Ok, this is embarrassing since I’ve been with Steinberg since Pro 24.
I have some content that has came with Halion 5, Cubase Pro 8 that VST 3…articulated, etc.
so how do I expand that to a bigger selection of instruments . . . . .what are the instruments in Halion Symphony Orch?
How much is it? Since Giga is not around and the Giga Library doent always translate well into Halion
I’m looking for other Libraries
Thanks
Terry
I’m a halion user to, but more of a preset user. In my case I’m better off with kontakt.
However as a sampler synth machine Halion wins if it was up to me 
This is where the strongest point is for Halion!
Library wise there is a handfull but compared to kontakt it’s nowhere near.
The HSO library are classic string instruments, it’s a seperate purchase.
Halion comes with a good pack of samples but without HSO I’m afraid.
It’s a shame as if we could posses such a massive amounts (and the advanced articulation of Halion) of libraries as kontakt owners do it would be the winner!
There’s not much out there in terms of 3rd party libraries specifically for Halion. When it comes to rolling your own sounds H5 is excellent! There’s enough in the Box in terms of base sample content to make loads and loads of nice patches. Start out with what they give you, learn from it, and branch out into your own versions of custom patches.
In short…don’t underestimate what’s already in the box 
If you’re looking for preboxed sounds…these days most of those are locked down and come with a plugin to play them with anyway…so go for the libraries you like that fit in your budget and don’t worry about the engine they made it with. Some might be based on Kontakt, Vienna, ARIA, and so forth, but they’ll come with a player so no worries there.
Fewer and fewer sets these days allow you to tweak out of the included UI or Macro setup. Oh well, there is always the option to resample the select bits that you really need to borrow from and ‘forge’ into your own instrument(s) with your favorite sampler engine.
RAW samples sets that have no DRM at all (or don’t require an included player) are harder to come by. To get my hands on ‘raw samples’ for making my own stuff, I like to keep an eye on eBay and snatch up old Sampler Disks (Roland S series, AKAI, etc. They’re usually 16bit 44.1khz, but if the price is right there’s often some gems on the disk).
On HSO, and other H5 content distributed by Steinberg:
Prices vary…if you wait until they run a special I’ve seen HSO go for as low as $49 from Stienberg direct. Dealers sometimes run boxed versions even cheaper…so do your usual web search shopping and comparing for the best prices.
To explore HSO, just grab the Demo.
http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/vst/halion_symphonic_orchestra/trial_version.html
Dark Planet also has a demo:
As does Triebwork
There are some 3rd party expansion packs out there for Halion 5. I’ve yet to try them, but if you take google for a spin it should turn up a few.
If you also happen to have Groove Agent 4 (And some will also work with SE), there’s a quickly growing list Agents available for that. Check Steinberg.net to get a list of those.