Sony buys Sonic Foundry Assets, including Vegas

Will Fastie · May 5th, 2003, 10:35 PM

At first glance, it's hard to tell the difference between Video Factory (now aka ScreenBlast MovieStudio) and Vegas -- the interface looks almost the same. So if something was going to go in a camcorder box, I think it would be VF or VF lite.

Sony has to work some things out, though. Neither VF nor SBMS include MPEG-2 encoding. It's an option. Sony can't pop an NLE without MPEG-2 into its MicroMV cam boxes, for obvious reasons. And the low-end category is characterized by DVD support, which isn't there either.

A Sony rep told me that DVD support for MovieStudio was under development for the next release, which would be October.

Joseph George · May 6th, 2003, 04:29 AM

Joe Carney: matsushita/Panasonic also makes the well regared Denon line of home theater products. I have Denon equipment and though it is pricey it is excellent.

How do you know that Matsushita manufactures Denon home theater products? I am sure that Denon is using components and assemblies from other companies, including Matsushita's; I think that the relationship ends there.

I bought a small Panasonic radio long time ago. It used one chip -- installed on the other side of the board, so when you replace battries you will not see Sony name on it. You could see all the other parts when you removed the back cover.

Zac Stein · May 6th, 2003, 04:41 AM

Yes and panasonic used sony decoder chips in it's first dvd players, and i am sure canon sells off ccd's to other companies as well, it is how business works.

It is a wait and see for me on how this goes, and i bet it dosn't change 1 thing. I would love to see a real market push for high end customers, and vegas break into the recognised leauges of final cut pro and avid, because i prefer using vegas more than the other 2 products.

If sony does 1 thing, i hope they change it's name, vegas screams cheap, other than that i will just have to see what happens, which i believe will be nothing for quite a while.

Zac

Will Fastie · May 6th, 2003, 04:50 PM

How about Sony ScreenBlast MovieStudio Pro? God forbid.

I think Vegas Video is a pretty good name, distinctive, setting the product apart from those with boring names like Edition and Premiere and Avid. The only really snappy name in the whole category is Final Cut. Edius?

Vegas+DVD is a pretty bad name, though.

Rick Spilman · May 6th, 2003, 05:12 PM

I think Vegas Video is about as stupid a name as one could possibly find. That alone kept me away for about 6 months.

Edius? I still suspect that it is the Australian pronunciation of "idiots", but I am probably wrong.

Dylan Couper · May 6th, 2003, 05:27 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Rick Spilman : I think Vegas Video is about as stupid a name as one could possibly find. -->>>

I humbly agree. It's a dumb name.

Dan Holly · May 6th, 2003, 06:01 PM

re:<<<---I bought a small Panasonic radio long time ago. It used one chip -- installed on the other side of the board, so when you replace battries you will not see Sony name on it. You could see all the other parts when you removed the back cover. -->>>

There are mounds of products in the electronics industries that are literally assembled by competitors. This is old hat, but 99% of the consumers don't have a clue this is even happening.

When I was working for Intel we made every Sony Vio desktop in the North American market FOR Sony for almost 3 years, until another foundry could be setup at a 3rd party manufacturer.(Selectron) was trying to bring their assembly process up to Sony's "snuff". Intel is not a competitor in this market, but it makes you wonder how it all works after know this little tidbit.

There were also other companies we were doing the same thing for that would raise your brow in wonder.

In my experience Sony has the typical problem that most giant companies have. The left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing.......

I do have many Sony products, and they are all of high quality for their price point. I have a 27" TV I bought in 1984 that still looks as good as most of the TV's out there today.

My point above is nothing but this:
On some, maybe most of Sony's products, it's not their quality of work......it's the quality of their process that drives a quality product. That one I do know first hand, in my personal experience.

If they apply that process to future rev's of VV's we will have a world class product to utilize in the very near future.

John Threat · May 7th, 2003, 04:40 AM

vegas video sounds like a toy or a tool geared for porn producers

Chris Hurd · May 7th, 2003, 05:42 AM

John, I understand the name doesn't impress you, but the fact is Vegas has been an extremely popular and powerful editing application. It has a huge following of devoted users.

