Customer Reviews

Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

You can check some of my previous postings, even as crazy and memory hungry as Adobe Premier Elements has been I always thought it was the best user interface...just a great simple to understand interface to get things done. Having said that I was not confident in recommending it to countless friends who asked for my recommendation on editing software for their home video. Most of them simply did not have the computing power and memory to overcome Premier Elements memory hog headaches.

In addition to Adobe I have used Magix Movie Edit Pro, Corel VideoStudio Pro and Pinnacle Studio. Magix is a second to this new Sony release; however, NOT a close second...just second.

I am comfortable now in recommending Sony's Vegas Movie Studio HD. Yes you need some specific computer power and memory but from what I have thrown at it so far (1080P MTS and AVCHD files from my Canon, Samsung and Pentax Camcorders...it has performed flawlessly.

I have also enjoyed a stress-free, crash-free rendering and burning to DVD all types and lengths of video footage.

It appears that Sony got this right and we will all benefit from it.

If Adobe was ever to get off it's tail and actually add some real user value to a next release...as well as do something about it's memory appetite and unstableness I might go back, but for now I'm making Sony Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.0 my goto app for video.

Last summer we bought Movie Platinum 8 and after working on little videos we became so frustrated with the rendering time we gave up even using it last summer and haven't used it since. (It took 14-24 hours to render a video on a dual core operating system (not duo core)!) Finally, this summer we upgraded to a quad core with an i7 processor and Movie Platinum 10 and it made a world of difference. Super fast! Incredible! Software is loaded with features--so much so we haven't begun to look at everything. It also allows you to burn blu-ray. But lesson learned, when it comes to video editing, you just can't cut corners on the computer side of things. Sony should tell you that so you're prepared to spend the extra bucks before buying the software.

After reading countless reviews of HD video editing software I became convinced that no matter which product I purchased, I'd be stuck with a product likely to be unstable and experience frequent crashes.
I considered the following candidates:
* Corel VideoStudio Pro X2
* Pinnacle Studio Plus Version 12
* Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10
Because of the trial version download option for Sony Vegas Movie Studio I decided on this package. Please note that burning the rendered video requires a second package named DVD Architect Studio.
I transferred the AVCHD video from my Sony HDR-CX150 camcorder into the Sony Vegas Movie Studio without any problems. I then created a 20 minute video with added audio track and included a slideshow, and then burned the DVD. I went back several times and edited the video by cutting or adding clips and changing the audio tracks. Every time I burned a new DVD, again without any hiccups.
I should point out that the final version is a mpg-2 file burned on a DVD disc. I don't have a Blu-ray disc burner and hence wasn't able to produce a true 1080p video. But the results for the 480p DVD output played on my 1080p flat screen TV was still very impressive. Rendering the 20 minute video took about 40 minutes and burning a DVD another 4 minutes. During the use of both the Sony Vegas Movie Studio 10 and the Sony DVD Architect Studio I have not experienced any performance problems or any other issues with its functionality. I used a Toshiba Satellite A665-S6050, running Windows 7, with Intel Core i3 processor and 4 GB RAM. I can highly recommend the Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 and the DVD Architect Studio 5 products. There will be a learning curve for both products, but it's worth the investment in time.

My daughter and I have been struggling with this software for about a week now and finally clued in to the problem. It's a 32-bit application and so is limited in the amount of memory it can work with. I wish we had known this up front. We could have saved a lot of time and frustration.

On the plus side, the interface, for people already familiar with video editing, is intuitive. The software has a lot of features and my daughter (who was using this for a school project, a high-def video she was making of some scenes from Romeo and Juliet) was able to pretty quickly make a very nice high-def video within the program.

The problems came when we tried to render the video. Every time we tried to do anything that required compression (e.g., write the high-def video to a DVD) the program crashed with a "low memory" error. We spent a LOT of time trying various tricks (playing with settings, trying to run in safe mode) but it became clear that with 8 GB of RAM on our machine, 4 GB of which was totally free, the problem wasn't with our computer. The software simply was not using the RAM that was available.

The solution is Sony's 64-bit software, Vegas Pro (assuming you're running a 64-bit Windows). I downloaded the trial for that and it ran like a champ. But that's a $600 product.

