You will lose framerate playing back MPEG2. This can cause the "jerky" effect you are seeing. When you render, all should be fine.

You will lose framerate playing back MPEG2. This can cause the "jerky" effect you are seeing. When you render, all should be fine.
I wish... The 'jerkiness' is there after rendering to DV, and then to MPEG-2 in Procoder. I just put a couple of short AVIs and MPGs together, you can really see the difference (smooth AVI motion vs. micro-freezing MPG).

Just a thought: could Field Order be the problem? Normally, what's captured from a DV camera is Lower field first, but the MPG from a DVD would be Upper first, wouldn't it?

MPEG2 is also typically LOWER field first (as output by Vegas for putting on DVDs). So it COULD be a field order issue if you've told it to be upper first.

Did you try importing the mpgs from the DVD directly using File/Import? I did this recently and it captured/created mpgs from the dvd given that it wasn't copy protected or anything like that...

MPEG2 is also typically LOWER field first (as output by Vegas for putting on DVDs). So it COULD be a field order issue if you've told it to be upper first.
I haven't made any changes to the project (default: lower first) or the clip, I just assumed that the clip would be upper first since this is the setting I normally use in Procoder. I'll check the file when I get home. Thanks!
Did you try importing the mpgs from the DVD directly using File/Import? I did this recently and it captured/created mpgs from the dvd given that it wasn't copy protected or anything like that...
The DVDs are my home movies, and I didn't copy-protect them, LOL. I wasn't aware of this capability, and will give it a try, thanks. The reason I like DVD Decrypter is because it can select Chapters (5minutes each) or even Cells instead of bringing in the whole VOB.

The best practice is to have video capture go to a drive other than the one that is running your OS. This helps avoid dropped frames during capture.

Best practice is to have video playback to the timeline from a drive other than the OS HD. This helps to display higher framerates, especially with multiple video layers.

All those other files (stills, sound efx, etc.) can go wherever you think they should. The performance impact of having them on any particular drive is pretty negligible. You should think more about a consistent directory structure that will work for you across different projects over time.

The render-to drive... is a little more grey, in my opinion. I believe there is a small speed increase when you render to a different drive than your video media is on... but, I'm not sure how significant this is, I've never tested it.

Having said all that, on my desktop PC I always have multiple drives going, but frequently render to the same drive just so that I can keep render files in my project folders.

. if this IS in the manual I haven't seen it . .but .. After speaking on SKYPE yesterday, with one of our Veg-E-phytes, I came across SHIFT+SPACEBAR. This I allowed me to select not only individual POINTS but sequences of Points IN or OUT of sequence. Meaning: Points A,B,C,D,E,F,G, . . . I could go A+B . .or . .A+C+E+F or what ever combination thereof!

So, holding down Shift+Spacebar all I needed to to was Click on those points I wanted. Once "click" they also change colour to having a solid dark/black show up in their innards. Neat.

If this was known - apologies. But I can tell you this is a boon for any Bezier Captains out there wanting to Navigate around and pick off them pesky points!

Cheers,

Grazie

Many thanks, Phil! The Import/File route worked for MPGs, and ther's no 'stuttering' in the rendered file, just like Ed predicted. I must've done something wrong in my previous attempts. I also suspect that Preview from media explorer uses DirectShow filters, and I may be having a problem there. Time to re-learn Gspot, I guess. Oh, and Vegas did identify those MPGs as Upper field first, which seems to be correct.

One more thing: even with the 'Import/File', I do not see the VOB files unless I select 'All files'. When I do bring a VOB onto the timeline, it only shows about 5 seconds of it, not its full length. Any ideas how to fix it? TIA.

. if this IS in the manual I haven't seen it . .but .. After speaking on SKYPE yesterday, with one of our Veg-E-phytes, I came across SHIFT+SPACEBAR. This I allowed me to select not only individual POINTS but sequences of Points IN or OUT of sequence. Meaning: Points A,B,C,D,E,F,G, . . . I could go A+B . .or . .A+C+E+F or what ever combination thereof!

So, holding down Shift+Spacebar all I needed to to was Click on those points I wanted. Once "click" they also change colour to having a solid dark/black show up in their innards. Neat.

If this was known - apologies. But I can tell you this is a boon for any Bezier Captains out there wanting to Navigate around and pick off them pesky points!

Cheers,

Grazie

Graham,

You may find this little trick works in many more things than what you described. This is the Windows convention of using Shift+(whatever select key) to select a contigious range of items, be they files or characters of text in a word processor. Using Ctrl+(whatever select key) usually allows you to select a 'group' by picking them one by one. They don't have to be a contigious range. And finally, you can combine the two methods.

