Vegas Video discussions from 2006 (Q1Q2)

Edward Troxel · February 21st, 2006, 09:32 AM

How about the "Damaged Goods" video clips. There's a review in Vol 4, #1 of my newsletters. Here's the link to the product: http://uvtvproductions.com/damaged.html

Adam Woodworth · February 21st, 2006, 10:10 AM

Hi Everyone,

I recently noticed that the image flipping capability built-in to Vegas' Track Motion is very slow at simple vertical and horizontal image flipping. Image flipping is a nice thing to have right inside Vegas for those people using 35mm SLR lens adapters on video cameras. The source footage will be both vertically and horizontally flipped, so you need some way to get it unflipped. You can do this outside of Vegas with VirtualDub, for example, but that requires an additional render to new .avi files.

I wanted a way to do it seemlessly right inside Vegas, with virtually real-time playback. So I wrote a simple flip plugin that does this. It allows you to flip the video vertically and/or horizontally.

On a reasonably fast computer with SD footage, playback should be real-time, and it shouldn't affect playback of HD footage too greatly.

Here's an example using 29.97fps (60i) DV source footage on my P4 2.8GHz machine:

Applying vertical and horizontal flip with Sony's Pan/Crop or Track Motion causes playback to drop to 13-14 frames per second.

Using this new plug-in with vertical and horizontal flip, playback stays virtually right at 29.97 frames per second.

You can get it here:

http://www.mirkwood.com/vegas/flip

Please let me know if you use it!

Thanks!
Adam Woodworth

Michael Dunn · February 21st, 2006, 10:12 AM

I have just started using the Sony Vegas Movie Studio + DVD and I have a couple of questions.

My Equipment is as follows.

CAMERA
Sony HDR-FX1

Computer.
Dell 350 Workstation
Windows XP Professional
3Ghz processor.
1 Meg of ram
(2) 36 gig SCSI hard drives. One for programs and the other for the footage.
Firewire card.
On board sound

Presently the only editing I will be doing will be in the DV format in the 4:3 ratio.

1. Is there any ability to color balance the footage using the color bars to balance to the camera at the time of transfer? i.e create a split screen and color balance.

2. I want to output the final edit to a DVD. The manual only mentions approved devices, but I cannot find a list anywhere in the manual or online for that matter, that gives any specifications about approved or suggested DVD burners.

I am going to assume that it would need to be firewire compliant, but is there anything else it should have or do?

3. The Dell is set up for dual monitors. Will the Sony Vegas Movie Studio program support dual monitors?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Seth Bloombaum · February 21st, 2006, 12:14 PM

After struggling with various shareware that was difficult and buggy, I'm glad to say that the new MainConcept AVC/AAC codec included in the 6.0d release works GREAT for iPod output. (use the iPod template.)

10 minutes later my son had his latest video project on his iPod, all working and rendering just as Vegas should.

David Jimerson · February 21st, 2006, 04:09 PM

Have you tried using the horizontal/vertical flip in the pan/crop tool?

EDIT: Yes, you said that. Missed it. Sorry.

Douglas Spotted Eagle · February 21st, 2006, 04:10 PM

This plug is real-time. In the Pan/Crop, and Track Motion tools, it's not realtime on playback, because of the way the scaling is optimized in Vegas.
Therefore, the plug is very, very useful.

Bill Binder · February 21st, 2006, 05:17 PM

I don't have a video iPod, but I was wondering if you cut the bit rate in half for audio and video from the default template, would it still play fine on the iPod (albeit at lower quality). So, that'd be 64 kbps audio and 256 kpbs video. Care to give it a shot and let me know? Thing is, I'd like to start posting video clips to the web, but 512 video + 128 audio makes for some file sizes that are larger than I'd like to host.

Mark Donnell · February 22nd, 2006, 11:43 AM

I am new to Vegas, and am ordering guide books and registering for an instructional course, but I have a question the the almost-useless "Quick Start guide " doesn't answer. I would like to output many of my final projects to DV tape, but that doesn't seem to be an option in the guide. What is the best way to do this ?

Douglas Spotted Eagle · February 22nd, 2006, 11:48 AM

Tools/Print to DV tape is the easiest/most efficient method.

