Can't decide between SpeedEdit and Vegas

[garym]

Did anyone else compare these 2 before deciding to go with SpeedEdit? If so, would you please tell me what your reasons were? Thanks in advance!

[UnCommonGrafx]

Have you tried them both?
I think opinions on this can be vetted with the search feature here. It's your decision; tell us upon which side of the decision you lie so that we can better push you toward your natural lean.

[cc3d]

I've used Vegas for a while (since 4.0) and love it. I really haven't considered SpeedEdit, but your post got me to look at the interface.

I am interested in a head-to-head comparison too. I could be covinced to switch SpeedEdit for the right reasons.

[garym]

I've not used either yet. I've seen them both and I like them both. I lean toward NewTek since that's where I started with the Toaster in 1991. I've used LightWave for years too.

The only problem I'm really having with SpeedEdit is the AVCHD issue (capturing from a HMC150). I know there's a Transcoder from Panasonic, but I understand it does take away some quality as many conversions do. I like the color correction capability of Vegas.

Anyway, as I said - I'm up in the air since it's a multi-year commitment in my mind. I hate changing editors: so whatever I chose I'll stick with for a very long time.

[UnCommonGrafx]

I don't use Vegas but am using Premiere CS3.

SE is a FAST raw cuts editor. It is not a hybrid, i.e., it's not a compositing app, as intended, such that the tools to compete as such are missing.
Because of the above, to use it as a finishing tool requires you to go outside SE; drawable masks and the like are absent.

I wouldn't recommend it at this time as a buy. I would like to.

[Dufusyte]

Vegas and SpeedEdit are really in two different leagues. You must understand Vegas is the flagship product of a huge media giant which has a vested interest in providing the highest quality editing experience for the countless lines of video cameras that is sells. You can be sure there are rooms full of engineers working full time on Vegas, cranking out a constant stream of updates, patches, and a new major version every year or so.

By contrast, SpeedEdit is the forgotten child of a much smaller company; it is often not even mentioned at the company's trade shows unless someone asks about it. During the last two years there has hardly been a single update released. You will find it cannot do a tenth of the things Vegas does, and it is chock full of oddities, many of which have been complained about for months, nay years, and have not been addressed.

SpeedEdit is very good at a couple things. It's main niche is realtime playback and no transcoding. If these are high priorities for your workflow, then SpeedEdit may be the right NLE for you.

[mvansomeren]

You will find it cannot do a tenth of the things Vegas does, and it is chock full of oddities, many of which have been complained about for months, nay years, and have not been addressed.


I have both SE and Vegas Pro 8 and I have to disagree with that statement, wholeheartedly. SE, at least to me, is very intuitive and makes editing very pleasureable and fast! There are things that Vegas can do that SE can't, but by the same token, there are things that SE can do that Vegas 8 can't or, at the very least, not as easily as SE can. SE can certainly do more that "a tenth" of what Vegas can do.
I only use Vegas for the couple of things I occasionally need that SE can't do, like utilizing a specific plug-in.

What this baiscally boils down to what has been said many times before and that is that the End User needs to decide which tools work best for their needs. SE, though somewhat neglected by Newtek until just recently, still is a powerful editing platform. I do all kinds of crazy things in SE, pretty easily. It's certainly not perfect, but I'm looking forward to v. 2.0. If you're expecting to find everthing in one tool, you will be dissapointed, regarless off who makes the tool.

[mvansomeren]

SE was never intended or claimed to be a complete end-to-end production suite. It's a stand-alone NLE.

I concure with the lack of 5.1 sound in SE. However, the DVD buring and authoring is really a separate application. It's cool that it's intergrated in Vegas, but even though not intergrated with SE, I still use DVD Architect to Burn my Blu-ray and DVD's that I created in SE. In addition, although not an advanced compositor, it still does basic compositing but again, it's not claimed to be an advanced compositor.

A fair comparison are the functions contained in the NLE's alone not intergrated with other applications.

And just for the record, there's no way that Window's Movie Maker even comes close to the functionality of SE. It's more than just setting in and out points.

Again I submit that it's the end users personal preference and ability to comfortably and efficiently use a tool. I have used Vegas, Edius, Premier and I always come back to SE as my primary NLE.

