Solved VMS 10 suite vs VMS 12 suite

Hi
1. I have VMS Platinum 10 suite. I see that the VMS 12 suite (not Platinum) is downloadable on Amazon for about $40.00. I am not a power user. Yet I wonder if I should upgrade?

2. Also I see just the VMS 13 (not the Platinum suite) is also available. Is that an option to consider. I expect that the suite would include the DVD Arch and the Sound Forge 13 Software.

3. Would DVD Arch and Sound Forge that comes with VMS Plat 10 be usable with VMS 12 or VMS13?

Thanks, Tom

Hi Tom

Version 10 never received any free build updates during it's lifetime, which was rather strange.
Version 10 was only a 32bit program, which means it was limited in processing power.
If you have a 64bit computer, then upgrading to one of the newer versions would give you better performance.
If you only have an older 32bit computer, you can still upgrade to version 12 or 13, because the program comes packaged with BOTH a 32bit and 64bit version.

Which Operating System are you using ?
You will need Windows 7 or Windows 8, if you want to upgrade to either V12 or V13.
I would not recommend an upgrade if you are still using Windows XP or Vista.

Sony Movie Studio Platinum Suite 12 is a bargain at $40 on Amazon.
I just checked Amazon myself and it looks like the Download for V12 is no longer available, but you can get the boxed version.
Version 12 of the Suite is very popular, because it comes with many extra apps and features.

Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13 is the newest version.
This version saw a re-design of the Main User Interface. Many people don't like the new version 13 because the Buttons are now BIGGER.
Personally I have got use to the BIGGER style buttons, even though I preferred the older design.
All other controls once you dig deeper, are very similar to older versions.
I would suggest you download the free trial for V13 before you make your decision.
Make sure to select correct version from drop down box - you need to select 32bit or 64bit version to match your computer.
www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials/moviestudiope

Version 13 does have a few more features than V12.
If you did buy only Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13, you can still use your older versions of Sound Forge and DVD Architect Studio with MS Platinum 13.
The suite version Sony Movie Studio Suite 13, does come with extra features and plugins besides Sound Forge and DVD Architect.

Please also keep in mind that a new version for Movie Studio Platinum may be released soon.
It is very hard to predict this. When new versions are released, Sony normally does a promotion for existing owners of the program and offers a decent discount for upgrading.

Regards
Derek.

p.s.
What ever you decide to do, you DON'T have to un-install your older version before upgrading.

Thank you for such a clear, concise and detailed reply.I have Win 8 32 bit on a desktop PC. I have Win 7 64 Bit on a laptop. Strangely, I am running all my Sony video products on the laptop which has an Intel i5 processor and 8GB memory.
Therefore, I would get a 64 Bit upgrade.
The laptop will be used only for the Sony products.
I will try the V13 first.
It is nice to know that Arch and Forge are both usable with V13.
Otherwise I would lean toward V12 Suite. And nice to know that V10 can reside on my machine with an upgrade. It seems to payoff well to use Sony products
I have their vid cam,a top notch VCR, other software and more.
Will let you know what I think of 13.
Thanks again, Tom
PS: I have become very excited since I got so much confidence from you tutorials that I can not be pryed away from the laptop. Soon I will try to move a 70 minute to Arch.
Finally, I solved the audio conversion problem using audacity. Hi

If you wanted to, you could install the 32bit version on your Desktop and the 64bit version on your Laptop, if you purchased V12 or V13.
My guess is that you will have better performance on the laptop, due to more RAM being available and because it is a 64bit machine.

The only thing you would have to be careful of though, is moving projects backwards and forwards from the 32bit version (desktop) to the 64bit version (laptop) and vice versa.
Some plugins may only work in a 64bit or 32bit environment.
It's a shame your Desktop is not also 64bit.
I hope I haven't confused you, by adding this extra bit of info.
Experimentation is the best learning tool.

Well since I last talked to you I have tried a few actions that were challenges.
But before I go into that I have to clarify what resources I have. This is in part because I forgot to include it earlier.

