I own a Dell 4600(I know not very impressive) I have 1 1/2 MB of memory. I read that somthing about being able to use up to 4mb with Vegas 4.0. All of this is new to me so be gentle ok? Here are a few questions.
1- How much memory MUST I have?
2-How long of a production can be made with Vegas?
3- Does it allow you to continue on a disc after you have burned say 1 1/2 hours?
4- I've been playing around with screenblast3.0 and the Vegas 4.0 I downloaded, I can see there are more options on the 4.0 but for just starting out should I buy it? Or is the screenblast ok?
One last thing, will my computer work well for small projects? Bigger ones? Or am I going to need to upgrade?
Thanks

Your number before the questions are way of. You probably
have 512 MB of memory (which is the same as 1/2 GB). 4 MB
is a number I cannot relate to. Vegas will use way more then
that.

1) you must have at least 256, most recommend 512

2) as long as your harddisk space will allow

3) I'm not following. Vegas cannot burn anything. The DVD Architect part (if you bought that as well) can burn DVD's. But you can also make a (S)VCD or a data CD with a movie. I don't think DVD architect can split a movie over mulitple discs. But you should be able to fit a 1.5 hour movie on a DVD-R.

I own a Dell 4600(I know not very impressive) I have 1 1/2 MB of memory. I read that somthing about being able to use up to 4mb with Vegas 4.0. All of this is new to me so be gentle ok? Here are a few questions.
1- How much memory MUST I have?

I have one machine with 256 Meg and one with 1 Gig. The more you have, the longer the RAM renders can be. Technically, you need just enough to prevent needing to use a swap file. I assume you really have more than 1.5 Meg.


2-How long of a production can be made with Vegas?

How long a production do you WANT to make. I usually limit mine to 2 hours even if I have several more hours of footage. However, I've done a few longer than that. If recording straight to VHS, I suppose you could have up to 6 hours of final output.

3- Does it allow you to continue on a disc after you have burned say 1 1/2 hours?

So, you're making DVD's? In that case, you would manually create two separate DVDs - one with 1.5 hours and one with the rest.

4- I've been playing around with screenblast3.0 and the Vegas 4.0 I downloaded, I can see there are more options on the 4.0 but for just starting out should I buy it? Or is the screenblast ok?
One last thing, will my computer work well for small projects? Bigger ones? Or am I going to need to upgrade?

Really depends on whether or not you can live with the limitations of screenblast. Vegas has a LOT more features.

My mistake I have 1 1/2 GB it came with 512 MB and my brother sent me one GB.
As far as length, I was asked to film Barmitzfa's(not sure on spelling haha) and the ceremony itself is 2 hours long. So I have two problems.
1-With one camera DV tape is only 1 1/2 hours long

2- To make a complete copy of the ceremony and the party afterward your talking at least three hours of disc space. I've used the Roxio program and it only allow's 2 hours of files. Also can't pick up on a disc where I left off. I know the new DVD recorder's can do this, but my PC does not. Thats why I asked that question.

So as I understand from the first post Vegas is for editing only? Now if I have other DVD making programs I should be able to still use the file or film I edit and save from Vegas right?

1.5 Gig is good. As for long ceremonies, we use 83 minute tapes. We also tape with multiple cameras. When we get close to the end of a tape, we take turns switching so that at least one camera is running at all times.

Vegas will let you capture as much footage as you have (assuming you have enough drive space to do so). Vegas will let you edit a video of any length. So, time is not a problem here. You also need to save enough drive space for rendering purposes.

If you are going to DVD afterwards, you can render from Vegas and import that into any DVD Authoring program.

Based on your comments (i.e. 1.5 hour tapes????) what kind of camera are you using and HOW are you capturing? If you're taping on MiniDV, 1.5 hours would be a 60 minute tape in LP mode. IF you are using LP mode, you can get 2 hours on an 83 minute tape.

That was another question for another day I guess. I have not seen longer tapes for the Mini Dv's. I've only seen the 60 minute tapes. I'll have to look for the longer ones. Thanks.

LP mode on a 80minute tape might be asking for trouble. You increase your chance of dropouts, and usually only the camera that recorded the tape will be able to play it back. If you want to do it, test things out before you shoot something important and find lots of dropouts on your tape.