Some day somthing will come along that works better for me and I'll go to that...maybe it will even be SE version 2.0! :D

[donx]

If Microsoft made a complete edit, composite, DVD mastering and audio post suite that was built right into Windows 7 or 8, would the world be a better place
:agree:
... but it doesn't. So computer users are accustomed to using various software by various programmers to get from idea stage to completion stage.
If Speed Edit only does editing, faster and easier than any other app. can, then It is worth using for that. If TMPEGenc does encoding better than any other app. then it is worth using.
It comes down to using the right tool for the right job.
There is no one tool that will build an entire house. Every carpenter knows that. Choose your tools carefully but it comes down to price and personal choice as to the ones you use.
If only there was just ONE method for creating a brilliant video then there would probably be only ONE tool (...(for the rich and a slimmed down version for the other folks).
:yoda:

[ScorpioProd]

My strong suggestion is you actually need to try any NLEs you are considering yourself, do a real project with each of them, and that is the only way you will find what is right for you. That's what I did.

You can't find the answer by asking people in a forum, simply because everyone has their own specific needs and reasons for why they use the tools they use and why those tools work best for them.

And the right tool for the right job is a very valid point. I would recommend TMPGEnc for MPEG-2 encoding from SpeedEDIT, and I would also recommend TMPGEnc for MPEG-2 encoding from Vegas Pro 9. It's simply the better encoding tool than either support on their own. And conveniently, both can support it via frameserving, so you're not losing anything by using an extra tool. That's just one example.

[bbeanan]

I will add that it is really a matter of what types of projects you do. For me my main projects are corporate videos of meetings and conventions. Twice a year I do a 4 camera dance recital (one year it was a 9 camera). For those types of projects (I would throw in there weddings too but I do not do those) SpeedEdit is the fastest solution. I too owned Vegas at on point I tried it for a few weeks and then gave it away to a relative as I could not stand how slow it was to do simple tasks (I had a client renting editing systems from me that required Vegas on one system... once he saw SpeedEdit we never even booted up the Vegas system).

On another job I brought my system into a big AVID studio where their editor was working on part 1 of a 2 part job I got handed part 2. It took me 4 hours to complete it took the AVID guy 7 hours to do his part... The project was 2 identical videos in 2 languages... they had mis-spelled the CEOs name all over the place and needed 6 clips added to the video. Finally Render out to DVD. Hands down my $4k SpeedEdit system (Dell Laptop) kicked the butt of the $4m AVID system.

But as it has been said it does not do everything...

[mskuma]

I agree with the previous poster - SpeedEdit is like an orphan. It's been a long time since it's been upgraded. It's never had a trial version (which I personally think is unacceptable). I have SE and it's generally ok but its not good value by comparison to Vegas. You can get an authoring tool with Vegas for the same price as SE (with no authoring tool). When I use SE, I feel like I'm using a completely static product - no update check invitations at start up etc - this is usual for modern software. If your edits are simple, you might be able to get away with "MPEG Video Wizard" which is a very inexpensive yet functional program for simple edits. One good thing about SE is you get some decent codecs. Good luck.

[DiscreetFX]

Problem with Vegas is what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas so you would not be able to take it home.

[ScorpioProd]

Sadly, all NLE companies hit bumps in the road.

Currently, till SpeedEDIT 2.0 comes out, I wouldn't recommend SpeedEDIT 1.5.5, but that's based on my needs. I hope SpeedEDIT 2.0 can change that recommendation.

In the same way, I wouldn't currently recommend Vegas Pro 9.0a, too many bugs in it that are fatal to what I do.

The only current NLE that can do everything I need is Vegas Pro 8.0c, which, of course, you can't actually buy new. But again, with TMPGEnc for the MPEG-2 encoding.

[Dufusyte]

Vegas Pro 8.0c, which, of course, you can't actually buy new.

Vegas Pro 8.0c: four left in stock (http://www.amazon.com/Vegas-Pro-8-OLD-VERSION/dp/B000VVC01A) at Amazon.

[Jim_C]

If you would not need a specific filter or option in Vegas that SE does not have and were editing the exact same project on both systems, chances are you would be done first in Speed Edit.

For pure speed of editing (not talking system resource speed, just functional interface/workflow speed) there really is nothing else that works like Speed Edit.

With it's break away from defined tracks allowing you to place things where ever you want, even using parts of the timeline as a trash/work area, it's integrated real time updating storyboard/timeline interface, and overall work flow it's hard to find an NLE that lets you bang together projects faster than Speed Edit.

Personally it doesn't bother me if there is one guy or a thousand back in an office updating my software as long as it does what I need it to do, and does it fast.
And Speed Edit does it fast.

