I think most people here are misunderstanding those of us who are 'complaining' about the features in this release..

From what I can tell, nobody is really complaining that the features added are useless.. I'm perfectly happy to see RED support, support for larger images (Gigapixel images? How many is that anyway compared to my 10 "mega"pixel cameras resolution?), and a new grey interface that can be easily manipulated... Nobody here has a problem with those additions..

The problem is that when SCS has a major product release and this is ALL that you see in the update, features that mostly don't apply to the majority of users, many of us are scratching our heads...

Jon

One guy on the Sony Vegas forum read that it's 40K x 25K.
Here's a link to one to give you an idea of the size and zoom capability :-)
Here's the Wikipedia definition of a gigapixel image.

That's correct, 40,000 times 25,000 = 1 billion

Gigapixel images (or just really large panoramas) are easy to create using "AutoPano Pro" or the CS4 version of Phtotoshop. Although, I much prefer AutoPano Pro. You just take a bunch of overlapping images, throw them at the program and it will automatically and seamlessly stitch them together into one large image.

AutoPano Pro - Panorama stitching software - Panoramic photo software - image stitching

hehe, jeeez... I'm really glad they added support for this. :-) 150 TIMES!! the resolution of a 6 megapixel camera... What that probably tells me is that Vegas is likely to handle all still images better than before which is good... It's just not what I have been waiting 15 months for...

Jon

Have you zoomed in and checked out the wall of media and also the cameras on the tower. It looks really cold where ever this was shot.

Wild stab in the dark, but how about January 20th 2009 on the West Steps of the US Capitol, Washington DC?!

I've seen requests for preview improvements mentioned a number of times in this thread. And I certainly agree that's needed.

Well, that was a big thing actually mentioned at NAB. I even talked with one of the SCS engineers for more details about it. They are still using Video for Windows, but they now have optimized multi-core/multi-CPU rendering for the preview display. He said it would improve preview a lot on new quad core machines, and he even felt it would make a noticable difference on my ancient dual-Xeon hyperthreaded machine.

On the dual-Quad machine I played with there, it was playing 4K RED footage in a 2K project perfectly smooth for me at Best (full).

Yeah Ian, as soon as I posted I thought about it.

Cheers

that's great to hear - I'm hoping this makes editing native 5d footage on the timeline that much easier. I purchased neo scene and it helps a lot, but if i could skip that step it would speed things in my workflow immensely.

>>>optimized multi-core/multi-CPU rendering for the preview display. He said it would improve preview a lot on new quad core machines<<<

At last an improvement that I REALLY want and would upgrade for - when I've seen other users' confirmation that it makes a noticeable difference, of course!

Simon - sorry mate - couldn't resist!

I agree that improved preview performance would be nice. If Vegas could match the preview performance of Edius I would be pretty darn happy.

My work flow is Edius for Video, Vegas for audio and DVDA for authoring. This release has nothing in it for me but I usually skip a year for upgrades anyway since my main use is audio from the days of Vegas audio. Only difference is single track AVCHD which is Vegas.

Ron Evans

The cost of upgrades has always been quite reasonable, so I upgrade regardless. There is always some new feature, no matter how seemingly insignificant, that allows me to be more productive.

As I said, my main use of Vegas is as a multitrack audio editor and in this respect it hasn't changed for years. I upgraded to Vegas 8 to get AVCHD and DVDA and the next release will be one I will get so that I am not too far out of sequence.

Ron Evans

I have bought the upgrade, because I also always find something new and worth the price and update automatically. My question now is, what is the proper way to upgrade so that I won't loose my preference settings -- or is that still not possible?

Remember that 9 will be a totally separate installation from any other versions of Vegas you have installed. Therefore you'll need to set your preferences as you desire after installing the new version.

That new, eh? :)
Will it help if I make screen prints of my current settings or will the new version have preferences laid out in so many different ways to not make the screen prints worth the trouble?

Paul, there's only a few places in Prefs where the settings are important and I make those changes a part of the initial set-up when I install a new version.
You definitely don't want your Temp or Pre-render directories to point to C:\ My Documents.

I'm experienced enough to know that one, but some other settings are items that I discovered in these forums as settings that helped improve my playback performance etc. and since I just emulated something I have little understanding of but proved to be a true improvement, I wouldn't remember what I had ever done.

It won't hurt me to make those screen prints.

