Vegas Pro 9 available for pre-order

Jeff Harper · April 20th, 2009, 04:52 PM

Vegas Production Assistant at $169 is suspiciously similar in features to Ultimate S and Excalibur.

I was intigued with the feature described as follows:

"Automatically swap placeholder slugs with program media".

What is this, anyone know?

Ian Stark · April 20th, 2009, 06:02 PM

Now, had the functionality of the Vegas Production Assistant been included in v9, it may have sweetened the deal for me. It is clearly a rehash of Ultimate S, as you suggested Jeff, and doesn't appear to have anything new in it. Useful tools, but if you have Excalibur or are already an owner of Ultimate S it seems redundant.

And the fact that the UK price is $40 more than the US price gives me that 'being gouged' feeling again. For me it would be cheaper to buy Ultimate S direct from VASST at $169 - or will they be discontinuing it? Spot?

To answer your specific question, Jeff, this is taken from the VASST Ultimate S product description. I suspect it's the same thing:

'The Media Swapper allows any format to be swapped out for any other format video in the Vegas Pro 8 timeline. Got a bunch of proxy avi files you want to swap out for uncompressed HD or AVCHD master files? Got a bunch of TIFF files you'd like to swap out for PNG files, no problem. The Media Swapper is the one-touch solution!'

And from the New Features in Ultimate S 4 document:

'New: Media Swapper can swap any media for any other media by file
extension. Swap mt2 for avi and back, swap jpg for png, swap anything you
want. Multiple targets can be define for a single swap (i.e., swap all m2t,
m2ts, & mxf, to avi in one swap)'

Mike Kujbida · April 20th, 2009, 06:19 PM

I thought the same thing about Vegas Production Assistant when I first read the description.
Then I read some comments (below) from DSE about VPA and realized that I may have been too hasty.
He promises more info after the big Vegas party tonight :-)

A demo of production assistant is in the box.
It does a lot of what Ultimate S does, and a lot more than any other scripting app out there. It's less than Ultimate S as well, and includes a lot of lower thirds, film looks, etc. It's got some very unique features that are much easier shown than explained.
Including pre-editing, etc. Come by the Sony booth and see it working. It's a well thought-out application that in some circles, is way past due.
Imagine putting a CF or SDHC card in your reader (with no apps open) and go grab a cup of coffee....60 seconds later, the files will have been imported, laid up on the timeline, titles inserted, and only fine cuts needed (depending on your shooting technique, of course).
In one broadcast application, Production Assistant shaved 25 minutes off a 30 minute workflow. :-)
Fun stuff indeed.

Price-wise, it's less than Ultimate S, and does quite a bit more, not to mention that it has several similar features to Ultimate S.
It's actually a very powerful, fast tool that doesn't need to have Vegas open to do some of the work it does....

Jeff Harper · April 20th, 2009, 07:08 PM

Media swapper appears to be similar to VASST Gearshift, having more features for swapping minus the ability to create the proxies.

Matthew Amirkhani · April 20th, 2009, 07:46 PM

I am positive that the production assistant been created for Sony by Vasst group.

Richard Andrewski · April 20th, 2009, 09:15 PM

The actual price of the pre-order / download for Vegas 8 to 9 is $184.95. I put it in the cart and it registered as $234.95 then passed through some kind of discount offer and it came out at the lower price. $184.95 isn't a bad price at all--a nice surprise. Can't download it until May 11th though.

Anthony Auci · April 20th, 2009, 09:41 PM

The production assistant sounds like something that should be part of the program. Not a add on you have to pay for. Now if its another company I can see that but sony no.

Stephen van Vuuren · April 20th, 2009, 10:03 PM

On paper, I think this upgrade rocks. I have a terabyte of RedCine exports for one set of 15 second spots I can dump, I really, really need 4k support, image sequence export to DPX and EXR, need the new color management for 32-bit/wide gamut monitors etc, etc.

As long as it's as stable as v8 (which has been pretty stable for me) and better on x64 than 8.1 is, it will be a winner in my book.

And $185 (in the US) is dirt cheap for upgrade.

Keith Paisley · April 21st, 2009, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

Expected ship date 5/11/2009 12:00:00 AM.

Product info

Promo offer

BTW, upgrade pricing is still only $234.95 download or $249.95 boxed.

this is great news but I would have been even happier if they announced an OS X version. I recently purchased Final Cut Express thinking it would improve my workflow on my two macs (as opposed to running vegas in a VMware virtual machine or bootcamp) but I was SORELY mistaken.

I'm wondering if there are improvements to timeline preview performance for 5D Mark II files.

Ian Planchon · April 21st, 2009, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen van Vuuren

And $185 (in the US) is dirt cheap for upgrade.

where are you seeing that price?! I have only found the $234 for the download.

Mike Kujbida · April 21st, 2009, 10:03 AM

Pretend that you're going to buy it.
At the 2nd or 3rd step of this process, you'll see the $50 discount get applied.

Chris Barcellos · April 21st, 2009, 11:35 AM

I can confirm that. I bought download version last night, and even was given the bonus software. I chose Audio Studio--- maybe someday they will have an upgrade for that to Sound Forge on sale....

One thing is they won't let you download anything until the 11th of May, and they promise to send you links at that time.

Chris Barcellos · April 21st, 2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Paisley

I'm wondering if there are improvements to timeline preview performance for 5D Mark II files.

I was looking for that too, but I haven't seen any mention of preview performance improvement. However, I have been using my NeoScene to convert and edit in 8 c. and preview does fine.

Jeff Harper · April 21st, 2009, 11:57 AM

Keith, IMO until they add hardware support I suspect we will not see much in the way of any significant improvement for preview of anything.

