CCE?

Cinema Craft Encoder (http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/home.html)

Loaded up Vegas tonight and noticed a new button on my master bus control. Wasn't there before- at least not that I noticed. It seems to control where my sound come out of (center/left/right). Btw, I'm using a set a Klipsch Promedia 5.1s and don't have the rears connected right now (so that could explain why they only have configurations available for the front 3 speakers.)

The odd thing is- why and where did this come from?! How do I disable it?!

See picture attached:
http://www.mazdamp3.com/members/LazerBlueP5/vegas%20question.jpg

It is standard. I don't have a 5.1 setup and it's there on my Vegas... I think it's used to select what to monitor....heh.

Maybe I'm loosing my mind then because I saw it and swore it was NEW. Man I really have to get away from this computer sometimes!

Opened up a recent wedding project I've been editing the last few days and noticed I must have, at some point, deleted the audio for series of edits accidently. When...who knows? But it's gone! Thankfully Excalibur saved me with the orphan tool (thanks Edward!)...however it got me thinking. Does Vegas make backup project files...similar to how Premiere automatically creates a project archive. One in which I could simply double click and load an earlier version of my current project- one which was "before" I deleted the audio accidently!

I see in the directory that I saved my Vegas project it created a backup (.bak) file but how is this utilized?

I don't have it on mine. Is it only in Vegas 4? I'm still using v3.

The only files it creates are the BAK file, the VEG file, and an autosave file (for instance, if you last save 2 hours ago and your power went off - the auto save file would bring back everything to the last auto save). However, it does not create a series of backup files. To do that, you must do a Save As.

Yeah I checked the manual and all pics of the master volume control don't have this. Now I'm back to thinking it wasn't there before.....

Where is the autosave file located? Can you simply double click it to load the project.
I ask because the .bak file can't be loaded- how would you implement it?

What are your audio settings under both File - Properties and Options - Preferences?

To me, it appears that you have a STEREO project (file - properties) playing to a 5.1 output device (options - preferences). This button appears to be letting you choose which speakers the stereo signal is going to.

Found out what the problem was- under OPTIONS> PREFERENCES> AUDIO DEVICE.... my audio device was changed to "Direct Sound Surround Mapper". I switched it back to "Windows Classic Wave Driver" which I think was what it was set at by default.

What should it be set at, and why?
a. Microsoft Sound Mapper
b. Direct Sound Surround Mapper
c. Windows Classic Wave Driver
d. Creative ASIO

Thats basically it.
From memory (im not at the workstation), If your running the direct sound DX drivers or ASIO, it will give you these bus outputs as it runs thru a DX process to split each channel, which come in VERY handy. Problem with them is that its either these bus tracks to get a TRUE 5.1 project, or you can jsut cheat and use the surround panner with the MS Sound Mapper driver, which wont give you the precise control.
However if using ASIO (or the DXdrivers or ANY driver for that matter),you can easily adjust the surround pan without the use of any busses, mind you, the pan will be obvious and working with more tracks gives you the flexibility to filter out certain freq from individual channels using smart EQing techniques. ALso its always an idea to run a seperate LFE track and front ch track in mono.
Just merge the 2 channels on the timeline to create your front and LFE track. In the mixer settings in ur preview pane, jsut UNLOCK that bus and adjust gain acordingly.

This gives a better 5.1 spread and depth of sound, but obviously its alot more work than just sticking you panner in the centre...

there are many answers to that, however it really depends on the project.

either the Directsound or ASIO drivers should suffice, as they both work well.. Directsound may have some latency problems with Panning while using realtime effects, apart from that theres nothign really all that significant. And if you have an ASIO card, use it, jsut set your altency to aroun 10 to 15ms

Mind you its a different way to track your busses by using that button your describing.
One way to work with a 5.1 project is to have 3 stereo busses

fronts
rears
lfe/centre

just copy the tracks and adjust the bus sends, eq etc individually.

One thing to note is that your image DOESNT show busses being used. Only a stereo track. If thats the case, i would change your project properties to Stereo and output a Dolby Stereo soundtrack. Again i dont know what kind of audio you want to output so i cant say which would be the best way to go.

