MAGIX Vegas Pro 15 Edit Upgrade (from previous version)

The powerful video editing features of Vegas Pro 15 are highly useful for professionals as well as beginners. There are so many interesting editing options available on software platform with added plug-ins that can be explored for professional usage. Many people ask if Vegas Pro 15 is free? Well, it's not, except it is free download. You need to pay $ for a lifetime license. If you are working as a beginner on Vegas Pro 15 and need some tips about how to edit videos over this software platform, then the information below will be highly useful for you.

You May Also Like: How to Edit YouTube Videos in Sony Vegas Pro >>

Those who are new to Vegas Pro 15 platform may find some difficulties in its usage. Experts suggest to start with Wondershare Filmora to get basic knowledge of video editing as it contains as easy to use features that are helpful for beginners as well as professionals. It is free download on Windows and Mac.

How to Use Vegas Pro 15 for the First Time

First you need to understand its system requirements to check if your device is available to use. It supports Windows 10/8/7 (bit). However, it is not available on Mac. The minimum processor requirement is 5 GHz 4-core processor, and minimum RAM is 8 GB. Its supported GPUs are NVIDIA, AMD/ATI and Intel. Below are few basic instructions for different editing options.

1. Importing Clips

• First of all go to file option from top left corner of screen.
• Hit the import option from drop down menu.
• A side menu will immediately appear where you need to select Media option. It will soon open the file browser.
• Now choose your desired file that you wish to edit.
• Once you hit Ok button on browser window then within few seconds your files will appear on screen over media tab.
• Now they can be dragged easily to timeline for further editing needs.

2. Timeline

The timeline of software window contains all audio and video tracks that you may further need for editing. In this selection, the audio clips possess music and other sound effects whereas the video track portion will contain text, videos and photos. Users can also use add video track option for adding more timeline space as per need.

Related article: How to merge clips in Vegas Pro

3. Effects

Now the content available on your timeline van be edited and users can make it attractive by using different special effects.

• For adding an effect, hit the effects option from tab available on left side of screen.
• Select any desired effect from effects menu.
• Click and then drag your effect to any video clip available on timeline. It will also ask you for modification of effect ratio.
• Once you have tuned your effect to any desired situation then close the modifier and effect will come into action.

4. Masking

This versatile tool can be used for cutting down different objects from any clip even without using green screen. In order to mask a video:

• First of all right click on desired video file that you wish to mask.
• Now select video “Event Pan/crop” option.
• Select the box marked as “Mask”.
• A toolbar for masking will appear on screen.
• Now hit the anchor creation tool and use it for selection of points that you need to mask from video.
• Once connectivity of anchors is formed then program will itself detect the object and now you can manipulate it as per need.
• Move that selected object to any desired location and once it fits perfectly then hit Apply.

Related article: How to blur faces in Vegas Pro:

5. Exporting

Once you have finished the editing then it is much easier to export file so that it can be uploaded on any website over internet.

• First of all select file from top left corner of screen.
• Now select Export option and a menu containing various options will appear.
• Select the desired video file format for your video to be uploaded.
• Now your video is ready for desktop view as well as for uploading.

6. Color Match

As films are created using different types of cameras so during merging process sometimes the colors do not appear synchronized. In this case you may need to make efforts for color matching. Here you can use effective color match filters of Vegas Pro and get instant results.

Related article: Color correction in Vegas Pro

7. Unlink Audio and Video

While using video splitting option you may see that audios also splits but it is not always required. Sometimes same audio information is desired to move over different sets of videos. It can be achieved with the help of unlink feature that allows users to manipulate every element individually as per need. To unlink the audio and visual, the user clicks on the video in the timeline area, and then presses the "U" key.

Related article: How to edit audio with Vegas Pro

8. Organization

With Vegas Pro 15 advanced tools you can easily organise all media files and search them easily from system folders. A custom media tag can be added to all edited files and keyboard shortcuts can also be used for fast calling. Smart bin option makes it much easier to organise different video files.

9. 4k Support

Many pros or semi-pros are looking for a video editor that supports 4k editing. You can use Vegas Pro 15 to edit vidoe with multi-camera editing. The 4K video editing experience is smooth with proxy. You can use it to process more details in making video effects.

° Video Editing

° is a popular video editing way nowadyas. Vegas Pro 15 can help you edit this kind of video by offering various º templates. You can also appply filters to make fisheye file, which is fun to use. With degree video, you can make immersive video watching experience.

Check this video to learn more details.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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Vegas Pro 15 represents a major overhaul of the software that was originally developed by Sony but taken over by Magix. The company’s first post-sale version 14 in fixed many compatibility issues and bugs neglected by the prior owner.