[bojanpop]

Hi.My firm have several VTs and we are satisfied with them (in general).Now we need some NLEs. Because of similar workflow we decided that would be nice that it be speededit.We took SE from my friend and tried. 15 days is quite enough for testing product. I must say that we had many problems with capture ( Sony XDCAM).I suppose that upgrade fix that problem but I can not find upgrades.In the meantime my friend took a vacation. I believe that he has upgrades but now I must wait him to come back.I have two questions? Can I update nonregistered version of SE (for testing purposes). And If it works can someone send me upgrade 1.5.5 (I think that is the latest).

Thanks.

[rbartlett]

Bojanpop,

You didn't state if your XDCAM was SD or HD or from what camera/deck please? I presume that as you are capturing, you are coming in via component or SDI rather than from XDCAM discs per sé?

Whether you have SD or HD XDCAM makes a bit of difference but from what little I've read of SE/VT-Edit support for here. I'd say you are going to benefit from waiting for 2.0 to be released. That still may not help you to evaluate as 2.0 software installation may be limited to purchasers and dealers. I'd try and open some discussion with whoever your firm dealt with for your existing VTs. Some dealers may forward you media on a sale or return basis as long as you return without licensing the product. Certainly, some of the North American dealers have extended this option with prior payment arrangements in place.

For NewTek in this case and in general, I don't believe patches are available openly for current or future products.

[Rendesigns]

I have used Vegas since it wasn't vegas. I bought my first copy for 100 bucks! I found the controls to be easy to learn and to teach. the new Vegas 9 handles the AVCHD files from the panosonic 150 beautifuly (I use it as well). It has color correction, Motion creation and all manner of other things in it. On the Other hand Speed edit (we own two seats of it) we find ourselves using mor for the really quick automated stuff. You can throw a slideshow together like nobodys buisiness in there, and some of the third party addons from folks like Bob and young Monkey are Really awsome to, with some one click white balancers and my favoriteLW connect for some fantastic 3D transitions. Bottom line is If you are technical and have some time to finish and polish your projects, I would go Vega, if you are in a hurry or are just extremely used to Newtek, go with speed edit. I like them both for their particular strengths, and have used them at times on the same project. hope this helps...:thumbsup:

[Quiet1onTheSet]

I have used Vegas since it wasn't vegas. I bought my first copy for 100 bucks! I found the controls to be easy to learn and to teach. Yeah, Ren -- that was Sonic Foundry's Vegas, which allowed the user to record and edit multiple tracks of audio only, if I recall correctly -- until it evolved into a multitrack Audio/Video editing program.

I must confess however, that I've been particularly annoyed with just how long it took Vegas to RENDER .avi files (when I was using a single-processor Sony(R) VAIO(tm) Pentium 4 HT at the time, with Vegas 5.

Now, I'm wondering if the Vegas Pro 9, 32-bit version is much snappier at rendering, albeit, on today's machines. That said, I did appreciate the fact that one could admirably *run* VEGAS on a lowly laptop -- and do so better than most of what was available from other editors, since those early days, and even 'til now, since it's been written quite close to the Windows core (whatever that means).
:D

...the new Vegas 9 handles the AVCHD files from the Panasonic Model AG-HMC-150
beautifuly (I use it as well). It has color correction, Motion creation and all manner of other things in it.
Textual Edits added. -- Q1 That's nice to hear. http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=274232&catGroupId=112502&surfModel=AG-HMC150&displayTab=O


One other pet peeve with Vegas for me though, is the seeming slowness of Sony (Vegas' owners now), to get the CG along with the animation tool, to cooperatively develop into a formidable text-motion module, the likes of which I believe Sony is capable of making it out to be (read: an Apple(r) Motion(tm) alternative.

To be forthright about my thoughts on this -- I really had been hoping NewTek would've done something in this space some time ago, after I had seen India(tm) blow my mind a good while back. But Alas, Apple bought it, and it's evolved into the aforementioned Apple Motion.

Amazing how often you see programs, commercials, and the like, on Television these days, obviously having been posted with that amazing sub-program of the Apple Final Cut Studio(tm) toolset.

On the Other hand [with SpeedEdit]...you can throw a slideshow together like nobodys buisiness in there, and some of the third party add-ons from [sources like Bob Tasa's BFX(tm) and Dhomas Trenn's YoungMonkey(tm) are really awesome too, with some one-click white balancers and my favorite: LWConnect for some fantastic 3D compositing and effect transitions].
Bottom line:
If you are technical and have some time to finish and polish your projects, I would go with Sony Vegas Pro(tm), but if you are in a hurry or are just extremely used to Newtek's editor interface, by all means, go with SpeedEdit(tm)...]Textual Edits added. -- Q1

I couldn't agree more, Rendesigns. Great points.
:thumbsup:

http://www.newtek.com/speededit/
Q1