If you had individual busses set, each track would be assigned to a mixer bus (similar to your image) which could then be maipulated individualy thru the mixer or keyframed thru the timeline by using envelopes (more effective method)

Basically those 3 busses represent 1 stereo track each. You can then insert effects, eq's and compressors etc, to an individual bus OR track. remember, dont get confused as your front and LFE are shared, you need to split them within the mixer OR create a seperate LFE track (which isnt really needed unless youre creating huge effects)

Once you start messing with Vegas audio, everything else will seem redundant... trust me, THIS applications strong point is the audio manipulation, Video is just a bonus.
Learn about it and you will NEVER look back...
Youre just dealing with the bus configs, wait till you get to the encoding, auto pans, effects etc etc parts...

even if it means editing using another App, you WILL come back to this to finish off the audio :)

if you have any specific question (as i know some of what i have written may not make sense right now) just post a thread and ill see what i can do to help

and if you want to streamline the whole process, use progressive with no interlacing.. basically chopping your encoding time and space down by 20% as yoru fields are deinterlaced...
This can give horrible results if you have been working with interlaced projects thou...
If working with interlaced fields, follow edwards suggestion and stick with an interlaced setting. If your filmin in progressive or frame, stick with that.

Variable bitrate is usualy the most common encoding method as it saves space, however the encoding bitrates are determined by the duration and quality of your project. Even commercial DVD production is set to variable (and they have 8.7 gig to mess with)
Dont forget to leave space for your audio.

I usually encode the audio first... then use a bitrate calculator (or DVD Architect) to assist in the highest possible quality in accordance with the left over space to determine the final output quality of the video.

the autosave project is a huuuuuuuge numbered file (but small in kb.. ie its got a long name with a load of numbers in it)usually found in your vegas temp directory

it could either have a .bak extension

should look similar to this...

0000000909083203841autosave.bak
or
autosave089042905728035708.bak


you shoudl be able to load it, or veags will prompt you to load it then to save it in its original .veg format.

in options ,you can set it to autosave, however it creates this autosave file, not a continuation of the actual veg file.

I am capturing footage from an 8mm camcorder. I am capturing through the analog to digital converter on a Canon Optura. I am using firewire and have the 8mm connected to the Optura and the connections are fine.

Now when capturing this way the Canon is supposed to be for output purposes only so a tape does not need to be in there. The problem is that Vegas says the device is connected but has no tape, so it does see the 8mm cam. (I always capture fine from optura to pc.)

I changed appllications to make sure it was not my error and the Sorenson Compression Suite was able to see the 8mm through the Canon and allow me to capture video.

I am wondering if there is a setting in Vegas that I overlooked as I would like to do everything in Vegas. The canon manual did state that not all software will be able to handle this function but I can't believe that Vegas can not do this.

in options disable "enable DV Device control".
then go to capture and disable "enable dv scene detection"

that shoudl work

To load a BAK file, just rename it to VEG. Many BAK files are actually .VEG.BAK so you just remove the .BAK.

Now how often does it create a .bak file? I noticed it popped up in the directory one day with my .veg file. I didn't check daily so I don't know at what point it was created.

Also what's the difference between a .bak and auto saves?

Here is how I believe it works:

Auto save files are created as specified in Preferences.

When you normally save a file, the current file is renamed to .BAK before the new version is saved to .VEG. So, that BAK file would be your PREVIOUS save.

main concept have actually released a standalone encoder as well, on top of that, their app Main Actor 5.1 is a great lil tool (not as good as vegas thou), which is great for use with individual clips which require effects. There are numerous particle generation media effects available, and i find it to be a great lil companin for Vegas...

cant wait for Boris!!!!!

yes that did the trick Peter. thanks for the info.

I don't know if this is a Win2k issue or not, XP users seem to have fewer problems with Vegas... But, My VidCap40 utility is extremely unstable. It'll lock up without a reason, crash at the end of a capture session, or (right now) crash as soon as any tape activity starts.

I had this problem previously with 3.0. 4.0's capture utility doesn't appear to have changed much in features or function.... It certainly crashes as just as often!

I do not believe my FireWire is to blame.

Well, I have Vegas running on a Win2K system that capture works with wonderfully. I would recommend a full reinstall of Vegas if you are getting serious crashes and/or a full reinstall of Windows. Also, some cards cause more problems than others. Without more info, it is impossiple to diagnose a problem. For example, sometimes other software can cause problems. Are there any other editors installed? Particularly, anything from Pinnacle?

There are no other editors installed. Maybe it's time to give Windows an overhaul. I could probably put Windows XP Pro CD to use now...

I had a similar problem with Vegas. All of a sudden, it started crashing whenever I tried to capture DV video from my camcorder. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it and the problem was solved.