Seth Bloombaum · February 23rd, 2006, 12:03 AM

Well, I've rendered the test - now if I can only get my son to hold still while I borrow the iPod for a few minutes... hope to report on this soon.

Mike Oveson · February 23rd, 2006, 09:00 AM

It should work fine. I've rendered lower resolution files like this and they play fine on my iPod. But those weren't rendered out of Vegas. I'll give this a try too, as I'd be interested to see the results. Let us know how your tests turn out Seth.

Steven Davis · February 23rd, 2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

Well... you have the standard dissolves you could use to dissolve from one to the other. Using some transitions may look more like morphing than others. However, there's also the tools from www.debugmode.com which includes WAX and WinMorph.

Hey Ed,

I'm not sure this works with Vegas 6. Do you know for sure?

Mark Birkedal · February 23rd, 2006, 04:04 PM

Sony is offering $125 off if you spend $500 so I could upgrade from MS Platinum to Vegas plus DVD for $450. That's the best deal I've seen in the couple of years I've been watching it. My dilemma is I think there could be some major HDV upgrades in the next version of Vegas. I still have a couple of dv projects to finish before I start on my first major HDV project so I'm in no big rush. Of course I have no idea when the next version of Vegas will come out or what will be in it. So is anybody else thinking about this or have some helpful insight to guide a hesitant and confused person? Thanks,

Mark

Vincent Croce · February 23rd, 2006, 05:00 PM

Whenever I view a project on my secondary display, whether it's lcd #2 or the tv, the quality is directly affected by the size of the preview window in Vegas 6. Is this normal? It's a PITA to keep resizing the preview window just to get a decent external preview quality...
Thanks for any advice.
Vin

Neil Camero · February 23rd, 2006, 05:06 PM

is your preview window set to "preview (auto)"? you can set it to "best (auto)" but i'm not sure how smooth it would run in an external monitor.

February 21st, 2006, 09:32 AM	#526
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	How about the "Damaged Goods" video clips. There's a review in Vol 4, #1 of my newsletters. Here's the link to the product: http://uvtvproductions.com/damaged.html __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

February 21st, 2006, 10:10 AM	#527
Adam Woodworth Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 55	New Flip Video Plug-in Hi Everyone, I recently noticed that the image flipping capability built-in to Vegas' Track Motion is very slow at simple vertical and horizontal image flipping. Image flipping is a nice thing to have right inside Vegas for those people using 35mm SLR lens adapters on video cameras. The source footage will be both vertically and horizontally flipped, so you need some way to get it unflipped. You can do this outside of Vegas with VirtualDub, for example, but that requires an additional render to new .avi files. I wanted a way to do it seemlessly right inside Vegas, with virtually real-time playback. So I wrote a simple flip plugin that does this. It allows you to flip the video vertically and/or horizontally. On a reasonably fast computer with SD footage, playback should be real-time, and it shouldn't affect playback of HD footage too greatly. Here's an example using 29.97fps (60i) DV source footage on my P4 2.8GHz machine: Applying vertical and horizontal flip with Sony's Pan/Crop or Track Motion causes playback to drop to 13-14 frames per second. Using this new plug-in with vertical and horizontal flip, playback stays virtually right at 29.97 frames per second. You can get it here: http://www.mirkwood.com/vegas/flip Please let me know if you use it! Thanks! Adam Woodworth __________________ Bourbon: It's hard being a small time gangster. http://www.bourbonmovie.com Last edited by Adam Woodworth; February 21st, 2006 at 12:20 PM.

February 21st, 2006, 10:12 AM	#528
Michael Dunn Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Riverwoods, IL Posts: 65	Sony Vegas Movie Studio ????'s I have just started using the Sony Vegas Movie Studio + DVD and I have a couple of questions. My Equipment is as follows. CAMERA Sony HDR-FX1 Computer. Dell 350 Workstation Windows XP Professional 3Ghz processor. 1 Meg of ram (2) 36 gig SCSI hard drives. One for programs and the other for the footage. Firewire card. On board sound Presently the only editing I will be doing will be in the DV format in the 4:3 ratio. 1. Is there any ability to color balance the footage using the color bars to balance to the camera at the time of transfer? i.e create a split screen and color balance. 2. I want to output the final edit to a DVD. The manual only mentions approved devices, but I cannot find a list anywhere in the manual or online for that matter, that gives any specifications about approved or suggested DVD burners. I am going to assume that it would need to be firewire compliant, but is there anything else it should have or do? 3. The Dell is set up for dual monitors. Will the Sony Vegas Movie Studio program support dual monitors? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