By the way, for the sake of consistency I've combined the separate threads of this topic (one started by Will Fastie and the other by Mike Rehmus) into one discussion.

Joseph George · May 7th, 2003, 01:45 PM

I think that Vegas Video is a better name than Sonic Foundry. In the Internat era you need more than ever names that are easier to remember.

Bill Ravens · May 7th, 2003, 01:58 PM

hmmpf....
why do people place more time and energy on labels than they do on what's beneath the label?
Oh well, nevemind...whatever.

Dylan Couper · May 7th, 2003, 02:00 PM

Because marketing sells products, not engineering.

Bill Ravens · May 7th, 2003, 02:06 PM

I think you're on to something Dylan. Doesn't that mean that anyone with half a brain should look below the marketing before they shoot their mouth off.

Bruce A. Christenson · May 7th, 2003, 07:08 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by John Threat : vegas video sounds like a toy or a tool geared for porn producers -->>>

That's one of my favorite reasons for using Vegas+DVD !

Rick Spilman · May 7th, 2003, 07:16 PM

"Doesn't that mean that anyone with half a brain should look below the marketing before they shoot their mouth off."

OK. Bottom line is SoFo's bottom line bled red because their marketing guys didn't have a clue. Their software developers came up with some of the best products in the industry and their sales numbers decreased in real terms over the last three years. Engineering matters. Marketing matters. Distribution matters. Every part of doing business matters, when you come down to it.

I ignored Vegas for at least six months because I didn't take it seriously. Call me stupid if you want, but I have better things to do than spend my money on software that sounded like a bad joke. Finally I got the word on Vegas, more in spite of SoFo than because of it.

If SoFo had been anything less than a trainwreck at selling their excellent software, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

May 6th, 2003, 05:27 PM	#36
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	<<<-- Originally posted by Rick Spilman : I think Vegas Video is about as stupid a name as one could possibly find. -->>> I humbly agree. It's a dumb name. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

May 6th, 2003, 06:01 PM	#37
Dan Holly Major Player Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Anchorage, Alaska Posts: 336	To add to the fray....... re:<<<---I bought a small Panasonic radio long time ago. It used one chip -- installed on the other side of the board, so when you replace battries you will not see Sony name on it. You could see all the other parts when you removed the back cover. -->>> There are mounds of products in the electronics industries that are literally assembled by competitors. This is old hat, but 99% of the consumers don't have a clue this is even happening. When I was working for Intel we made every Sony Vio desktop in the North American market FOR Sony for almost 3 years, until another foundry could be setup at a 3rd party manufacturer.(Selectron) was trying to bring their assembly process up to Sony's "snuff". Intel is not a competitor in this market, but it makes you wonder how it all works after know this little tidbit. There were also other companies we were doing the same thing for that would raise your brow in wonder. In my experience Sony has the typical problem that most giant companies have. The left hand has no idea what the right hand is doing....... I do have many Sony products, and they are all of high quality for their price point. I have a 27" TV I bought in 1984 that still looks as good as most of the TV's out there today. My point above is nothing but this: On some, maybe most of Sony's products, it's not their quality of work......it's the quality of their process that drives a quality product. That one I do know first hand, in my personal experience. If they apply that process to future rev's of VV's we will have a world class product to utilize in the very near future. __________________ Dan Holly Anchorage, Alaska

May 7th, 2003, 05:42 AM	#39
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	John, I understand the name doesn't impress you, but the fact is Vegas has been an extremely popular and powerful editing application. It has a huge following of devoted users. By the way, for the sake of consistency I've combined the separate threads of this topic (one started by Will Fastie and the other by Mike Rehmus) into one discussion. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

May 7th, 2003, 02:00 PM	#42
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Because marketing sells products, not engineering. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

May 5th, 2003, 10:35 PM	#31
Will Fastie Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jarrettsville, MD Posts: 353	At first glance, it's hard to tell the difference between Video Factory (now aka ScreenBlast MovieStudio) and Vegas -- the interface looks almost the same. So if something was going to go in a camcorder box, I think it would be VF or VF lite. Sony has to work some things out, though. Neither VF nor SBMS include MPEG-2 encoding. It's an option. Sony can't pop an NLE without MPEG-2 into its MicroMV cam boxes, for obvious reasons. And the low-end category is characterized by DVD support, which isn't there either. A Sony rep told me that DVD support for MovieStudio was under development for the next release, which would be October.

