Video card for Vegas Movie Studio

[Sean Skube]

Ok, so I'm very much not an editor, but I happen to be editing a 5 minute video for a friend of mine now. So, I'm using Vegas Movie Studio, version 6 or 7, I'm not sure which. And I'd like to be able to edit where I can actually see a decent image and not just draft or preview quality, which still is usually choppy as hell. So is there a video card I can get that will work with the software and allow me to see the video playback in real time at good quality, without breaking the bank? I know, I'm a total noob.

[Edward Troxel]

No video card will affect the speed at which Vegas previews. Vegas doesn't use hardware for acceleration. Given a reasonably fast machine, Vegas should do a decent job unless you're adding lots of effects or doing heavy compositing.

Remember you can alway do a ram render or pre-render to help when it can't keep up.

[Tim OBrien]

Yup, I'm using a standard laptop.

If your video is "choppy as hell" it's probably split all over your hard drive.

Best thing to do is get a good external drive (USB2 or firewire - I use a Seagate USB2 drive) so that the video stream is working on a drive all by itself away from all the stuff going on in the Operating System. And keep the drive defragmented.

[Sean Skube]

Ah, ok. So, since I'm using Movie Studio Platinum, and not the full version of Vegas, what would be the best way to preview out to a TV? Just doing the extended desktop doesn't work in Movie Studio, unfortunately. Kind of annoying. I'm assuming I'll have to buy a firewire device to convert it to a video signal, but which one? I've heard people mention ADS Pyro, but when I did a search for that it came up with all kinds of different devices under that name. Some were PCI cards, and some seemed to be external converters. I am editing a video for a friend, and she's coming by this weekend to check out the edit. I want her to be able to sit in front of a TV to view it, not look over my shoulder at the computer monitor.

[Mike Kujbida]

Easiest (and cheapest) is to firewire out of your computer to a miniDV camcorder.
Take the video out of the camcorder to your TV.
Sound comes from your computer's speakers as it doesn't pass through this way.
This also assumes that the camcorder has the pass-through feature.

[Sean Skube]

I've got the ol' HDR-HC1, which didn't get the pass thru feature. It's a bummer.
So, would this work?
http://www.amazon.com/ADS-API-558-EF...9099803&sr=8-1

[Chris Barcellos]

Sean:

Remember that if it is HDV you are editing, you will not get preview out to firewire without actually rendering the entire project and sending it to your camera as a tape capture. None of the standard editing solutions are able to do that in the same way were used to with DV.

[Sean Skube]

Don't worry, it's not HD. I only own an HC1, so that's what I shot with, but I'm working in NTSC.

[Duane Burleson]

The HC1 does pass thru the DV signal. Set it to VCR mode, in the menu set it to DV and use the composite out cable to your TV (component out won't have a signal on it).

Duane

[Sean Skube]

How do I set it to VCR mode exactly? I've been told time and time again that HC1 has no pass thru ability. I know I can record back to tape, but I was told I couldn't use it for preview with vegas.

[Duane Burleson]

I don't have my camera in front of me, but when you turn it on you are in camera mode, toggle the on button two more times and you are in VCR or playback mode. The green light moves down 2 spots. You have to set the camera to DV mode via the menu. Then plug in the firewire cord (or unplug and replug it in). Also, I've never used Vegas 6 studio, does it allow previewing on an external monitor? If it does and you have Vegas set to external preview you should see it on the camera LCD and any TV plugged into the composite cord.

Duane

[Duane Burleson]

Here are step-by-step instructions for live preview, via firewire, through the Sony HDR-HC1 in DV mode.


1) Make sure Vegas Movie Studio Platinum supports live preview via firewire.

2) Set HC1 to "play/edit" via the on/off switch on right side of camera.

3) Go into p-set > menu > standard set > scroll to the VCR HDV/DV setting and make sure it is set to DV, click OK and close the menu.

3) Plug in the firewire cord into the camera and then into the computer.

4) Plug the composite cable into the HC1 (this is the 3/4 moon end) and then plug yellow RCA end into your TV video in (should also be yellow).

5) Launch your Vegas program and make sure it is set to live preview.

Everything on your preview window should now appear on both the camera LCD and the TV.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Duane

[Sean Skube]

Wow, it worked! Thanks. I kept getting told the HC1 didn't do any kind of pass thru, and that the best I could do was to record back to miniDV tape. I already ordered a Pyro A/V link, but this is still good to know, and I can use it this way until the Pyro gets here. Plus, I probably don't want to have to hook up my camera every time I want to preview on the TV anyway.
Oh, I do have one question. Is there a way to preview on the TV and still have it play in the preview window in Vegas too? it blacks out the preview and says something like "previewing on external monitor". I'm guessing I'd need the full version of Vegas to do that.

EDIT: Also, the top portion of the frame jitters every few seconds. Is this a setting in the camera or vegas that is doing this? It's like the top third of the picture has a nervous twitch. :)