Sony Announces Vegas 7 Production Suite with Enhanced HDV and XDCAM Support

by John Neely
Published on Sep 7, 2006 11:45 AM

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Sony Media Software announced today the immediate availability of the Vegas+DVD Production Suite, which includes the Vegas 7 NLE and DVD Architect 4 software.  The suite also integrates Dolby Digital AC-3 multi-channel encoding for 5.1 surround sound output. Vegas 7 combines improved HDV and XDCAM support and workflow enhancement tools such as improved snapping across multiple tracks in a timeline, and flexible window docking.

The new release features numerous enhancements aimed at HDV producers, including full frame rate playback of native HDV and improved memory for handling long form HDV 1080i projects.  This enhancement should help to address the workflow slowdowns associated with HDV’s aggressive MPEG-2 encoding.  Working with HDV timelines is significantly more processor intensive than standard definition MiniDV, and has results in workflow slowdowns for users with middle-range systems. Vegas 7 also allows native, full-resolution editing of HD and SD XDCAM MXF files.

Additional new features include H.264 import and export, targeted at web and iPod production, and a multithreaded audio engine for faster audio rendering.  DVD Architect 4 includes added scripting support, DVD-R DL support, and a new keyframable effects.

The new Version 7 Production Suite will retail for $699 and be available in October