HDV and Vegas 7
 

Hi all,


i'm pretty sure this was asked before but a quick search didn't gave me any results. Two pretty simple questions anyway.

1: In version 7 do we still need to convert m2t file to AVI with Cineform.

2: After the all the events are converted can i delete those original M2T files or are they needed, maybe for reference/proxy to the original files. I would assume not, cuz I don't want to capture the whole 5 hours again :)

Thanks a bunch guys.

Phil

Sorry about this triple posting, had some issue with my browser.

No, you can capture directly to m2t within Vegas

the m2T files are a fraction the size of the cineform intermediate. I would archive the m2t's and delete the intermediates after you're done with them.

What should I capture? Do I capture in the Cineform intermediate format with Connect HD or .m2t from within Vegas? What are the main advantages or disadvantages? Will it increase or decrease my cpu load if I work with intermediate files? Thanks for your feedback.

Capture into the cineform intermediate. CFHD (the CF Intermediate)will take less cpu cycles to view and edit. There are two ways to capture/transcode m2t files(native in the camera) to CFHD with the Cineform codec. The first way is free and is embedded in the Vegas software. Capture the m2t from your camera as m2t on your computer. Then import the m2t into Vegas and render as the cineform intermediate, all within Vegas. Edit with the CFHD. Method number 2: Purchase ConnectHD which will give you a utility called HDLink. This utility works outside of Vegas to capture the m2t from your camera. HDLink gives you the choice of capturing or simultaneously capturing and converting the m2t to CFHD. The second method transcodes much faster than doing it inside of Vegas. It also gives you the option of changing the framerate or converting the format size. It's pretty sweet. Then import the CFHD into Vegas and edit away.

With Vegas 7, m2t files are much faster to use than in Vegas 6. Try out both ways and see which way suits you best.

I capture natively in Vegas and just reduce my preview quality. Instead of Best/Full I reduced it and I can edit in real time with the natvie m2t files.

Well looks like my second question was not answered :)

Do any of you trash the m2t files once you converted them to the intermediate codec.

Thanks

If you still have them on tape for archiving, why not trash them from disk? The intermediates - unlike the proxies - are full quality files, so you won't lose anything.