Vegas Pro Online Training Sessions

Video editing software

Vegas Pro

Original author(s)	Sonic Foundry (1999–2003) Sony Creative Software (2003–2016) VEGAS Creative Software (2016–present)
Developer(s)	VEGAS Creative Software

Stable release	19.0 / 18 August 2021 (2021-08-18) ^[1]

Written in	C#, JScript^[2]
Operating system	Microsoft Windows^[3]
Platform	x64;^[3] .NET Framework 4.0^[3]
Type	Video editing software
License	Proprietary
Website	www.vegascreativesoftware.com

Vegas Pro is a video editing software package for non-linear editing (NLE) originally published by Sonic Foundry, then by Sony Creative Software, and now by Magix.^[4] The software runs on the Windows operating system.

Originally developed as audio editing software, it eventually developed into an NLE for video and audio from version 2.0. Vegas features real-time multitrack video and audio editing on unlimited tracks, resolution-independent video sequencing, complex effects and compositing tools, 24-bit/192 kHz audio support, VST and DirectX plug-in effect support, and Dolby Digital surround sound mixing. On 24 May 2016, Sony announced that it had sold Vegas (and most of its "Creative Software" line) to MAGIX, who would continue supporting and developing the software.^[5]

Features [edit]

VEGAS does not require any specialized hardware to run properly, allowing it to operate on almost any standard Windows computer across a broad range of hardware.

In areas of compositing and motion graphics, Vegas provides a broad tool set including 3D track motion compositing with control over z-depth, and spatial arrangement of visual planes including plane intersection.

Much of the visual effects processing in Vegas follows an audio-like paradigm. Effects can be applied at any stage of the visual signal flow — event level, track level and output level effects, much like reverb, delay and flange audio effects are applied in a digital audio system, like Pro Tools, Cubase or Sonar. Master output effects can also be controlled and manipulated over time by the use of Master Bus track automation envelopes.

One major omission of Vegas is that, although it started life as an Audio Multitrack NLE, it has no MIDI capability at all (apart from control-desk and synchronisation). This restricts its use for Audio production, focusing the product on the post-production, Video NLE market only.

VEGAS features integration with 24p DV. It is also one of the few NLEs which can convert other formats to 24p (or any format to any other format) without any kind of a plugin or third-party application support and is the only proprietary NLE that allows multiple instances of the application to be opened simultaneously. Clips and sequences can be copied and pasted between instances of Vegas. One instance can be rendering a sequence in the background while the user continues to edit in a different instance of Vegas in the foreground. VEGAS provides sophisticated compositing including green screen, masking, and keyframe animation. Nesting allows a prior project to be included in another project modularizing the editing process so that an array of tracks and edits become one track for further editing. Any changes to the previous project become reflected in the later project. Nesting is especially helpful in large, complex or special effects projects as the final rendering suffers no generation loss.

Unlike other editors, MAGIX VEGAS Pro supports scripting technology which provides task automation, simplified workflow, and greater efficiency and productivity. Free and paid pre-written scripts are available from the VEGAS community on the web.

Version history [edit]

Each release of Vegas is sold standalone, however upgrade discounts are sometimes provided.^[6]

Vegas Beta [edit]

Sonic Foundry introduced a sneak preview version of Vegas Pro on 11 June 1999. It is called a "Multitrack Media Editing System".^[7]

Vegas 1.0 [edit]

Released on 23 July 1999 at the NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Vegas was an audio-only tool with a particular focus on rescaling and resampling audio. It boasted support for popular formats like DivX and Real Networks RealSystem G2 file formats.^[8]

Vegas Video beta (Vegas 2.0 beta) [edit]

Released on 10 April 2000,^[9] this was the first version of Vegas to include video-editing tools.