On the issue of the darker GUI, I must say I am looking forward to it. If someone has the impression that it is an issue hardly ever mentioned here, I'd like to say that it became hardly worth bringing up anymore since nothing was being done about it; it would be like beating a dead horse. I work with three large, wide angle monitors and I work at least 12 hrs a day, often more, and the glare coming from those monitors does ware me out. My other application is just the opposite; all blacks and I spend equal time on both. Getting back to the black one always comes as a huge relief, even a mood changer.

Paul, now you have me curious.
What specific settings are you referring to?

See? If I would remember I wouldn't be worried about loosing these. It's usually some combination of settings someone explains well and I just try out and leave it that way if it helps some. This applies probably more often to rendering selections which improve playback for my clients. Maybe it would help if I told you I'm 73. :)

Actually Paul, all you have to do when using 9 is open an instance of Vegas 8 (remember these are separate programs) peek at your old settings and then change them in Vegas 9.

Thanks, Jeff, and course, I forgot all about that one too!

Screen prints could be helpful. While some screens have changed, I don't recall any settings changing screens. So just capture the preference tabs you've changed and you should be good to go.

I, personally, don't change over about a half dozen settings and they're easy to remember. So I just pop into File - Properties, set my defaults, and then Options - Preferences and change a few more entries and I'm done.

If you're referring to custom render templates, I've got a pile of them myself and would be lost without some of them.
Here's where they're stored on your computer and how to move them around if you need to.

All of the custom rendering templates are in:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Sony\File Templates
Where <username> is your windows account name.
Just copy them over to your new PC and they should be recognized.


I'll be 58 soon so I'm not that far behind you :-O

Ah, the things I could remember back then... but on the other hand....

Thanks Mike, I needed to know that.

Exactly! Fixing things that don't won't work well in the previous version is commendable. Adding support for new formats is nice, but Sony benefits from an expanded market. Changing the screen color is wonderful, but it's not a new feature. This version provides almost no improvement in across-the-board functionality. Almost everything that supposedly should make me want to upgrade, was available previously as a workaround or with a minimal purchase. There's just no enough substance. This should have been called 8.5 IMO.

Well, I received a letter in the mail informing me about the 'One-Time Payment Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act'.

So, it looks like Obama is buying the Vegas Pro 9 upgrade along with a movie and lunch for me.

LOL!

HA! I didn't even vote for him...

Danny Fye
VidMus Video - Music Productions

Danny you're forgetting the cardinal rule of business..."There is no free lunch" I haven't gotten that letter yet myself, but the song "The devil went down to Independence, MO" comes to mind. I don't know if I would sell my soul for Vegas 9...mostly because I'm still trying to get 8 to work right!!! Maybe I'll let President Palin buy it for me in 3 years, 263 days, 4 hours…Well you get the picture

Well, I guess we can get into politics and all but since my message was for the sake of humor, I will let it be.

Hmmm, maybe we should send a copy of Vegas Pro 9 or will it be 11 by then to Palin to slick up her video editing abilities? LOL!

Have fun,

Danny Fye
VidMus Video - Music Productions

And why exactly have people figured that various things haven't been fixed??? Just because they don't mention it??

Can we say..... "jumping to conclusions"?

Because, frankly, it's just common sense that if they add a new feature, enhance an existing functionality, or increase the speed of some function, they mention it in their marketing material to try and "sell" the product.

It's been my experience that companies tend to over push the envelope with their marketing tactics.

Jon

And then some!

Many of us do it. Just looking at the websites of many of the professionals on this forum who, when posting, are open about the fact that they are one man bands, reveals a lot of 'we can . . . ' and 'our team is always ready to . . .' and 'operating from studios using cutting edge technology . . .' statements.

In reality these often should read 'I can . . . probably', 'I am always ready . . . unless I have another job on' and 'operating from a converted garage with a prosumer camera and a copy of Vegas'!

Take a look at my site as a great example of overhype. OK, there are now three of us, and soon to be five, but only last year it was just me, and my site was still talking about 'we' as though I had a bunch of employees. Now I really do have a small studio, but last year - my garage.

BUT, we do this so we can attract new business - we don't try and convince existing clients (who have first hand knowledge of how big the business is) that we are something more than we really are, because we will be found out!