Jason, keep on keeping on. You are asking all of the right questions. Feel free to ask away. We were all new at this at one time or another. Sounds like you are pointed in the right direction.

My recommendation is 83 minute tapes in SP mode. 83 minute tapes are, generally, only available via mail-order. Do a search and you'll find that Panasonic has a couple of different ones. Sony has an 80 minute tape.

taperesources.com and tapestockonline.com sell them.
Many people have had positive experiences with taperesources.com. tapestockonline.com is cheaper, and not many people have shopped from them. My school did and the experience was OK.

ecost.com is even cheaper, but I don't think they do 80minute tape.

I'm just curious. Why would you have more scene drop out with a longer tape? I figured LP mode is LP mode. I never would have guessed it would not record the same way on a longer tape.

The problem is with LP mode. LP mode packs the bits and bytes
more densily together which increases the chance of something
going wrong. I would not depend on LP mode if something is
important (like a PAID gig!!). As a matter of fact I will never ever
shoot in LP mode at all. Why play with fire when tape is so cheap.

If you need more then 60 or 80 minute (in SP mode) recording
there are portible harddisk unit to which you can record something
like 4 hours at least.

Otherwise with two camera's you might use the second one as
an overlap when you change tapes.

If you really want to put the full 2 hours on a DVD then lower the
compression (2 hours is possible on a DVD-R) or split it over two
discs with one hour on each. But I'd assume you want to edit the
complete movie and stay under an hour (people rarely watch
long "documentaries")

LP mode is inherently more dangerous than SP mode no matter what size tape you use. The reason is that in LP mode the tape is moving slower so the bits are recorded on a smaller area. Therefore, there is a greater chance that errors will occur upon reading the information.

Another problem that is greater in LP mode than SP mode is the ability to read tapes recorded in one device in another device. Slight differences in head alignment are exaggerated in LP mode.

I've long since stopped being embarrassed in asking fantastically ignorant questions, so here's another one! I've never upgraded memory before--I have a Dell Dimension 8200 with 256 MB, and 512 MB sounds more timely right now. Okay, here's the silly part--does upgrading mean replacing the original memory, or does adding memory mean just adding another 256MB module to bring it up to 512 MB? Or does one have to remove the original memory and then install a 512 MB as full replacement? There. I said it. :D Thanks for any response.

And the answer is: It Depends

Computers are different. Some have two slots and some have four. Some allow memory in only one slot, some allow memory to be placed in only one slot, others require memory to be placed in pairs.

You'll have to open your computer and see if you have any empty slots. If you do, you can simply add more memory. If you don't, you'll have to replace memory.

Barry,
crucial.com will help you find the right kind of RAM. I think any brand of RAM will work with your computer.

Optimal memory setup is where all sticks are the same model and in pairs. It will make a few percent difference in Vegas rendering speed, which isn't all that much. But if it only takes a little bit more effort to get that, you might as well.

You can buy 2X256MB of RAM, and then eBay off or give away your old sticks of RAM. You can later upgrade to 1GB. I doubt you'll need more than that... but I could be wrong. However, RAM prices should drop in the future so getting rid of 2X256MB may not cost that much (you didn't sink a lot of money into 2X256MB). I think this is the best option. You could leave the old sticks in there, which will dramatically improve performance if you run out of RAM but slow you down very slightly when you don't need the extra RAM.

Other options are:
1X512MB, and maybe keep your original sticks. That one stick isn't running dual channel, which slows you down slightly.
buy 2X512MB :) (eBay off your old sticks)

As far as upgrading goes, you should check the manual for your computer. Generally, there are 2 sets of RAM slots. On some motherboards the sets are color coded. If you want 2 identical sticks to run dual channel, you have to put them in the right RAM slots.

To install RAM, you just shove it in (without breaking anything, but firmly so it goes in). Watch out for static/ESD. Um, that's basically it. You can take out the old sticks if you want, since mixed RAM (not all sticks identical) will hurt performance very slightly- a few percent with Vegas.

Thank you all. :)

Okay, another question--I checked on what my computer (Dell Dimension 8200) actually has: "PC800 RDRAM RIMMS. Supports ECC." Alright, does this mean it >IS< ECC? I see that I have to choose between an ECC or a non-ECC set, and this "supports" term seems a bit ambiguous to me.

Thanks for any insight. :)