Sony Vegas Pro 13

digitalfilms by Oliver Peters

If you are looking for an easy-to-use editing application that?s optimized for a Windows workstation, one option is the Vegas Pro family from Sony Creative Software. There are several configurations, including Vegas Pro 13 Edit, Vegas Pro 13 and Vegas Pro 13 Suite. The big differences among these is the selection of Sony and third party tools that come with the bundle. The Edit version is mainly the NLE software. The standard Vegas Pro 13 package includes a Dolby Digital Professional encoder, DVD Architect Pro 6, the NewBlueFX Video Essentials VI plug-in collection and Nectar Elements from iZotope. All three products include CALM Act-compliant loudness metering and the HitFilm video plug-in collection from FXHOME. The Suite bundle adds Sound Forge Pro 11 (a file-based audio editor), HitFilm 2 Ultimate (a separate compositing application), Vegas Pro Production Assistant and 25 royalty-free music tracks.

Vegas Pro is a 64-bit application that requires a 64-bit version of Windows 7, 8 or 8.1. In my testing, I installed it on a Xeon-powered HP Z1 G2 configured with Windows 8.1, an NVIDIA K4100m GPU and 16GB of RAM. I didn?t have any video I/O device connected, so I wasn?t able to test that, but Vegas Pro will support AJA hardware and various external control surfaces. If you?ve ever used a version of Vegas Pro in the past, then Vegas Pro 13 will feel comfortable. For those who?ve never used it, the layout might be a bit of a surprise compared with other NLE software. Vegas is definitely a niche product in the market, in spite of its power, but fans of the software are as loyal to it, as those on the Mac side who love Final Cut Pro X.

Vegas Pro 13 supports a wide range of I-frame and long-GOP video codecs, including many professional and consumer media formats. For those moving into 4K, Vegas Pro 13 supports XAVC (used by the F55) and XAVC-S, a format used in Sony?s 4K prosumer cameras. Other common professional formats supported include Panasonic P2 (AVC-Intra), Sony XDCAM, HDCAM-SR, ProRes (requires ProRes for Windows and QuickTime installed) and REDCODE raw. 4K timeline support goes up to a frame size of 4096 x 4096 pixels. As an application with deep roots in audio, the list naturally includes most audio formats, as well. read more...