Sonic Foundry Inc., a leading digital media software solutions company, today announced the availability of public betas* for Vegas 4.0 and Vegas+DVD, two new standards for professional video and audio production on the Windows platform. As operating systems become more robust, PC processing power accelerates, and the price of digital video production systems decrease, editors are realizing that 'software-only' solutions that offer integrated real-time previewing, 5.1 surround mixing, multichannel encoding and DVD authoring capabilities — all within a single application — are no longer out of reach. After a year of critical acclaim by peers and industry publications, Sonic Foundry continues to expand upon its popular Vegas technology by offering even more unparalleled world-class production technologies to a rapidly growing base of professional users in this latest upgrade. Vegas 4.0 provides integrated real-time video and audio non-linear editing with comprehensive features that allow for mixing, compositing, color correction, titling, streaming media creation and surround sound production for multimedia professionals. Vegas+DVD not only includes Vegas 4.0, but also offers complete DVD authoring (featuring DVD Architect) and a Dolby certified multichannel AC-3 encoder.

"I've had the opportunity to use just about every post-production tool available and have not found a more powerful or complete software solution for independent filmmakers on any platform other than Sonic Foundry's Vegas," said Lance Bachelder, Hollywood-based independent director and editor who used Vegas on the soon-to-be-released feature film, SPECK; the PBS documentary Lasting Love; the urban action film Banged Out; plus, feature film trailers, commercials and PSA's. "With the exciting new features of Vegas 4.0, I have no doubt it will remain my DV production tool of choice."

Already a top choice among digital video and audio professionals, the enhanced capabilities of Vegas 4.0 make it the most comprehensive software package available for professional DV and audio production. Some of the new features to be included are:

* Advanced Color Correction Tools
* Media Pool bins and searches
* Vectorscope, Histogram, Parade and Waveform monitoring
* Application Scripting
* Improved Ripple Editing
* Additional Transitions, Effects and Compositing Modes
* Velocity and Motion Blur Envelopes
* 5.1 Surround Mixing
* AC-3 Encoding (multichannel and stereo)
* DirectX Audio Plug-In Effects Automation
* ASIO Driver Support
* Windows Media 9 support
* DVD authoring with AC-3 file import capabilities
* Integration with DVD Architect via chapter marker passing

"Vegas 4.0 represents a significant upgrade that offers professionals the types of powerful video and audio production enhancements they've demanded out of their real-time editing platform," said Sonic Foundry's Brad Reinke, senior vice president and general manager of software. "Vegas 4.0 and Vegas+DVD provide editors and producers with a single, comprehensive solution that fits seamlessly into our already growing family of integrated media production tools."