Before you reinstall anything, make sure you've read Sonic Foundry's Knowledge base article on Print to tape/Capturing.
It's here (http://www.sonicfoundry.com/support/SupportProduct.asp?FamilyID=30&Family=Vegas&TopicID=89&DetailID=879)

okies, im using vidcap 4 to capture as raw dv...
now in the poprties of the file i see the codec being used is
"miroDV2AVI"

i have never heard of this??
and when i try to print to tape after, after rendering as PAL DV in vegas, it gives me error messages stating that its the "wrong codec"

now i dont actualy have an issue with the codec, its just that one day i may need to print to tape and id liek the know the best way abotu doing this... with Vegas 3 i never had a problem...

I'm in the midst of editing a wedding in which the audio is a bit lacking due to the rumbling air conditioning system of the church (why do they always sound 100x louder on video?!). Anyway I'm trying to tweak the audio of the vows to help improve it's clarity. I'm working with both the Noise Reduction Plug-in and the Track Compressor.

I'm using Noise reduction to cut out alot of the rumble caused by the central air in the building and am using the Track Compressor to try and get my db back that was lost inadvertantly due to running Noise reduction.

Now I see you can add audio filters on three levels, the master (which affects all), track (which affects the selected track), and event (which only affects the selected event). Why is adding an audio filter on the event level automatically a "non-realtime" effect which requires rendering and applying it at the track or master levels doesn't?

Conversly if anyone has any good input as to how I can go about using the various audio filters more effectively please do tell- I'm an audio newb. Thanks in advance!

I don't think it will ever be possible to render to MPEG2 over
multiple computers. Why? Because with mpeg2 compression
a new frame stores only the changes from the last frame [full
frames are stored every now and then as well]. So if you have
3 computers and computer 1 renders frame 1, 4, 7 and computer
2 renders 2, 5, 8 how can it use the information from the frames
rendered by computer 1?

So I don't see we'll ever getting that. In theory you could use
a "renderfarm" for a format that doesn't use such a compression
algorithm like DV or MJPEG. But that aren't the formats that take
so long to compress.

The only thing that might be possible with MPEG2 is a complete
rewrite of the MPEG2 encoder that sends out packets of work
accross an mpeg2 client network. But that will be a lot of progamming
and with very fast CPU's falling down rapidly in price I doubt this
would be worth the investment.

You could always get a dedicated mpeg2 encoder board.

Keep in mind that you can change the inner color of the text,
the outer border AND the background color [which is transparent
by default]....

Usually such things are created with particles [particle effects].
Most serious 3D packages have particles and can work with them
to create fire, smoke etc.

As John pointed out you can also get real fire, explosions smoke
and what not from companies. They are usualy shot in front of
a blue screen or black background so you can mask them out or
use a supplied alpha mask.

Keep in mind that if you go down the route of using existing
footage it might be wise to have a lamp on set that you ramp
up fast in intensity [from nothing] and fast down again so
shadows and highlights etc. will sort of match the fireball footage.
Perhaps you need to balance the light towards red/orange/yellow
a bit [depending on the footage]

I usually add them to the track level and had never noticed that. You can also add them to busses!

Had never noticed what- that if you add them to the event level it requires rendering? The only thing I can think of why adding audio filters at the event level requires rendering is because it's the only way to add an audio effect as a separate take. I just figured I'd ask to see if you guys had some more detailed insite.

PS Is there book/etc that I can read up about all the various audio filters and how to use them effectivly. The instruction manual doesn't cover it in the least.

It's better to apply the audio FXs to tracks, and then sort the events so those requiring the same treatment are on the same track. You may group them to two or threee buses - which in turn may receive some FX like reverb or something. You may also want to use graphic dynamics at the bus level to control the level and maybe compress a little (or a lot).
I always compress the track(s) that contain voice or dialogue.

About books or something - see if you can download a manual for Sound Forge. that app has most of the same Audio FXs and may cover them better in writing.
You may want to have Sound Forge itself because it's a great audio editor that cooperates beautifully with Vegas.

I usually set DCT at 10 bits as well and use VBR encoding with
0-5000-8000 (min-avg-max). My previous encode were with CCE
though. Haven't done a lot of encoding in the last year or so.

I have created afew hundred effects routines using Vegas effects chains.

from colour correction and white balance compensations to picture in picture animations all the way thru to pencil sketch(similar but better than the canopus sketch) , chroma warps and quite aew other funky little things like ye old film getting stuck and flipping, like when a film reel comes to an end kinda thing.... There are also Project file templates for Dlby Digital routines as well as encoding presets to suit certain lengths and qualities within DVD's

Im just curious as to how many people would find these useful, basically i would like to include paid training and online tutorials within the studio. Does anyone do this already?

BTW, th pencil sketch is ALOT better than the canopus offering!! and its not evena pencil sketch!!

