Vegas compare/contrast with other prog.

[ineedhelp123]

I dont know if I should get vegas because i heard it lags alot.. are there any other programs in the editing category that is up to par with vegas.

[redwudz]

Please read my comment in your other thread about using proper post titles. Edit this one to reflect your subject. 'Hi suggestions welcomed' is not a proper title.

Moderator redwudz

[harley2ride]

I use Vegas 5, and I sure don't think that it lags... What exactly are you wanting to edit. How often will you be doing it. Is this for fun and home use, or semi-professional use..

[Relayerman]

Look into Serif's MoviePlus 5

www.serif.com

I use it and it does a great job. Can do just about anything you want with it. Comes with a simple authoring tool, but its an add-on not worth bothering with. Use something else. The editor is what MoviePlus is all about.

[aedipuss]

if your computer specs are accurate, then just about any editor is going to lag. sorry, but it is all about cpu speed/ram/fast hard drives in video editing.

[SCDVD]

Look into Serif's MoviePlus 5

www.serif.com

I use it and it does a great job. Can do just about anything you want with it. Comes with a simple authoring tool, but its an add-on not worth bothering with. Use something else. The editor is what MoviePlus is all about.

I use Vegas Pro 8 and like it very much. I have a friends whose son is planning to buy a Video editor. He is budget conscious but wants something more than off-the-shelf low-end consumer editors. He's pretty serious about video editing and wants to make a wise choice of editors without breaking the bank. How would you compare MoviePlus 5 on a feature for feature basis with Vegas? Will it accept add-ins? What MPEG-2 encoder does it use? Are there limitation on the number of video tracks? etc?

[Relayerman]

MoviePlus 5 has unlimited number of video / audio tracks, but keep in mind that when doing a preview in real-time the machine better have some horsepower if using multiple tracks.

The builtin MPEG-2 encoder is MainConcept's, but there is a codec manager that allows you to assign alternate codecs to different extensions. MoviePlus will try to use the codec(s) you assign, but they may not work. In such an event as a MoviePlus crash upon the next start of MoviePlus it goes into its own 'safe' mode and uses only its builtin 'trusted' codecs. you have to go back into the codec manager and re-enable the 3rd party codec checkbox. So it is flexible but with caveats. you are allowed to add file extensions that will then allow MoviePlus to recogize previously unrecognized file formats although their own list is pretty extensive of supported formats (both audio and video). That manager is builtin to the product as well.

I haven't used Vegas in a long time (and it would be an older version as well) so I can't comment much on a feature by feature basis, but its is very similar in layout and operation to the Vegas I remember. It is made for the consumer, but has enough pro features to do just about anything you'd want to do with editing. I've used Serif products a lot and they are very receptive to what their customer's ask for and complain about. They are quick to fix bugs and post patches. Their forum is very active and they read and respond to all posts everyday. Once you are a customer you are then eligible for big discounts on future versions. The initial price might seem daunting at first, but when they start to drop the price big time on a product you know that a new version is imminent. They do have 30-day money-back guarantee and they stand behind that.

Go to the Serif website and download the MoviePlus manual. Its a PDF and free (and complete). It will tell you everything you want to know about the product in detail. Very well written.

check out some of the tutorials for MoviePlus here:
http://www.serif.com/community/tutorials/index.asp

[JohnnyMalaria]

I used Premiere from the original Version 1.0 (~1994) until Pro 1.5. I finally got rid of it - it was never a good marriage - and I got Vegas 8. I find it so much better. I also had affairs with Ulead MediaStudio Pro while wedded to Premiere but always left a bad taste in my mouth, too.

(My all-time favorite was EditDV.)