With Vegas Pro 15, the software is once more competitive with other prosumer video editing suites. It adds numerous modern features that serious video editors expect. The result is one of the best semi-pro video editing applications for the price. You can read about other prosumer packages, plus consumer and even free programs, in our comprehensive roundup of video editing software. 

Vegas offers a standard, timeline-based video editing interface, but you can also use the trim view to make selections in what would otherwise be the preview window. Import and export format support is excellent. The lineup of effects and transitions is pretty good, though we felt some of them could have been more elegantly executed.

As with other video editing software, there are lots of subtle features that new users might not pick up on right away. For example, we found scrubbing through the timeline to be a bit sluggish when we clicked the playhead, because it also scrubs through audio this way. Dragging the selection line instead limits the scrubbing to video. Fortunately, Vegas Pro 15 comes with serviceable interactive tutorials and a robust help database, so as pro editors go, it’s pretty easy to pick up and learn.

Samuel Axon/IDG

Vegas Pro 15 has a fully customizable toolbar, so you can choose which features and settings to expose. This is always welcome, because creatives often work best without clutter.

It also lets you get very deep into customizing many aspects of how it runs. For example, you can specify a maximum number of rendering threads. Nuances like this will be intimidating to some users, but experienced professionals will love it.

There are very few, if any, major features prosumers might seek that Vegas Pro 15 doesn’t offer. There is 4K support, and you can do multi-camera editing. Even newer technologies like H/H (a new video compression format used in new Apple devices, among other things) and Intel Quick Sync Video (video encoding on dedicated hardware with supported Intel CPUs) are available.

Our biggest complaints were performance—it could be better—and the lack of robust media library management features like those offered by Adobe. These are small complaints about a video editing application with big upsides, though.

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 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 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.

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.

Video editing software

Vegas Pro (stylized as VEGAS Pro, colloquially called Sony Vegas) is a video editing software package for non-linear editing (NLE). The first release of Vegas Beta was on June 11, ^[4] The software runs on Windows operating systems.

Originally developed as audio editing software, it became an NLE for video and audio, starting from version Vegas Pro features real-time multitrack video and audio editing on unlimited tracks, resolution-independent video sequencing, complex effects, compositing tools, bit/ kHz audio support, VST and DirectX plug-in effect support, and Dolby Digital surround sound mixing.

The software was originally published by Sonic Foundry until May , when Sony purchased Sonic Foundry and formed Sony Creative Software.^[5] On May 24, , Sony announced that Vegas (and most of its "Creative Software" line) was sold to MAGIX, which formed VEGAS Creative Software, to continue support and development of the software.^[6][7]

Features[edit]

Vegas does not require any specialized hardware to run properly, allowing it to operate on any Windows computer that meets the system requirements.^[8]

In the areas of compositing and motion graphics, Vegas provides a varied toolset, including a 3D track motion with control over z-depth, and spatial arrangement of visual planes including plane intersection.

Many of the visual effects processing in Vegas follow an audio-like paradigm. Effects can be applied at any stage of the visual signal flow or event level. Moreover, track level and output level effects (such as reverb), delay and flange audio effects are applied in a digital audio system, like Pro Tools, Cubase or Sonar. Master output effects can also be controlled and manipulated over time by the use of Master Bus track automation envelopes.

One major drawback of Vegas is that although it started as an Audio Multitrack NLE, it has no MIDI capability at all (with the exception of control-desk and synchronization). For this reason, the use of Vegas is restricted only for post-production audio or for the Video NLE market.

Vegas features integration with 24p DV. It is also one of the few NLEs which can convert other formats to 24p (or any format to any other format) without any kind of a plug-in or third-party application support. It is the only NLE that allows multiple instances of the application to be opened simultaneously. Clips and sequences can be copied and pasted between instances of Vegas. One example of this can be rendering a sequence in the background while the user continues to edit in a different instance of Vegas in the foreground. Vegas provides sophisticated compositing including green screen, masking, and key-frame animation. Nesting allows a prior project to be included in another project, modularizing the editing process so that an array of tracks and edits become one track for further editing. Any changes to the previous project become reflected in the later project. Nesting is especially helpful in large, complex or special effects projects, as the final rendering suffers no generation loss.

MAGIX Vegas Pro supports scripting technology which provides task automation, simplified workflow, and greater efficiency and productivity. Free and paid pre-written scripts are available from the Vegas community on the web.

