Hello Andrew,

DSE does an excellent job of covering a vast array of Vegas aspects from the fundamentals up.

There are quite a few reviews of the book at amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1578202191/qid=1067259995/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-5823592-8795810?v=glance&s=books

I have a GL-2 and Vegas 4.0d and it works fine.
Im using the 1394 built on my ASUS motherboard.
Check to make sure the "DV out" message (mode) on the GL-2 is on (I think...check the manual, vcr menu)

good luck

Thanks Robert,

I just got it figured out. AFter exhausting all support means(Sony could not help me any longer as the camera was not recognized by MS MovieMaker either), I reloaded XP, but only as an upgrade, so I did not screw up my settings.

During the install, I got the message, "cannot locate file avicap32.dll". AHA! sounded like a video capture driver to me.

I called Alienware and sure enough, they had a few recovery disks go out with this file missing.

I got the driver and loaded into XP and now everything is fine.

I can now follow along with Douglas Spotted Eagle on the DVD training set!

thanks all.

Help…

I encountered a strange problem the first time I tried to render an MPEG-1 or -2 on Vegas 4.0a (build 119). Other file types seem to work, to the extent that I have explored them.

Here’s the problem: The MainConcept MPEG-1 and –2 options appear in the “Save as type” window (in “Render As”), but when I try to select one I get the following message:

“There is no template available for this format. The selected media may not support it. Try again”

After that, whichever MPEG option was selected no longer appears in the “Save as type” options. All of the other options will be listed, but the MainConcept MPEG-1 and –2 disappear from the choices until the project is closed and reopened again.

This was early boxed software, and I get no response when I try to register online. The FAQ mentions that some early boxed sets did not require registration and would not time out, but I can’t seem to get registered even if I try. The manual mentions that MainConcept licensing requires separate registration, but how?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
RogerH

Go get the 4.0d update.

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/download/step1.asp?CatID=2

I think the film motion will only jump vertically. I think it would also seem too fast for a shaky cam, but there may be a speed option (I'm also away from my Vegas PC). You can copy and paste keyframes for pan and crop. That is probably how I would do it. Set up a few positions and paste them along the event.

Plus old film effect only shakes the "screen" not the view of the camera as if the camera was shaky while filming.

The easiest way would have been to shoot it shaky to begin with.

Regardless of what version it is it should automatically prompt you to register the Main Concept encoder when you go to use it. Upgrading is a good idea...even if you didn't have this problem. If you continue to encounter this problem after the 4.0d upgrade call tech support.

Just a week ago I posted asking how to shake the screen and I've did this by using Event/Pan & Crop with lots of keyframes and it came out pretty good. I just about have all the control I need. It's a trailer for my up and coming Training CD-ROM for Photoshop CS. Hope you enjoy, feedback appreciated.

www.designsbymark.com

You link has something wrong with it. This one works: http://www.designsbymark.com/

nice video. So how much will it cost?

Rob

<<<-- Originally posted by Joe Sacher : You link has something wrong with it. This one works: http://www.designsbymark.com/ -->>>

Thanks Fixed it.

Around $40

Hello,

I am using Vegas 4.0b and am getting 300+ dropped frames when capturing a 60min tape.

I initially installed Vegas on my win98 machine with a single HDD and had very good success (~15min vidcap). Then I upgraded to XP Pro and added a second HDD dedicated to video. Ever since the upgrade I have had excessive dropped frames, tested on a few different tapes. I went through the recommended steps of removing the audio and video preview during vidcap, but the number of dropped frames is about the same.

Any suggestions?

What are your system specs?

Is DMA active for the hard drives?

Matt,
You might want to download and install the latest update to Vegas (4.0d). The reinstall may fix the problem. Hope that works.
Randy

XP has a tendency to load a bunch of things you don't need. A program named "EndItAll" is handy to kill off those programs that you don't need for video editing.

Also, you can go into task manager and right click on the process for VidCap and set priority to High. This should give it preference when it comes to CPU cycles.

