How good is Vegas?

New_Zealand

New_Zealand

Veteran
I was wondering how good is Vegas as an editing system? Is the software Mac/PC frendly? How well does it work with the P2 card?
 
It's a great piece of software, the equal of any other editing system in most respects (yes, every system has its weaknesses).

No Mac version.

It works fine with the P2 card if you use the Raylight plugin*.













*If you're not doing anything hugely complex with 1080 footage. Then, well, all bets are off.
 
ive started with vegas, touched fcp and avid and i still say vegas all the way. the thing with vegas in my opinion is, you can do projects quicker in vegas, automatic crossfades etc makes everything quick and smooth.
 
If you're a really good and experienced editor, any of the NLEs will be suitable for you. However, if you're new, or you do not consider yourself an "editor" but want to be able to edit as good as possible, Vegas is far and away the easiest to master.

I used Premiere and dabbled with other programs before switching to Vegas. The best way to describe Vegas is that it's like doing a home improvement project where all the tools are hanging on your toolbelt and within arm's reach. You never have to go looking for anything. From the timeline, you can do almost everything Vegas.

I still suck at the craft of editing, but at least I can now do it. I love Vegas. Do I still get the urge to try every new version of the other NLEs when they come out with a new feature? Sure I do. And I still salivate when I walk into the Apple Store at the mall. But I always come to my senses and realize that Vegas is the best and the easiest to use professional quality NLE on the market regardless of price.
 
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I went through various versions of Premiere... assuming that editing HAD to be painful... then I got Vegas and I've never looked back.
 
i love the software as much as i love the city. maybe more because the city doesn't have 3D track motion. Except maybe after a few drinks. This is from Wikipedia:

"Vegas has won awards for major broadcasters using it, including Nightline w/Ted Koppel.[1] Several film festival winners have used Vegas to cut their features.

Vegas has been used by engineers and artists as diverse as the 5.1 surround mix for Yes, as well as recordings by Shania Twain, Rod Stewart, and Quiet Riot and music video/live recordings for Sheryl Crow. Vegas is also popular for documentary video production and mobile news reporting because of its ability to run on moderately powered computer systems."
 
Thanks for all of your feedback. What would be a good PC laptop that would match up to Vegas? Sony, HP etc...?

I have only been on a Powerbook G4 laptop and have done all of my editing on imovie which was pretty easy to work with. I have FCP3 but found it to be a nightmare to work with. With the new HD camera (HVX) and P2 Card I will need to change my editing system and laptop. I think I will go with the Vegas software.
 
Well if it's good enough for Quiet Riot....

J/K. Yeah, just another vote for yes, Vegas is a good editing system. It does seem to have the big plus of working on fairly weak machines. Up until about a month ago, I edited HD 720 and 1080 footage off of USB2 drives on a 4 yr old P4.

My only beef is, it seems that no matter how powerful my machine is, clips with effects and compositing can never be viewed in real time. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

And the compositing tools are pretty rudimentary. I guess what all NLEs have.

But good editor.
 
I too like Matt have used Premier Pro for years, thought editing was painful and buggy. Got Vegas a few months ago, and thought If I did look back, I may become a pillar of salt. Vegas is FANTASTIC.
 
Is it just me or has Jimerson's avatar gotten... well, larger?

It's so big it almost looks like it's possessed or something.

e
 
New_Zealand said:
Since Vegas is a Sony product - should I go with SONY laptop? I was looking at the 20.1" HP laptop.
Click to expand...

If you're looking at turnkey laptops, I had an HP and was very, very happy with it. Well built and ran like a champ. Used a Vaio on a Sony / VASST training tour a couple of years ago, right after I had bought my MacBook Pro and thought, "yuck" - was the cheapest feeling laptop I had ever used (Sony that is...) Even cheaper feeling than my first Vaio back in '98.

I don't think you could go wrong with the HP. The MacBook Pros are very nice too and I wouldn't consider buying anything but from now on for my own personal / business use due to the dual OS options. Little pricier than HP though.

My only thought to turnkey 'puters is to reformat them and reinstall the OS when you get it. Lots of junk stuck on there to keep prices low. Tim Wilson has a great article about using "nlite" over at the Cow. It's a program that strips even more junk from the Windows install.

Vegas is a great editor. Some quirks that may come up with Vegas 8 and Canon .m2t that some, including myself, have had but nonetheless, it's the only reason I still run PC anything. Love the program.

cheno
 
Love it. Just had the world premiere for our second feature last night. Edited the whole thing in Vegas 8 Pro / 7d. We've done several shorts, a music video and two feature films with it now and this with the choice of using our Final Cut Studio on a Mac Pro several feet from our Vegas PC setup. The only slight troubles we've had is working with post-production people when it comes time for some sound work and distribution. Basically, it's a little easier on them if we had been in Final Cut. But it all works out. Hope to always edit in only Vegas.
 
Hey Mark - When you say some sound work and distribution what did you mean? Also did you shoot your feature film on HD with the P2 card?

I found a HP (laptop) Intel Core 2 Duo Processor (1.87 GHZ per core), 4GB Ram, 320GB Hard Drive and dedicated video card 512MG - DDR2 for $1150. Is that a good price and does this have the full power to edit in the field with Vegas etc.....
 
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