Sony Vegas Pro vs Vegas Platinum
The Sony Vegas Movie Studio software is intended for professionals who edit videos. It is a very powerful DVD authoring solution that can be used for professional level editing of wedding, corporate, and in other applications where quality is essential. Both Pro and Platinum editions of the Vegas software lets you do all this but the Platinum edition adds a few more functionalities that are absent in the Pro version.
The Platinum version of Vegas is capable of editing and processing HD video. HD video is the future of video recording as its higher resolution makes it suitable for large displays. People also notice the better overall quality of HD video compared to standard definition. The Pro version of Vegas is not capable of editing HD video and it needs to be converted or scaled down, and this results in a loss of quality.
The Platinum edition also lets people edit and mix 5.1 surround sound. The benefits of surround sound can be fully felt when you are editing music videos where the sound quality is as important as the video itself. The Platinum version is also capable of directly exporting the resulting video into the PSP (Playstation Portable), which is a Sony gaming device that is also capable of playing videos that fits its format. Color correction is present in both these editions as it is needed to make the final video output as good as possible. But you would only find the advanced 3-wheel correction in the Platinum edtion.
The Platinum should only be purchased by those who truly need the said features and are capable of using them. The Pro edition of Vegas should be more than enough for most users and buying the Platinum edition would only translate to higher cost without any true benefit. But for those who use their videos in broadcasting or in any commercial venture, purchasing and learning to take full advantage of the Platinum edition might be well worth it.
Summary:
1. The Platinum version supports HD video editing while the Pro version does not
2. The Pro version does not have 5.1 surround sound mixing and encoding which the Platinum version has
3. The Platinum version can directly export to a PSP while the Pro version cannot
4. The Platinum has advanced 3-wheel color correction which is not present in the Pro edition
5. The Platinum version costs more compared to the Pro version