Sonic Foundry

[TaranT]

This is for users of Sonic Foundry products like Sound Forge, VideoFactory, Vegas Video, Acid Pro, etc. The news is a few weeks old, but there is still maybe 45 days to go before a decision is announced.

Basically, SoFo is looking to sell off large parts of the company, most likely including the audio/video software groups.

Sonic Foundry is negotiating to sell parts of the company to erase its debt, chairman and chief executive officer Rimas Buinevicius said Tuesday.

It's too soon to release details, he said, but the Madison headquarters of the company, which develops software for audio and video editing and Internet streaming, will undergo changes to be announced within 60 days....

Ray Unger, president of Unger Capital Management in Madison and a Sonic shareholder, thinks the company will sell the audio and video editing software that started the business in 1991. "That appears to be the low end of the totem pole," he said....

The entire article is here:
http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejo ... /38918.php

I have not heard of any fire sales. Sound Forge, Vegas, and VideoFactory appear to be off the retail market (i.e. no listings at PriceGrabber). Acid Pro is listing for $150 at some places; its retail price is $500.

The Sonic Foundry web site is still listing all products for sale (via download or retail pack). All of them appear to be discounted up to 40% with free UPS-ground.

Sonic Foundry's home page:
http://www.sonicfoundry.com

[rodtod]

Sonic Foundry plans to erase it's debt, chairman, and CEO?

well, hope they do ok.

[TaranT]

Sonic Foundry plans to erase it's debt, chairman, and CEO?
well, hope they do ok.

A> FORMAT CEO:

****************
Anyway ...SoFo is acting like nothing unusual might happen by announcing Vegas 4.0 for release next month:

Vegas® 4.0 is coming soon!...

New features in Vegas 4.0 include:
Primary and secondary color correction tools
Video scopes: WFM/Vector/Parade/Histogram
New transitions, effects and generators
Master, auxiliary, and effects bus tracks
Enhanced ripple editing/keyboard trimming
5.1 surround mixing
Plug-in FX automation
ASIO driver support
Record input monitoring
Media Pool Bins

Public beta copies of both products can be downloaded immediately at http://www.sonicfoundry.com. Sonic Foundry anticipates shipping both products in February 2003. Pricing for Vegas 4.0: MSRP $699; download from Sonic Foundry for $489; boxed version from Sonic Foundry for $559. Pricing for Vegas+DVD: MSRP $999; download from Sonic Foundry for $699; boxed version from Sonic Foundry for $799. Vegas 4.0 and Vegas+DVD also will be available from software dealers and distributors worldwide. Upgrade pricing will be available at time of product release

[MAS PRODUCTIONS]

hmmm....I wish they would have released a new version of video factory before they did this. I so wanted them to release a new version where it allows you to add more than two video tracks. -_-

[TaranT]

You can still upgrade your copy of VF to Vegas Video for $199. That's a decent price for something that does everything Premiere can do (except supporting AD's AMVapp ^_^). The basic Vegas user interface is exactly the same as VF's, but you do have to learn some new things, like adding more tracks, compositing, envelopes, mask generation, etc.

There's a comparison chart here:
http://www.sonicfoundry.com/Products/sh ... ureTL=5496

The problem is deciding when to upgrade. If v4 is really coming, then that's the way to go. But with the selloff, who knows if or when it will show up.

There's a beta version of v4 that you can download to try out. And a trial download of v3 is at their site, too.

[TaranT]

Video Vegas 4.0 is shipping now.
The introductory price is 40% off list price through March 15.
They've also discounted the prices for upgrading from an earlier Vegas or VideoFactory.
The site link is above.