Vegas Video (Vegas 2.0) [edit]

Released on 12 June 2000.^[10]

Vegas Video LE 3.0 [edit]

Vegas Video 3.0 [edit]

Released on 3 December 2001.^[11]

This release offered:

New Video Effects - Lens Flare, Light Rays, Film FX, Color Curves, Mirror, Remap, Deform, Convolution, Linear Blur, Black Restore, Levels, Unsharp Mask, Color Grad, and Timecode Burn filter.
Batch Capture with Automatic Scene Detection - Capture DV with automatic scene detection, batch capture, tape logging, still image capture and thumbnail previews.
Red Book Audio CD Mastering with CD Architect(TM) Technology - Burn professional-quality Red Book audio CD masters directly from the Vegas timeline, with ISRC, UPC, and PQ list support.
New Sonic Foundry DV Codec - This high-quality DV codec developed by Sonic Foundry offers pristine colors, sharp images, artifact-free compositing, and DV chromakeying.
DV Print-To-Tape From The Timeline - Print finished projects, with bars and tone, to DV cameras and decks from the Vegas timeline.
Windows Media(TM) File Editing - Create and edit Windows Media(TM) files in Vegas Video 3.0.
New MPEG Encoding Tools - The new MPEG plug-in in Vegas Video produces superior MPEG-2 files for DVD productions, with significantly faster render times.
Dynamic RAM Previewing - Temporary RAM/render-free previews allow quick analysis and tweaking of complex video FX without time consuming rendering.
VideoCD and Data CD Burning - Burn your project directly to VideoCD for playback on most DVD players, or data CD for playback on your computer's CD-ROM.

Vegas 4.0 [edit]

Released on 6 February 2003. This release included:

Advanced Color Correction Tools
Searchable Media Pool Bins
Vectorscope, Histogram, Parade and Waveform Monitoring
Application Scripting
Improved Ripple Editing
Motion Blur and Supersampling Envelopes
5.1 Surround Mixing
Dolby® Digital AC-3 Encoding certified and tested by Dolby Laboratories
DirectX® Audio Plug-In Effects Automation
ASIO Driver Support
Windows Media™ 9 Support, including Surround Encoding
DVD Authoring with AC-3 File Import Capabilities
Integration with DVD Architect Via Chapter Marker Passing

Vegas 4.0b [edit]

Released in April 2003; added HD editing and 24p support.

Vegas 4.0e [edit]

Released in November 2003; This is the first release of Vegas under the ownership of Sony; Sonic Foundry had sold Vegas alongside Sound Forge and other programs to Sony Pictures Digital for US$18 Million that same year.^[12]

Vegas 5.0 [edit]

Released in April 2004.

Vegas 6.0 [edit]

Released on 18 April 2005.

Vegas 7.0 [edit]

Released in September 2006. Version 7 is the final Vegas release to include Windows 2000 support.

Vegas Pro 8.0 [edit]

Released on 10 September 2007.

The first Sony Vegas version to go with the "Sony Vegas Pro" branding instead of the regular "Sony Vegas" branding. It also moved the timeline to the bottom by default, but the user can still move it back to the top.

Vegas Pro 8.1 [edit]

Vegas Pro 8.1 is the first version of Vegas Pro to be ported to 64-bit systems.

Vegas Pro 9.0 [edit]

On 11 May 2009, Sony Creative Software released Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 with greater support for digital cinema including:

Support for 4K resolution
Native support for pro camcorder formats such as Red and XDCAM EX

The latest release of Sony Vegas Pro 9.0 is Vegas Pro 9.0e (Released on 13 May 2010), which includes features such as new white balance video FX.

In 2009, Sony Creative Software purchased the Velvetmatter Radiance suite of video FX plug-ins and these are included in Vegas 9. As a result, they are no longer available as a separate product from Velvetmatter.^[13]

Vegas Pro 10 [edit]

Sony Vegas Pro 10, released on 11 October 2010, introduced many new features such as:

Stereoscopic 3D Editing
Comprehensive Closed Captioning
GPU-Accel
Elastique Pitch Method
Support for OpenFX plugins

Version 10 is the final Vegas Pro release to include Windows XP support.

