Vegas Pro 9, new professional tools

This update from Sony Creative Software integrates a new user interface, Direct XDCAM EX loading and import, Native Red One file support, and 4K workflow.

Optimizing the view, improving usability and allowing the direct loading and import of files and Red One (.r3d), have been the main reasons that have led Sony Creative Software to launch version 9 of its popular Vega Pro. The new version It also enables compression to MXF file format while capturing SD/HD-SDI sources, a scalable 4K workflow, and powerful new effects and editing enhancements. The software includes both original 32-bit and 64-bit versions at no additional cost, allowing publishers to benefit from today's most advanced hardware while maintaining compatibility with older systems.

Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software, highlighted that “our Vegas Pro software was the first editing application to provide a complete end-to-end solution for Sony XDCAM formats, including an innovative Proxy workflow and an extremely Fast, intelligent rendering without re-compressing to M EX and real-time baseband SD/HD recording for 50 Mb/s MXF files, using industry-standard capture cards. Vegas Pro has always been a great choice for press camera work, thanks to its ability to scale across a wide and beneficial range of mobile computing solutions. Vegas Pro 9 extends this scalability to a new level by offering the option to work in full 64-bit mode, empowering users to benefit from multi-processor/mulit-core workstations and 64-bit systems. bit".

The new Device Explorer feature in Vegas Pro 9 allows users to quickly load their content from both XDCAM EX devices and AVCHD cameras, allowing users to selectively import files and use the originals, without having to convert them to an intermediate format. Additionally, it allows users to directly capture XDCAM-compatible MXF files from sources that support SD/HD-SDI. The new capture-compression feature allows audiovisual editors to convert their legacy SD or HD tape-based material, including Digital Betacam, HDCAM, and DVCPRO 100 into high-definition, high-tech MXF clips conformed to the Sony XDCAM MPEG2 standard.

To support frame sizes greater than 4096x4096 (4K), Vegas Pro 9 software offers improved performance with even higher resolution formats as well as added support for gigapixel resolution images.
As for plugins, six effects have been incorporated, including the new Gradient Wipe Transition that offers interesting organic and artistic transitions.

Important improvements

New workflow improvements in Vegas Pro 9 software help speed production in several ways. Customizable layouts allow each user to prepare their workflows for maximum creativity. Improvements have been made to importing and archiving media. New keyboard and mouse modifiers help save more time by making editing commands more efficient.

Vegas Pro 9 provides import and export of originals for industry-standard image formats. DPX and OpenEXR are highly flexible image formats that give editors more latitude for effects and color correction. By offering support for these advanced file formats, it provides an effects workflow with graphic effects packages. Additionally, it now supports gigapixel sized images directly on the same timeline. This new feature allows editors to use these huge images to create a movie sequence using pan/scan and crop techniques while maintaining HD resolution.

On the audio side, it now offers audio waveform drawing during recording, greatly increasing the speed of the workflow. Audio-only edits such as event moves and ASR envelopes fall within the default boundaries, helping editors match audio and video to an exact event in the timeline. A “Use all streams and channels” command has been added to the Trimmer window shortcut menu, allowing users to choose how to manage streams and channels when adding media to the timeline.

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