Hello,

Fairly new to Vegas, and I have read where some people capture a whole tape and then cut it up..
If I have a large piece of video or even a whole tape, which tool/technique do you use to cut it up into pieces for the edit?? Do you drag it up to the timeline to do so??

Any help appreciated..

Thanks,
Mike M.

Your computer will get extremely laggy if you set the process of vidcap to "high"

Another suggestion is to quit all unnessesary programs while capturing.

I would make sure your virus scanner is not running or scanning in the background while capturing.


check msconfig to make sure you don't have a huge list of start up items running.


-Kay

Put the clip on the timeline.
Select it.
move to where you want a cut.
Hit the "S" key, it splits the clip.
Move to next editing point.
Repeat as necessary.

Download the manual from Sony and print it out.

Yes, I capture an entire clip, put it on the timeline, and then split out the good pieces from there.

I used to use "S" to split around the good areas and delete the bad areas. Now I put ranges around the good areas and use "Extract Good Clips" in Tsunami.

If you don't know yet when or where you'll be using selected parts of a long tape, it's better to first open it in the Trimmer and create a region for each piece you want. To do this, drag to make a selection and hit "R". Give each region a name which helps you identify what's in it and where you may want to use it. (e.g. A01 Opens door and walks in)

To save this region, clcik the folppy icon above the Trimmer, or in Preferences check "Automatically save trimmer markers and regions with media file.

The Regions you create this way are now seen as a list in Explorer /Region View. They can be lifted from there to the timeline any time, or opened again in Trimmer (double click) for any adjustments.

Hello,

Thanks for the tips guys, I have been taking the clips into the trimmer, and then highlighting the section I want and then using the place clip on timeline where the cursor(timemarker is).. Seems to work pretty well.. I will have to try the technique that Peter suggested.. Sounds interesting..

Also I captured a whole tape, and noticed it broke it up into like 8 or 9 clips.. i am assuming it is because there was a timecode break?? Or does vegas use some kind of Scene Analyizing??

Thanks again,
Mike

Just want to share this site with you guys.

http://www.designsbymark.com/

Great promo done with Photoshop and Vegas


--William

Vegas will do scene selection if the option is turned on. The scene changes are determined by jumps in the date/time.

There are also options for specifying a max size which could also cause multiple files. A drive formatted with FAT32 could also be a cause.

I'm currently running a 1.4Ghz P4. I'm looking to upgrade to a more capable NLE. My chief needs are for color correction, two video streams and decent sound manipulation capabilities.

I understand that Vegas probably give me the most value fo the $$ and I'm willing to go to a new video card to get some of the real time or near real time capabilities.

Is my processor going to hack it or do I need to get up closer to a 3Ghz machine?

Thanks

Your system is MORE than capable of running Vegas. I'm currently running Vegas 4.0d on a PIII 750MHz computer and it performs fine. I've even installed it on a test machine that was a PII 300MHz and it still ran amazingly well (did NOT try capturing or printing to tape)

Vegas doesn't use any hardware to assist with speed so don't worry about changing any cards. All you need is an OHCI compliant firewire card for getting video in and out.

Now that I have had Vegas + DVD for a while I love it. I originally posted that I had just recieved it and was having problems. Part of the problem was me and part was ??
So here are my questions. Sometimes when I finish a project and save and then try to render it only renders a small portion of the video. (thus one of the problems of not getting all the footage to my DVD). I have to close Vegas, re-open it, and then it renders the entire video. Next, if you remember I was having problems with not getting the audio to DVD. Now that I am familiar with what goes on, I know to watch the audio file. Sometimes instead of getting the AC3 file in the audio slot, I get an mpg. file in it, I simply delete the mpg, open up the audio folder and import the correct file. When I was new to V4 + DVD this it gave me fits and thus my one nerve became somewhat frayed. Any idea on these 2 problems.

Last but not least does anyone have any good ideas on how to get cursive fonts.

Thanks
Donny

V4 4.0d
DVDArch 1.0c

Be sure that you don't have a time selection or some tracks on solo.

If it isn't one of those, I can't imagine what it would be.

