Why buy Vegas if Resolve is free? Because Vegas is better. Not just my opinion, take a look at what rankred.com has to say.

Edius is my main editor as it is fast and has the best multicam editing in my opinion. I also have Vegas 16 as well as Resolve Studio. ( also CS6, not used anymore ). Vegas by far is the best for multi track audio editing ( with Sound Forge and Spectral Layers ) and that is my main use. The combination of the three programs is great. I have no expectation of doing everything in one program. Neither Edius or Vegas can match Resolve Studio for colour correction or special effects produced by Fusion.

"I have no expectation of doing everything in one program."

+1

+2. Vegas has plenty to offer that Resolve does not.

So to move this thread on to something productive: what features should Vegas develop to ensure that it is easy to work in partnership with other tools (like Resolve)?

And what about all those "Value add-on's" you get with Vegas like ProDAD VitaScene, Boris FX, Ignite etc etc? Are they a tipping point over Resolve for some?

These are not "Value add-on's" but to make you buy the full versions later on. Ignite Express is free, anyone can download it. Also, Resolve Studio version has most of the plugin built in. The native plugins work more effecient, you will rarely need the third party add-ons like Boris etc etc

I was looking at "Vegas Pro Suite" where you get the full, not the "light", versions of a bunch of plugins. It is currently selling at $400 (or a $300 upgrade for those with Vegas Pro incl previous versions).

I've been using Vegas since version 3 but these days I use Resolve 95% of the time. When it comes to color correction there is really no comparison if you start to dig deep. There are so many features in Resolve that I'm still learning but the CC ability is truly amazing.

When it comes to secondary preview yes you need a Blackmagic card but at $199 no big deal. My BMD Mini Monitor 4k preview feeds my 42" Plasma monitor beautifully which by the way does not work with Vegas. I used to use secondary preview to my second computer monitor in Vegas but since Windows 10 it's really screwed up and flashes to black constantly during the editing process. Also consider that version upgrades in Resolve are free. I paid $299 for Resolve 14 and I'm now on version 15. Version 16 will most likely appear at NAB.

The ability for Vegas to run on lower end graphics card is a double edge sword. Vegas cannot take advantage of GPU power like Resolve, Premiere etc. when it comes to timeline playback. My current card (Radeon RX480) is not exactly top of the line but runs Resolve great. I get better playback of compressed formats in Resolve and no glitching in the renders. Speaking of renders they are lighting fast compared to Vegas. Note: The studio (paid) version of Resolve runs compressed formats like XAVC better than the free version.

When it comes to key framing stills Vegas is better. Resolve needs work in the key frame department. I also find Vegas more fluid for moving around the timeline. This brings me one of main reasons I am on the Resolve train. They are improving the program at a lightning pace and squash bugs quickly. Since Vegas 16 was released there has been 4 updates. Resolve on the other hand went through a massive beta cycle and comes out with an update usually every month which often contains multiple pages of fixes, improvements and new features.

It's not my intention to make this a Resolve commercial but that is the subject and some of the posts seemed to be based on old versions or lack of real experience with the program. My hope is that all of the programs continue to improve as competition is good.

The "20th Year promo" allegedly ends tomorrow to upgrade to v16 Pro for $200 or v16 Pro Suite for $300. I say allegedly because Magix has a habit of extending these promo's and offering them regularly. In fact I have never seen their "Listed Price" as the actual purchase price.

I have been playing with Resolve for the last week and see one problem, for me - they list Windows 10 as a requirement. I am staying with Windows 7 for the foreseeable future. Resolve seems to run fine on my windows 7 computer but that may change with newer versions. Vegas lists Windows 7 as a requirement.

While I have v15 of Vegas I have never used it, so I am approaching the Vegas vs Resolve as a newbee who will learn either system from scratch, I am not transitioning from one to the other, which seems to be a big issue for many who have learned the ecosystem of their flavour of editor.

One major downer for me with Vegas is that it is owned by Magix - the reason I never used v15, despite purchasing it. This is a company with little morals and less direction. They have a sea of video-editing products and some questionable business practices.

