Customer Reviews
Good product 
2008-05-27
Movie Studio 8 does more than I know what to do with it. I previously used Pinnacle but it had many limitations. Some of the "fancier" things I wanted to do like reverse, I couldn't. Vegas does that and much more. I can't yet complain about the lack of AVCHD playout in HD. Hopefully Sony gets a clue and offers an update. It does take some time getting used to it but there are several tutorials that help.
Limited File Support 
2008-05-24
I tried the demo of this product and found it lacking. The knowledge base at Sony confirmed that it doesn't support DivX formats. For my application, it was worthless.
Sony Vegas video editing software 
2008-05-11
I've used several home video software products and have finally found the one that I like....it's easy to use, functions beautifully within Vista, handles my Sony video camera high definition files (AVCHD), and provides broad functionality to be very creative. I've now decided to upgrade to Sony's Pro version because I am so satisfied.
Finally, something that works well with Vista and Hi Def Camcorders 2008-05-08
I will make this simple. Make sure there is video editing and movie making software that can work with your technology. Not everything works well with MS Vista and hi def video camcorders.
I had tried several products to make my son's football highlight film. My computer was running MS Vista with 2 gigs ram. Since I had never done this before I was looking for a product that was easy to use, could read all kinds of media (pictures, video provided by the high school via CD, and high def video from my Canon HG10). My goal was to create a video that was clean and simple with all forms of media mixed in. Plus, I wanted to add music if necessary and be able to create a video clip for a web site. This turned into a two month task with one software failure after another.
My first choice was the software that came with the Canon HG10 (made by Corel). This product was really made for generating a simple movie from the camera only. So I purchased Corel Ulead VideoStudio 11.5 Plus figuring that Corel would be clued into my Canon camcorder. Everything started alright, but video was pixelating all of the time and would hang up when trying to cut the DVD (after spending weeks creating the video). I called Corel (which is a very tough task) and they only allow one support call (unless you give them your credit card). Corel emailed me a bunch of things to do and none of them worked. Getting smarter I decided to first get a free download, try the software and then perhaps buy. My third choice was Adobe Premiere Elements. This product was not stable and would bomb on a regular basis.
At this point I am in survival mode. I've got to get this kid's video out within two weeks or it will hurt his college possibilities. I walked into a local chain electronics store thinking about changing some of my technology. When sharing my issues with an experienced sales rep (who makes movies) he mentioned Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum Edition. He said it was the best thing for MS based computers that he has used. I down loaded a copy and produced my film in 8 hours. I was so fantastic! I would plug in the hi def camera and it could actually read and import the video clips into the software. I would load a CD on to the computer and again the software would easily import the video. Pictures and music are no problem. I was in awe! Why couldn't the other products do this so easily? Not once did my computer hang up or need to be rebooted.
Now Vegas Movie Studio 8 is not the easiest product to learn, but it does the job, has way more functionality than I will ever need, and there are support people who will gladly help you when you get stuck. I learned a long time ago in the software business that service is 50% of your decision. This experience has reminded me how important it is.
Awesome editor with some inexplicable omissions 2008-05-06
After using Cyberlink (waste of money) and Ulead 11 (good), I was curious what to do when my son expressed a serious interest in learning serious film editing for a HS sports documentary he wants to make. Not wanting to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a professional package, I still needed something beyond the "kids and pets" home movie level. Sony Vegas Movie Studio was it, and Amazon had the best price I found. It is more at the Sony site.
While it has some inexplicably missing features (AVCHD output, no support for bluray on regular DVD), its workflow is awesome once you get used to it. I love the audio controls which clearly show Vegas' audio editor heritage.
Rendering speed seems to be slightly slower than Ulead on the SD samples I've tried so far, but to be fair, Ulead really shines when you make minimal edits with its MPEG optimizer.
Vegas only gives you 4 video tracks instead of Ulead's 7, but you have more control over clip manipulation and the UI is much less sluggish or prone to crash. It uses about 20% less memory than Ulead during the editing process; I have not observed how different it is when rendering.
The UI (toolbars, menus, dialogs, etc.) all look like the graphical designers were let go in the earlier parts of the decade (think Office 97), but that only bothered me for about five minutes. Once you get into the editing process and get used to the trimmer, audio envelopes, zooming with the scroll bar, etc., all that will seem superficial. I'd rather take a solid package that looks a bit dated but performs well than a snazzy modern-looking UI that crashes.
I thought I was going to miss Ulead's storyboard feature, which does not exist in Vegas (at least not as far as I can tell or the documentation will reveal), but I have not.
For viewing HD video on my **Sony** Playstation, I will have to continue to use non-Sony Ulead Video Studio to burn DVDs, and Ulead recognizes the pre-Vista video capture card that neither Vegas, Movie Maker, nor Cyberlink thinks is present. However, for editing, Vegas is the tool for me.
I loved that Sony had a full-featured trial version on their site. One reason I have never tried, or will try, Pinnacle is that I couldn't seem to find a trial to use. Sorry, but flash-based demos don't do it for me. I've gone on to buy ACID and Cinescore, too, based on the trials.