Version history[edit]

Each release of Vegas is sold standalone, however upgrade discounts are sometimes provided.^[9]

Vegas Beta[edit]

Sonic Foundry introduced a sneak preview version of Vegas Pro on 11 June It is called a "Multitrack Media Editing System".^[4]

Full release[edit]

Vegas [edit]

Released on 23 July at the NAMM Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Vegas was an audio-only tool with a particular focus on rescaling and resampling audio. It boasted support for popular formats like DivX and Real Networks RealSystem G2 file formats.^[10]

Vegas Video beta (Vegas beta)[edit]

Released on 10 April ,^[11] this was the first version of Vegas to include video-editing tools.

Vegas Video (Vegas )[edit]

Released on 12 June ^[12]

Vegas Video LE [edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July )

Vegas Video [edit]

Released on 3 December This release added:^[13]

• New Video Effects – Lens Flare, Light Rays, Film FX, Color Curves, Mirror, Remap, Deform, Convolution, Linear Blur, Black Restore, Levels, Unsharp Mask, Color Grad, and Timecode Burn filter.
• Batch Capture with Automatic Scene Detection – Captures DV with automatic scene detection, batch capture, tape logging, still image capture and thumbnail previews.
• Red Book Audio CD Mastering with CD Architect(TM) Technology – Used for burning Red Book audio CD masters directly from the Vegas timeline with ISRC, UPC, and PQ list support.
• New Sonic Foundry DV Codec – Introduces a DV codec developed by Sonic Foundry that offers artifact-free compositing and DV chromakeying.
• DV Print-To-Tape From The Timeline – Prints projects to DV cameras and decks from the Vegas timeline.
• Windows Media(TM) File Editing – Creates and edits Windows Media(TM) files.
• New MPEG Encoding Tools – Used for producing MPEG-2 files for DVD productions.
• Dynamic RAM Previewing – Temporary RAM/render-free previews for analysis and tweaking of complex video FX without rendering.
• VideoCD and Data CD Burning – Burning projects directly to VideoCD for playback on most DVD players or data CDs for playback computers' CD-ROMs.

Vegas [edit]

Released on 6 February This release added:

• Advanced Color Correction Tools
• Searchable Media Pool Bins
• Vectorscope, Histogram, Parade and Waveform Monitoring
• Application Scripting
• Improved Ripple Editing
• Motion Blur and Super-Sampling Envelopes
• Surround Mixing
• Dolby® Digital AC-3 Encoding certified and tested by Dolby Laboratories
• DirectX® Audio Plug-In Effects Automation
• ASIO Driver Support
• Windows Media™ 9 Support, including Surround Encoding
• DVD Authoring with AC-3 File Import Capabilities
• Integration with DVD Architect Via Chapter Marker Passing

Vegas b[edit]

Released in April ; added HD editing and 24p support.

Vegas e[edit]

Released in November ; This is the first release of Vegas under the ownership of Sony; Sonic Foundry had sold Vegas alongside Sound Forge and other programs to Sony Pictures Digital for US$18 Million that same year.^[14]

Vegas [edit]

Released in April

Vegas [edit]

Released on 18 April

Vegas [edit]

Released in September Version 7 is the final Vegas release to include Windows support.

Vegas Pro [edit]

Released on 10 September

The first Sony Vegas version to go with the "Sony Vegas Pro" branding instead of the regular "Sony Vegas" branding. It also moved the timeline to the bottom by default, but users can still move it back to the top.

Vegas Pro [edit]

Vegas Pro is the first version of Vegas Pro to be ported to bit systems.

Vegas Pro [edit]

On 11 May , Sony Creative Software released Sony Vegas Pro with greater support for digital cinema including:

• Support for 4K resolution
• Native support for pro camcorder formats such as Red and XDCAM EX

The latest release of Sony Vegas Pro is Vegas Pro e (Released on 13 May ), which includes features such as new white balance video FX.

In , Sony Creative Software purchased the Velvetmatter Radiance suite of video FX plug-ins and these are included in Vegas 9. As a result, they are no longer available as a separate product from Velvetmatter.^[15]

Vegas Pro 10[edit]

Sony Vegas Pro 10, released on 11 October This release added:

• Stereoscopic 3D Editing
• Comprehensive Closed Captioning
• GPU-Accelerated AVC Encoding for limited formats (Using NVIDIA CUDA). With the release of Vegas 10d, support was extended to some AMD GPUs (via the OpenCLGPGPU API).
• Image Stabilization
• Audio Event FX
• Track Management
• Elastique Pitch Method
• OpenFX plugins support
• A few more updates and UI changes

Version 10 is the final Vegas Pro release to include Windows XP support.^{[citation needed]}

Vegas Pro 11[edit]

Sony announced Vegas Pro 11 on 9 September , and it was released on 17 October Updated features include GPGPU acceleration of video decoding, effects, playback, compositing, pan/crop, transitions, and motion. Other improvements were to include enhanced text tools, enhanced stereoscopic/3D features, RAW photo support, and new event synchronization mechanisms.^[16] In addition, Vegas Pro 11 comes pre-loaded with "NewBlue" Titler Pro, a 2D and 3D titling plug-in.

