John,
Ultimate S does work differently than Excalibur. That may or may not be the difference you're looking for. Updating is a one-button operation if you're not happy with edits. And your original tracks are never touched, so if you want to just get back to your pre-edit state, just delete the master track and you're finished. Multi-Cam is just one of over 200 features. There is a free 14 day demo on the website.

Thanks both of you - sounds like it may be time to add another tool to the toolbox...

In optimizing my XP Pro PC for digital video editing w/ Vegas and the other Sony software, I came across this suggestion: Fixed Swap File (Virtual memory): changing the virtual memory. It states "that for custom size, set it to 1.5 to 2 times the amount of your total RAM for both initial and maximum size."

Has anyone else done this? If so, what settings would you suggest for my machine (2.00 GB RAM)? I don't want to mess up the settings unless it's warranted and beneficial.

Something has gone terribly wrong. I am simply trying to use video shot with FX1 in HD mode for a SD 24p widescreen DVD. However, my final SD looks horrible (relatively) much worse than my VX2000. I know I have to have made a critical error somewhere, can someone please help?

I shot video with FX1 in HD.
I set Vegas Properties to NTSC Widescreen 24p.
Captured HD to hard drive with Vegas 6 as mt2 files.
Used Gear Shift to convert those files to widescreen 24p SD proxies.
Edited the proxies.
Rendered to mpg2 using the NTSC Widescreen 24p template.

The video looks bad. Blocky around the edges of things (sorry don't know correct terminology) and maybe a little blurred. Just to make sure, I looked at the native mt2 files and they look great. I then compared the video to some shot on my vx2000 and it was significantly worse than the SD camera. What have I done wrong?

And then to add insult to injury I was going to use Gear Shift to replace the proxies with the original mt2's and it just put a bunch of solid red files in place of the video. Something I'll need to fix since I'd like to preserve the ability to do a HD render in the future.

Anyway, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

it doesn't make much change really but you cant also call it messing up. Windows normally changes the size of the virtual memory according to its needs and this change in the size causes some slowing down. by setting up limits to 1.5 and 2 times of physical memory you simply define an optimum size so that it is supposed to increase performance.

i always use virtual memory with these settings.

for you comp the min size is 3 gb and the max is 4 gb.

Can you post some stills?

FWIW, GearShift can't create red frames. This would indicate a problem with your system. Red frames mean corrupted frames. Since GearShift uses the Vegas rendering engine, this would suggest computer problems of some sort, ie; fragged drives, corrupt sectors.

Thanks; I'm assuming the four digit number that's listed on my current default setup is in MB, so just so I have my math correct:

One gigabyte equals 1,000MB (to be specific, I've discovered it's 1,024 megabytes). Would that mean 3GB equals 3072MB? Here all this time I thought a gig was 1000.

One gigabyte equals 1,000MB (to be specific, I've discovered it's 1,024 megabytes). Would that mean 3GB equals 3072MB? Here all this time I thought a gig was 1000.

Yes, 3Gig = 3072Meg. Here's why 1024 instead of 1000:

2 * 2 = 4
4 * 2 = 8
8 * 2 = 16
16 * 2 = 32
32 * 2 = 64
64 * 2 = 128
128 * 2 = 256
256 * 2 = 512
512 * 2 = 1024

Computers work with binary numbers. 2^10 = 1024

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately it seems I do not have priviledges to post attachements. I'll look into changing that.

I was hoping the red frames were just because I had moved the original mt2's from my hard drive to an external drive and Gear Shift couldn't find them (never was prompted to redirect to a new location like Vegas does). But I guess I need to do some trouble shooting.

i believe V6 creates the red frames when it sees errors/corrupted data ..

maybe they were corrupted when you moved them to external hard drive ?
i've had that happen more then a few times over a bad 1394 cable/connection

I've never had corrupted files before. Is there a way to fix them or am I stuck recapturing and then re-editing?

Dan,

Thanks for the comments. Sorry about not stating the capture format. I am using the Z1, it captures interlaced (1080-60i 1440x1080).

Regarding the deinterlace option of the encoding: as I stated in my post, I do in fact select the de-interlace option from encoder options, so it does perform the deinterlace (if you download and install the codec from the first post, you will see the options available, also the documentation describes how the deinterlace works).

My basic question was, does anyone have any experience with the workflow and have they encountered any problems? So far my tests appear to be very successful. But, I am wondering if I am overlooking anything.

I have been using WMV 720-30p to web. Any suggestions on how to make the file size smaller would be great.

Jon

Text against still frames or solid colors has the JPEG "lossy" or "blocky" look after rendering. Is is possible to correct this?

A couple of things to look at;
First---where are you developing the text? In other words are you using Vegas Media to generate the text or another program

Second---what font are you using? (some lend themselves better than others to this problem)

Thirdly---when are you seeing this? In other words, when you render to AVI,MPEG (1 or 2) or on preview?

Fourth---If on preview how is your preview set? (draft,good,best)

Let us know and we'll try to help you out.

Don

it doesn't make much change really but you cant also call it messing up. Windows normally changes the size of the virtual memory according to its needs and this change in the size causes some slowing down.