Sony's Vega Movie Studio 8 Platinum Edition is EVERYTHING YOU NEED!!! 2008-07-25
I was referred to the Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum by someone that has vast knowledge with developing VS4. I was telling them that I couldn't get the chroma-key feature to work very well with their program, and they suggested I purchase Vegas 8. Within an hour of getting Vegas, I had my chroma-key work finished, and published my video to the web. Very pleased! I have also used the audio editing features many times since I purchased Vegas 8. I subscribe to a 4 hour daily MP3 download of a popular AM broadcast that runs while I'm sleeping, and the files come in 4 parts to reduce download size. I now easily drop the 4 files into Vegas, select all, group, and render the files into one customized file. Works GREAT! I like to poke around with programs, but honestly, I bought Vegas to "bang-out" the chroma-key video and be done with a project that was already over due. You can view my video and judge for yourself. I placed a .jpg background, and dropped the video right on top and chroma-key'd out the green screen. Go to (in code, of course) double-u double-u double-u dot mysaturnjob dot com, and select "Watch The Video". Again, this was done with Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 Platinum Edition in about 60 minutes, with NO experience at all (I opened up the VERY intuitive help feature and followed the instruction). For the price, I think that I've already got my money's worth, and as with ALL my Amazon.Com purchases, super fast shipment with absolutely NO problems. Thanks and good luck with your purchase. ONE LAST THING...PLEASE let me know if my review helps you out. Personally, I find reviews very helpful so I would like to know if you agree or disagree. Thanks!!! TBB
Not as easy as it may appear to be. 2008-07-06
I purchased this product because I read reviews that it was easy to learn. Don't always go by what you read because the ones that rate it probably have experience editing videos. If you know how to use the program, I'm sure it's awesome, but for me....you need a degree in video editing to be able to understand it.
Great value with some caveats 2008-06-23
Casual observers looking at Amazon ratings for Sony Vegas will be inevitably confused by the wide spread of scores, and I attribute this partly to varying expectations. For starters, Sony Vegas is not:
1) paint-by-numbers production software suitable for family vacation memories. For this, look to Ulead and Pinnacle; their software, while less powerful, covers 80% of what most people need in a more convenient fashion.
2) serious competition to Final Cut Pro and Premiere. Though Vegas has much of the functionality, one can't expect top end software for $60-$100.
3) a complete solution. I'd be surprised if many were completely satisfied with Vegas Premium out of the box. Luckily, some of most powerful add-ons cost nothing.
I researched and purchased Sony Vegas for professional use at my employer, a small time media company that wants professional video production but only has a few hundred dollars to throw toward it. Vegas is the best compromise between features, price, and compatibility. In particular, it was one of the few pieces of software compatible with AVCHD at the time of purchase (for anyone confused by Internet discussions, Vegas is indeed compatible with Canon's VIXIA).
Though priced and marketed as a consumer product, Vegas is definitely "prosumer" and has a feature set less like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker and more reminiscent of professional products like Premiere and Final Cut. Vegas includes independent multi-track editing, scrubbing, and even compositing effects. Its interface is definitely finicky and wants a user to do things its way. Once one discovers what Vegas wants in order to function efficiently, movies can be quickly cut and produced.
Reading the reviews, it seems AVCHD output is a highly desired feature, but it is not to be found in Vegas Platinum. One needs the more expensive Vegas Move Studio for that. We output our videos in lossless FFV1 to maintain maximum quality and perform the lossy step separately from Vegas, so this limitation does not affect us. Note that the basic Vegas package does not handle AVCHD at all!
Another common complaint I see revolves around low compatibility with standard formats. Luckily, Vegas respects the standard Video for Windows interface, meaning that it'll more or less accept any codec Windows recognizes. A simple solution to cover the gamut of MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 part 2/ASP (DivX), and MPEG4 part 10/AVC (H.264) is to install ffdshow, a freely available most-in-one codec interface. After that, one should be able to read and encode to nearly any commonly used format (at least in Microsoft's AVI container), with the exception of Quicktime, which is best handled by Apple's own product or the "gray market" Quicktime Alternative.
Vegas is far from the best tool for video encoding. If your needs are advanced, research into a dedicated encoding tool is appropriate. I suggest one based on the freely available ffmpeg or mencoder, such as frontends like meGUI or SUPER.
Additionally, Vegas is apparently picky about which analog capture cards it accepts and has been for its entire history. Unfortunately ours is unsupported, so we use VirtualDub to capture video from our analog video cameras before passing it to Vegas. This process is not completely compatible: at times, Vegas stops updating the video preview when handling an AVI from VirtualDub. Nothing outside a reboot resolves it, and even then the issue may return. Fortunately, analog video editing was a temporary stopgap for us while we researched and budgeted more advanced options. Internet forums claim Canopus is the best option for Vegas compatibility. DV capture works the same as any other application I've tried.
In conclusion, Vegas is most suitable for high end consumer or low end professional work. It's not an all-in-one solution, but research and (mostly free) companion programs can pole vault over most of its important shortcomings. Vegas is an unbeatable value at its current price point.
All That I Thought It Would Be...and More! 2008-06-17
A very professional program...I learn more each day. So glad I didn't buy a product I wouldn't be happy with within a few weeks. Well worth the investment.
Go for Pro 
2008-06-13
I regret buying the Platinum version since it doesn't render AVDHC H.264 at HD resolution. Buy the Vegas Pro version instead since it's about the same price on other sites.
Sony makes you also buy DVD Architect, a separate software, if you plan to make DVD/Blu-Ray discs.
