Should I graduate from AVIDemux? Which older version of payware for Win7 ?

[GoodEnough]

My PC is Win7, 64-bit. 8GB RAM.
I have no problem buying software if it makes the job easier or quicker.

Right now, I have 2 uses for editing software.
#1 is 95% of my needs.
#2 I need to do every few years, so maybe I should even consider this, since I can hire this out.

1) I capture 2 hours of athletic footage, and need to condense it down to 10 mins.
I am pretty decent with using the [ and ] keys to mark A/B and delete dead footage.
I also use the up and down arrows to skip around and not watch the entire 2 hours again.

2) Merge multi-cam files and make a single video using slices from multiple files (like a band music video)

My needs are very basic, so I think I can use something several years old.
Can I try to buy Vegas Pro 12 or 13?
Or Sony Movie Studio? Which version?

[GoodEnough]

I'd like to buy a copy of Sony Movie Studio 13.
How do licensing codes work?
Can I buy a copy off Ebay ?

[awgie]

I'd like to buy a copy of Sony Movie Studio 13.
How do licensing codes work?
Can I buy a copy off Ebay ?

Well, it's not Sony any more, but that's more or less beside the point.

Anything you find on ebay is likely to be an illegal copy. If you were to buy such a copy and it failed to activate, you'd never see your money again.

You can get Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 13 (Platinum includes a lot of features — like DVD Architect and h264 encoding — that Movie Studio Basic does not) for $80 USD right from the source: http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-movie-studio-platinum/

I just upgraded myself. I didn't want to... I had been using Movie Studio 10 for years, and it was working just fine. But my hard drive crashed and I couldn't locate my disks to reinstall it, so I kind of had no choice. It's not top-of-the-line professional editing software, but I feel it's certainly worth the price. It should be more than sufficient to take care of both of your tasks.

[GoodEnough]

Thanks for the link.
$50 for just the Movie Studio.
$80 for Platinum.

http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-movie-studio-product-comparison/#productMenu

It seems like just having the color processing is worth paying a little more.
White Balance and color correction.
Does this mean you can also adjust brightness with Platinum?

[awgie]

Yes, brightness and contrast. Here is the screen with the video processing plug-ins.

Also important to note is that Basic does not allow you to customize the output (render) templates. And it does not have Dolby Digital (AC3) audio output, so if you ever wanted to make a DVD out of one of your projects, you'd have to use separate software and convert the audio to AC3, and separate software to author the DVD. Platinum does have those features as well, so easily worth the extra $30.

[GoodEnough]

At this point, I can't imagine ever making a DVD ever again.
Youtube is the ultimate distribution channel.

Another question. After cutting out the various extra segments of a video.
(eg: I cut down 10 minutes of footage down to 30 seconds)
AVIDemux can save the new file in a matter of seconds.
It does not re-encode the audio or video.
Does Movie Station also do this?

[GoodEnough]

Which version of Movie Studio supports multi-cam editing? (#2 in my initial list)

Edit: Sounds like I can sync multiple tracks and then manually cut out sections to let the "lower" camera show.
I can do this on basic or platinum ?

http://www.designstudioschool.com/three-camera-shoot-edit-t23121.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/VideoEditing/comments/39aekx/sony_movie_studio_platinum_12_mu...ox&sh=6ce34287
http://www.designstudioschool.com/multicamera-edit-t18697.html

[TreeTops]

Movie Studio version 14 (Platinum version) will have Multi-cam support. See this: http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/index.php?id=321&L=52

[johnmeyer]

I own Vegas Pro and have used it for fifteen years. There is no auto adjust brightness (or color, or anything else) in any version of Vegas. It does not have AVISynth's ability to make processing decisions based on the content of what is actually in any given video frame.

[awgie]

I own Vegas Pro and have used it for fifteen years. There is no auto adjust brightness (or color, or anything else) in any version of Vegas. It does not have AVISynth's ability to make processing decisions based on the content of what is actually in a video frame.

No one said it did have auto adjust.

That being said, the new versions of Vegas Movie Studio Platinum (13 & 14) supposedly have the capability to automatically colour-match two different video clips. I haven't actually tried it, but I'm hoping it works well, because I know I have footage from different cameras that I have had to manually adjust in the past.

Which version of Movie Studio supports multi-cam editing? (#2 in my initial list)

Edit: Sounds like I can sync multiple tracks and then manually cut out sections to let the "lower" camera show.
I can do this on basic or platinum ?

You should be able to do it in any version. Even Basic allows up to 10 separate video tracks.

[GoodEnough]

I don't need AUTO adjust brightness, but I can manually adjust brightness, right?

[johnmeyer]

I don't need AUTO adjust brightness, but I can manually adjust brightness, right?

Yes, most definitely. (BTW, apologize for reading "also" as "auto" in your earlier post.)

