Hi dogwalker
I tried the switch backwards. Vegas then for kicks vegas studio. that was a short experiment. so much I had done in pro, I couldnt do in studio. get the upgrade now while its introductory priced and youve got the half pay offer. Studio can really, really cramp your creativity and workflow. Best of Luck.
Steven

dogwalker,
I do not have VMS, but tried using it a few years ago after using the full Vegas video.
Unlimited Video & Audio tracks is one aspect , which can allow multiple video windows on screen simultaneously. Sony AVCHD support for the new HD camcorders. HDV support. Advanced color correction tools. Cursor object snapping across events and timeline. Envelope "brush" painting. Also others.......
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/product.asp?PID=457&PageID=110
Some are nice to have some might be needed for certain projects. The object snapping really saves time, three wheel color correction is nice to have. If you want to change the speed of the video envelops are needed. Also the Pro titler, which takes some getting used to is much better than the standard titler. Once you use the full version it is hard to work with the music studio version.

Rich L

some examples of things you can do in the full version & not in the scaled down versions:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHappyFriar

big differences:
*protype (very very cool)
*unlimited tracks (= lots more fun things you can do)
*surround sound (not sure if this is in VMS, but you can make surround DVD's)
*curve masks in pan/crop


plus, once you buy it it's yours forever, so if you never want to upgrade again, you don't need to. But if you want to upgrade in say, 5 years, it will cost the same amount as if you upgraded every year ($150 a year if they keep that price).

Thanks, all! That's a huge help. Friar, really cool videos. The Chroma Key one really surprised me!!

I'm going to spend several days checking Pro out. I know I'd like the velocity envelopes and having a lot more tracks, and I can imagine that, as my son and I both grow, that we'd appreciate the differences.

For example, when my son first said he wanted a video editor for his birthday, I said, "Well, I already have Nero 7, just use that." He had me download the VMS demo and I was amazed. It amazes me that this young kid is teaching me new things. :-)

Now I laugh at myself for thinking Nero 7 (which is fine for what it does) was a video editor. So I imagine the Pro features are features I'll grow to like. I'm definitely leaning toward doing it. And I'd check with Sony about selling either one or both my VMS licenses if that's possible (I may keep the upgraded one and sell the other one, since we wouldn't need two of them plus Pro).

Thanks again, all!

don't forget you only have until 10/31 to get the upgrade for $300. After that it goes up to $425.

if you're like me, being "mr el-cheap, legally", I would see if you could buy Vegas 6 for $99 & then buy the upgrade to vegas 8 for $150. That's a total of $250, a saving of $50 (get the download upgrade & pay to ship the extra's. a physical help guide is very useful).

But call B&H to see if you get a SN & then call sony & ask if you can upgrade from a plain copy of Vegas 6 w/o DVDA for the $150 price. I'd say act fast (really really fast) if that's your plan cus you'd need to wait for your copy of Vegas 6 to arrive before you could upgrade.

but that's how I got Vegas 4: I bought a book with Vegas 3 LE for $50, got a discount to upgrade to vegas 4 & saved $100 vs buying Vegas 4 brand new. :D

Also, if you got Vegas Movie Studio very recently, SONY's customer service may offer you a trade-in credit on it. I'm not sure that would be cheaper than upgrading though. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Biggest difference to me... SCRIPTS

jetdv, I didn't know about scripts. I'm a developer, so I'm curious about these. Can you give me some bullet examples of how you use scripts in Vegas and/or DVDA?

By the way, someone said that another major difference between Movie Studio and Pro is that you can do better MPEG-2 encoding in Pro. I have CCE (Cinemacraft) Basic, which I used in the past for making simple dvds from avi files, back when I used Nero, and it's great. I know Main Concepts is supposed to be good, but in Movie Studio, I can't change any settings (can't set the bit rate, or choose VBR, for example).

dogwalker,

Look at the Vegas Script forum. Plenty of stuff there or do a search on the Vegas Video forum and you will find all kinds of scripts that have made editing that much easier.

j razz

Take a look here for an example. You can extend the functionality and ease of use of Vegas through the use of scripts. There are many scripts available - many are free - others like Excalibur and Ultimate S cost a little.

With Vegas Pro 8 comes a new type of script called a Custom Command. Here's a couple examples of custom commands.

I'm surprised how many Vegas users don't use scripts when they make your editing so much easier and faster and aren't difficult to use. Plus, the've been around since Vegas 4.