With “remote” being a buzzword now, VEGAS Creative Software launches VEGAS Pro 18 and unveils extensive plans for cloud-based media management and collaborative workflows.

VEGAS Pro 18 represents a significant upgrade to VEGAS Pro, with lots of new or improved features but the company also announced detailed plans to provide extensive, cloud-based media management, file transfer and backup and collaboration capabilities that will help VEGAS Pro users manage large amounts of media and collaborate remotely with colleagues like never before. It’s a sign of the times, the Work From Home many professionals are following and all the changes that, apparently, will stay within the industry even after the pandemic ends.

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VEGAS Pro 18 adds, says the company,  a breadth of new features and major feature improvements to enhance workflow performance, including AI-driven effects, GPU-accelerated workflows, advanced motion tracking, HDR support, sophisticated color grading tools and plug-ins ideally suited for video professionals in post-production facilities of all sizes and requirements.

New features in VEGAS Pro 18

In addition to the extensive, high-value cloud-based media management and collaboration tools to come, VEGAS Pro 18 adds a significant number of new features and workflow enhancements available immediately, including:

• Professional multi-channel audio editing with SOUND FORGE Pro 14 is now included with VEGAS Pro 18.  SOUND FORGE Pro integrates tightly with VEGAS Pro enabling users to send audio files directly from the VEGAS Pro timeline into SOUND FORGE Pro, make their edits and return to VEGAS Pro where all changes are instantly and automatically updated in the timeline;
• Artificial intelligence driven effects including Colorize and Style Transfer;
• GPU Driver detection and update utilities and automatic GPU configuration for hardware acceleration;
• New Motion Tracking Panel;
• VEGAS Capture enhancements, including a new capture folder configuration and new audio encoder;
• HDR improvements, including hardware encoding available for HDR presets and automatic selection of IDTs based on metadata;
• Completely redesigned Plug-in management windows including robust search, third-party plug-in filtering and the ability to mark favorites;
• The addition of a variety of new plug-ins, including:
  • Flicker Reducer
  • Black Bar Fill
  • Denoise
• Significant Color Grading improvements, such as:
  • Dockable Color Grading Panel
  • Logarithmic Exposure Tool (“Camera Exposure”)
  • Improved Auto Contrast
  • Skin-Tone Line for Vectorscope
  • Combined RGB Display for RGB Parade scope
• Optional trim handles for timeline events;
• Timeline cursor location storage saved with project files;
• Video engine performance improvements;
• New presets and animations for Titles and Text

VEGAS Pro Cloud-Based Services: What’s Coming

In the coming months, VEGAS Creative Software will unveil a comprehensive family of media management and collaboration tools to connect the VEGAS Pro community, including:

• VEGAS Hub, The Central Information Depot
  The VEGAS Pro 18 cloud-based workflow revolves around the VEGAS Hub, which provides teams with secure file storage and centralized media file access. Built on the Microsoft Azure platform, VEGAS Hub acts as the central repository of control and information, enabling VEGAS Pro and other applications to communicate directly with the Hub for file download and upload, collection creation and management, and more. Additionally through the Hub, individual applications will communicate with each other, and the system will continue to evolve into a critical centralized file organizational tool and a remote collaboration center.
• VEGAS Transfer
  For video and still images captured on a mobile device, VEGAS Transfer will be available as iOS and Android apps, and serve as the entry point into the VEGAS Hub environment. Users can quickly transfer media files from a mobile device into the Hub cloud storage. Uploaded files can be organized into Collections to organize them and enable direct access from VEGAS Pro and VEGAS Prepare. Upload files with VEGAS Transfer, organize them further with VEGAS Prepare, and then download them directly into VEGAS Pro from anywhere to start editing.
• VEGAS Prepare
  With VEGAS Prepare, users will be able to wrangle out-of-control herds of media files with three efficient levels of organization. Users can create a library with all media organized according to the structure that makes sense for the user, the team, and their workflow. Users can then further organize files into custom collections that make it easy to target a media category or classification to find precisely what is needed. Finally, add tags to individual files for quick filtering and sorting. Each level of organization is tied into local databases or the VEGAS Hub for collaboration, and can be accessed directly from inside VEGAS Pro for editing.
• VEGAS Pro Hub Explorer
  All of the the custom collections created in VEGAS Prepare show up instantly inside VEGAS Pro, whether working online or offline. When users create and manage collections directly inside VEGAS Pro, they automatically update in VEGAS Prepare so the two remain in sync, and changes made in VEGAS Prepare instantly appear in VEGAS Pro. Users can download files from cloud storage on the Hub for use on the VEGAS Pro Timeline, and upload files to the Hub from right inside VEGAS Pro. The Hub Explorer window is the portal for remote collaboration, file sharing, and organizing collections.

Live Streaming comes next

Later this month, VEGAS Creative Software will also launch VEGAS Stream, a new live streaming platform designed to serve the needs of content creators and broadcasters in multiple markets. VEGAS Stream provides, according to the company, a professional-caliber live streaming feature set within a tightly integrated VEGAS ecosystem. When a live stream event is complete, users will be able to send recorded events to VEGAS Pro 18 or VEGAS POST Suite, with all visual effects, graphics, and titles in place for further editing and on-demand delivery. Additional details will be announced later this month.

VEGAS Pro 18 is available immediately as a monthly subscription or as a perpetual license. Subscription plans start at $19.99 per month. For more information on subscription pricing plans, please visit https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-post-365/. For more information on purchasing a perpetual license or upgrading from a previous version and for complete details and information, please visit https://www.vegascreativesoftware.com/us/vegas-post/.

All VEGAS Pro 18 cloud-based media management and collaboration tools will be offered initially as free services to VEGAS Pro 18 subscription customers. Pricing for cloud-based services for perpetual license customers will be announced when the services become available beginning in October 2020.