And here, at last, is my point: fixing things that didn't previously work or were previously substandard should NOT count as an upgrade! Maybe a point release, as Paul Cascio suggested.

I'm siding with the 'disappointed' group here, I'm afraid. This is not about how much the upgrade costs - it's that there are too few major enhancements that are desirable or useful to the majority of users. No, hang on, to ME! That's who I'm really talking about, if I'm honest.

Mmmmm.... I see. So you think that publicizing bugs and such, especially to new potential customers.... is great marketing tactic???

They fixed the black frame problem a while back and didn't advertise that. I guess that was a great mistake in their marketing department.... right? ;)

I agree price isn't the issue. This release is borrrring. Look at the buzz, or lack of it.

Note to Sony: Please remove the sickeningly cheesey DVD templates titled Groovy, Birthday, Flower Power, Wood, and Funky. Funky? Does Sony even have a clue? Funky is a derogatory term nowadays, not a good one. Funky means bad, as in "It sucks". So I guess it fits. It is funky. Has anyone here even seen the wedding DVD templates? The sports templates? The button selection? The button selection looks like it was dreamed up by a community college dropout 20 years ago.

This is some seriously dated crap.

I admit I had to learn to make creative and beautiful DVD menus for my customers specifically because there is nothing offered in DVDA. So I guess that is a good thing.

Where is GPU support for NVidia graphics cards, the abiltity to render flv files, new tasteful 3d and 2d DVD menu templates, the inlcusion of a sigificant number of new transitions and fx, 32 bit plug ins working with Vegas 64 bit. As the cineform issues with 64 bit Vegas shows, Sony is making the world come to it, not vice versa. Sony does not play well with others, but this is already well known, so the point is moot I suppose. Can anyone say corporate snob?

Give me tools to help me dazzle my customers and make my work easier. I don't need to spend $$$ on third party software to make a flash video. Give me hardware support. Throw me a bone here people.

Those who think this is a worthwhile release are welcome to feel that way. But I believe there are myriad options Sony has to beef up this product and make it more exciting.

I enjoy Vegas because IMO it is stable and easy to use. But I shouldn't have to keep paying for that stability over and over again with these snoozer upgrades.

Instead you have a few people here and there defending it against those who are disappointed with it. Very few users, unless I missed it, seem truly excited about this upgrade. The prospect of a new GUI is fine, but my god, have we gotten so desperate for some excitement with this product we are even debating how great a new GUI will be?

I might be wrong here, but I think that a significant number of Vegas users are wedding videographers, sports and corporate videographers. Help us out. Red support? Well and good, but how many wedding and small corporate types are using Red hardware? Raise you hands please.

If Sony releases an upgrade as boring as this again and you see me get excited about it, shoot me and put me out of my misery.

Jack,

Go back and read my post please... I mentioned..

"it's just common sense that if they add a new feature, enhance an existing functionality, or increase the speed of some function"

Where in there do you see in the text I wrote (and you quoted) bug fixes such as the black frame issue should be billed as new?

I don't expect them to list bug fixes, when/if they speed up the rendering process by 20-30% I expect them to say "Rendering now up to 30% faster!!!" When the preview playback has been enhanced for better visual quality and speed improvements I expect them to say "Enhanced video playback ability", etc.

When they DONT say those things, it's a tip off that the improvements there are either completely non-existant. I am SO used to software releases as I've been using and buying software now for nearly 20 years.. I know there is as much to see when something is *not* mentioned of the stuff that is...

Jon

BORING Sony upgrade
 

Same here Jeff, i love upgrading software and buying the next gadget, i even bought cinescore for g'sakes, but I just cant be bothered to upgrade to Vegas 9.

Why don't they spend their money giving us better compression algorithm/tools? Everything we do outputs via compression to web media, DVD or blueray. I want the compressed result to look as good as the original footage.

As for that preview window........

Yawwn....

I mainly use Edius for video and Vegas for audio. Edius has just released 5.1 free upgrade that has a lot more in it from 5.01 (like Spurs Engine support of the Firecoder Blu card from timeline etc) than the Vegas upgrade that costs real money. No I will miss this upgrade and see what the next has to offer.

Ron Evans

Boy this is so much different than the sony apologist board.lol I agree this its a very weak upgrade at best and they should of fixed 8 totally before releasing 9.

What chaps my hide is not just this upgrade, but 8.0 was a disappointment as well.

That's two in a row.