In short, if you're not editing high-def video, and if you have enough RAM (I would guess 4 GB is probably minimal), then this is probably a good choice. It's fairly cheap, and my daughter (who's used a lot of video editors already) found it very easy to use. If you want to edit high-def, you should look elsewhere. Given the amount of memory this software uses, and its inability to address more than 4 GB, you're probably just going to be frustrated. I was.

Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum #10 Suite review.

Wait for non-PRO version #11 with 64 bits! This product does NOT work well in Windows 7, a 64-bit platform for HD video, the consumer standard. For archiving tapes to DVD it's great, but rotten for HD to blu-ray as it is only 32 bit. For most consumers, this is renders the product a poor value.

Attempts at rendering Canon flash memory, which is AVCHD/.mts files, typically end in an ERROR pop-up (not enough memory) when rendering to 1080i MPEG-4 1920X1080 HD blu-ray. Wait for version #11 with 64 bits and buy it here on amzn given the outstanding return policy!

In addition, Sony Platinum #10 only allows you to add a maximum of 10 video clips. Each HD video clip can only be at most 15 minutes given the 32 bit platform of Sony #10 or the GB size of the file will cause ERROR failure. Also, 8GB of flash memory provides 1h of best quality full HD 24p 1920X1080 Canon MXP mode of 24 MBPS. Do the math. With Sony #10, the 10 clips of 15 minutes each allows a maximum of 150 minutes or 2.5 hours of HD video if everything is working perfectly. This 2.5 hours is 20 GB of flash memory at 8 GB/hour. The blu-ray discs are 25 GB storage capacity. You are throwing away 5 GB or 20% of the 25 GB by being restricted to 20 GB projects. I could not figure out how to add another 5 GB file to the burned product so 20% waste is unacceptable. Also, recall that if you record nonstop to Canon flash memory for more than 15 minutes as with many home videos then the Sony #10 product will fail given its 32 bit platform. Wait for version #11 with 64 bits!

Others with weaker computers have reported that if you render any video film above 5 minutes in AVCHD format, the film will become shaky/ blurry and so Sony #10 forces you to discard your family videos of 5 minutes or longer. You need to select video clips of less than 4 minutes in each project for a good final film in High Definition format. One reported success by chopping his project up into smaller pieces, rendering each segment, then reassembling them in Vegas Movie Studio. Wait for Sony non-PRO version #11 with 64 bits!

The other HD consumer recording product is Canon mini-DV HD tapes which record MPEG-2/.m2t files which is easier for Sony and other less expensive video software to handle.

For older non-HD camcorders, information is encoded as standard definition 480p MPEG-2 files. Once you finish with your older tapes and move to the beauty of HD tapes or flash memory you will find this software very, very limited. Glowing reviews on this website by Sony employees should be noted to not comment on the HD specifics as many sofware options handle non-HD video.

For the slideshow function of converting digital still pictures to DVD, this can be obtained free on the internet from many shareware sites such that buying any software for this function is nonsense.

Don't fool yourself into thinking, "I have 4 gigs or 8 gigs of ram, that is more than enough to do my projects on Sony Vegas Movie Studio." WRONG. 32 bit apps cannot access all of your memory so you are out of luck once you have too many hi def clips on the time line or if you have clips longer than 15 minutes. Wait for Sony non-PRO version #11 with 64 bits!

You MUST download a free trial version of Sony Vegas from Sony's sonycreativesoftware website for 30 days to see for yourself. Download it during a long weekend as it will also take many hours to learn the software so you are certain that it simply is poor software. Given the 30 day trial limitation, first watch Sony's useful Show Me How tutorials and read the Help file in the program via YouTube so you maximize your 30 days of access.

If you can't install Vegas at all, log in as The Administrator and change some settings in your Virus Protector program.

If you do not care that Sony #10 limits you to only 10 clips and they must be shorter than 15 minutes given the mandated 32 bit outdated platform, then you should also make sure that you have at least 4 GB of RAM. Be aware that many background programs suck up your memory and may also cause this program to fail as it relies heavily on access to RAM. You may wish to REGEDIT to allow Vegas access my entire computer's resources, and edit the startup.ini to minimize resource conflicts with other programs. Also, all drivers and codecs should be updated. Never multi-task or open other programs or internet while using any video editing software. Close out virus software, disable wireless, and close unnecessary programs.