Vegas Pro 12[edit]

Sony released Vegas Pro 12 on 9 November Updated features include enhanced 4K support, more visual effects, and faster encoding performance. Vegas Pro 12 is dedicated to bit versions of Windows.

Vegas Pro 13[edit]

Sony released Vegas Pro 13 on 11 April It brings new collaboration tools and streamlined workflows to professional content producers faced with a wide variety of multimedia production tasks. This is the final Vegas Pro release under Sony's ownership. The last Sony Vegas Pro 13 build was # MAGIX released a rebranded version build #

Available in three new configurations:

• Vegas Pro 13 Edit: Video and Audio Production
• Vegas Pro Video, Audio, and Blu-ray Disc Creation
• Vegas Pro 13 Suite: Editing, Disc Authoring, and Visual Effects

Vegas Pro 14[edit]

MAGIX released Vegas Pro 14 on 20 September This is the first release of Vegas Pro under the ownership of MAGIX. It features advanced 4K upscaling as well as various bug fixes, a higher video velocity limit, RED camera support and various other features. This was the last version of Vegas Pro to have the light theme set by default.

Vegas Pro 15[edit]

Released on 28 August , Vegas Pro 15 features major UI changes which claimed to bring usability improvements and customization. It was the first version of VEGAS Pro to have a dark theme, and it also allows more efficient editing speeds, including adding new shortcuts to speed up editing. Vegas Pro 15 includes support for Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) and other technologies, as well as various other features. It also changed the VEGAS Pro icon into a V.^[17]

Vegas Pro 16[edit]

Released on 27 August , Vegas Pro 16 has some new features including file backup, motion tracking, improved video stabilization, ° editing and HDR support.^[18]

Vegas Pro 17[edit]

Released on 5 August This release added:^[19]

• Nested timelines
• Improved video stabilization
• Planar motion tracking/video tracking
• Smart Split Edit
• Dynamic storyboard and timeline interaction
• Bézier masking OFX-Plugin
• Lens correction plug
• Improved Picture-In-Picture OFX plug-in
• Automatic slideshow creator
• Screen capture
• Improved multicamera editing
• Improved color grading
• Length show
• Experimental MKV reader

Vegas Pro 18[edit]

Released on 3 August This release added:^[20]

• Motion Tracker Panel
• Improved Video FX, Transitions and Media Generator windows
• 8-Bit (full range) pixel format
• Black Bar Fill plug-in
• Denoiser plug-in
• Flicker Control plug-in
• Style Transfer plug-in
• Integrated graphics card driver update check
• The Lens Correction FX has got an additional zooming factor
• Export and Import of VEGAS Pro preferences
• Reworked screen capture utility VEGAS Capture
• Incremental Save
• A more detailed render progress dialog
• Swap video files
• New Video Scopes options
• VEGAS Prepare
• VEGAS Hub explorer window
• Alternate High DPI mode
• Logarithmic Exposure adjustment
• Some more legacy features were hidden by default, use Preferences > Deprecated Features
• Event edge handles

Vegas Pro 18 has suffered from serious stability issues, causing it to have a 35% positive review score on the distribution platform Steam.^[21]

Vegas Pro 19[edit]

Released on 18 August This release added:

• Improved user interface
• Improved color grading
• Improved effects
• New cloud-integrated content management and acquisition.
• Live streaming

Vegas Pro 20[edit]

Released on 10 August This release added:^[22][23]

• File Drop for fast collaboration
• Automatic project collections
• Local project archives
• Speech to Text functionality including automatic subtitle generation (official release - subscribers only)
• White Balance controls in the Color Grading Panel
• Hue adjustment curves in the Color Grading Panel
• VST3 Support for audio editing (beta)
• VST bit bridge (beta)
• Optical Flow mode for Warp Flow and Smart Split
• Real-time Optical Flow for the Slow Motion FX
• Normalize button for events
• Fade In/Out included in Paste Event Attributes
• Automatic region creation in Scene Detection
• Honeycomb and Color Planes presets for GL transitions

Reception[edit]

Major broadcasters have utilized the software, such as Nightline with Ted Koppel.^[24][25] Several films have used Vegas to cut their features.^[26]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]