Thanks guys- but here's one for you- when formatting my drive (it comes stock with FAT32) to NTFS it asked me what my default cluster size should be, I chose default but there are several to choose from. Any ideas?

Kim before going out and buying the Canopus ADVC-100, consider buying a cheap DV cam instead. That is if it IS indeed true that your cameras don't support pass-through. Reason being is the ADVC-100 cost $300. For that cost you can buy an inexpensive Sharp Viewcam ($299.99 @ Walmart) I don't, however see it on their site but they do have a JVC model:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...A3991%3A108619 ...$326.

That way you can have pass-through AND an extra DV cam (not that you need it...lol)

If you were planning on upgrading to a 3-chip DV cam I'd hold off on both because all higher end DV cams will indeed support pass-through.

If you have Excalibur make SURE you read the PDF. I've had to go back to it several times thinking the script was acting up but it was user error EVERY TIME. lol Here's a few tips:

-name both your tracks
-For example if you named them "A", and "B"....after you add the marker for each clip make sure you name the markers "As" and "Bs" for A sync and B sync.
-Before running the script make SURE you have the two clips highlighted as well.

That should be all. Ofcourse it is easier to just use a normal
DVD player with a projector that accepts composite or SVHS
in. Then it's just hooking up and hitting play basically. Since
DVD players can be had very cheap now-a-days this might be
a better way to proceed. -->>>

That is quite true- from the suggestion of a user over at the VideoUniversity Wedding forums (Joel) I picked up a Homestar DVD player from Radio Shack for $49. Ironicly enough my girlfriend's more expensive JVC model doesn't played burnt dvds.
The little cheap Homestar plays EVERYTHING.

Circuit city is running a web-only special on a DVD player for $29!
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...&u=c&oid=78345

I just leave it at the default cluster size.

1. I've tried fine-tuning the alignment on two audio tracks by using the 1 and 3 keys on my numberpad. They don't "nudge" the audio (amazingly, I could do that in Premiere)--they just move the cursor down the timeline. What am I doing wrong?

The 1 and 3 keys on the numpad WILL work if:
A) Num lock is on
B) The event you want to nudge is selected


2. I've got Excalibur 1.5 so tried to run Sync Wizard by following the written instructions. Nothing happens. Can someone please walk me through the process, as I must be missing steps?

Glen gave good instructions. Just follow the PDF manual and all should be fine. The step I miss most often is "Select everything to be adjusted BEFORE running Excalibur". Then I just hit undo, CTRL-A, and run it again.


3. Even with no effects, when I try to watch footage on an external monitor it's out of sync. (Runs through camera and VCR to tv.) After reading something around here I noticed that the information in the media pool shows the audio at 32,000 Hz, and the project properties shows 44,100. Is that a bad thing?

There is an adjustment in the preferences to allow you to adjust the sync point for external monitors. The defualt is "4" and works in most cases. However, since the audio is output on the computer and the video has to go through a conversion process, you may need a different setting.


4. On an earlier attempt, I switched between cameras by using a composite envelope on the top video track. Watching the finished video on tape I realized that at each dissolve the audio is out of sync. What's up with that?

When previewing, Vegas attempts to show everything in real time at the quality level you have set. If it can't keep up, it will start to drop frames giving the "appearance" of being out of sync. After rendering, is it out of sync?

To increase the frames per second during preview, you may wish to use a lower preview quality level. The default is "Preview (Auto)" and works well in most cases.

Really Edward.... you should be working for Sony.

All of the cameras I have support firewire and analog. So it must be me.

But I can't get it to work.

Maybe I should just slap an nvidea card with s out as a second monitor card.

Kim, 2 things:

-Just because your cameras support firewire and anaolog doesn't mean they support pass-through. ALL DV cams support firewire, they have to, that's what allows capture of the digital media.

-Do not, and I repeat do NOT use the S-video out on the NVidia as your external monitor. 1.IT will most likely show your TV as a second monitor. and 2.Will not give you accurate colors, as the video out on the graphics card is influenced by the video LUT (look up table). In other words if you changed the output on color settings on your video card it would directly effect the output of the video. The only way to bypass the video lut is to go via firewire...to get a true wysiwyg.

I'll have to come over and fix it- I live close enough. lol

I would highly recommend www.academicsuperstore.com for qualified academic discounts. They are taking orders for Vegas 5. I currently have Vegas 4, but I will buy Vegas 5 from them because the entire package cost as much as an upgrade.

on top of that you can buy the philips DVP642 dvd player that plays divx/mp4 files themselves!!!!

<<<-- Originally posted by Todd Metzger : This is straight from the Sony website.

...

Upgrade Vegas to Vegas + DVD
$249.00

[/b] -->>>

I could only find a $299 price for this upgrade pn the Sony site.

Could you please post a link to the page which offers the same upgrade for $249?

Thank you!

Didn't have a chance to find the exact link, but if you go to the knowledge base page of the Sony Mediasoftware site, it has been the top answer in the list. If you don't see it in the list, then search for "vegas 5.0 promotional pricing." HTH!

Really, Gentlemen....you should be considered for knighthood. Thank you so much for helping the dumb belle in distress.

I must find this PDF manual! Even after your instructions, Glen, I didn't get the wizard to work right. (It butted the audio clips to the start of the timeline and left the video clips behind. I highlighted all.) But the 1-3 alignment will do for now. Num lock--never would've guessed.

This project has been trouble from the start. Even my friend who thinks I'm too picky admitted that it appears to go in and out of sync. (Edward, I do watch in "preview/auto" for audio work.) He reset Vegas to default settings and re-imaged the computer. I haven't noticed much of an improvement. It's six hours of tape, but maybe I should recapture a portion for a test.

Off-topic, Edward, but I'm going to try your method of splitting the project into sections, rendering them separately, then compiling into a final project. Don't be surprised if you hear a cry for help in a few days, but I'll do my best to get it right on my own.

Not dumb! If you were dumb, you would have given up. Instead you came here for help.

Glen is correct, everytime I have had a problem with the sync wizard, it was my fault.

Keep beating the keys, you're doing fine.