Summary: Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 (8/2008)

    by Douglas Dixon

Vegas Movie Studio Summary
Product Versions
Vegas Movie Studio 9 Features
DVD Architect Studio 4.5 Features
Supported File Formats
About Sony Creative Software

Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9, released in August 2008, continues to focus on easy video editing and DVD creation (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudio). The higher-end Platinum Edition adds expanded HD video support (HDV, AVCHD), and burning to menuless Blu-ray Disc. And the Pro Pack bundle includes Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 plus additional libraries of sounds and effects.

The Movie Studio 9 product still includes DVD Architect Studio 4.5 for DVD authoring (not updated), and adds Cinescore Studio for automated music soundtrack creation.

Sony's consumer Movie Studio applications are based on its higher-end professional tools (see below). Vegas Movie Studio is based on the professional Vegas Pro editor, simplified to remove complexity, and enhanced with consumer-friendly  New Project and Make Movie wizards and Show Me How interactive tutorials, especially useful for getting started. But the higher-end interface design still shows through -- this is not a simple 1-2-3 step-by-step interface to walk you though the process, but instead it provides the tools and elements for enthusiasts who want to dive in to editing. And to get further into working with audio, there's also Sony's companion Audio Studio and Music Studio apps for more detailed audio editing and music creation.

The three Vegas Movie Studio product versions are:

• Vegas Movie Studio 9 - $69.95
• Vegas Movie Studio 9, Platinum Edition - $99.95, with HD editing
• Vegas Movie Studio 9, Platinum Pro Pack - $129.9, with sound tools and more effects

Sony Studio Product Line  (7/11)

Sony Creative Software continues to develop its line of popular and powerful tools for digital video, DVD, audio, and music production, including separate lines of higher-end professional tools and consumer software (www.sonycreativesoftware.com). 

Sony's professional product line is built around three core product names: Vegas for video editing, Sound Forge for audio editing, and ACID for music creation (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products).

Sony's consumer products trade off these names, but under the Home Studio brand, as in Vegas Movie Studio, Sound Forge Audio Studio, and ACID Music Studio (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/homestudio). Sony offers trial versions as downloads from its website.

           
  Sony Vegas Movie Studio, Sound Forge Audio Studio, ACID Music Studio

For more on the Sony Home Studio products, see my previous articles:

• Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 (8/08)
• Sony Vegas Movie Studio+DVD 8 (10/07)
• HDV Editing with Sony Vegas Movie Studio+DVD (1/06)
• Mass-Market Digital Video and DVD / Sony Screenblast Movie Studio (3/03)
  
• Sony Sound Forge Pro 10 Audio Editing Software Reviewed (Videomaker Magazine, April 2010)
• Sony Sound Forge Pro 10 (12/09)
• Sony Audio / Music Studio Software: Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 and ACID Music Studio 7 (5/08)
• Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 9  (1/08)
• Sony ACID Music Studio 7  (1/08)
• Sony Sound Forge 9 (7/07)

Find related Sony Software articles in the Manifest Tech Blog

Find Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 on Amazon.com Find Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11 Suite on Amazon.com Find Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio 10 on Amazon.com Find Sony ACID Music Studio 8 on Amazon.com

Vegas Movie Studio Summary

General

• Built-in Show Me How interactive tutorials

Capture

• Import and organize digital media: camcorders, discs, live capture
• Import and edit HD material: HDV & AVCHD (Platinum)

Edit

• Organize project media
• Drag and drop to create movies and slideshows on timeline
• Multitrack video and audio editing
      Up to 4 video tracks, 4 audio tracks: Video, Overlay, Text, Voice, Music, Sound Effects
• Add special effects, 2D & 3D transitions, titles, and music; color correction
• Adjust envelopes, animate keyframes
• Create music soundtracks (Cinescore Studio)
• Zoom, rotate, and pan across photos to animate stills

Share

• Burn movies to DVD or CD  (DVD Architect Studio)
      DVD authoring with multiple motion menus and custom navigation  (DVD Architect Studio)
      Burn timeline to Blu-ray Disc (Platinum)
• Export to video file
      Formats including QuickTime, Windows Media, MPEG-4 to post to video sharing sites
• Upload to Web
      Direct upload to YouTube; ACIDplanet
• Export to camera or portable device 
      DV / HDV camcorder, Sony PSP
• Send via e-mail

Product Versions

Vegas Movie Studio 9 - Video Editing & DVD Creation Made Easy

• $69.95, upgrade $49.95

Vegas Movie Studio 9 - Platinum Edition - Professional Quality HD Video and Soundtrack Production

• Adds HD editing, surround-sound mixing
• $99.95, upgrade $69.95

Vegas Movie Studio 9 - Platinum Pro Pack - with Professional Audio Mastering and Soundtrack Creation