When I replaced my original desktop that had my VMS HD 10 suite on it I did not to re-install VEGAS on that desktop.
Instead I tried to install it on a PC in my basement that also had win 7 64bit installed. I was only able to get DVD arch to run on it, so I stopped trying. That was a year or so ago.

And at that time I also tried and was able to install the suite on the laptop. I cannot understand why my VMS 10 suite works on the laptop if the laptop has a 64bit OS. Maybe it is not 64bit. It still works fine but I do not like working on the laptop. So I did nothing for the past year.

So today I went back to the desktop that has the 64bit OS and found that DVD arch still worked. That was before I did the download of the trial VMS 13 suite. So I decided to download the trial version of VMS 13 suite.

Got all four part. In the end nothing worked. The DVD arch that worked was no longer available.

I tried to contact Sony support but they blocked my input. Somehow I got it to them by changing the problem from VMS 10 to VMS 13. No reply as yet.

Anyhow, after registering all the trial modules, I tried to run each. At first they each came up to display the serial number and build # info but each froze-up.
When I selected the DVD arch I got a message that the trial period had expired. I guess that is because it was really my original DVD arch software.

So nothing runs on that Win 7 64bit machine. I might just uninstall everything from that machine and wait to get a 64 bit software in a box. I might be able to install 32bit on one desktop and a 64bit on the other. Although I was hoping to keep the video work on just one machine that did not spend much time on the internet. For now that would be the laptop.

I am glad that I did not try to download the Trial software to the laptop. At least I have a working program.

I also see that the Vegas Movie Studio 12 suite is available for about $50.00 in a box. I am strongly leaning toward getting it for the 64bit software. I don't know what ACID is used for and probably can live without it.

I'm giving you all this info because at some point I expect that I might be turning to you for some technical advise once I get a 64 bit software package.
Thanks for your patience, Tom

I know what is going on.
I don't want to make this any more complicated, so I will try to keep this simple and explain some theory, because it will probably help other people who read this in the future.

If I am understanding you correctly now, you have 3 computers in total.
A. 1x Desktop with Windows 8 32bit
B. 1x Desktop with Windows 7 64bit
C. 1x Laptop with Windows 7 64bit (this is your No.1 Movie Studio machine)

#1. I don't know why you had problems trying to install on Desktop B. PC. Gremlins probably.

#2. 32bit programs will always work on a 64bit computer, however 64bit programs cannot work on a 32bit computer.
When you install a 32bit program on a 64bit computer, it works in a "virtual" 32bit reality and so behaves exactly as if installed on a 32bit computer.
On your 64bit computer, go to Computer - Local Disc(C)
Here you will see two folders: Program Files and Program Files (x86)
Open both of these folders up and have a look around. All the programs inside of folder Program Files (x86) are 32bit based, all the programs listed inside of Program Files folder are 64bit based.

#3. You need to be careful when installing trial versions on a computer that already has older versions installed - especially the Suite.
The trial version of the Suite does not come with any of the bonus features - you don't get them until you buy the full program, so I normally recommend existing owners of the Movie Studio Suite to only install Movie Studio Platinum (video editing program only) trial for newer versions, when you want to check newer versions out.
Example: If you already have Movie Studio Platinum 10 Suite installed, that means you have Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 10, DVD Architect Studio and Sound Forge Audio Studio on the computer. If you tried to install Movie Studio Platinum 13 Suite on the same computer, it should install Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13 OK - because this is a stand alone complete new version of the program, HOWEVER, DVD Architect & Sound Forge are not hugely different and so may get confused with existing installations and Serial Number activations.

What you can safely do on your laptop is install the trial for Movie Studio Platinum 13 64bit (video editing program only).
Download direct from this link: www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/trials/moviestudiope

I don't want to overload you with any more information right now.
Once you buy Version 12 or 13 of the Suite, I can show you how to do a clean install of the Sony programs on your Desktop running Windows 7 64bit.
If involves un-installing ALL Sony programs from that computer and then deleting all the Windows Registry values for ALL those Sony programs.
I suspect that your Registry has become corrupted on this computer and that is why programs are not installing properly and why you can't register programs properly.
The Windows Registry holds the records for this information.