I'm ashamed to say that I just completed a two hour documentary using Vegas on my Pentium 3 machine---Besides a couple of coughs and an occasional stall, it went pretty well.

For the first problem, When you choose Render As, UNCHECK the box that says "loop region only".


For the second problem, make sure the AC3 file is name EXACTLY the same as the MPG file. Also, make sure the MPG file did NOT contain an audio stream. This is very simple as the DVD Architect presets automatically have the audio turned off.

Is there anywhere on the Vegas interface to use a mouse click to select where to cut instead of using the "S" key on keyboard?

The mouse can be used to select the splitting point, as can any other transport controls such as arrows, space bar, enter etc.

To then perform the split with the mouse would be 3 steps - select tool or function / perform split / return to normal edit tool.
This was the Premiere method.

Using the "S" key reduces this to a single step.

<<<-- Originally posted by Dave Largent : Is there anywhere on the Vegas interface to use a mouse click to select where to cut instead of using the "S" key on keyboard? -->>>

The mouse IS used to select WHERE to cut! The "S" DOES the cut.

I have a Mac G4/400 using FCP3. I'm thinking of serious upgrading. I'm even thinking of changing systems.

How do Vega and FCP compare?

Which has the superior workflow?

Functionality?

Feng Sui?

How's making DVDs?

Is your computer stable?

What systems do you have that work well?

Elmer?

PS Thanky

<<<-- Originally posted by Elmer Lang : I have a Mac G4/400 using FCP3. I'm thinking of serious upgrading. I'm even thinking of changing systems.

1. How do Vega and FCP compare?

2. Which has the superior workflow?

3. Functionality?

4. Feng Sui?

5. How's making DVDs?

6. Is your computer stable?

7. What systems do you have that work well?

Elmer?

PS Thanky -->>>

1. Both are professional level systems that can do a great job editing DV.

2. I believe Vegas does as you can do anything anywhere. The audio in Vegas is better than ANY other NLE. Also, Vegas is format agnositic meaning you can put ANY type of media on any track (naturally, audio clips on audio tracks and other media on video tracks).

3. Both are very functional. Not sure what you mean by this one.

5. Vegas+DVD does a great job making DVDs. There are currently some limitations to DVDA that I expect to be addressed in future versions.

6. Yes. Most stable NLE I've ever used.

7. I have run Vegas successfully on Win98se, WinMe, Win 2000, and WinXP.


Both products have their strengths and weaknesses. Having never used FCP, I do not feel qualified to do an accurate comparison between them.

I searched for this and did not see any topics on it. I created a DVD using V4 + DVD, erased the project and now want to create a copy using the original DVD I made. Can it be Done using V4 + DVD. I tried both V4 and DVD architect and neither would recognize the files listed on the drive with the disc in it.

question 2. If a person wanted to save his projects on a DVD for future use by V4 what type of file would you save them as so they could be retrieved?

3. What is the easiest way to get rid of old projects in V4 and DVD architect, I usually have to go deep inside the folders to erase Titles and projects, is there an easier way.

Thanks.

Any DVD burning software should be able to make a copy of the DVD+R. Just use something like Nero or RecordNow.

If you WANT to use DVDA to burn the additional copies, just pull the Video_TS and Audio_TS back into the build folder and tell DVDA to "burn only" and point it to that folder.

Ok the peak indicator (the numbers that indicate the highest volume) of the audio meters in Vegas will CHANGE depending on where you start playing from. WTF?

Secondly, when a I apply audio compression with auto gain compensation to a track it causes clipping to occur. I tried not using auto gain and rendering to a new track and normalizing that new file. Sometimes there's still clipping. Isn't this stupid? Am I doing something wrong?

Running a celeron733 with a bad motherboard. 256MB of RAM. Vegas 4.0c and win98(SE?). Maybe it's a performance issue?

The workflow is VERY different between the 2 programs. I suggest getting some training materials to get you up to speed on doing things the "proper" way in either NLE.

How do Vegas and FCP compare?
You can search the forum, there's always threads on this.

Which has the superior workflow?
Depends on what you want to do. Vegas is better for audio, possibly effects-heavy work (although AE integration may not be that good), and better for multicam work. FCP seems to me to have better media management.

