Only YOU can answer the upgrade now or not question. So instead I answer why I'm not going to upgrade this time around.

Rather than staying ahead of the curve, I look at it as getting behind the 8 ball. Its neither practical or financially sound to upgrade all your software everytime a new upgrade/release comes along, just because it comes along. Of course that's what the software companies hope you do, but I'm not one to jump on every bandwagon that comes down the street.

Disparaging remarks like "if you don't rely on income from clients, Vegas 3 or your current machine is pleny" are inflamatory, inaccurate and boil down to horn tooting. Lots of that in the forum. Needs to be said again, it isn't the tool, its the craftsman.

If the present version does the job, the new version adds nothing I need or want at the present time, then thanks but no thanks. Maybe version 7. <wink>

Wolf, the faster render times alone are worth the upgrade. If you have a lot of media on your computer, that too, is very much worth the upgrade. The Decklink, Dual Layer, and HDV features are not small, but they obviously don't benefit everyone. For me, the render, Media Manager, Sync tool, and 24p improvements are all very well worth the cost. The Ripple improvements help me a lot, but haven't heard many comment on that here. I also very much appreciate the AAF , but that might not be a huge benefit if you're not working with other editing houses or people. Same with BWF, you might not find that valuable. I get a call for it every couple months, but others need it every day.
In DVDA 3, just the Photoshop layer support is great, but there are other great new benefits too.
It boils down to whether you're doing video as a hobby or income-producing gig. If it's an income producing gig, just the render speeds alone are worth it, as is the Media Manager, IMO.

>> it isn't the tool, its the craftsman. <<

... and that's exactly what I alluded to ... why upgrade to a new version when you may not be using 80% of the current release ... if your work is client driven, you simply have no choice ... such is the nature of this or any business ...

Faster render times on a Celeron 2.6?

if your work is client driven, you simply have no choice

I don't know what kind of clients you have, but mine don't care what software I use as long as I deliver what they want.

>> mine don't care what software I use <<

..we're not talking about that ... we're talking about features that clients demand in the output ... they read the Vegas releases too ... they see what the software can produce and they want it ... and they want it NOW .....period ...

My 2 cents on 2 points.
1. is it worth the $299 to make your time easier(faster renders)?
2. will you gain an advantage that will create more money for you?
These are the two main questions i look at when looking to upgrade many software titles. If it fits into one of those points, then i will upgrade, if not, then i wait.

we're talking about features that clients demand in the output ...

For example? (what would a client ask for in the output from Vegas 6 that I can't accomplish with Vegas 5)

Wolf, like you, I'm not likely to be doing HDV anytime soon. Looks like at least a $10,000 investment to do it properly and the clams just ain't there.

I did do the upgrade to V6 and I'm happy with it. Here are the reasons I decided to pull the trigger:

1. A/V sync tool. Seems like a small thing, but makes a HUGE difference to me in the way I edit. Works perfectly, no problems, ever. Keeps me from banging my head on the desk when things get out of sync.

2. Media Manager. Maybe I've been lucky, but I've had no real bugs with this. I work in long-form documentary and often have thousands of media clips from various sources to work with at one time. I'm still learning how to use it efficiently, but this has the potential to be an enormous timesaver for me.

3. Improved Ripple Edit. Not quite perfect yet, but a vast improvement.

4. Nested projects and "save file path with media files" I look at both of these features as two different ways to achieve the same thing: the ability to open a self-contained package on the Vegas timeline in another instance of Vegas, edit it and automatically update it on the first timeline. For simple veggies, I use nested projects; for complicated ones I render out and use the "open in parent application" feature to avoid playback slowdowns.

5. VST effects. As Spot has pointed out, the free Kjaerhus plug-ins are terrific. Another V6 feature that seems to work perfectly.

6. DVDA3. Very solid upgrade and includes some things like playlists, the ability to identify subtitles by language, visual navigation tools and a nicely revised media properties panel. I didn't think I'd be interested in dual-layer, either, but a project I'm working on now looks like it might be twice as many gigabytes as I initially thought, so that's looking more and more attractive.

Everything else is just gravy to me. If it works, great. If not, I can wait until 6.0b. This is, of course, my opinion based on my experience. Your mileage may vary.