And then when it does change the size, chances are it will be fragmented.

I always set up a static pagefile...and do it before anything else is on the drive. Get a nice contiguous block that way. :-)

Vegas Media.
Arial.
WMV (9).
Best, 1280x720.

It's most noticable with red background or red text. Maybe use a different codec? It appears to be a compression problem.

Hmmmm,
I use Arial all the time in the generated media and for WMV it works very well but I'm rendering to either 720X480 or smaller for the web.
Also I never render at BEST Good has served me well. Perhaps it has more to do with the size you're rendering too, 1280X720. Let me think somemore about this.

Don

It's most noticable with red background or red text. Maybe use a different codec? It appears to be a compression problem.

It's the reds that are giving you grief. That's one of, if not the most, difficult colour for video to handle. If you saw any of the Olympics opening ceremonies (one scene almosty totally in red), you'll know what I mean.
I make sure to keep reds well below the 235 max, generally no more than 200.
BTW, there's a good article titled Great Titles with the DV Codec at http://www.creativecow.net/articles/hodgetts_philip/titles/index.html

Mike

Mike,
You know I looked at the thread and didn't even see RED-thanks for reminding me. I had to get to a gig by 5AM after getting in from 1 last night at midnight so the brain is fully functional yet.

Don

Step 1 - figure out who will be watching your video online, and what their available bandwidth is. Modem, DSL/Cable, T1, OC3?

Step 2 - figure out how much buffering is acceptable before your audience decides to click away from your content. In other words, will they wait 8 seconds or 2 minutes?

Step 3 - now, size your video. File | Render As | Custom | Bitrate. You'll find that in many cases your 720x480 looks bad at lower bitrates, and you'll be back to the Video tab looking at other frame sizes ranging from 160x120 up through 640x480 (the square pixel equiv. of 720x480).

Test as needed. Frequently, something gets sacrificed because with the current state of internet access and technology it mostly isn't the same as full-screen full-motion TV. Sorry.

If you are using a true WM streaming server, you can also create a multiple bit rate file, that will have perhaps 2 or 3 bitrates included, the server negotiates the appropriate bitrate with the client. An alternative for progressive download is creating multiple versions of your WMV sized for different available bandwidths, and let the user decide which one they want.

Well after hours of carefully reviewing the video it turns out only the initial scene looks weak. One thing that stood out was the interface between black shirt and black skin was "blocky". But most of the other shots look good. Still haven't heard back concerning my priviledges to post attachments.

Thanks... I am going to encode as h.264 as well. If my potential clients don't have highspeed, I will mail them one.

Stinks that 30 secs equals about 20+mbs.

Jon

For those of you who were waiting, it's here!!

Notable Fixes/Changes in Version 6.0d

* Support for VR-mode DVD Handycam® camcorder discs has been improved. When importing video from Sony DVD Handycam discs in VR or Video mode, each chapter is now imported as a separate file.
* The MainConcept AVC/AAC codec has been added to Vegas. You can use this plug-in to import H.264 video in your projects and to render H.264 video (including support for HD frame sizes, two-pass encoding, main and baseline profiles, export to all common frame rates— including NTSC, PAL, and 24p— and Apple iPod® video format).

Please continue to use the Sony AVC/AAC encoder to create video for the PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable).
* Video quality has been improved for the Sony AVC/AAC encoder and rendering templates have been refined.
* A problem has been fixed that could cause problems when reading AVI files with MP3-encoded audio.
* A bug has been fixed that could cause Vegas to hang in some low-memory situations.
* A bug has been fixed that could cause Vegas to crash after copying and pasting Bézier mask keyframes between events.
* A bug has been fixed that could cause Vegas to crash when pressing Alt+Shift+4 to toggle external monitor preview when the Video Preview window is not visible.
* A problem has been fixed that could cause nested projects to display the incorrect length.
* Audio/video synchronization has been improved when reading certain QuickTime files.
* High-definition Windows Media Video rendering templates now use the Windows Media Audio 9 codec for improved device compatibility.
* A problem has been fixed that could cause a hang when burning a disc-at-once CD with the Plextor 716 SATA drive.
* A display issue with Waves GTR plug-ins has been fixed.
* A problem has been fixed that could occur when editing audio event properties on systems that use decimal separators other than a period.
* A problem has been fixed that could occur when typing nondelimited timecode in the Vegas external video capture application in PAL format.
* Various improvements have been made to the Media Manager.
* A problem that could cause XFX audio effects to run in demo mode has been fixed.
* Fixed a problem that could occur when running the Batch Render script without Quick Time installed.
* Resolved an issue with recapture of media from an AAF import.
* A bug has been fixed that occurred when setting the Timecode InPoint value of a media source during AAF export.
* A bug has been fixed that could cause Vegas to crash when adding some MPEG-2 files to the timeline and converting YUV 4:2:0 color to RGB.
* Last-used render templates are now preserved for each rendering format.
* Issues with certain VST plug-ins that related to presets and settings have been fixed.
* A problem with the ripple function sometimes creating very small event overlaps has been fixed.
* Scripting: a problem has been fixed that could prevent RenderArgs flags (such as IncludeMarkers) from changing the render settings.

