Is it possible to use Vegas scopes for live monitoring? I'm wondering if it would be possible to hook my EX1 to my laptop via firewire to get live readings using Vegas scopes?

can't be done. the capture window doesn't feed live info to the timeline

I guess I need DV rack then?

Depending on your needs, you can use our Enosoft DV Processor. It has realtime scopes (video and audio) though they are small (i.e., not as detailed as in Vegas) because the software is also designed to do realtime color correction etc. And it's for DV, not HDV. See my profile for a link.

I shoot HD, so I need something which will work with HD.