Vegas Pro for Windows

Video editing software

VEGAS Pro is a professional video editing program. Previously known as Sony VEGAS Pro, is produced by MAGIX, who bought the company in 2016. It provides tools to edit a number of different video products with the capacity to author DVDs and Blu-rays. The editing suite is advanced, which means it can deliver professional results.

Get to grips with the workflow

The editing software in VEGAS Pro is ideal for movies, TV shows, music videos, and more. As with many professional programs, the tools require some editing experience and some learning in order to be used effectively. Fortunately, the workflow in this program has interactive tutorials to teach you how to use it.

Once you begin to understand the workflow and the interface you will see that VEGAS Pro is an intuitive program. It offers innovative tools, keeps the user in mind, and gives you the chance to customize your workspace. You can move and add windows to the docking area so that the tools you require are right where you need them.

Top range of tools

There are many tools, such as adding subtitles, using filters and effects, and optimizing images. The features are sufficient for professional editors to work on video projects. Using this program, you can slow down playback, composite images using chroma key, and adjust the white balance.

Adding visual special effects and other editing can be done to a clip directly in the timeline rather than a separate editing window, which makes VEGAS Pro a fast way to work. Your editing doesn’t need to be limited by the tools available as this powerful software gives you the control with multicam editing, masking, and image stabilization.

You have the capacity to work with HD, 4K, and 8K resolution footage, and it gives you the capacity to enhance footage that has been created at a lower resolution. VEGAS Pro appreciates that the visual is only one side of the story, which is why there is a great suite of editing tools too. The program comes as a standalone purchase or as a subscription.

Expanded capability with plug-ins

VEGAS Pro supports Open FX plug-ins, which means the number of features is vastly increased. This is vital for creativity, as the possibilities for what you can achieve are almost endless. You can use third-party effects, creating a chain that uses up to 32 plug-ins to get the desired result. One particular plug-in that is useful for cinematic effects and color grading is the ability to import and export LUTs or Lookup Tables.

Once your work is complete, it needs to be delivered in the right format, which is something this program can help with. You can choose from the most common templates or formats as well as customizing your render. The software works in a smart way to enhance the speed of the hardware when rendering, which makes it a quick process. You can drag and drop your project using the VEGAS DVD Architect to author Blu-ray or DVD discs.

Everything you need in one package

It can be quite challenging to find a program that meets all of your needs. VEGAS Pro comes close with the OFX and other great features. However, the price tag, the learning curve required, or simply the style of the interface could have you looking for a program that feels more comfortable for you. There are other alternatives for you to try.

Anyone familiar with the industry standards in editing will have heard of Adobe Premiere Pro. It is a real-time editor that comes as part of the Creative Cloud subscription, which means you can’t buy it as a one-off purchase. It provides a good number of features and tools and is useful for collaborating on projects.

Another popular tool among professionals is DaVinci Resolve. There are over 250 functions to choose from, including video stabilization and color correction. It is particularly good when it comes to collaboration, which means different experts within a production team can use it to achieve the finished product.

If you work with graphical editing and compositing, then HitFilm Pro might appeal. The video effects are advanced, and it comes with audio editing tools and effects to match. There is a strong focus on compositor effects while maintaining more traditional features.

VEGAS PRO 21

VEGAS Pro 21 has arrived with robust features designed to elevate the video editing experience. This latest iteration of the software places a significant emphasis on AI-powered tools, precision editing, and enhanced audio capabilities. It debuts Mocha VEGAS, a cutting-edge tool that revolutionizes motion tracking and stabilization. Editors can achieve precise motion tracking, allowing them to pin motion-tracked masks to specific positions and maintain their accuracy over time. 

Sound Forge is another exciting addition, catering to those seeking to elevate their audio quality. It helps users record on up to 32 channels at an impressive 64-bit/768 kHz, ensuring crystal-clear audio. Sound Forge provides precise audio editing capabilities, allowing editors to shape individual sounds and apply professional mastering tools, making it an invaluable asset for audio-focused projects.

In the realm of audio, the ACID tool makes its debut in this new version of VP, offering tools for crafting tailor-made soundtracks. Editors can expect faster beatmaking through innovative sampling tools, the ability to experiment with loops, and access to world-leading effect plug-ins. It opens up a world of creative possibilities for creating the perfect audio accompaniment to videos.

The entirety of this video editing app  also introduces several AI-powered features to streamline the editing process and enhance the quality of projects. The AI Image Analysis feature, known as Z-Depth, employs artificial intelligence to analyze footage and construct complex depth maps from 2D imagery. This empowers editors to edit foreground and background elements separately, resulting in hyper-realistic visual effects. 

Additionally, the software offers Automatic Voiceovers, allowing users to generate authentic voiceovers from text prompts, with the ability to select emotional tones and translate them into multiple languages. Moreover, it can automatically generate captions from audio files, simplifying the subtitling process. The introduction of Smart Masks is also a significant time-saver, as it identifies and tracks moving objects within clips, automatically generating Bézier masks.

To enhance flexibility and creativity, it introduces new effects like Offset and Wrap effects, along with GL transition presets like Static wipe and Directional scale. These effects provide editors with a wider range of transformative options for their footage, enabling them to achieve a polished look with ease. In terms of workflow efficiency and accessibility, it offers Quick Upload, allowing users to access and download their files from any device.

High-quality editing

VEGAS Pro is a complex and comprehensive program, which doesn’t hold back on delivering the tools that professionals need. It provides tutorials to assist beginners in using its software and supports plug-ins to ensure a choice of effects. This, combined with the speed for editing and rendering, makes it a useful companion for professional editors.

The latest version includes a large number of new features. We now see unified color grading, GPU-accelerated decoding for formats AVC/HEVC, nested timelines, HLG HDR color support, and optical-flow slow motion.