How's making DVDs?
If iDVD on the Mac is not buggy for you then it's great for anything under 1 hour.

Is your computer stable?
Both have been somewhat unstable for me. Audio editing on Vegas 4.0c on a celeron733 (yeah yeah...) has some weird graphics bugs (maybe I need to upgrade, didn't think of that until now). FCP3 has its bugs but once you patch it FCP3 has been very solid (no crashes). One of the 3rd-party filters is crashy but it was free and functional enough for me (joe's time bender- vegas has this built-in and FCP4 has it built-in but FCP4's is buggy/quirky from what I hear).

Vegas is more stable is my guess.

What systems do you have that work well?
A DP500 Yikes! G4 worked well for me for FCP2 and FCP3.

Some audio FX are generated over an amount of time - like reverb. They will not produce a true readout if they are not run from the beginning. But if you are going through a project sequence by sequence to adjust audio levels you should be safe if you have a few second on each side of your selection.

Second qustion. In the graphic dynamics FX and supposedly in whatever compressor you use, there are settings for attack and release - in fractions of milliseconds. If you have an audio track with quick loud signals you should lower the attack time to keep below the 0 dB limit.

Your computer is more than adequate for the task.

Thanks. Your answer to the first question makes a lot of sense.

Regarding the second question, I'm using the graphics dynamics filter. I'm not exactly sure why the processing would make things clip, but the tip on changing the attack is helpful.

http://www.computerarts.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=19479&subsectionid=844&subsubsectionid=759

I believe you mean the object folder when you talk of the build folder. I am trying to pull it off the DVD but I cant get it into any folders from the DVD. Object proerties is blank so I cant get to the import folder, I have found both TS files in the media explorer but cant get it to actually move anywhere. If object properties was open I could get to the import folder, but it's blank

Edward, thanks again for the help.

Donny

Well,

I have a P3 - 500, with 13GB 7200 main drive and a 120GB 7200 video drive. What other specs are relevant for capturing dv?

I checked in the bios to see if DMA is active. I think it is because I found that DMA 2 is listed for each drive under the interface heading.

What I tried with success was to just start over. I deleted the default session for vidcap. I cleaned off my video drive (which was nearly empty anyway). And I changed one setting, I turned on the stop at dropped frame. After that I was able to capture three 60min tapes with only one dropped frame, which I think happened when the virus scan program turned itself back on.

I think the default session was maxed out or something, is that possible?

You can copy the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS directories back to your hard drive. Then use DVDA to burn them out.

If you want to "backup" the project for later editing, just burn the source files (MPEG2 and AC3) and project file to a DVD using a data DVD program such as Nero or Easy CD.

I have to know- did you "upgrade" your OS or do a clean install. It's always better to do a clean install of an OS rather than upgrading it. Even if it's the "upgrade" version all it does is prompt you for the 98 disc prior to installing...in other words you don't have to have an OS installed to install the "Upgrade".

Secondly I think Edward nailed it on the head. I'm in agreement that XP is loaded with tons of services that are unessesary and take up valuable resources. I don't however think this would cause 300 dropped frames in an hour. That definitly sounds like a DMA issue. Check if DMA is enabled via device manager.

Hello all,

I am still a pretty new person to Vegas.. And this may be a dumb question(please forgive) but here goes.. I have editied previously using different NLE software, where the way you lay out the video on the timeline is in an A/B configuration.. eg, first video clip on track A, next on track B, next on A next on track B and so on and so forth.. Now it seems to me on Vegas, i have been using only one track ,(i have crossfades turned on)where the video is all layed out head to tail on one track,and the fades are automaticly created using this method.. Is this the technique that is most effective using vegas?? Are some doing the A/B technique?? And if so, is there a way in which the fades can be used automaticly when using this A/B technique?

Thanks,
mike M.

On the left-hand side of the track (near the track name) there is a button that you can hit to "expand track". Hit that and it should give you the A/B editing that you are used to and crossfades will be automatic when you overlap the events. I hope that's what you mean.