"One major downer for me with Vegas is that it is owned by Magix - the reason I never used v15, despite purchasing it. This is a company with little morals and less direction. They have a sea of video-editing products and some questionable business practices."


Respectfully, that is patently FALSE, I have done business with Magix for over 18 years, and their business is impeccable and uber responsive, the best AFAIC. They have accomodated me time and time again.

Where did you get that idea?

It is not a true or false statement, it is an opinion - my subjective opinion yes. My issue with them started when I purchased Movie Studio 14 and was offered a free-upgrade to v15 a few months later. I installed it and started using it. A week later they sent me an email stating that their offer was in fact a mistake and suddenly my version stopped working - (another downside to Vegas is that you must activate it from time to time so if you are away in the middle of nowhere good luck). I was forced to uninstall and roll back to v14 - which I did not bother to do. I uninstalled both that and Vegas Pro (My thinking was to buy both and transition from the baby to the pro version as I learned editing along the way) and went back to Corel VideoStudio. I would like to point out that various threads on this issue appeared and Magix refused to answer any of the emails I and others sent. There were parallel threads on this and the German forums of disgruntled customers. Having recently spent almost $ 900 on their software it left a bitter taste. I wrote to them explaining that this was not the way to gain customer loyalty. That too was never answered. So I am mixed on this whole issue. I am leaning towards Vegas as the way forward (I need to up my game) but loath to spend money with them.

As an aside I also came to hate the endless Magix ads that popped up on my screen despite trying everything to eliminate them. I guess I may have tolerated them better had they not "mistakenly" offered me an upgrade on a recent purchase. In fact one of those pop-ups offered me an "Upgrade from 15 pro to....15 pro". When I asked them to clarify they gave me some vague answer about buying "Software Protection". And then there is their pricing...they are all over the place with discounts and offers that often clash with themselves. Right now I have an email offering me an upgrade for VMS 16 Platinum (ahem yes from my old v14) for "Only $49.99" and the "Retail Price" appears scratched out at $139.98. But head on over to their store and you will see the retail price is in fact only $79.99 - not $139.98. That email arrive TODAY. You will find the same discrepancies in Pro pricing where they claim to be offering massive discounts to upgrade on a retail price you will never see on their webstore. For me that is just plain dishonest.

Anyhow back to the topic-at-hand. I have $300 and I can buy the upgrade to Vegas Pro 16 suite with full versions of Ignite Pro, proDAD VitaScene and Boris FX Sapphire Lighting or I can buy Resolve. (Or I can Buy pro 16 and save $100 I guess). Final thoughts for someone who is just starting out as a Video Editing Hobbyist with aspirations above the consumer products out there?

@DesertSweeper just an opinion based somewhat on my own experience.....

Set Movie Studio and Vegas aside, download and install the Resolve 15.2.3 public (free) version. Also download the manual. View some basic beginner tutorials by Casey Farris (and others) to get started. Also, READ the manual, it is huge! You don't need to read the entire manual, but read the beginning chapter with an open mind. Then you can go to the area in the manual of your interest after getting the basics down. At given point the light bulb will turn on and you will see the massive value of Resolve.

If you get disgusted with Resolve and just don't like it, you can also fall back to Vegas or some other NLE, but will not have spent a dime, rather broadened your experience and knowledge through learning.

If your project are relatively straight forward, you may find the public version is all you need. However if you need or have a desire to explore even more power, spring for the Studio version. When Resolve 16 is introduced you will be surprised at the cost to upgrade!

Eagle Six I hear you and thank you for your comments. I have downloaded it and started playing for about a week now. The manual however, I did not, and will heed your words. One thing I am curious about. I use ProDAD to stabilize my action-cam footage - just the cheap ProDrenalin version. I contacted proDAD and asked them if they have any intention of developing a plugin for Resolve and they answered "absolutely not". Is there a decent plugin available to address stabilization, the likes of proDAD Mercalli? I could of course always use the SAL version first but prefer to do it all in the editor if possible as the files balloon in size after doing that.

