You are in luck... it will cost you exactly the same to upgrade from V4 to V6 as it will from V5 to V6.

This exact question has been asked... and answered before... both by Sony and by others within this forum (and I draw your attention to this only because your post ends with a rather negative tone to it).

I don't quite see the reason why you decided to imply that you would be "Ignored" about this.... the very fact that your upgrade price is the same as those of us who have upgraded to V5 previously shows that Sony most definitely has not been ignoring you.

Be happy!

The negative tone is because I knew there wouldn't be any real deal. It's not that it's a bad price, it's just that it's last years model and I expect to get it for less. And they would be glad to charge me even more to go up to Vegas 6 from 5, making up the difference. I don't really know V4 thoroughly, so I need incentive if you want to nudge me over the 'I can't resist' edge. In fact, I probably don't really need Vegas 5.

By noting the date they sell it, they should be able to tell how much to charge to go from V4 to V5 and then realize that to go up to V6 or the next version you have to charge a little more.

I'm not really sure how you misunderstood my question. If I only want to upgrade to version 5, why shouldn't it be cheaper now? I'm a year behind, and I won't get any of those nice new features you have with version 6. How about an in between price?

"It's not that it's a bad price, it's just that it's last years model and I expect to get it for less."

While they may work in the automobile industry or stereos, maybe even food, software is definitely one of the exceptions. So let me ask you a fair question. Why should you get it for a cheaper cost when we paid the higher price last year?

If you really want Vegas for a cheaper cost, all you have to do is ask someone who has upgraded to V6 if they want to sell their copy. I am sure there would be plenty that would jump on the chance to sell an old copy they no longer use or need.

You would find the same to be true with operating systems. I would find copies of Win 98 retailing for the same price after the introduction of W2k and XP as it did when it was the brand new OS.

I haven't checked lately, but guess if you wanted to buy the full boxed copy of Win98, it would still be at full price (perhaps not anymore, since it is no longer supported, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it at full price, even today, if I found it at all on the retail shelves).

I have yet to upgrade (or even make a decision to upgrade or not) from v5 to v6, but fully understand that Sony could hardly afford to support continued development of Vegas if they offered deep discounts to prolong sales of older versions.

I am curious as to offerings on the update site. If one were to download V3 or V2 updates, would Sony allow you to purchase the right to unlock them at this late date if you didn't already own a license for those products?

Just curious.

Oh, and, as far as being ignored by Sony, I would rank this as one of the classier fora owing to the more than occasional responses from Sony developers. It is, undoubtedly the result of the helpful culture that continues from the SF days, but continues to enhance the value of my Vegas experience.

Caruso

...."So let me ask you a fair question. Why should you get it for a cheaper cost when we paid the higher price last year?"....

Then we should call for change, because there is no reason why older software versions shouldn't be cheaper.
Is somebody going to pay full list price for Vegas 5, now that Vegas 6 is out? Is somebody going to shell out $699. for Vegas 4 now?
Yes, weather you like it or not, I do expect to pay less than you did a year ago. You benefitted by getting the jump on everyone else and that's what you paid for. I waited for a sale, but am behind in all the features found on the newer versions. So, I pay by not being as up to date as those who have the money to spend the first day anything is released. Maybe all the software companies you buy from never give sales, but where I shop, all older versions get cheaper.
I would rather do everything thru Sony, so that all records would be completely on the up and up. I don't understand why they wouldn't want to make the money anyway they could. I also don't understand your complaint. You may as well ask Sony why do V4 users get the same upgrade price as V5 users to switch to V6? I guarantee you, I paid a lot less for V4 than you did for V5. So, you should be angry at them as well as me.
Sorry to sound so bitchy, but I HAVE to hunt down deals on my budget. Most importantly, I don't really need V5 or V6 at this time. But, if the incentive was there..........I just might delve. In other words, I'm fishing, but I'm not really expecting to catch anything. And even if I catch something, I may throw it back. It depends on what type of fish it is.

