Sony launches updated multimedia suite

Fans of Sony's multimedia production and editing tools get some happy news today with the release of updated versions of Vegas, ACID, and Sound Forge. Vegas Movie Studio HD 10 Platinum ($99.95) is a user-friendly video-editing application packed with all the features of the previous version as well as some handy new tools. Worth noting is Image Stabilization, which allows anyone with shaky footage to quickly and simply even out the shot with a selection of optimized presets. There's also a slideshow creator, new color correction tools, GPU-accelerated AVC rendering, and a feature that lets you burn DVDs directly from the timeline (which eliminates the need for a menu on the disc). The latest version of the software also allows up to 10 video tracks and 10 audio tracks at any given time.

On the audio side of things, Sony has released ACID Music Studio 8 ($69.95) for music and mashup creation and Sound Sound Forge Audio Studio 10 ($69.95), which offers professional tools for mastering audio projects. New features in ACID 8 include a new audio and MIDI-mixing console that offers the appearance of a traditional hardware-based mixer, which provides an integrated view of all tracks as well as time-stretching and pitch-shifting tools and enhanced remixing tools, including Beatmapper, which automatically finds the tempo of a completed song. Sound Forge 10 adds an enhanced vinyl-recording wizard for converting analog formats into digital files; support for 32-bit IEEE float bit-depth and a 192kHz sample rate; and customizable window layouts and floating window docks for creating a personalized look-and-feel.

Sony is also offering a Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 Production Suite ($129.99), which--in addition to Vegas--includes DVD Architect Studio 5, Sound Forge Audio Studio 10, Vocal Eraser technology, NewBlueFX audio and video effects, a tutorial DVD, and 400 exclusive original music soundtracks. The Imagination Studio Suite 2 offering adds ACID to the package for $50 more.