@DesertSweeper, stabilization in Resolve 15 is in two page, either the Fusion or the Color. The stabilizer in the Color page is the one that acts most like ProDad and after you tinker around with the settings, I doubt you will ever need ProDad again.

Eagle Six I hear you and thank you for your comments. I have downloaded it and started playing for about a week now. The manual however, I did not, and will heed your words. One thing I am curious about. I use ProDAD to stabilize my action-cam footage - just the cheap ProDrenalin version. I contacted proDAD and asked them if they have any intention of developing a plugin for Resolve and they answered "absolutely not". Is there a decent plugin available to address stabilization, the likes of proDAD Mercalli? I could of course always use the SAL version first but prefer to do it all in the editor if possible as the files balloon in size after doing that.

You do not need a third-party plugin for video stabilization in Resolve. Here is link to a tutorial

Eagle Six I hear you and thank you for your comments. I have downloaded it and started playing for about a week now. The manual however, I did not, and will heed your words. One thing I am curious about. I use ProDAD to stabilize my action-cam footage - just the cheap ProDrenalin version. I contacted proDAD and asked them if they have any intention of developing a plugin for Resolve and they answered "absolutely not". Is there a decent plugin available to address stabilization, the likes of proDAD Mercalli? I could of course always use the SAL version first but prefer to do it all in the editor if possible as the files balloon in size after doing that.

You do not need a third-party plugin for video stabilization in Resolve. Here is link to a tutorial

Wow...let me run some action-cam footage through that and compare it...amazing. That's a huge chunk of saving right there...

Is it possible all these nonsense of other programs is stopping?
Thanks.😫

@j-v there you go a moderator moved it to Off-Topic, so now no one should be offended.

Is it possible all these nonsense of other programs is stopping?
Thanks.😫

Do not understand....

Eagle Six I hear you and thank you for your comments. I have downloaded it and started playing for about a week now. The manual however, I did not, and will heed your words. One thing I am curious about. I use ProDAD to stabilize my action-cam footage - just the cheap ProDrenalin version. I contacted proDAD and asked them if they have any intention of developing a plugin for Resolve and they answered "absolutely not". Is there a decent plugin available to address stabilization, the likes of proDAD Mercalli? I could of course always use the SAL version first but prefer to do it all in the editor if possible as the files balloon in size after doing that.

You do not need a third-party plugin for video stabilization in Resolve. Here is link to a tutorial

My initial attempt to stabilise action-cam footage (riding motorcycle over dunes) is dreadful - terrible warping effects introduced. Need to "tinker" more as Eagle Six says...

This not an appropriate place to ask Resolve technical help. You should join Resolve Forum at the Blackmagic Design site and ask for help. It works perfect. Please ask specific help question at their forum.

This not an appropriate place to ask Resolve technical help. You should join Resolve Forum at the Blackmagic Design site and ask for help. It works perfect. Please ask specific help question at their forum.

I was not asking for help, I was making a statement.

I actually posted a similar question to the OP of this thread, over on the Resolve Forums and am struck by how calm and objective that forum is, about someone new asking a question about a "competitive" product. No one got excited, no flames. Just cool, calm and collected advice about both products. I continue to explore both products, in the context of this very legitimate thread, as an owner of Vegas who has spent $900 on their product

 

"One major downer for me with Vegas is that it is owned by Magix - the reason I never used v15, despite purchasing it. This is a company with little morals and less direction. They have a sea of video-editing products and some questionable business practices."


Respectfully, that is patently FALSE, I have done business with Magix for over 18 years, and their business is impeccable and uber responsive, the best AFAIC. They have accomodated me time and time again.

Where did you get that idea?

Here we go again with a typical Magix price fiddle. Their "amazing 20th anniversary" "deeply-discounted" offer ended yesterday...but instead of returning the price to their claimed retail price (I have never actually seen it at retail) - they just added $50 and extended the promo to the 12th March. Where I live this is illegal. That aside it is generally considered to be bad business practice to falsely claim inflated retail price.