Given the unacceptable limitations of the current Sony #10, you should download Sony's PRO 64 bit version for a 30 day free trial. You will find that the product works perfectly! For only $500-$600!!!! The 64 bit platform allows the program to access more of your computer's memory to handle bigger HD files for perfect burning. Wait for Sony non-PRO version #11 with 64 bits unless you have cash to burn.

Another option is to download a TRIAL of Cyberlink's Power Director 9 ULTRA software as it is 64 bit and reportedly can handle that which is required for HD uploading and burning to blu-ray. Unfortunately, it reportedly requires the full 4-6 GB of RAM and technical support is even worse than Sony's. Again, best to download a free trial to see if your computer is compatable. Despite technical specs, computers are different and the trial may declare that even this option is as worthless as Sony's non-PRO version #10. Wait for Sony non-PRO version #11 with 64 bits unless you have cash to burn.

I have a lot of computer experience but do not have a lot of video editing experience. I have been using Sony Vegas Movie Studio for about 4 or 5 years. I researched online before updating to the latest version which is compatible with my newer Windos 7 system. Generally, I found its users more satisfied than other video editing software. I have a Sony digital camcorder HC36. I output thru DV to the computer. I don't like the fact that the Sony software is actually broken up into a few different software to capture the video and to burn a DVD but it is reasonable once you get used to it. If you are comfortable in ramping up on new softwares then this software shoold be good for you. If you are light in computer skills then you may want to try a more basic software, But for me, I would buy this software again.

This has to be one of the worst software series in existence. I was running Vegas 9.0 and trying to render a 30 minute 720p video on a Dell E6400 with 2GB. It was constantly crashing, so I made the mistake of buying Vegas 10.0 to fix it. It is even worse. I can't even preview the file without the program crashing. Filed tech support requests online but no response. I even added another 2GB RAM, so I have 4GB total. And I get non stop memory errors when I try to render. This is terrible, terrible, terrible (did I say terrible?) software.

Sony Begas Movie Studio 10 loads up easy running Windows 7. There are lots of features with (I think) 10 audio and 10 video tracks. I'm just learning editing, so there's a steep learning curve with product. If you're new, I suggest watching the tutorials on the site and also going to YouTube to get ideas. If you know you want to learn editing and know you'll want something more than than simplistic Windows Moviemaker, I recommend this product. Just take the time to learn it and don't get frustrated.

I bought Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 10 because I was about to buy a Panasonic DMC-GH2 hybrid still/video camera with AVCHD output Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 16.05 MP Live MOS Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3-inch Free-Angle Touch Screen LCD and 14-140mm HD Hybrid Lens (Black). Very very happy with the camera, but I bought it with the full understanding that Panasonic AVCHD is a terrible codec for editing. Sadly, I believed Sony when it said that Vegas was "AVCHD compatible" for less than 100USD. I did not know that Sony stopped licensing the outstanding CineForm code for rendering AVCHD after Vegas 8, and now uses its own software code. The effect, in these more recent versions, seems to be slow, stuttering and almost unusable playback of .mts files in preview mode. A few hours of research and a quick download of Cineform and ACFilter solved my problem, but this cost me 130USD on top of what I paid for Vegas, which put me over 200USD (plus the wasted time). I should have sprung for the 200USD Grass ValleyEdius Neo2 Booster in the first place Grass Valley EDIUS Neo 2 Booster, Entry Level Full Version Software for Windows. Perhaps not as full-featured, but I understand that it is *actually* compatible with the .mts files from my camera. My overall assessment is that Sony Vegas is a very capable piece of editing software with a lot of bells and whistles, many of them very useful -- but it fails to get the basics right.

This is my third software package I have purchased for the express purpose of burning high definition home video to a blu-ray disc (and the second version of this particular software, since 9.0 didn't quite work out). After months of frustration with the first two I purchased (suck it, Cyberlink and Corel!), I finally was able to successfully burn a disc and it looks great! Of course, I still had to check out some blog sites to determine what "tweaks" to the default settings I needed to make, but in the end, I had a finished product. If you want menus with your video, you'll need to have the Sony DVD Architect 5.0 as a companion. You may not have any problems with the product straight out of the box. But if you do, it will probably only take one or two changes to the default settings to overcome. I can't recommend this product highly enough. Thanks, Sony!