I actually read the whole thing, I think its just a stupid comparison.
Its really a question of where your at, but more to the point I doubt Avid really intended XDV as a serious standalone editor, rather its a way to take a project home from a Symphony system, work on it, bring it back the next day and carry on working on it.


Clearly if you're not in that environment then XDV is not a good tool.


But what annoys me most is they are all just tools, you can make equal amounts of garbage with any of them. The first thing I worked on was shot on a clockwork 16mm camera and cutting the movie meant just that. A single dissolve added a major cost to the production.

Also editing is only a part of a production and far from the most significant. It can make a good movie excellent, it'll never make a bad one good.

If all the effort that went into these largely meaningless comparisons was spent improving the craft would be far more productive.

Its interesting to read a as a newcomer, especially after having a convo with my boss today where he proceeded to tell me it was impossible to use software only tools to edit video with the same ease, speed and quality as some of the more expensive hardware based setups (not big big stuff, just 10k editing stations). I tried to explain what vegas could do, but he wouldnt have it (he is not an editor, just and Ops Manager). So he will be requesting permission to buy something expensive without even testing with Vegas.

Indendant, reputable, objective comparisons and tests which i widely published will be the end of these type of arguments.

Who is DSE? And what are those lists of movies and awards for at his site? Cos he used vegas on them all, or are they justy for the music - its not clear to me.

I've talked to someone who wants t orun a TV show at my station. I asked what editor he uses and he said he uses AVID just because it has more realtime layers then anything else (on his system at least.). He needs stuff right away: can't wait for rendering. When I was telling him about Vegas he was quite impressed with the list of features, especialy for the price.

I also feel (as farss does) that crap can come from any editor, just like good stuff can. It's the person that makes the difference! :)

Something about not the tools, rather the craft of the craftsman. Paraphased, can't recall the exact saying right now.

While some of us kid AVID and FCP users, other applications, in the right hands they can produce good results. Vegas for me at least is easier to use. Some people still got it in their head that if it ain't expensive it can't be as good. Other people have a heard mentality blindly using what they see others use, seeming afraid to even try anything else. Others have complained while they like Vegas, they don't like the name, and won't use it for that silly reason. What can I say? It takes all kinds.

Begby,

DSE is one the powerhouses of the Vegas community. He is an expert teacher on various Sonic Foundry products. He has a set of Vegas training DVDs and a Vegas book due soon. He moderates a few forums over at dmn. He is also a Grammy-winning musician. He uses Vegas for many strictly-audio projects as well. As NLE pros go, he is among the best for dealing with audio.

Go here. It's a very useful site.
http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb/kb_files.asp?s=1