Vegas Pro 11 [edit]

Sony announced Vegas Pro 11 on 9 September 2011, and it was released on 17 October 2011. Updated features include GPGPU acceleration of video decoding, effects, playback, compositing, pan/crop, transitions, and motion. Other improvements were to include enhanced text tools, enhanced stereoscopic/3D features, RAW photo support, and new event synchronization mechanisms.^[14] In addition, Vegas Pro 11 comes pre-loaded with "NewBlue" Titler Pro, a 2D and 3D titling plug-in.

Vegas Pro 12 [edit]

Sony released Vegas Pro 12 on 9 November 2012. Updated features include enhanced 4K support, more visual effects, and faster encoding performance. Vegas Pro 12 is dedicated to 64-bit versions of Windows.

Vegas Pro 13 [edit]

Sony released Vegas Pro 13 on 11 April 2014. It brings new collaboration tools and streamlined workflows to professional content producers faced with a wide variety of multimedia production tasks. This is the final Vegas Pro release under Sony's ownership. The last Sony Vegas Pro 13 build was #453. MAGIX released a rebranded version build #545.

Available in three new configurations:

Vegas Pro 13 Edit: Video and Audio Production
Vegas Pro 13: Video, Audio, and Blu-ray Disc Creation
Vegas Pro 13 Suite: Editing, Disc Authoring, and Visual Effects

Vegas Pro 14 [edit]

MAGIX released Vegas Pro 14 on 20 September 2016. This is the first release of Vegas Pro under the ownership of MAGIX. It features advanced 4K upscaling as well as various bug fixes, a higher video velocity limit, RED camera support and various other features, this was the last version of Vegas Pro to have the light theme set by default.

Vegas Pro 15 [edit]

Released on 28 August 2017, Vegas Pro 15 features major UI changes which claimed to bring usability improvements and customization. it was the first version of VEGAS Pro to have a dark theme, It also allows more efficient editing speeds, including adding new shortcuts to speed up editing. Vegas Pro 15 includes support for Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and other technologies, as well as various other features. it introduced the VEGAS Pro icon to be a V.^[15]

Vegas Pro 16 [edit]

Released on 27 August 2018, Vegas Pro 16 has some new features including file backup, motion tracking, improved video stabilization, 360° editing and HDR support.^[16]

Vegas Pro 17 [edit]

Released on 5 August 2019. It contains these new features:^[17]

Nested timelines
Improved video stabilization
Planar motion tracking/video tracking
Smart Split Edit
Dynamic storyboard and timeline interaction
Bézier masking OFX-Plugin
Lens correction plug
Improved Picture-In-Picture OFX plug-in
Automatic slideshow creator
Screen capture
Improved multicamera editing
Improved color grading
Length show
Experimental MKV reader

Vegas Pro 18 [edit]

Released on 3 August 2020. New Features:^[18]

Motion Tracker Panel
Improved Video FX, Transitions and Media Generator windows
8-Bit (full range) pixel format
Black Bar Fill plug-in
Denoiser plug-in
Flicker Control plug-in
Style Transfer plug-in
Integrated graphics card driver update check
The Lens Correction FX has got an additional zooming factor
Export and Import of VEGAS Pro preferences
Reworked screen capture utility VEGAS Capture
Incremental Save
A more detailed render progress dialog
Swap video files
New Video Scopes options
VEGAS Prepare
VEGAS Hub explorer window
Alternate High DPI mode
Logarithmic Exposure adjustment
Some more legacy features were hidden by default, use Preferences > Deprecated Features
Event edge handles

Vegas Pro 18 has suffered from serious stability issues leaving it a 35% positive review score on the distribution platform Steam.^[19]

Vegas Pro 19 [edit]

Released on 18 August 2021. New features:

Improved user interface
Improved color grading
Improved effects
New cloud-integrated content management and acquisition.
Live streaming

Reception [edit]

Major broadcasters have utilized the software, including Nightline with Ted Koppel.^[20] ^[21] Several film festival winners have used Vegas to cut their features.^[22] It is also often used by many small to medium Internet content creators due to its ease of use, popularity, and the availability of tutorials on the software.