• Adds tools for professional-level sound design, more video effects and transitions
• $129.95, upgrade $89.95

Vegas Movie Studio 9 includes:

• Vegas Movie Studio 9.0
• DVD Architect Studio 4.5: DVD creation and authoring, 44 DVD themes
• Cinescore Studio, with Home Studio Soundtrack Pack, Vol. 1

New Features: Vegas Movie Studio 9

• Streamlined wizards: New Project and Make Movie
• Cinescore Studio: Automated music soundtrack creation
• Integrated upload to YouTube
• Single-monitor full-screen preview
• Support for MJPEG AVI video, FLAC and LPEC audio files

Platinum Edition new features:

• Improved native HDV support, playback performance
• Enhanced AVCHD support and compatibility, AVC/MPEG-4 encoder
• Burn menuless Blu-ray Disc from timeline

Pro Pack added components:

• Sound Forge Audio Studio 9 software: Audio editing and production
• Pro Pack Cinescore Themes: Sampling of different genres and variations
• 1,001 Sound Effects: Over 25 categories, royalty-free
• 106 New Blue 3D Transitions, New Blue Cartoonr effects plug-in
• Free 2 GB Sony Flash Drive (while supplies last)

New Features

• Streamlined New Project wizard: Set up project environment 
      ensure new projects are created in the correct, optimized format for the final destination
• Streamlined Make Movie wizard: Deliver optimized files for Web, DVD, e-mail, direct to YouTube
• Cinescore Studio for music soundtrack creation: 
      Automatically generate customized royalty-free professional soundtrack music 
      for movies, slide shows, etc. Modify to fit the movie length and mood, with variations
• Single-monitor full-screen preview to primary or secondary display
• Enhanced AVCHD support
      Import and edit files directly from Sony AVCHD camcorders and most other brands
      including latest generation of 1920x1080 AVCHD camcorders
• Improved native HDV support, memory and playback performance, long projects:
      Smart rendering (no recompress) for HDV and most MPEG-2 video
          For cuts-only projects or projects with minimal changes
      Improved native HDV .m2t playback
      Support Sony HDV 24p/30p HDV Native Progressive Recording modes
• Import MJPEG-encoded AVI files: Used on many still cameras
• Import and export high quality FLAC audio files
• Import LPEC audio files (*.msv and *.dvf)
       from portable digital voice recorders / Sony Digital Voice Editor software
• Integrated upload to YouTube: Automatically encode and publish online
• Burn to Blu-ray Disc from timeline
      Burn menuless Blu-ray BDMV to BD-R, BD-RE, or standard DVD media
      Encode MPEG-2 or AVC, Dolby or PCM audio, stereo or 5.1
• Improved AVC/MPEG-4 encoder: High-quality MPEG-4 H.264 AVC/AAC export
      AVCHD 5.1, AAC stereo audio, sample rates to 96k,
      templates for Sony PSP, WALKMAN, Apple iPod

    Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9: 
        Project Media tab (top left)
        Transitions and Audio Mixer (middle top)
        Preview Window (top right)
        multi-track Timeline (bottom) with music and sound effect overlays, DVD chapter markers

Vegas Movie Studio 9 Features

General Features

• New ** Streamlined New Project and Make Movie wizards
• New ** Fullscreen preview to a primary or secondary display
• Freehand envelope drawing on the timeline [v8]
• Display of media marker names in events [v8]
• Color-coded visual snap indicator and the ability to snap to event edges on other tracks  [v8]
• Multitrack video and audio editing
• Show Me How interactive tutorials
• Real-time editing of parameters during playback
• Support for any aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9, etc)
• Supports multiple file formats and frame rates
• Explorer view
• Project media bins
• Track markers and regions
• Unlimited undo/redo
• External DV monitor support
• Multiprocessor support
• Automatic crossfades between events

Video Features

• Drag-and-drop video editing
• Fullscreen preview to a secondary Windows display [v8]
• Real-time playback of effects, processes and transitions to external monitor
• Color correction tools
• MPEG-1&2 support
• Superior frame rate conversions
• Credit rolls and text animation
• External monitor preview
• Ripple editing across tracks

Audio Features

• New ** Cinescore Studio plug-in for music soundtrack creation
• Multithreaded audio engine maximizes performance [v8]
• 16-bit, 44.1 kHz song quality for exceptional performance
• Volume and pan envelopes
• Audio time stretching
• Event normalization
• CD audio extraction
• Audio/video synchronization detect and repair
• DirectX audio plug-in support
• VST audio effect support
• ASIO drive support
• Tape-style audio scrubbing
• Audio restoration tools
• Track-level audio FX and envelopes
• ACID loop support

Transitions and Effects

• More than 185 customizable 2D and 3D transitions
• Nearly 300 customizable video special effects
• Add text animation, titles and scrolling credits
• Red-eye removal tool
• "Green screen" chroma key effects
• Pan and crop tool to animate still images
• Video and audio time stretching

