As far as I can tell, in addition to the previously mentioned macro-scripting, below is what you get with Vegas Pro/Edit 18 versus Vegas Movie Studio 17:

• AI-assisted editing; e.g., "'VEGAS Style Transfer' to apply the style of . . . Picasso and van Gogh . . . "
• Potentially "more" GPU-acceleration: "VEGAS Pro 18 automatically configures the optimal settings [for] your GPU."
• Advanced color-grading in HDR (e.g., logarithmic exposure-curve tools).
• Noise-reduction: Added denoise filter.

More bundled effects add-ons:

• ActionVFX Action Pack
• Boris FX Continuum Film Style Unit
• Boris FX Continuum Particles Unit
• Boris FX Continuum Image Restoration Unit
• NewBlue Transitions 5 Ultimate
• Zynaptiq UNVEIL Vegas Edition

Basically, a few new features and more bundled effects.

I don't really need any of the new features with the exception of GPU-acceleration; though, it's not clear if you're getting "more" acceleration than in the 17 suite or if it's the same, but now "automated." I can also do without Boris' film style unit or image restoration tools. Only the particles unit and the NewBlue Transitions 5 Ultimate pique my interest in the upgrade.

As I've said before, I'm really only interested in BorisFX' stylize unit (different from "film style unit"), particles unit, and transitions, with stylize being among the most-wanted. So re-buying the current Movie Studio 17 Suite for $79 with the currently bundled stylize unit may be the best choice for me (or even just VMS 17 Premium for $49, which includes the identical FX-bundle).

The only downside to buying a differently bundled VMS 17 license, is I would likely lose access to the FXhome Intensity pack bundled with my initial VMS 17 Suite purchase when running the new VMS 17 premium or suite executables, since I assume all of the Boris licenses are tied to specific SKUs (otherwise, you could end up owning a good majority of the BorisFX 2020.5 units by simply buying a few $49 Movie Studio 17 bundles).

@Joe-Engel4655 I did not create the video. That was Adam from Tech Dive AV Club who does all the videos. He also does VMS tutorials and answers questions posted to the videos.

I subscribe to his channel too!

Well, I just checked: NewBlue Transitions 5 Ultimate normally sells for $299, but for "today only," it's just $149. So the $99 Vegas upgrade price is a pretty good deal if you like the NewBlue transitions. Personally, I would only use one or two of the transitions, so I may still opt for re-buying VMS 17 with BorisFX' Stylize Unit.

If you do video editing often and/or on a regular basis it is likely you would benefit from the scripting and extension facilities and resources of Vegas Pro. It's still unbeatable. It doesn't add effect thingies, it simplifies workflows. It's one of the main reasons I use Vegas Pro.

If you're after building your own effects then the compositing modes of Vegas Pro is another advantage over Movie Studio.

So Vegas Pro has compositing tools which Movie Studio lacks? Are these Photoshop-like, layers-tools (i.e., blending and dissolve), where you may adjust interactions between layers (e.g., multiply, difference, color-burn, subtract, screen, etc.) with varying levels of opacity (e.g., 0%-100%) between layers?

Also, can you elaborate a bit on the "scripting and extension facilities?" Thanks!

Well, I wanted to report here that I passed on the $99 pro upgrade and instead bought another copy of Vegas Movie Studio 17 Platinum. I get BorisFX' Stylize Unit 2020.5 (which I really wanted) and NewBlue's Elements 3 Overlay, which I discovered seems pretty cool—I've been wanting to ability to suspend a frame of video in 3D-space like a virtual screen (like in that old Billy Joel musicvideo, "Pressure"). The NewBlue plug-in sells for $49 alone, so I thought I'd just spend the $49 on another license to Vegas Movie Studio and get the stylize unit to boot.

Also, I didn't much like the NewBlue Transitions 5 Ultimate included in the Pro/Edit bundle anyway (though I did want the particle unit), so I think I made the right decision for me. I probably totally "lost" my $79 investment in the VMS Suite I bought two weeks ago, but if I'm helping Magix to continue development on Vegas, I'm all for it. And, as others have said, a whole new Vegas is coming in just a couple months, so a $150-$200 upgrade is likely in my future anyway.

You can download a free standalone version of BorisFX Particle Illusion for free. It will give you an idea of what it can do. Just remember to also download the additional emitters.

You do have to create an account to download.

https://borisfx.com/account/login/?redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fborisfx.com%2Fdownloads%2Fparticle-illusion-2021-windows%2F

While it isn't a plugin (I have the plugin version with Continuum 2021 Complete), you can still use it in your videos and there are tutorials to show you how to use it. Some have managed to bring in a still image into it.

So Vegas Pro has compositing tools which Movie Studio lacks? Are these Photoshop-like, layers-tools (i.e., blending and dissolve), where you may adjust interactions between layers (e.g., multiply, difference, color-burn, subtract, screen, etc.) with varying levels of opacity (e.g., 0%-100%) between layers?

Also, can you elaborate a bit on the "scripting and extension facilities?" Thanks!

Yes Vegas has compositing features which adjust interactions between tracks with similarly named modes. It is similar to Photoshop though there aren't layers, but rather tracks, which has some limitations (I'm much more familiar with how Photoshop works and have barely scratched the surface of Vegas Pro in this area.)

Marco mentioned scripting and compositing as the big differences. I still don't know what scripting or compositing is... and why I would want that.

I think I can help with the scripting part:

http://www.jetdv.com/2021/01/31/what-is-scripting/

In short, scripting allows you to expand the capabilities of Vegas and simplify your editing process. That video explains the basics and then there are a ton of other videos showing how to create a script and using them to modify tasks.

For example, say you want a marker placed every 5 minutes on the timeline to create chapter points for a DVD. Done with a single click. Say you have a bunch of events on the timeline that are all cuts and you decide you want them all overlapped by one second to create crossfades... Done with one click! There are so many things that can be simplified using a script. Here's twp scripts I wrote:

http://www.jetdv.com/excalibur-vegas/

http://www.jetdv.com/montage-magic/

Personally, I'd be lost trying to edit without my scripts.

Hey, thanks a lot guys! Well, Roger, the compositing feature sounds really cool. And thanks, jet for letting me know about the scripting features. Oh well, it's only $49. At least I'll see if I really like the stylize unit. Now I need to know if I upgrade from my new platinum .exe to pro/edit (when I get that promotional pop-up), will the bundled effects I got in platinum work in my upgrade to pro .exe?

It is a pity that this "super deal" is not available for people from the EU.

I got the promotional message too when I opened VMS 17 Platinum.
But when I wanted to buy I got this message:

"Dear Customer. For legal reasons, a purchase from the United States Shop is only possible if the location of the invoice receiver is not located in an EU country."

Never had this before with Sony or Magix.

I couldn't find the same discount in the international or dutch website.
Yesterday nothing, today promotion: €149,- including 21 % tax.

1 € = 1,22 dollar; should cost about the same in € (about € 100).
Origin owner software (Magix): Germany (EU)!

So I saved money and I stay with VMS 17 Platinum and Vegas Pro 14...........😀😀