May 6th, 2003, 04:29 AM	#32
Joseph George Permanently Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 265	Joe Carney: matsushita/Panasonic also makes the well regared Denon line of home theater products. I have Denon equipment and though it is pricey it is excellent. How do you know that Matsushita manufactures Denon home theater products? I am sure that Denon is using components and assemblies from other companies, including Matsushita's; I think that the relationship ends there. I bought a small Panasonic radio long time ago. It used one chip -- installed on the other side of the board, so when you replace battries you will not see Sony name on it. You could see all the other parts when you removed the back cover.

May 6th, 2003, 04:41 AM	#33
Zac Stein Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 730	Yes and panasonic used sony decoder chips in it's first dvd players, and i am sure canon sells off ccd's to other companies as well, it is how business works. It is a wait and see for me on how this goes, and i bet it dosn't change 1 thing. I would love to see a real market push for high end customers, and vegas break into the recognised leauges of final cut pro and avid, because i prefer using vegas more than the other 2 products. If sony does 1 thing, i hope they change it's name, vegas screams cheap, other than that i will just have to see what happens, which i believe will be nothing for quite a while. Zac

May 6th, 2003, 04:50 PM	#34
Will Fastie Major Player Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Jarrettsville, MD Posts: 353	How about Sony ScreenBlast MovieStudio Pro? God forbid. I think Vegas Video is a pretty good name, distinctive, setting the product apart from those with boring names like Edition and Premiere and Avid. The only really snappy name in the whole category is Final Cut. Edius? Vegas+DVD is a pretty bad name, though.

May 6th, 2003, 05:12 PM	#35
Rick Spilman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 366	I think Vegas Video is about as stupid a name as one could possibly find. That alone kept me away for about 6 months. Edius? I still suspect that it is the Australian pronunciation of "idiots", but I am probably wrong.

May 7th, 2003, 04:40 AM	#38
John Threat Major Player Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: New York Posts: 322	vegas video sounds like a toy or a tool geared for porn producers

May 7th, 2003, 01:45 PM	#40
Joseph George Permanently Banned Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 265	I think that Vegas Video is a better name than Sonic Foundry. In the Internat era you need more than ever names that are easier to remember.

May 7th, 2003, 01:58 PM	#41
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	hmmpf.... why do people place more time and energy on labels than they do on what's beneath the label? Oh well, nevemind...whatever.

May 7th, 2003, 02:06 PM	#43
Bill Ravens Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: santa fe, nm Posts: 3,264 Images: 10	I think you're on to something Dylan. Doesn't that mean that anyone with half a brain should look below the marketing before they shoot their mouth off.

May 7th, 2003, 07:08 PM	#44
Bruce A. Christenson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Forest Grove, OR Posts: 122	<<<-- Originally posted by John Threat : vegas video sounds like a toy or a tool geared for porn producers -->>> That's one of my favorite reasons for using Vegas+DVD !

May 7th, 2003, 07:16 PM	#45
Rick Spilman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 366	"Doesn't that mean that anyone with half a brain should look below the marketing before they shoot their mouth off." OK. Bottom line is SoFo's bottom line bled red because their marketing guys didn't have a clue. Their software developers came up with some of the best products in the industry and their sales numbers decreased in real terms over the last three years. Engineering matters. Marketing matters. Distribution matters. Every part of doing business matters, when you come down to it. I ignored Vegas for at least six months because I didn't take it seriously. Call me stupid if you want, but I have better things to do than spend my money on software that sounded like a bad joke. Finally I got the word on Vegas, more in spite of SoFo than because of it. If SoFo had been anything less than a trainwreck at selling their excellent software, we wouldn't be having this discussion.