>> that I can't accomplish with Vegas 5 <<

... you agree that HDV is the next big thing..? ...my original post said that he SHOULDN'T wait to learn the ins and outs at the last minute ... there are HDV features that must be learned NOW so he can hit the ground running when the clients want it ... look, all this hoopla depends on one thing ... if you do business using the software, you are going to need the latest tools, specs, features of that software to ply your craft or you'll get left behind ... this is so fundamental that I'm having difficulty explaining it ... I totally agree with you that if business is NOT driving your output, then any software release that you're happy with is OK ...

How much faster are the renders? I'm in the same situation as wolfbass and this is one feature that would push me over the edge to buy the upgrade.
Thanks

Render speed improvement is entirely dependent on your processor.(s)
If you're on a single proc, non-HT, you likely won't see much.
With HT-could be as little as 5%, could be as much as 40%. If you've got a dual proc, or a multi-core, you'll see the 30-40% in most cases. there is no *magic* number that will allow anyone to say what your increases will be, if any. On my editing machine, I'm seeing much snappier performance, and MPEG renders simply rock.
If you do a lot of pan/crop, titles, track motion, you'll likely also see speed increases.

... if you do business using the software, you are going to need the latest tools, specs, features of that software to ply your craft or you'll get left behind ... this is so fundamental that I'm having difficulty explaining it ...

Possibly you're having difficulty not because your assertion is "so fundamental" but because it's utterly refuted by reality. Why did MS have to extend support for NT4 until last December? Because so many businesses were still using it (since 1996), and had not upgraded to Windows 2000 or 2003 as MS had hoped. Why do most architectural firms use old versions of AutoCAD or ADT? All these businesses were "left behind"?

Your HDV example only proves my point. There is no reason I can't edit / output an HDV project using Vegas 5 or even Vegas 4! What kind of client would care which version it was edited with?

>> There is no reason I can't edit / output an HDV project using Vegas 5 or even Vegas 4!<<

.. you can also make a feature length movie by producing and tweaking hundreds of thousands of still images shot with a Kodak Instamatic by placing each still side by side on a Vegas Video Factory timeline .....

Vegas 5 handles HDV just fine. Kodak example is pretty goofy.

As far as is it worth it, thats what free trials are for.

. A/V sync tool. Seems like a small thing, but makes a HUGE difference to me in the way I edit. Works perfectly, no problems, ever. Keeps me from banging my head on the desk when things get out of sync.

Alreay saved this guy more than once. An ear-eye-lip co-ordination thing.
That pink track takes all the guessing away. Love it!!!

you can also make a feature length movie by producing and tweaking hundreds of thousands of still images

Not with your clients... they would make you go back and do it all over again using Vegas 6 ;-)

>> Kodak example is pretty goofy.<<

.. of course, it was goofy ... I was laughing while writing it ... but the point remains... there are two things driving our decisions on whether or not to upgrade ... our personal goals and the goals of our clients ... if your trying to meet your clients goals, you must absolutely continue learning new features, specs and upgrade your tools on an on-going basis ... frankly, this is a pain in the ass and it gets tiresome and expensive and our ability to learn new tricks tapers off as you get older ... but this still has no bearing on providing clients with "leading edge" stuff ...

>> Not with your clients <<

... I got Clients From Hell ... I was happily using Vegas 3 up to a short while ago ... then I got three calls from clients who wanted "3d stuff like Star Wars" in their productions... who am I to argue ... off I go to Sony and buy Vegas 5 and it took me a while before I figured out how to handle X,Y and Z space thingy ... meanwhile, while I was futzing and learning, I lost the job to someone who had been using Vegas 5 for a few months and who could twirl a clip in space with his eyes closed ... lesson learned ....

The video/sound sync thing on the timeline was one of the "major" Vegas type progressive inovations of all time, even if somebody else did it first.

JJK

Thanks a lot Spot.

>>...Improved Ripple Edit....

I am using Vegas 6. What improvements were made to ripple edit? I must have missed it.

>>...VST effects...the free Kjaerhus plug-ins are terrific...

Where are these? Are these included with the downloaded version? What exactly are they/are they for?

Thanks!