The following is a reply I made in another thread, but it applies to this thread as well:

"Vegas has been relegated to nothing more than a small production, event, wedding NLE."

That's what I use it for. Has it ever occured to anyone that this is exactly what Vegas was designed to be?

For those projects that require more horsepower, I have Premiere and Avid Media Composer. Different tools for different jobs. I think what's causing a lot of problems is that Vegas is a much more capable NLE than it should be for the price and we expect it to compete feature for feature with the likes of FCP, Premiere and Avid. There are a multitude of things that Vegas does better and faster than any of them, but it was never intended to compete in the same market as those other NLEs. If it was, it would be priced the same as the other NLEs. The fact that it DOES compete with them just illustrates what a terrific value it is.

John

"but it was never intended to compete in the same market as those other NLEs. "

It wasn't?
Pity, that. If it was, what a glorious NLE we would have. Could make Sony quite a name for itself - not to mention a whole new revenue stream.
By the way, I disagree. I believe it WAS intended to compete. As well it should - And might with V8.

I'm not using anything instead of Vegas. My needs have grown thanks to our investment in 2K, to support that I've had to also use PPro and AE. Vegas is still my money earner which is why I keep banging away at it, a large part of my business plan will not fly under the weight of PPro however the bugs in DVDA are also killing that business so I'm left in quite a quandry.

Bob.

Personnally, on my list is "learning AE up to slightly advanced degree" so I don't have to bug about more advanced compositing and titling.
With Vegas and AE (plus what I already know so far about Photoshop) I should be able to fly for a couple more years and have fun.




Well, I guess... (or hope!)

John, I disagree that PPRO or AVID have ANY more "horsepower" than vegas, infact PPRO is a system hog and Avid MAY have a little more if you own one of the packages that boasts it's hardware acceleration... Maybe different features but not REALLY any more "horsepower... But, at any rate I have been with vegas since it was an audio only application and I can attest that Vegas was intended not only to compete but to blow away premiere and avid, and for a while even rivaled final cut in most things(especially audio) now it seems that other applications are catching up and forging ahead and many have caught on that most video(non-DV Formats, like beta etc...) is 10-bit, high resolution or better. alas, my favorite application, Vegas still lack a powerful titler(I use After effects for that currently) and 10-bit or better video.. I don't want to "threaten" to switch editors(that's just stupid, besides... I also own PPRO and AVID Media composer(software version) and Final Cut studio(not the latest and also no mac at home anymore to use it, besides it frustrates me all of it's weaknesses in many ways))... I simply want to have the package that I think has the best GUI and the best Tool Config, and the most potential, keep up with trends in the professional market so that I can. if I switch I either need to kneel at the temple of Adobe or Buy a mac(okay I could get a hardware version of avid too...) none of which I can really afford currently... so here's hoping Vegas comes out with some cool, competitive new features!!

"That's what I use it for. Has it ever occured to anyone that this is exactly what Vegas was designed to be? "

Yeah right. I guess wedding and events were in mind with XD Cam as well? his argument doesnt hold water.

every edit sotware has its good, its bad . Got 2 editors work with me weekly who are edius heads,, cant even keyframe an effect I scream at em, when the hell is your render going to be done they scream at me, and we all open up afterefects to add a something we needed. Then the phone rings and my buddy is trying to reinvent the wheel with FCP and need to bring a couple a tapes over, then i crack a beer and do it again the next day..

The biggest flaw with these anti Vegas arguments is that people constantly compare Vegas alone against FCP with all its additional programs, and Premiere with AE and who knows what else.

Vegas alone against Premiere or FCP alone, is not even close. Vegas is better and has more horsepower. The only thing missing is 10 bits, and that matters to about 2% of people out there.

Ok, so we punish the competitors in this comparison because Vegas doesnt have a suite? Bullshit. The comparison should be in the output and quality that each program offers. Adobe's apps are tightly integrated and I believe FCP is close to the same. Vegas is a NLE. Not part of a suite. Heck it doesnt even integrate with other Sony products.

