD Architect? Would I want to buy a different Authoring application?

Thanks, again, everyone. I believe this forum has already beat out Adobe's forum. Thanks.

Kyle

How good is the Vegas Video codec?
Excellent

Also, do you guys think I would run into any problems if I tried to run Vegas Video and Premiere on the same computer?
Lot's of people do it. Should be no problem

And how is DVD Architect? Would I want to buy a different Authoring application?
Depends on your needs. I think it is work purchasing if only for the included AC-3 5.1 encoder.

For slideshows, you may also want to look at issue #8 of the Vegas Tips, Tricks, and Scripts Newsletter.

Thanks, jetdv. That was some very good information. I'm a little fuzzy on the AC-3 encoding, though. What would I be able to do with that? I will more than likely be using regular stereo sources for the soundtracks, etc. Is there a way I can mix them (somewhat easily) into 5.1 scores?

Also, if I HAD to use Premiere to do a project, would I be able to use DVD Architect without any big problems? I mean, it doesn't have any proprietary configurations or anything, does it?

Thanks, again. I am slowly leaning towards getting this bullet-proof NLE everyone calls Vegas Video.

Thanks,
Kyle

The main benefit of the AC3 encoding is that the audio files will be compressed, taking a lot less room than if you didn't use it. You can use 2.0 AC3 for normal stereo channels.

As for Premiere, you can export to a DV type AVI file, then let DVD-A do the encoding to MPEG2 for you. Or, DVD-A should be able to import an MPEG2 file from Premiere so long as it doesn't output in elementary streams.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. That's some more good info. I hate to ask it, but is there a better DVD Authoring program for outputting really good quality?

Thanks,
Kyle

Can anyone tell me if they've ever made slideshows over 30 minutes long using Vegas Video? I've had trouble doing it in Premiere. Anything over three minutes, and the video gets really jerky, etc. I was wondering if Vegas Video had the same problems or not. Thanks for all the help.

Kyle