However, even though you can do it using Vegas' Brightness and Contrast fX, you probably don't ever want to adjust brightness, in Vegas or in any other program. Most brightness tools (certainly the one in Vegas) increase the level of all pixels, something that will result in washed out blacks and burnt-out highlights. What you want to use instead is a gamma adjustment. This increases or decreases the midtones while leaving the pure dark and pure bright pixels more-or-less intact. Gamma adjustment is available in several of the Vegas plugins including both the Levels and Color Corrector plugin.

Even better is to learn how to use the Color Curves plug in which lets you create your own histogram curve so that you can increase the brightness of just some of the image, while leaving the really dark and really light sections alone.

[GoodEnough]

I ordered a $25 copy of SONY MOVIE STUDIO 13 off Ebay.
For $25, I'm willing to take a chance.
If it's some kind of scam that does not work, I will order the $50 version from the Vegas website.

My main use is to simply cut out 90% of a long video file, and just keep the "highlights.

Once a year, I will need multi-cam editing.
It seems like Movie Studio 13 will let me "fake" multi-cam, by doing manual deletions of layers.
That is a good starting point for now.
If I do a lot more multi-cam editing, then I will spring for some software that does "true" Multi-Cam.
Main option would be Vegas Pro, right? $399?

[johnmeyer]

Yes, I use Vegas Pro.

However, I have no idea why you bought the product without trying it. You do know that they have a fully functional demo that you can install and use for thirty days? Too late now, I guess, although it you are ever tempted to pay the big money for the pro version, for goodness sake try it first.

Multi-cam editing is a real joy. I did several four-camera weddings fifteen months ago, and it was a breeze to edit. I also do a two-camera shoot of the Nutcracker each December, and I can often edit it in close to real time (i.e., two hours to edit a two-hour dance).

[awgie]

I ordered a $25 copy of SONY MOVIE STUDIO 13 off Ebay.
For $25, I'm willing to take a chance.
If it's some kind of scam that does not work, I will order the $50 version from the Vegas website.

Keep detailed records of the transaction, including the email confirmations, paypal transactions, etc.

If you only paid $25, I guarantee it's not a legitimate copy - especially if the ebay listing used the name Sony in describing the product, since it's not Sony any more.

If it ends up not working, you'll need to report it to ebay (that'd be your only chance - however slim - of getting your money back, because software is non-refundable), and I would also report it directly to Vegas.

[GoodEnough]

I will download the trial, and try it out this week on my new footage.
First step will be to simply slice and dice the footage.

What is that command called?
In AviDemux, I use
MARK A
MARK B
DEL

At the end, I only have the wanted footage,
I then just save it (2-3 seconds write time), and post to YouTube.

What is the analogous command sequence/name in Movie Studio?

[johnmeyer]

First of all, that software is almost certainly legitimate. Sony still gave you the option of purchasing their software in a box, right up until they sold the company to Magix last spring. I used to buy all sorts of expensive software on eBay this way. The secret? The cheap software is always at least 1-2 versions out of date. This one is version 13, and they are now at version 14.

Vegas gives you dozens of ways to do the same thing. One way to do cuts only edits is to press "S" (for split) which will split the "event" (that's what each section of video or audio is called). Then scrub to where you want to end the edit (the J-K-L keys go backwards, stop, forward, and each time you press J or L the speed gets faster) and press "S" again. You now have an "event" on the timeline that you want to remove. Make sure to first enable "ripple editing" (there is an icon on the timeline) and also make sure that you tell it to ripple everything (i.e., all tracks, markers, etc.). Then, click on the video event and press DEL. Depending on what order you do things, the event may already be selected, in which case it is exactly the same number of button presses as what you use in AVIDemux. At worst, you'll have one extra mouse click to select the event. When you press Del, the event will be removed, and the events to the right of that event will all be moved to the left to fill in the gap.

Vegas Pro lets you create script to automate these tasks, and I have a suite of scripts I wrote over a decade ago which help make me the fastest "cuts-only" editor in the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm not that good, but the script automation really speeds things up. Unfortunately, that is one of the main features purposely left out of the Studio version.

[GoodEnough]

I found a link that sells Movie Maker for $25
Seems to be some affiliate URL
http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/index.php?id=374&L=52

It also sold Platinum for $39.
Still not sure I need Platinum.
I have no plans on DVD, and am only editing goPro and cellPhone video. (no 4k or whatever)



I will just buy from here.

[GoodEnough]

What is an example of a scripted edit?
What sort of footage is to perfectly predictable like that?
Is the script based on time? Or other events like "When you see a black screen, split"

[awgie]

I found a link that sells Movie Maker for $25
Seems to be some affiliate URL
http://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/index.php?id=374&L=52

It also sold Platinum for $39.
Still not sure I need Platinum.
I have no plans on DVD, and am only editing goPro and cellPhone video. (no 4k or whatever)

I will just buy from here.