February 21st, 2006, 12:14 PM	#529
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	New 6.0d iPod output working fine After struggling with various shareware that was difficult and buggy, I'm glad to say that the new MainConcept AVC/AAC codec included in the 6.0d release works GREAT for iPod output. (use the iPod template.) 10 minutes later my son had his latest video project on his iPod, all working and rendering just as Vegas should.

February 21st, 2006, 04:09 PM	#530
David Jimerson Jubal 28 Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Wilmington, NC Posts: 872	Have you tried using the horizontal/vertical flip in the pan/crop tool? EDIT: Yes, you said that. Missed it. Sorry. __________________ www.wrightsvillebeachstudios.com

February 21st, 2006, 04:10 PM	#531
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	This plug is real-time. In the Pan/Crop, and Track Motion tools, it's not realtime on playback, because of the way the scaling is optimized in Vegas. Therefore, the plug is very, very useful. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

February 21st, 2006, 05:17 PM	#532
Bill Binder Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 542	I don't have a video iPod, but I was wondering if you cut the bit rate in half for audio and video from the default template, would it still play fine on the iPod (albeit at lower quality). So, that'd be 64 kbps audio and 256 kpbs video. Care to give it a shot and let me know? Thing is, I'd like to start posting video clips to the web, but 512 video + 128 audio makes for some file sizes that are larger than I'd like to host.

February 22nd, 2006, 11:43 AM	#533
Mark Donnell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Silver City, NM Posts: 385	Vegas output to DV tape I am new to Vegas, and am ordering guide books and registering for an instructional course, but I have a question the the almost-useless "Quick Start guide " doesn't answer. I would like to output many of my final projects to DV tape, but that doesn't seem to be an option in the guide. What is the best way to do this ?

February 22nd, 2006, 11:48 AM	#534
Douglas Spotted Eagle VASST Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Stockton, UT Posts: 5,648	Tools/Print to DV tape is the easiest/most efficient method. __________________ Douglas Spotted Eagle/Spot Author, producer, composer Certified Sony Vegas Trainer http://www.vasst.com

February 23rd, 2006, 12:03 AM	#535
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Well, I've rendered the test - now if I can only get my son to hold still while I borrow the iPod for a few minutes... hope to report on this soon.

February 23rd, 2006, 09:00 AM	#536
Mike Oveson Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ogden, UT Posts: 349	It should work fine. I've rendered lower resolution files like this and they play fine on my iPod. But those weren't rendered out of Vegas. I'll give this a try too, as I'd be interested to see the results. Let us know how your tests turn out Seth.

February 23rd, 2006, 04:04 PM	#538
Mark Birkedal New Boot Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Mason City, IA Posts: 8	Upgrade timing question Sony is offering $125 off if you spend $500 so I could upgrade from MS Platinum to Vegas plus DVD for $450. That's the best deal I've seen in the couple of years I've been watching it. My dilemma is I think there could be some major HDV upgrades in the next version of Vegas. I still have a couple of dv projects to finish before I start on my first major HDV project so I'm in no big rush. Of course I have no idea when the next version of Vegas will come out or what will be in it. So is anybody else thinking about this or have some helpful insight to guide a hesitant and confused person? Thanks, Mark

February 23rd, 2006, 05:00 PM	#539
Vincent Croce Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Fort Myers, FL Posts: 263	quality of preview on secondary display... Whenever I view a project on my secondary display, whether it's lcd #2 or the tv, the quality is directly affected by the size of the preview window in Vegas 6. Is this normal? It's a PITA to keep resizing the preview window just to get a decent external preview quality... Thanks for any advice. Vin

February 23rd, 2006, 05:06 PM	#540
Neil Camero Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 27	is your preview window set to "preview (auto)"? you can set it to "best (auto)" but i'm not sure how smooth it would run in an external monitor.