Capture and Import

• New ** Import and export support for FLAC files
• New ** Import support for LPEC files
• New ** Import support for MJPEG-encoded AVI files
• Gracenote MusicID CD album recognition [v8]
• Import and export ATRAC3, ATRAC3plus, and ATRAC Advanced Lossless files [v8]
• Import media from Sony® DVD Handycam® camcorders
• Batch capture and automatic DV scene detection
• PC connection via FireWire, i.LINKT connector or IEEE-1394 devices
• Import pictures in BMP, GIF, JPG, and PSD formats
• Import AVI, DV, SWF, and MPEG 1 & MPEG 2 files
• Import audio files in WAV, MP3, AIF, CD Audio and PCA formats

Export and Hardware Features

• New ** Integrated upload to YouTube
• Insert I-frames at marker positions when rendering MPEG-2 (works in conjunction with I-frame viewer in DVD Architect Studio 4.5 software) [v8]
• VideoCD and Multimedia CD burning
• Export video projects in multiple formats for the web
• One-click publishing to ACIDplanet.com

DVD Architect Studio 4.5 Features

    DVD Architect Studio 4.5:
        Project Overview with DVD hierarchy (top left)
        Menu editor (top center)
        Properties (top right)
        Themes tab (bottom left)
        Timeline (bottom right)

General Features

• DVD design and authoring
• Menu-based and single movie DVD creation
• Photo slideshows and music compilations
• Easy to use drag-and drop interface
• Show Me How interactive tutorials
• End actions for menus and media
• Project overview window
•  DVD theme export
• Project playlists
• Smart re-prepare
•  Unlimited number of undo/redo
• Media Explorer
• Adjustable project and file optimization settings
• Multi-monitor support
• Multi-processor support
• Fully customizable toolbars

DVD Editing and Layout

• Still and motion menu creation
• Support for multiple video titles
• Multiple menus with up to 36 buttons per menu
• Menu object editing, alignment, and sizing tools
• Text editing and shadow effects
• Object snapping
• Slide image rotation
• Add, edit, and move chapter points
• Title and Action safe grid area
• Customizable DVD themes
• Menu looping

 Video

• Flash (.swf) format import
• Fit-to-disc compression
• DVD movie creation
• Picture slideshows
• NTSC and PAL in standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9) formats
• Import AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MOV, WMV, variety of still image formats

Audio

• Music compilations
• Attach audio files to menus
• Media file previewing
• Import WAV, MP3, WMA, PCA, AIF, MPEG audio

Testing and Burning

• Dual-layer drive support
• Real-time project previewing with virtual DVD remote control or to external monitor
• DVD project verification and preparation
• Supports a wide variety of DVD burners

Supported File Formats

Opens: AIFF, ATRAC, AVI, BMP, CDA, FLAC, GIF, JPG, LPEC, 
    MMV, MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, OGG, PCA, 
    QuickTime, SFA, SWF, TGA, TIF, W64, WAV, WMA, WMV 
    Premium adds: Sony M2TS, PNG, PSD

Saves: AVI, FLAC, MP3, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, OGG, PCA, 
    QuickTime, RealAudio, RealVideo, W64, WAV, WMA, WMV 
    Premium adds: AC-3, ATRAC, MPEG-4

About Sony Creative Software

Professional Product Line  (8/08)

Sony Creative Software develops higher-end professional tools and more entry-level consumer software for digital video, music, DVD, and audio production (www.sonycreativesoftware.com). Originally developed by Sonic Foundry, and acquired by Sony Pictured Digital in May 2003, the product line includes higher-end professional tools and more entry-level versions for consumers.

The three core professional products are Vegas for video editing, Sound Forge for audio editing, and ACID for music creation, plus the newer Cinescore for professional soundtrack creation.:

- Vegas Pro 8: Professional HD video, audio, and DVD creation
            (also includes DVD Architect 4.5)
        www.sonycreativesoftware.com/vegaspro

- Sound Forge 9: Professional digital audio production suite
        www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforge

- ACID Pro 6: Professional music workstation
        www.sonycreativesoftware.com/acidpro

- Cinescore: Professional soundtrack creation
        www.sonycreativesoftware.com/cinescore

Sony also hosts ACIDplanet.com as an online community for digital musicians and videographers to share and collaborate (www.acidplanet.com). The site also includes downloads of free content and ACID XPress, a free ten-track mixing and composing application.

Consumer Product Line  (8/08)

The corresponding Sony consumer tools share these names, but have been rebranded as the Home Studio line (originally Screenblast), emphasizing Movie, Audio, and Music creation, and deemphasizing the Vegas, Sound Forge, and ACID connections (www.sonycreativesoftware.com/products/studiofamily.asp):