We’ve all stated how we love the HSO 16bit product (at least so far in this new forum!), just wondering if any more sound sets might be in the works? Pre formulated ensemble banks might be something that would be cool for HSO… just a thought… I’d pull out the wallet, mind you, I’ve been eying up EastWest and Garitan too. How about it Steinberg?
Perhaps they might offer the 24-bit soundset as a special offer with the Cubase 6 upgrade? Just guessing … 
I’d be okay with 16bit if they were new/different samples. As for bundled with C6… I suspect not this time around.
My next guess is that there’ll be a cut-down version of HALion Sonic bundled with Cubase 6 which will allow loading the existing HSO library, and there will be additional libraries (VST Sound Instrument Sets) available for that. That would also have the advantage of getting the H4 engine along with an overhaul of the aging HSO GUI.
Certainly hope you are right about that! 
Only two more sleeps 'til we find out at NAMM …
Then we wait until spring! 
Then we wait for distribution to take forever sending… hopefully it will be downloadable! 
… as just announced today! What are the odds? I haven’t seen any mention that they might convert the HSO content to allow it to be playable with the new HALion Sonic SE yet, but it surely can’t be an insurmountable technical problem. I’m almost certain I saw a post in the old forum that confirmed that HSO content could be loaded and played by the full HALion 3, and they’ve already converted HALion ONE content for HALion Sonic SE as well as advertising VST Sound Instrument Sets as expansion packs for the full HALion Sonic.
The could call it HALion SymPHONic ORCHestrA.
This just in!
Chris has just posted this C6 FAQ:
“I bought the HALion Symphonic Orchestra 16-bit Special Edition included with Cubase 5. How does the deal with the new HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set work?”
“If you bought the HALion Symphonic Orchestra 16-bit Special Edition included with Cubase 5 you can simply install the new HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set and you are ready to go! As the new HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set uses the same license as the old HALion Symphonic Orchestra 16-bit Special Edition, you don’t need to activate anything.”
YAY! I’ve already parted with the cash … 
Quote:
HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set
Cubase 6 contains a 60-day fully functional trial version of the HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set, providing a wealth of acoustic orchestral instruments at their best. The trial version can be upgraded online to a permanent license at a very special price — exclusive for Cubase 6 customers. Existing HSO users will be excited to find out that they can use HALion Symphonic Orchestra VST Sound Instrument Set with their existing license as a free update right away! Capturing every nuance and detail of a full palette and dynamic range of strings, brass, woodwind and percussion instruments, this library includes an almost inexhaustible range of articulations and expressive playing technique, directly accessible in HALion Sonic SE and Cubase 6 — thanks to VST Expression 2.
Worst part for me now is the wait! Definitely good thinking on SB’s part, I was reaching for my wallet over at East/West the other day.
Curious, will there be ANYTHING for Cubase 5 users with the full version of HSO, or is this Steinberg software also now becoming obsolete?
Unfortunately that’s how it sometimes goes … but I would look at it like this: for a relatively small price you get an upgraded HSO content that’s compatible with VST Expression 2, a better GUI, an improved HALion 4 engine AND everything else that Cubase 6 has to offer.
If you were to keep Cubase 5, you could presumably purchase a full HALion Sonic but you’d still have to obtain the updated HSO library, although it seems your existing HSO license would cover it. You then wouldn’t have VST Expression 2 or any of the Cubase 6 improvements, plus it would have cost you a lot more.
When you consider the special price HSO was available at with Cubase 5 (compared to the full HSO price), and the fact that there’s nothing extra to pay on top of the Cubase 6 upgrade price to now get the updated HSO plus VST Expression 2, IMHO the C5-to-C6 upgrade really is a no-brainer!
I do believe they put some thought into these pricing structures, and although over time C5/HSO users might have felt a little left out, with this latest offer I personally feel Steinberg have really rewarded customer loyalty.