If you wanted items 1,3,5 and then everything from 10 to 20, you would use Ctrl+ and select 1,3, and 5. Continue to hold down Ctrl while you point to item 10 and select it, then add the Shift key and hold it while you point to item 20.

You can play with this concept in Explorer for file selection, but the same principle applies in most applications as I mentioned above. Maybe that's why Vegas doesn't include this in the manual as they 'assume' Windows users are aware of these operational conventions on the Windows platform.

regards,

-gb-

p.s. Tell the Queen I said "Happy 80th birthday!"

Keyboard shortcuts are a largely arcane art. Most people should get to know them . . . life is much sweeter.

Keyboard shortcuts are a largely arcane art. Most people should get to know them . . . life is much sweeter.

Eh? David, Arcane is a wee bit pejorative . . However, better yet have a "lasso" option!!

Graze

I don't mean it pejoratively at all -- just as not well-known or widely practiced.

Graham,

You may find this little trick works in many more things than what you described.


Maybe that's why Vegas doesn't include this in the manual as they 'assume' Windows users are aware of these operational conventions on the Windows platform.

regards,

-gb-

p.s. Tell the Queen I said "Happy 80th birthday!"

Thanks, but also being aware of the Windows conventions, Greg, this is exactly where I started. CTRL Shift combos. Nothing would stick UNTIL I tried the Shift+Space. As to Vegas manual NOT mentioning this - 'cos it is widely "known" - you have information beyond mine! Anyways, the feedback I've already got from others, is that it has been a "saver".

So, you a Royalist? Interesting.

Best regards,

Grazie

I don't mean it pejoratively at all -- just as not well-known or widely practiced.

Understood! Yeah, but a lasso would be neat - nope?

So, you a Royalist? Interesting.


I've been referred to as a 'royal pain in the @@@' but I'm not sure that counts. (grin)

No, I just make a note of where people come from in their profile and since you are a Londoner and your fellow Britons are celebrating the Queen's 80th, I wanted to extend my good wishes from across the pond. You would be surprised at how much news coverage the royal family gets here in the states.

-gb-

Ok, I remember sometime ago there was a thread about spacing markers evenly on your work flow, but I can't find it, so here's teh short cut I found.

If this is public knowledge already, I apologize

If you set the loop region to the length you want such as 10 minutes on these lecture things I'm doing, then hit [M] for marker, Vegas will insert a marker, then if you want to space the next marker 10 minutes ahead, you move the front of the loop region to in front of the last marker you placed, the hit [M] again, you will have two markers spaced 10 minutes apart.

I found this out by using the ol'e, <i>hmm, what happens if I hit this button </i> approach.

I've been using the CineForm intermediates and converting back to HDV without problem. Probably is the hard drive.

A script is the easiest way to do that. There are several free scripts out there that place markers at specific intervals or at each event. However, scripts can be made to add them in any specific manner.

Thanks for all of the input everyone --

I Actually bought two units (Canopus and ADS Pyro A/V Link). The A/V link is going back -- lots of droped frames where the Canopus had none. Did have to buy a power source for the Canopus though ($40) because the firewire port on my machine would not power the unit.

FYI -- I have an Canon XL1 which is why I could not capture through the camera...

Thanks again --

I need some advice... I apologize in advance for all the questions. Here's the situation. I'm a Vegas user and I own Vegas 6 and Acid 5 (considering Acid 6). Basically, I need to produce some music that a friend and I have been working on: recording instruments and vocals.

I know the basics for different effects, but my technical knowledge of recording and effects is very limited.

I've got a Firewire Solo and have already recorded vocals to music successfully, but so far I'm disappointed with the effects. I wanted to get a hardware DAW like the Boss BR-1600 or Yamaha AW1600, but just fell short on the cash.

Ok, so finally, here's the question: Since I basically have to use my computer for recording, can I get satisfactory results just using Vegas? Is Acid 6 better for what I'm trying to do (since they set out to make it a DAW? Can Vegas (or any DX plugins) match the quality of a hardware signal processor?

A part of the problem is just ignorance. I'd have loved to get a hardware DAW with a good user manual that walked you through getting a good recording. So, one last question: is there anywhere online that I can learn to use Vegas 6 for getting good musical recordings? And would I just be better off with a more user-friendly program geared toward musicians? If so, what would that program be?

Sorry for all the questions... any advice appreciated.

I'm new to the Vegas Movie Maker - I have clicked the mode to save my video file as one long file and then to chop it up in the trimmer and add to the timeline or a folder of particular takes from a scene....but I'm not sure how to do this. How can I select a certain scene or take and then cut and paste it to a folder to use for later?
Thanks for any advise.
Dean

I recorded my band and my brother's band completely with Vegas. I'm no expert at audio recording...I mainly do video work but all of the songs on this page http://www.myspace.com/betteronthursday (my brother's band) were recorded completely with Vegas. We didn't have time to get things perfect (as you could probably tell). These songs were put together in a couple of days but they sound pretty good for the amount of time we had. But my point is that Vegas is more than capable of doing the job. I found that the effects Vegas offers are pretty good. You can also download some free effects and VST plug ins.