Clark Peters · April 21st, 2009, 12:08 PM

Question for long-time Vegas upgraders:

What happens if you skip this upgrade and wait until Vegas 10 comes out? Is it better (dollar wise) to buy this upgrade AND the next one, or can you save some money by skipping this upgrade? (I am ignoring whether Vegas 9 has enough additional functionality to justify a purchase now.)

Thanks.
Pete

April 20th, 2009, 06:02 PM	#32
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	Now, had the functionality of the Vegas Production Assistant been included in v9, it may have sweetened the deal for me. It is clearly a rehash of Ultimate S, as you suggested Jeff, and doesn't appear to have anything new in it. Useful tools, but if you have Excalibur or are already an owner of Ultimate S it seems redundant. And the fact that the UK price is $40 more than the US price gives me that 'being gouged' feeling again. For me it would be cheaper to buy Ultimate S direct from VASST at $169 - or will they be discontinuing it? Spot? To answer your specific question, Jeff, this is taken from the VASST Ultimate S product description. I suspect it's the same thing: 'The Media Swapper allows any format to be swapped out for any other format video in the Vegas Pro 8 timeline. Got a bunch of proxy avi files you want to swap out for uncompressed HD or AVCHD master files? Got a bunch of TIFF files you'd like to swap out for PNG files, no problem. The Media Swapper is the one-touch solution!' And from the New Features in Ultimate S 4 document: 'New: Media Swapper can swap any media for any other media by file extension. Swap mt2 for avi and back, swap jpg for png, swap anything you want. Multiple targets can be define for a single swap (i.e., swap all m2t, m2ts, & mxf, to avi in one swap)' __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

April 20th, 2009, 07:46 PM	#35
Matthew Amirkhani Major Player Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 279	I am positive that the production assistant been created for Sony by Vasst group. __________________ Canon XHA1, Brevis 35mm, Manfrotto 028,501,Vegas Pro 10e

April 20th, 2009, 09:15 PM	#36
Richard Andrewski Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Shenzhen, China Posts: 781	The actual price of the pre-order / download for Vegas 8 to 9 is $184.95. I put it in the cart and it registered as $234.95 then passed through some kind of discount offer and it came out at the lower price. $184.95 isn't a bad price at all--a nice surprise. Can't download it until May 11th though. __________________ Richard Andrewski - Cool Lights USA - RED #114 http://www.coollights.biz

April 20th, 2009, 10:03 PM	#38
Stephen van Vuuren Space Hipster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,508	On paper, I think this upgrade rocks. I have a terabyte of RedCine exports for one set of 15 second spots I can dump, I really, really need 4k support, image sequence export to DPX and EXR, need the new color management for 32-bit/wide gamut monitors etc, etc. As long as it's as stable as v8 (which has been pretty stable for me) and better on x64 than 8.1 is, it will be a winner in my book. And $185 (in the US) is dirt cheap for upgrade. __________________ stephen v2 www.insaturnsrings.com

April 21st, 2009, 11:35 AM	#42
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	I can confirm that. I bought download version last night, and even was given the bonus software. I chose Audio Studio--- maybe someday they will have an upgrade for that to Sound Forge on sale.... One thing is they won't let you download anything until the 11th of May, and they promise to send you links at that time. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

April 20th, 2009, 04:52 PM	#31
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Vegas Production Assistant at $169 is suspiciously similar in features to Ultimate S and Excalibur. I was intigued with the feature described as follows: "Automatically swap placeholder slugs with program media". What is this, anyone know?

April 20th, 2009, 06:19 PM	#33
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	I thought the same thing about Vegas Production Assistant when I first read the description. Then I read some comments (below) from DSE about VPA and realized that I may have been too hasty. He promises more info after the big Vegas party tonight :-) A demo of production assistant is in the box. It does a lot of what Ultimate S does, and a lot more than any other scripting app out there. It's less than Ultimate S as well, and includes a lot of lower thirds, film looks, etc. It's got some very unique features that are much easier shown than explained. Including pre-editing, etc. Come by the Sony booth and see it working. It's a well thought-out application that in some circles, is way past due. Imagine putting a CF or SDHC card in your reader (with no apps open) and go grab a cup of coffee....60 seconds later, the files will have been imported, laid up on the timeline, titles inserted, and only fine cuts needed (depending on your shooting technique, of course). In one broadcast application, Production Assistant shaved 25 minutes off a 30 minute workflow. :-) Fun stuff indeed. Price-wise, it's less than Ultimate S, and does quite a bit more, not to mention that it has several similar features to Ultimate S. It's actually a very powerful, fast tool that doesn't need to have Vegas open to do some of the work it does....

April 20th, 2009, 07:08 PM	#34
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Media swapper appears to be similar to VASST Gearshift, having more features for swapping minus the ability to create the proxies.

April 20th, 2009, 09:41 PM	#37
Anthony Auci New Boot Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: New York, New York Posts: 23	The production assistant sounds like something that should be part of the program. Not a add on you have to pay for. Now if its another company I can see that but sony no.

April 21st, 2009, 10:03 AM	#41
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Pretend that you're going to buy it. At the 2nd or 3rd step of this process, you'll see the $50 discount get applied.

April 21st, 2009, 11:57 AM	#44
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Keith, IMO until they add hardware support I suspect we will not see much in the way of any significant improvement for preview of anything.

April 21st, 2009, 12:08 PM	#45
Clark Peters Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Manhattan, Kansas Posts: 123	Question for long-time Vegas upgraders: What happens if you skip this upgrade and wait until Vegas 10 comes out? Is it better (dollar wise) to buy this upgrade AND the next one, or can you save some money by skipping this upgrade? (I am ignoring whether Vegas 9 has enough additional functionality to justify a purchase now.) Thanks. Pete