WEVA News Bulletin

Sony Buys Sonic; Giant Display Set for WEVA EXPO

Sony Pictures Digital has concluded its acquisition of Sonic Foundry, Inc., and Sony now plans to unveil a new giant, combined display of digital video production tools for professional videographers at WEVA EXPO 2003.

Vegas, Sonic Foundry's nonlinear editing program with HD, uncompressed video and 5.1 audio capabilities, will have a significant hands-on display presence at WEVA EXPO 2003, in the Sony booth.

According to Sony Electronics' Craig Yanagi, Senior Manager, Corporate Marketing, Business Solutions and Systems Company, Sony will have the largest sponsor's exhibitor booth at WEVA EXPO 2003, which will be held August 25-28, 2003
at Bally's Las Vegas (early-bird discount registration expires August 11; see www.weva.com (http://www.weva.com) for program and registration
information).

The Sony exhibit will feature not only hands-on Vegas workstations, but also professional video acquisition and editing solutions; DVD creation and burning products; external storage and project back-up devices such as GigaVault and
RoughCut; an extensive professional audio display; and participation from other companies such as Apple and Adobe.

Sony will also conduct special technical sessions on professional audio applications for videographers on the WEVA EXPO 2003 trade show floor.

Other technical and system-specific training seminars will be presented at WEVA EXPO 2003 by Apple, JVC, Avid, and Discreet. For the complete list of over 60 cutting-edge seminars, and exhibits for professional wedding and event videographers at the 13th Annual WEVA EXPO see www.weva.com (http://www.weva.com).

You either have or have had a Miro board installed. What this
software did was replace the Microsoft DV driver with their own.
Therefor it is being listed as their codec.

Under Options -> Preferences -> General is an option titled
'Ignore third party DV codecs' which is on by default. Try
disabling it and see if that helps.

ive never installed any boards mate, I havent had anything like that..

strange...

We are always interested in anything interesting--Why dont you post a .veg or two somewhere---(Sundance is a good place) and let us take a look at it and tell you what we think----

I was wondering if anyone knows how much of a speed upgrade an Intel Pentium 4 2.4 ghz would be over an Athlon 1.7.

What kind of system do you need to really approach real time with Vegas if it involves rendering such as cropping, brightness adjusting, etc.

Thanks for any input.

Are you sure you never had any miro devices? They also make
graphics boards I think. Perhaps a friend brought a device along
sometime?

Did my suggestion help you?

You will get quicker rendering times but you will NOT get real time rendering with the effects you mentioned. To give you an idea, I have a routine project that is 1 hour long. After adding titles and other edits, the normal render time (under print to tape) is about 1 hour on a PIII 750 MHz. (But you have to note that maybe only 5 to 10 minutes of the total is affected.) That same project on my PIV 2.8 GHz laptop will render in about 15 minutes.

However, other factors are involved as well - such as hard drive speed. The laptop is 5400 while the desktop is 7200. If I go to File - Render As, they both perform about the same. This is because in all the "unchanged" sections, the desktop can copy the file much faster than the laptop due to the faster drive speed. So, it is hard to say "how much" faster you would be.

If you mean to compare a Pentium 2.4Ghz to an Athlon 2100 (which runs at 1.7Ghz) then the Pentium 2.4 wins, but not really by so much as to invest in an entire upgrade.

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20020506/p4b-10.html

If by Athlon 1.7 you actually mean 1700 which runs around 1.5Ghz, well there would be an even greater advantage with the Pentium, but again, you would be better off going after the higher numbered Pentiums to really get an obvious performance boost. If you're going to spend money, make it worthwhile!

Or, wait some more time for the AMD Opterons to become readily available. If you have the bank...

no unfortunately, im using a hercules Radeon Pro 128,b GFX card, but thats abotu it...

noone touches this machine theyre al too paranoid.. LOL

There is also a difference in the DDR memory chipsets used with the Athlon. The nVidia nForce2 chipset is one of the reaons the Athlon is keeping up with Pentium even with the former's lower clock speeds. The nVidia memory controller has a lot of logic to help increase memory bandwidth. Also, it's quite easy to overclock the AMD processor and nForce2 from the BIOS. Pretty cool.

I found another rendering bug in Vegas, this one very problematic. Sometimes during 5-channel rendering of wave files from surround sound projects, at the beginning of where an audio clip starts, one of the channels will have a pop. It seems to be totally random, and rare, but definitely more common with a larger, complex project with lots of clips.

Might this be fixed in the 4.0d update? Does anyone else know of this bug?