I'll assume you meant to say Movie Studio. That's the official website. They periodically run special deals. At the end of December I got Movie Studio Platinum 13 for $60 with a free upgrade to 14 when it's released. That they've marked 13 down to half price probably means that 14 is going to be released very soon, especially considering that 14 Pro is already out.

[johnmeyer]

What is an example of a scripted edit?
What sort of footage is to perfectly predictable like that?
Is the script based on time? Or other events like "When you see a black screen, split"

Scripting in Vegas has nothing in common with AVISynth scripting. It does not look at the content of a video frame. Instead, scripting is used to automate repetitive operations. I have written over 100 scripts to do things like:

• Check to see if there are any small gaps between video
• "Duck" one audio channel under another channel
• Remove "x" seconds from all selected events
• Delete empty spaces from between events
• Apply Deshaker motion stabilization to all selected events
• Trim the current event from the cursor position to the beginning of the event, and move all subsequent events

The basic idea is that anything you do which requires doing the same operation over, and over, and over, and over again can be reduced to a single operation.

[GoodEnough]

Yes, what I am asking is WHEN do you ever do the same operation over and over, in a predictable manner?
Or or you making a script like "Delete the next 10 seconds"
WHEN you run the script is manually triggered (B/c you never know ahead of time which 10 seconds you want to delete)
But the actual deletion part, once identified manually, is done automatically by the "1-click" script.
Is that right ?

[GoodEnough]

Wow, I downloaded & installed the Movie Studio 13 program and it crashes when I try to start it.
Is this a typical piece of junk like AVIUtil that doesn't actually run?

[johnmeyer]

I've spent hundreds of hours in the Sony Vegas forums over the past fifteen years. While Vegas has had some stability problems, crashing on loading is not one of them. It is most definitely not "a piece of junk."

Without more information, I can't provide further guidance. You might get help by searching the Magix Vegas forum.

[GoodEnough]

I just paid $25 for this download, and the program won't even run.

Crashes during the splash screen loading.

"Initializing GPU accelerated video processing"

Opens a window titled "Problem report"
Movie Studio has stopped working

Needless to say, I am hugely disappointed.
Does this program work on Win7 64-bit?

[johnmeyer]

I thought the trial was free for 30 days.

If there is a way to turn off GPU acceleration prior to loading, you might be able to proceed. GPU is most definitely not needed.

[awgie]

If you don't have a GPU, GPU acceleration should be off by default. You can reset Vegas to all default settings by holding CTRL+SHIFT while clicking the icon to launch the program.

If you DO have a GPU, make sure you have updated drivers installed for it.

If you have an AMD Radeon GPU, make sure you do NOT have the SDK installed for AMD Catalyst, and make sure the GPU is set for "High Performance" for Vegas.

[GoodEnough]

I just tried CTRL+SHIFT, to no avail.
I have never changed defaults, since the program has never successfully started.

Wait, I think I actually recognize the phrase "AMD catalyst."
How do I check what video driver stuff I have installed?

[awgie]

To ensure that you do not have the SDK installed for AMD Catalyst (This solution came directly from the Vegas forums and it's a few years old. I don't have AMD Catalyst installed at all, so I haven't verified that it still works the same way now, but I have no reason to suspect that it wouldn't.):

Go to control panel:
* Uninstall Program.
* Modify/Uninstall AMD Catalyst
* Select 'custom' uninstall.
* Check/select AMD SDK
* Uninstall.

To ensure that you have the latest drivers:

Right click on 'My Computer' and select Properties. Your processor should be displayed.
Go to http://www.amd.com and type the name of your processor into the search box.
Scroll down in the results to "Product Information" and choose the appropriate CPU/GPU combination.
Click on 'View Drivers'.
Scroll down the drivers page and choose the link for your operating system.
On the download page, if you only want to update the drivers, select 'AMD Minimal Setup'.

To set your hardware for high performance, watch this video. It shows it in pictures better than I could explain it on paper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGjZ9JcQbjo

If it still won't work after you've tried all these steps, you could try uninstalling the AMD Catalyst software altogether. The software is not actually necessary in order for the graphics card to operate - all you really need are the drivers. The software simply provides more fine tuning control of the hardware. As I said, I don't have AMD Catalyst installed on mine, and Vegas runs just fine (but it installed with GPU acceleration off by default).

[GoodEnough]

Your directions are great. But, still not idiot proof!

My CPU is "AMD Athlon II X4 635 Processor 2.90 ghz"
I entered this on the AMD main page search box, and just got some news release.

When I go to Uninstall, and search for "AMD" all I got was:
AMD Catalyst Install Manager

Not sure if I should uninstall this.
The only "AMD" app that shows up in my Start button search is:
AMD Vision Engine Control Center