The days of people agonizing over having to use multiple apps are fading especially when you have things like Dynamic Link to eliminate unnecessary rendering.

The ONLY thing Vegas has over Adobe currently is the Cineform codec integrated. Still, one has to render out a CF file if using HDV. But take that AE and then you have to render uncompressed or DV to get it back into Vegas unless you pay for the NeoHDV plug.

http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx/.3bc4505d/
have at it

Bill Ravens,
Perhaps I'm not long in the tooth regarding video editing, but I'm not naive. Naive would be expecting to be able to thrive financially having one $500 software program. You might get by, but I can't see how you could move to the next level business-wise when you're asked to collaborate with other people using different systems and your answer is, "Well, I use Vegas. I hate it and hardly anyone uses it, but I'm complaining to the company and even though they never listen to customers, I'm hoping that things improve in the next version. Please give me your business; and by the way, please teach all your people Vegas so they can work with me."

That's absurd in any business to rely primarily on one $500 piece of equipment if you're trying to get past every other Joe. Vegas works for me right now, but if I reach a point where I try to make a full-time living (which is certainly my dream one day), I can't imagine putting all my eggs into Vegas' basket, especially given all the complaints all of you have. Even at my "naive" level, I've had three companies offer to work with me if I used FCP. If I were to give it a go full-time, you can be sure I'd first figure out which other NLE systems would enhance my business opportunities and then spend a lot of late evenings learning it, even if the program was counter-intuitive.


P@mast3rs,
I appreciate your comments. But I disagree that "the only thing companies understand is when you THREATEN to take your business and money elsewhere." I think the only thing they understand is if you DO take your money elsewhere. If no one buys V8 and there is a significant increase in PP or FCP purchases right after that, then I think they will get the message. I GUARANTEE that most people here complaining will buy V8, because these same postings were happening right before V7 came out. But, on the other hand, if, as you say yourself, "The truth is Sony doesn't care," then you're wasting your time "threatening" anyways.

>>>The days of people agonizing over having to use multiple apps are fading<<<

Who's agonizing? I wouldn't use AE anyway. Why use something just because it's a part of a suite. I prefer to use the best app for the job, and AE isn't the best compositor, premiere is not the best NLE, etc....... So while that suite may look good with it's integration, only photoshop can claim to be the best. in its category. The rest of the suite is second rate. Same goes for FCP and its 1/2 assed suite.

If you want to use the best. You have to use multiple apps. There is no way around it.

AE is second rate? Whats better at its price point?

price point .......lol,,, what in the world does price have to do with anything,,, if thats a factor vegas wins by defaut

Can Vegas do what AE can? Then price point is irrelevant in regards to Vegas. If he thinks AE is second rate, think again. Its way more used in the industry than Vegas could ever dream of being.

If only George Lucas' guys had used something better than After Effects for the Star Wars movies, the end result would have been so much better.

Not.

And why is Stu Maschwitz ragging about the great feature film VFX the Orphanage has been able to do with AE? He must be really stupid to have picked a second rate everything product like AE for so many award-winning Hollywood feature films.

Tsk, tsk.

Seriously, AE has some great strengths and some weak elements (the tracking sucks for example). So like any other tools, you use it where it is strong.

I use Imagineer for my tracking needs. :)

I'm also trying to learn AE and lightwave; both are difficult compared to vegas, but it's one of those things, like flash coding I do, that I suppose will be well worth the time investment. AE's features for titling capabilities and other plugins, and a vast, active user community are pluses.

Biggest challenge is, as I'm trying to outsource video editing and I say I use Vegas .. all the editors out there I've spoken with, commercially, re doing editing work for me, all use NLEs other than Vegas... and I really want to be involved in being able to "finish" projects or do minor re-edits, meaning I need to use the software that the majority of video editors are using.

Anyways, it would be great to hear from Sony re release date for V8 and functional upgrades.

-k