The Vegas Pro 8 interface provides a fully customizable workspace for accomplishing a wide range of production requirements. Dock multiple windows and save layouts to fit certain tasks; nest Vegas Pro projects within the timeline, design and save keyboard commands, and use application scripting to automate repetitive tasks. System-wide media management produces maximum efficiency. Network rendering saves time by using multiple computers and networked drive arrays to render complex projects.* Vegas Pro software also supports 24p, HD and HDV editing.

Efficiently edit and arrange events on the Vegas Pro timeline using drag-and-drop operations. Apply real-time effects, transitions, envelopes, color changes, reverse, time-stretching and motion effects. Expertly edit complex SD or HD long-form projects using mouse or keyboard trimming along with powerful ripple editing modes.

Playback and edit video effects, transitions and composites on-the-fly without rendering while viewing each change instantly on external monitors in real-time. Vegas software takes advantage of the PC's processing power by caching complex processes or effects directly to RAM for smooth frame-rate playback and previews.

Use Vegas Pro 8 software to author and export content to a Sony PSP^® (PlayStation^®Portable) device directly from the timeline. Delivered projects to PSP^® for personal enjoyment or as a means to distribute content for client verification.

Vegas Pro 8 projects can be rendered to an iPod^®-compatible file that can be transferred using iTunes. The project can be authored using traditional Vegas editing techniques and methods followed by explicitly rendering the file to an iPod compatible H.264 mpeg4 file.

The MainConcept MPEG-2 encode supports I-frame insertion at timeline markers. By providing I-frames at timeline markers, a rendered file has precise chapter and navigation point placement for DVD Architect Pro4 software.

New in Vegas Pro 8 software are some radical advancements for customizing the layout and positioning of the traditional Vegas layout. The timeline can now be at the top or the bottom of the application. Docking window tabs can be at the top of bottom of the dock.

View the Vegas timeline on both an internal monitor and an external device (or secondary display) simultaneously. Simultaneous preview provides editors working with clients in a studio environment to setup a professional viewing environment while preserving the editor's on-screen editing environment. Preview options provide solutions to common viewing requests, with auto-fit providing a maximum viewing effort for the space available.

Nesting allows you to add a Vegas project (.veg) to the timeline and edit and apply effects the same as you would a standard media event. Nesting can also help you organize a timeline or apply other effects.

Compare your affected and unaffected video, or compare the timeline with a clipboard image—all viewable in real-time on an external monitor via 1394 enabled hardware.

You can use the Media Manager window to search and manage your collection of media assets so you can easily find the right file for your Vegas projects. The Media Manager maintains a database of your files, including the attributes, ACID metadata, and tags that you can assign to classify your audio and video clips.

You can use AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) files to exchange projects between applications.

When audio and video events are not aligned, Vegas software will highlight the events in the timeline so you can see synchronization problems at a glance. The software determines whether source events are synchronized by comparing grouped and overlapping media.

Record track envelope and keyframe parameters in real-time using a mouse or external control surface hardware with touch and latch record modes and automatic post-record keyframe thinning. Automation parameter control is available for both stereo and 5.1 tracks and buses, as well as for video track envelopes.

Vegas Pro 8 software supports HD editing and rendering, including output to 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p, 720/60p, 720/30p, and 720/24p. Output high definition video to .AVI, .MOV, MPEG-2, Windows Media 9 Series, RealVideo 9, .PNG and .JPEG sequences. Work with project sizes up to 2048x2048.

Vegas Pro 8 offers several object "snapping" options. You can snap to events on any track. In addition, color-coded snap indicators denote a snap object type; marker, region, event, cursor, grid. Complex projects involving multiple tracks with each containing several events prove difficult and tedious to precise align events placement. By providing more snap objects across all tracks, precise event placement is simplified.

Media used in the timeline may contain markers. Vegas Pro 8 software can enable the display of these media markers directly on the timeline event. By displaying the individual media markers on the explicit media event and editor can quickly focus on key points of interest with out cluttering the entire workspace.

Vegas Pro 8 offers improved flexibility to customize keyboard shortcuts for easy skill transfer from another application.

When your Vegas project uses media that was rendered with an embedded project path reference, you can easily open the source project in the associated application if you need to edit the media later. For example, imagine that you have an audio file on the Vegas timeline that was rendered from an ACID project. In previewing your Vegas project, you discover that you accidentally rendered your ACID project with a critical track muted. You can simply right-click the event on the Vegas Pro timeline and choose Edit Source Project from the shortcut menu to reopen your ACID project, unmute the track, and then re-render it.

Use the Trimmer window to select portions of a piece of media that can be placed into events on tracks, and easily create media subclips that reference portions of a media file.

Scan your project to quickly find edit points using new tape-style scrubbing. Control playback of your project at varying speeds. Scrub using JKL/shuttle, keyboard commands, or external devices such as the Contour A/V Solutions ShuttlePro (www.contourdesign.com).

Vegas Pro 8 software has a clean and intuitive interface and uses familiar Windows keyboard commands. Windows XP theme support and interface color adjustments allow for a wide variety of customization that best suits your working style.

Design the Vegas editing environment to maximize productivity. Dock multiple windows and save up to ten layout configurations for single and dual monitor systems. Easily recall a customized window layout for a specific editing task, and instantly switch to new layouts during playback.

Customize Vegas keyboard commands to fit your editing process. Create and edit new keyboard shortcuts, import a keyboard mapping scheme or save your current layout for use as a backup—even share keyboard layouts with other Vegas users.

Use the Trimmer window to create subclips that reference portions of a media file. Subclips can also be created directly within the Vegas timeline. All subclips are added to the media pool and can be used like any other event in your Vegas project.

Instantly reverse audio and video events on the timeline either as a locked A/V event group or as independent elements.

Quickly recall frequently used chains of effects in your Vegas project. Effects packages in Vegas Pro 8 software retain their chain order and individual plug-in settings so you can quickly apply desired effects to media.

Vegas Pro 8 software provides support for up to 99 numbered markers. The marker tool allows easy navigation between adjacent markers and editing of multiple selected markers.

Speed up production time by rendering complex multimedia projects over networked computers. Divide Vegas projects into smaller sections that are distributed across multiple machines, and let Vegas software reassemble the pieces into a single rendered file. Each copy of Vegas software comes with two additional render-only installations.

Expertly edit complex long-form projects using mouse or keyboard trimming, event shuffling, as well as advanced ripple editing modes.

Vegas software allows an unlimited number of edits to be undone or restored. Quickly and easily restore previous edits without needing to rework an entire Vegas project.