Hi: I read the above reply on Sunday and began to comment. It got too complicated so I gave up.

I will try again, Point by point so that my comments may be tracked with yours.

Desktop "A" is used primarily online. Plus I do not like the Win 8 interface.
Desktop "B", the 64 bit PC that does not run Vegas, would be my preferred video machine. I am not using it because of the problem getting Vegas to run. It has a very large display and a very good graphics card.

#1. I might just re-install the OS to remove the Gremlins.

#2. These are very good points. When downloading VMS 13, Sony found my VMS 10 programs in the X86 and made some changes to them. However they installed Movie Studio 13 in the "Program Folder". I am sure that this further aggravated my problem with DESKTOP B.

#3. This is so important to know. But I have not read that anywhere else. Sony should place that info on the download site. Thanks for pointing that out for everyone.

Thanks for the link to VMS 13. I am not going to try the trial version. I already know that I love Vegas and have decided to buy the VMS 12 Platinum suite. I hope it also has the HD capability. Got it on Amazon for $38.00 plus $4.50 for something. I will want it on desktop "B". That way I can transfer everything from the Laptop (64 bits) to the desktop "B".

You mention a "Clean install". I suppose if that was to work I would not have to re-install the OS. I have always been careful not to get into the registry. However, I would like to know a bit more about the procedure for the "Clean install before replacing the OS.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Tom

PS: I have been viewing your tutorials on the development of menus. I hope to include them in my plans to make family videos.

Hi: I am still trying to get my "B" machine to run Vegas.
Since my last comment I completely removed all Vegas programs. My PC seems to run very well in all other areas.

So I then re-installed just Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.
Re-booted my machine.

Attempted to run the program;

A window came up for my Serial Number;

Then the main VMS window came up to show the Build Number to be # 179

The system started to load and it stopped at the point where:
it was searching for the "DIRECTX" program.

Does that tell you anything that might help to solve the problem?

Tom

PS: I completed the 79 minute video which evolved from 8MM film in the early 1950's.
It was a silent film played into a VHS format, copied to a DVD using my Sony recorder and captured into Vegas.
What a trip it took!
I was able to get very good audio into it and chapters to work. My wife loves it.
If you don't mind, I took all the credit and give you none so far. Thanks so much.

Sounds like you are missing a Windows program component.
Check Windows Update and make sure it is set to receive all Recommended Updates.

A quick Google search reveals this article from Microsoft.
A link in the article shows how to check what version of DirectX you have installed.
support.microsoft.com/kb/179113/

Here are instructions for doing a clean install of all your Sony programs.
When you do this, you can't pick and choose which Sony programs to remove. It works best to do all programs belonging to same group.

#1. The first step is to un-install ALL your Sony programs.

#2. Then press Windows Start Button to reveal Search Box. Search "regedit" and select regedit.exe
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Open Software
Delete Sony Creative Software folder ONLY !
Close folders back up.

Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Open Software
Delete Sony Creative Software folder ONLY !

#3 Re-boot computer and re-install programs


If you have already un-installed and re-installed all your programs and re-registered them, you may not want to worry about doing this any more.
Sony allows about 3 to 5 registrations, before your Serial Activation Numbers become inactive. If this happens don't panic or worry. You can fill out a Support Request with Sony Creative Software and ask for Serial Numbers to be re-activated. Just tell them you were having problems installing programs and they will understand. I have done this myself many times.

I suspect you may have to do a clean install of Windows on the problem computer and then re-install all your Drivers and programs again.
If it does come to this, make sure to get all your Windows Updates installed before you start to re-install any programs.

Regards
Derek.

p.s.
Dr Zen and Derek are same person.
I have a few different logins and forgot to login with right account.