Hi Steve. Unless Sony have changed their policy recently, it should be perfectly legit for you to buy Vegas 5 from someone who has upgraded to Vegas 6, and have the registration transferred. Don't know what the going rate is, but I expect you can get a good deal somewhere.

You will not be able to use this copy of Vegas 5 to upgrade in the future (to Vegas 7?), but you should be able to use your existing Vegas 4 for that, depending on how far back the upgrade pricing stretches.

Just a thought.

Richard Hunter

Steve, why not buy a used V5 on Ebay and hold onto V4 in case you want to upgrade to V6 or V7 later?
Randy
Edit: oops, I just realized that Richard made my suggestion...sorry

I'm going to call my cable company, and see if I can switch to last year's cable. It was cheaper. ;)

Just kidding, I can't think of an analogy that fits the software model, but you don't tend to see the creators of software offering their old versions at all. You can get older versions from some resellers, but not direct from Sony.

if you don't think you need v5, why buy it?

They just don't sell it after the next version is out. If you want a "bargin" why not upgrade to Vegas 6? The cost will be ~$200. That's $100 per year over the past two years. That's a great bargin. To upgrade to eigther Win 200o Pro or XP Pro it costs $200. Remember, Win2k is from 1999 & it costs as much as their latest version. Heck, those upgrades can't be upgrade, so for the NEXT version you're stuck shelling out the full price, which is the SAME full price as their old versions!


I'd say that Sony also had a great upgrade policy. You may have to hunt for bargins (I do too), but since you say you've got a budget, you can save $100 a year for an upgrade. That's $8.30 a month. Less then the cost of internet, phone, cable, sattelite, electic... heck, everything. It's less then the average large pizza. Skip 1 pizza a month for two years and you can always afford an upgrade.

>>>While they may work in the automobile industry or stereos, maybe even food, software is definitely one of the exceptions.<<<

I disagree. One look around the WalMart's, K-Mart's, CompUSA's and so on will show plenty of software for much much less that it was a year (or more) ago. I have been into places like Staples and the like and seen things like Win98SE when ME came out for much less. I see software from McCaffe and Symantic discounted all the time a year later. If you are a smart shopper and have some of these OEM places around you can find "last years model" in OEM hardware and software for a lot cheaper. (and in many cases even "this years" model at a lot less) Lets not forget "student" verisons of new software at heavily discounted prices. Sadly SoFo/Sony doesn't have that kind of Distribution to get intyo these places. I was kinds of shocked to see, waaaaaaay up on a, high, top shelf, the "consumer" versions of Acid, Sound Forge and Vegas in CompUSA . Easy to miss when all th elower shelf space was taken up by Pinnacle stuff. The "pro" section had the Adobe. The *only* time I ever have seen SoFo/Sony "full version" software is at a music store that was going bankrupt and they had a boxed version of Acid...right next to ProTools and Nuendo and so forth.

> I don't understand why they wouldn't want to make the money anyway they could.

Because it makes no business sense to undercut your current product. When you think about it, software is the same as an automobile. When the automotive manufacturers start producing the 2006 year, they stop producing the 2005 cars. If you want a 2005 car you CANNOT order one from the manufacturer. You must find a dealer that still has one on the lot. It may or may not be offered at a discount. (If it’s a Honda they probably still want to charge you above list price ;-)) When they are all gone, you have to search for a used car dealer or private owner for one.

Software is the same way. When Sony starts manufacturing Vegas 6 they stop manufacture on Vegas 5 and you CANNOT order one. You must find a store that still has copies and is willing to sell them at a discount. Some do not. When all the stores are out, you need to find one used on someplace like eBay.

Your logic makes a lot of sense. (i.e., wait for the new version and buy the old version at a discount). You just can’t expect the manufacturer to want to sell you an old version at a discount. Find a store that still has Vegas 5 (or on eBay) and buy it.

~jr