[edit]

The consumer level Vegas Movie Studio version (formerly titled VideoFactory and Screenblast) shares the same interface and underlying code base as the professional Vegas version, but does not include professional features such as advanced compositing tools, or advanced DVD/Blu-ray Disc authoring. In previous releases, the video editing portion of the professional suite could be purchased separately from Sony's DVD and Blu-ray Disc authoring software, DVD Architect Pro (previously called DVD Architect; DVD Architect Studio is the consumer version), then a package called 'Vegas + DVD' became available while Vegas 7 was out. Since the release of Vegas Pro 8.0, both DVD Architect Studio Pro 4.5, Vegas Pro 8.0, as well as Boris FX LTD and Magic Bullet Movie Looks HD are all bundled together and may not be purchased individually. Catalyst Production Suite is a new lineup of video preparation and editing software released by Sony Creative Software.

References [edit]

^ "VEGAS Pro". VEGAS CREATIVE SOFTWARE.
^ "www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/downloads". Listed in Script FAQ's.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Vegas Pro Technical Specifications". vegascreativesoftware.com. Vegas Creative Software. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
^ Schmidt, Klaus (23 May 2016). "Magix acquires Sony's Video Editing and Music Software Portfolio today". linkedin.
^ "Sony sells most of its media editing tools". Engadget.
^ "Save 62% on Upgrade to VEGAS Pro 18 Edit on Steam". store.steampowered.com . Retrieved 7 May 2021.
^ "Sonic Foundry Announces Sneak-Preview Version of Vegas™ Pro". Sonic Foundry. 14 June 1999. Archived from the original on 7 January 2000. Retrieved 20 June 2021. CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Sonic Foundry Launches Vegas™ Pro". Sonic Foundry. Archived from the original on 7 January 2000. Retrieved 20 June 2020. CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Sonic Foundry Announces Launch of Vegas Video". Archived from the original on 19 June 2000. Retrieved 19 June 2000. CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Sonic Foundry's Vegas Video Available for Sale at sonicfoundry.com". Archived from the original on 15 December 2000. Retrieved 15 December 2000. CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ "Sonic Foundry Launches Vegas Video 3.0". Streaming Media Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ http://www.pcworld.com/article/110570/sony_buys_sonic_foundry_products.html Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine Sony Buys Sonic Foundry Products - PC World. Accessed 2008-12-08
^ "Old Velvetmatter Radiance page". Velvetmatter, LLC. 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
^ "Vegas Pro 11 Coming Soon". Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
^ "Vegas Pro 15 Release Date" Archived 14/08/2017: https://forums.creativecow.net/docs/forums/post.php?forumid=24&postid=1018479&univpostid=1018479&pview=t
^ "New features & highlights – VEGAS Pro". www.vegascreativesoftware.com . Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ [1]
^ Mendelovich, Yossy (5 August 2020). "VEGAS Pro 18 Announced: GPU Utilization, Motion Tracking, HDR Support, and Advanced Color Grading Capabilities". Y.M.Cinema - News & Insights on Digital Cinema . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
^ "VEGAS Pro 18 Edit Steam Edition on Steam". store.steampowered.com . Retrieved 7 May 2021.
^ Douglas Spotted Eagle (8 April 2005). "NIGHTLINE is the Right Line for Sony Vegas". VideoGuys Blog. VideoGuys.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
^ "Dag-NAB-it! ABC Cancels 'Nightline' Director's Sony Spiel". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media, LLC: 8. 18 April 2005. ISSN 1068-6827. Retrieved 11 May 2012. With industry veterans like George Murphy and his [Nightline] team using Sony Vegas 5 for international broadcasting, there is clearly a change in the winds of the editing world.
^ First Place, First Time!, Digital Media Online.

External links [edit]

Official website