Vegas 6 worth the upgrade from Vegas 5
 

Hi Guys,

I'm getting a new editing/rendering computer soon. I was just wondering form those of you who have been using Vegas 6.0, is it worth it to upgrade from Vegas 5.0. I've been using Vegas 5.0 for about 1 1/2 years now and am pretty happy with it. I've heard 6.0 renders faster, but are there other major differences that make the upgrade worth it.
BTW, I'm not planning on doing any HD in the future.

Thanks,
Isaac

I'd wait until NAB (mid April) as that's when Sony generally releases the newest version and there's usually a discounted upgrade price.

Take a look at Vol 3 #2 of my newsletters. It talks about the major differences added to Vegas 6 and DVDA 3. Then you can make a decision based upon whether or not those features would help you. There were some additional features added in later releases too. For example, 6.0c added the ability to import from a DVD including DVDs with AC3 audio.

I'm still using version 5... there wasn't much in 6 to sway me to upgrade.

Just wondering, what are the odds of a Vegas 7.0 this year?

If history is any guide, pretty good.

Thanks; following the usual history then, if it's announced in April, when would it be available? I'm kind of in a tricky situation where I might need to get 6.0 this spring, but I only would do so if I can then upgrade to 7.0 at nominal cost compared to the usual upgrade price, having bought it so soon near its release. Within what timeframe could the purchase of 6.0 work out like this?

As always wait with the buy until you need it (or need to learn it), see what's available then (and proven to be stable for production work). It's all speculation at this point anyway.

Given that this thread is in the DV Vegas forum, I wouldn't expect major changes concerning SD format from a version 7. But considering that a simple letter update from 6.0c to 6.0d incorporates the Mainconcept AVC/AAC H.264 encoder and the transition period we are in, it wouldn't surprise me to see a 6.0g and beyond update before Vegas 7 shows up.

I made the switch to V6 because I wanted to have the nested capability of pulling in numerous veg files into the timeline... Along with several other upgrades, I found the $200 upgrade price to be nominal for what I was getting in return -- but everyone's take on upgrades are different and it's ultimately up to you if you feel it's worth it.

You can download a trial of Vegas 6 to see if it's worth your time. In another forum I'm apart of, the scuttlebutt is that Sony is poised to make another announcement at NAB. Some have intepreted this as being a major Vegas announcement while others believe it's news concerning Acid and other software packages.

When V6 was announced, to be honest - I didn't see that much of a price drop of V5 until many months *after* the announcement - but I may remember that incorrectly....

Regards,
-Michael

The inclusion of the Mainconcept H264 encoder is quite notable.

I'll rephrase my question slightly--if I buy Vegas 6.0 now, and Sony happens to announce 7.0 in mid-April, would I qualify for a free (?) upgrade to 7.0, based on past history?

Decisions! Decisions! :D

Barry, the answer is simple:

If you need the features in Vegas 6 - buy it now and don't worry about when a new upgrade may be available. If you don't need those features now, you can either buy now or buy later or not at all or wait for a future version. No one can tell you when the next version will be released nor can they tell you what period of time may get a free upgrade.

All good advice, and thus I decided >yes<, it makes sense to move forward with 6.0, so I returned to the Sony website where the upgrade was going for $209. But today I found out it's back up to $249! ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!! I didn't know it was a limited time sale, which probably ended on 2/28. This is swell. Anyone know when the next sale will be?

Umm.... same answer as before.