Perfect timing! I have to prepare DVDs this weekend for a film screening. Now I will be able to bundle a H.264 version of the video.

And they FINALLY fixed the audio plugins reverting to demo mode caused in the 6.0c release. I'll be downloading this tonight.

Thanks for the help guys! That article is just what I needed.

thanks for the heads-up!

Thanks Mike, that did the trick

I have some old 8mm video which is in Mono sound. When I captured it it shows on the left track. Can I create,copy the left track to the right so I will have 2 tracks. I would like to be able to pan to the left right later on.
tks

Just right-click it, choose Channels, and then "Left Only". Then you can use the Pan envelope to pan from left to right as needed.

I probably didn't explain to well. I already have audio on the left track. I would like to duplicate the left track to the right track creating stereo (kinda). I would then be able to add velocity envelopes to selected portions creating left to right stereo sound.

I think you did get the right answer. By selecting "Left Only", you inform Vegas that you actually have a mono track, which you can then pan as you please. Copying the left channel to the right won't make it any better; the stereo phase information does not exist.

Ok Thanks for the info guys I'll give it a go and see what happens!
Sandy

I have a friend that shot and had a documentary editing and placed on a DVD. She wants to go back and re edit it and add some music, but only has the completed DVD. Is there anyway to accomplish this?

Thanks.

Use a tool to rip the DVD, drop the MPEGs into Womble, and add the music there. This will prevent you from having to re-compress the vid, and maintain your quality.

This is a question I am seeing asked increasingly often. DV Magazine had a feature on this last year: Deconstructing DVDs: Re-Editing Your DVDs (http://dv.com/features/features_item.jhtml?category=Archive&articleId=51202784).

On a PC, Get DVD Shrink from this site or other site. It should be free.

Use it to back up DVD to hard drive in full quality format.

Next, search for a .vob convertor program on internet. I haven't looked lately, but there used to be free ones. You may want to find one that con verts to .avi, since that is easier to edit in, than .mpeg

------------------------
oops, really don't need DVD shrink because there isn't any encryption.

By choosing "Left Only", only the LEFT side will be played on both LEFT and RIGHT. Then you can use the Pan Envelope to pan between the left and right sides as desired. Give it a shot.

There is no "Velocity Envelope" for audio.

Thanks Edward I got it! Just the way you said. I'm a rookie at this and your help is appreciated.

I was watching the following clip

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3MKEPAY4ZO7AF22JRXYSCW28G6

And I was wondering how I would go about achieveing the black and white silhouette flashing in the background effect, I can't really describe it, so if you watch the video you will understand what I am talking about

Thanks in advance
Scott

It looks like they masked out that one person, zoomed in slightly on that the clip, changing it to black and white, lowered the opacity, positioned it so that it was offset the original person, and then made it "flash" (which could be done by lowering the opacity to nothing or by cutting out sections)

Creating the mask would be the most difficult step.

Hey people!

Has anyone ever received an error when trying to render to .Mov I have version 6c. And I work with cineform codec to capture my HDV files from a JVC HD10u. I only have issues when I try to go to .MOV.

John

u have to have QT installed.. if u have QT pro 7. then your better oif for MOV delivery

as for web content, Vegas is probably the only system which has almost every format at your disposal..

...error when trying to render to .Mov I have version 6c...

Reinstall the (free) quicktime and do a custom install - make sure that you include the authoring components. mov should work fine for you after this.

I have 2 questions using Vegas 5.0:

1. What is the easiest way to snap all tracks together AFTER editing without snapping enabled? My tracks are all over the timeline with tons of nothing in between most of the tracks (and I want to pull some or all together without dragging every clip to the other).

2. It's easy to create duplicate tracks, but is there a way to bring them all together onto one track after editing without rendering?

thanks!

1. What is the easiest way to snap all tracks together AFTER editing without snapping enabled? My tracks are all over the timeline with tons of nothing in between most of the tracks (and I want to pull some or all together without dragging every clip to the other).

2. It's easy to create duplicate tracks, but is there a way to bring them all together onto one track after editing without rendering?


1. Make sure "Ripple" is turned on, select the "blank" area (possibly by double-clicking it depending on your track layout), and press the Delete key.

2. Not exactly sure what you mean here. If you're compositing multiple tracks, you MUST render to "combine" them. I guess you could start a new project in Vegas 6 and use nested VEG files (nested VEG files was added in Vegas 6)

Thanks Edward,

You actually answered my second question by saying I have to render...I thought as much.

I sure would like to know more about the nested files used in Vegas 6. Since I'm still using 5, I don't quite know what you mean...sounds useful though...

thanks again

Vegas also will render out to Real Media format in case you have folks clamoring for it.

I sure would like to know more about the nested files used in Vegas 6. Since I'm still using 5, I don't quite know what you mean...sounds useful though...

In Vegas 6, you can actually drag a VEG file to the timeline. This will appear on the timeline as a SINGLE video and audio track no matter how many tracks are in the original file. You can also do anything else with the nested veg as you can with any other events (i.e. split, trim, add effects, pan/crop, etc...)