Vegas Video discussions from 2005 (Q3Q4)

[Shawn Redford]

I read in DSE's HDV book that still photos for 1080i HDV should be converted to a resolution of 1440 x 1080 with a PAR of 1.33.

First of all, is the reason for this conversion to take load off of off Vegas and to ensure that you get the best conversion possible by using a photo editor?

Second, in DSE's HDV book, there is a picture of Adobe Photoshop Elements (p. 109 in the HDV book for those that have it), suggesting that it can do this type of the conversion. However, I cannot find anywhere in Photoshop Elements where I can set the PAR of a photo. Does anyone know how to do this with Photoshop Elements, and if so what version are you using?

[Steve Crisdale]

Originally Posted by Shawn Redford

I read in DSE's HDV book that still photos for 1080i HDV should be converted to a resolution of 1440 x 1080 with a PAR of 1.33.

First of all, is the reason for this conversion to take load off of off Vegas and to ensure that you get the best conversion possible by using a photo editor?

Second, in DSE's HDV book, there is a picture of Adobe Photoshop Elements (p. 109 in the HDV book for those that have it), suggesting that it can do this type of the conversion. However, I cannot find anywhere in Photoshop Elements where I can set the PAR of a photo. Does anyone know how to do this with Photoshop Elements, and if so what version are you using?

Because the HD stream from the FX-1/Z1 is 1440x1080 1.3333 Pixel Aspect Ratio, any still images you may wish to utilise during editing need to also have the same dimension and PAR - otherwise strange things will happen!!

It's not a Vegas thing - it's a HDV (Sony 1080i stream) thing.

I don't know about Adobe PS Elements and PAR, but Photoshop CS and CS2 certainly have it - under the "Image" menu drop-down.

You may also find the PNG (rather than JPEG) format worth using for still frames as well...

[Emre Safak]

You are absolutely right: Vegas does not use Mainconcept to encode AC3s; I was thinking of the MPEG-2 encoder. Anyway, I resolved the problem by creating a surround project. You can indeed create 1.0 AC3s with Vegas.

[Peter Moore]

So David Newman was nice enough to let me try out a pre-release copy of ConnectHD 2.0. You may recall I was having quality issues when exporting CFHD footage from Vegas. Those problems are completely solved. I did dozens of comparisons between Cineform output from HDLink, multi-generational Cineform output from Vegas, and other codecs, and in all cases the Cineform output from Vegas was now just as good as that of HDlink, and almost as good as uncompressed YUV. Certainly far better than any MJPEG codec. Combined with the low file sizes this is definitely the best HD codec for use with Vegas. My trial ran out yesterday and I promptly bought a copy.

[Sean Seah]

I think I accidentally done that with the velocity envelope once.. still cant figure out how tha happened! I think u could try pulling the velocity env to the bottom.. u should see the reverse effect.. let me know if it works..

[Don Bloom]

Yes you can do the reverse effect with the velocity envelope. Insert envelope, set to -100% OR pull all the way down to reverse.
Don

[Edward Troxel]

When using the velocity envelope to reverse, remember you have to START AT THE END. The first frame of the event you reverse will be the first frame after it is reversed as well. However, once reversed it will go backwards from that first frame! So if you cut out a section you want reversed and reverse it using the velocity envelope, you will get the section BEFORE that section.

As for doing a "rewind" effect, you can just use the velocity envelope to change from a positive % to a negative % and then back to a positive %. If you wish to change the speed of the reverse (i.e. reverse faster than 100%), I would probably then render out that clip and then apply additional speed changes to the new clip which has the reverse "built-in".

[Joe Carney]

Peter, thanks for the info. I too use Vegas. And live not too far from you (I think). Hopefully we could get together sometime. Email me if you are so inclined.

[Laurence Kingston]

To me, the whole issue of smartrendering is also incredibly important. Cineform codec stuff smartrenders. Boy does that increase quality and decrease rendering time!

[Michael Liebergot]

How would you compare ConnectHD 2.0 with VASST's GearShift plugin for Vegas.

I know it also uses the Cineform codec, let's you convert MT2 files to Cineform Codec for editing, and will let you convert video back to HD or MPEG after editing i complete.

Is ConnectHD2.0 faster and better than using GearShift in Vegas 6.c?

[Peter Moore]

I don't know why you need Gearshift except for 24p conversion, which I do in Virtual Dub.

There's a version of Virtual Dub that supports MPEG files. I use that to convert to 24p and output to CFHD using the 2.0 codec. Works great. so, again, I don't know why you'd need Gearshift.

[Michael Liebergot]

Well, isn't the main purpose of GearShift, to convert MT2 files to Cimeform codec, or proxy codec, to edit like DV?

Also, let's your final output be back to HDV or DV for quicker renders.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

Converting to 24p is one of the least important functions of GearShift.

Use GearShift for:
-Converting m2t to CineForm
-Converting m2t to DV Proxy
-Converting m2t to 4:2:2 YUV (HDCAM/Decklink)

You can convert entire files, you can convert pieces of a large file to smaller files (in any of the above formats)

The other major function, is if you have a computer slower than 3.2 GHz or just a slow computer period, you'll want to edit your HDV in a proxy format, and then hit the "Shift Gears" option to check your work. Shift Gears immediately replaces DV Proxies with whatever other HD format you have, whether it's just the original m2t, CineForm, or 4:2:2.

Additionally, it can make these conversions from the Project Media bins, from the Explorer, or from the timeline with regions. It also adds a color matrix to bring the DV Proxy as close to the HDV colorspace as possible. Of course, you can always convert to 24p or 30p here as well. And FWIW, GearShift and Vegas do a substantially better job, albeit slower, at converting to 24p than does VDub.

If you have a fast computer, and can afford Connect HD, you'll do well with that application. How well it functions at capture is entirely dependent on processor speed. GearShift is about the same speed at converting as CineForm is on a slower machine; CineForm is faster on a faster machine.
In terms of quality, there is zero quality difference.

[Steve Crisdale]

Originally Posted by Michael Liebergot

Well, isn't the main purpose of GearShift, to convert MT2 files to Cimeform codec, or proxy codec, to edit like DV?

Also, let's your final output be back to HDV or DV for quicker renders.

To be brutally blunt - I'd be more inclined to view the capabilities of Gearshift as complimentary to Vegas and ConnectHD as well as enhancing for the overall HDV editing experience through the extended capabilities it provides.

While a grand arsenal of HDV capable NLE's, Utilities and plug-ins could end up creating a tangled mess of space hogging, rarely used and exceptionally specialised digital data... it's too early for any HDV Pundit to declare one set of programs, utilities and plug-ins as the be-all and end-all for HDV editing. It's not even been a full year since some HDV software has appeared!! For HDV support to even be at this point - today, right now - is indicative of the momentum generated by sales and the subsequent leverage that such immediate popularity generates.

Given the newness of the hardware, and the even newer state of all of the software; one would be doing one's self a favour by being open to various possibilities that will present themselves for software solutions as HDV continues to mature as a format. A Vegas, ConnectHD and Gearshift combination would represent a combination that's about as good as it gets at the moment in enjoying the HDV editing experience.

[Gary Bettan]

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Gary