I recorded my band and my brother's band completely with Vegas. I'm no expert at audio recording...I mainly do video work but all of the songs on this page http://www.myspace.com/betteronthursday (my brother's band) were recorded completely with Vegas. We didn't have time to get things perfect (as you could probably tell). These songs were put together in a couple of days but they sound pretty good for the amount of time we had. But my point is that Vegas is more than capable of doing the job. I found that the effects Vegas offers are pretty good. You can also download some free effects and VST plug ins.
Did you record raw vocals into Vegas and then add effects?

Ok, here's an updated question. Most of the actual music will be created using hardware like amps and sequencers. The vocals will be recorded raw (except for a preamp) through the sound card and into the computer. I don't have a hardware effects processor. I'm mostly concerned about getting great sounding vocals.

Should I consider getting Sound Forge 8? I read that it includes the Acoustic Mirror plugin for realistic reverb. I really don't want to dive into something like Reason or Cubase... I'll stick with the Sony suite. Overall, the effects in Sound Forge are superior to Vegas right?

Yeah the vocals were recorded raw and then I added effects in Vegas. Somewhere on the vasst.com website is a page that has links to video and audio plug-ins for Vegas. Some of the plug-ins are free, that's where I downloaded some of the effects for the vocals. I think you can use the acoustic mirror plug-in within Vegas but I don't know if you can buy it seperately from Soundforge.

I am trying to place some VOB files on the timeline by Importing them. Apparantly this is the way to go but with version 6d running to two different computers I am getting a error on both.

It reads, "An error occurred during the current operstion. An Exception has occurred."

Further details "Sony Vegas 6.0
Version 6.0d (Build 210)
Exception 0xC0000005 (access violation) READ:0x433D000 IP:0x6A1F48
In Module 'vegas60.exe' at Address 0x400000 + 0x2A1F48
Thread: ProgMan ID=0x304 Stack=0x2B3F000-0x2B40000

Does anyone (Ed?) have an idea why this is happening?

Are you importing straight from the DVD? DVD not protected?
I recently had a DVD that neither Nero nor Vegas could properly import until I transferred the .vob to my hard drive. I don't know why that worked, but it did work.

Yeah the vocals were recorded raw and then I added effects in Vegas. Somewhere on the vasst.com website is a page that has links to video and audio plug-ins for Vegas. Some of the plug-ins are free, that's where I downloaded some of the effects for the vocals. I think you can use the acoustic mirror plug-in within Vegas but I don't know if you can buy it seperately from Soundforge.

Yeah, I'm looking for a higher quality reverb (among other things). It sounded similar to the results I got using Vegas effects, which is fine for punk, but not what I'm recording.

Now, I'm seriously considering getting Pro Tools, since I can get the "m-powered" for the same price as Sound Forge. I would imagine that would give me better effects than Vegas.

Here's another question for everyone: If your main priority was getting a professional vocal recording into the computer, what program would you choose: Sound Forge or Pro Tools... or just stick with Vegas?

Gotcha, just thought I'd pass that along, are you referring to Excalliber?

FWIW, my co-worker who has a home recording studio at home has done several CDs using only Vegas & Sound Forge. His preferred app is Logic Audio Platinum but, with the exception of midi files (for this he uses Logic Audio) that hasn't stopped him. He does have an extensive collection of plugins that he's accumulated over the years that the average user wouldn't have but it's all part of the learning curve.

FWIW, my co-worker who has a home recording studio at home has done several CDs using only Vegas & Sound Forge. His preferred app is Logic Audio Platinum but, with the exception of midi files (for this he uses Logic Audio) that hasn't stopped him. He does have an extensive collection of plugins that he's accumulated over the years that the average user wouldn't have but it's all part of the learning curve.
Thanks... now I'm going to try the trial versions of Pro Tools and Sound Forge for the next month and make a decision.

I'm not sure if I have ever seen this version before.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9713532284&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

No. It's the "little brother" - the Movie Studio version.

Excalibur *WILL* do that (but it's not free). A neat new feature in the new version of Excalibur is the ability to put a specified number of markers into a selected region!

However, there ARE some free ones around too to add markers at intervals. Some examples are:
http://www.jetdv.com/scripts/MarkerInterval.js
http://www.jetdv.com/scripts/MarkerSplit.js
http://www.jetdv.com/scripts/MarkerTextOnEvent.js

Ultimate S also has marker manipulation tools (but is also not free).

VASST's Ultimate-S will space markers evenly on your work , but it is not free. I think it has a free trial period however.

also, will DVD-Architect create HD-DVD/BR ready ISO's that are less than 8.5 for DL and 4.5 for single DVD +/- R? Ulead can already do so from what i hear

I thought I had this aspect ratio thing figured......guess I'm dumber than I thought.
Shot some footage with FX1 in HDV mode, downconverted out of camera and brought into Vegas 6 as an NTSC DV Widescreen 720x480. (Pixel AR 1.2121)
Everything's looks fine.
Bring it into DVD Architect3 as an NTSC DV Widescreen template, burn a DVD and it's put black bars on the edges of the picture and it isn't the full screen height on TV!?
Now I'm thinking....isn't 720x480 a 4:3 ratio image size?
I'm viewing on a 4:3 TV. Direct out of camera looks great on TV, full screen width, and obviously black space on top and bottom....fine. DVD has big black bars on left and right?
I'm sure this is a simple issue.....but I just can't wrap my head around it.

According to the special NAB issue of Animation Magazine,

1.Technology preview of XDCAM HD support in Vegas
2. Cinescore, a new software based soundtrack creation platform
3. New stuff for UMD.

It pays to read.

to answer your question

1) create a widescreen project
2)Import your masked 4:3 footage
3) click the PanCrop tab ON THE CLIP ITSELF (not track)
4) select teh 16:9 preset
5) Voila

there is no need to change any aspect ratios, vegas will do this for youoh and to answer the question from you other post, the balc bars will only appear on a 4:3 tv, so long as u render out as 16:9 and make sure u check the box that says "stretch to fill frame, do not letterbox"

Right click, choose Pan/Crop (there is also an icon) and choose "Match Output Aspect Settings" and that'll do it for you.
Audio doesn't care about the image aspect.

Thanks, DSE. That worked. Disk was a copy of my own video so it wasn't write protected. I tried 3 disks, all failed but if I copied VOBs to HD then it went well. In fact, surprisingly smooth playback.

Its a nice feature of Vegas.

Hey Edward,

I'm waiting for my next wedding to roll through, I'll probably get Excalibur at that point. I was watching the demo yesterday. Thanks as always.

Also, V7 is going to HAVE to be something special... very special..

V6 brought VGA/secondary display preview and a media manager.

V7 brings... DVCPRO-HD support?

/magnus

Does anyone use a tablet and pen to edit in Vegas instead of a mouse. I am editing so much I have to soak my wrist at night - even using a very good optical mouse.

I see several (like the Wacom brand) through searches and I remember Gary Kleiner saying on his Vegas Companion series that he uses a type of pen/tablet for more precise editing. I just don't remember what he used or what brand would be optimized for editing (if any) with an NLE.

Thanks for any input!

Surely that was the plan, no?

There are doctors, physical therapists and ergonomists who specialize in repetitive motion injuries. You should consider seeking out their advice. Losing use of your hand due to inflammation and pain is serious business.

You do need to get alternative input devices - you're on the right track with a tablet, but don't stop there. Get a trackball too. And a track pad - they're not just for laptops, you can get a USB version too.

Alternate between the devices and don't touch your mouse for at least two weeks. I think Kleiner is using a Wacom, but no, there aren't any tablets specialized for editing. Some of them are programmable so that a click in a specific spot runs a keyboard macro which could be handy if you want to spend the time setting it up for common tasks.

I have a Logitech Trackman Wheel trackball as my primary mouse, it's great, but I also alternate with a track pad. And I use every possible keyboard shortcut I can. A couple encounters with an inflamed wrist were enough for me.

Check out the sticky thread above entitled "Quick reference: Vegas shortcuts and mouse gestures 1.0b" as well as the Vegas help file for keyboard shortcuts.

What am I doing wrong this time?

I am simply trying to add an AVI that was shot by a digital still camera. It's only 320 x 240 pixels and 10 frames/sec but it should work shouldn't it? I can play it just fine in Windows Media Player.

When I drag it to Vegas though all I get is a flat line audio track...no video track at all.

I am a bit sleepy, so maybe I am missing something very simple here.

Thanks again in advance guys,

Jim

Thanks for the advice Seth. I'll look into what you mentioned.

Hi Jim,
More than likely, you've got an MJPEG codec from the camera, and you need an MJPEG codec installed on your system for Vegas to properly read it.
You'll find links to several on the Vegas FAQ.
http://www.vasst.com/training/vegasfaq.htm

1.Technology preview of XDCAM HD support in Vegas
2. Cinescore, a new software based soundtrack creation platform
3. New stuff for UMD.
It pays to read.
Thanks Joe for passing along this info. I hope that these is more news on Vegas at some point. For anyone who is unfamiliar with UMD, here's a start: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Media_Disc