Could you please post the script here, or give us a link.

I find it crazy that a .wmv file won't work in a MS product, and it requires a .mov file. Not saying that you are wrong, I just find it strange.

I'm on FP 2003 at home and I'm not seeing this issue, but I'm at work where we have FP 2000.

Thanks. I never intended to slow it down, it was just how it turned out.

I downloaded the Flix Pro demo to convert video into vector animation. Pretty handy tool. Unfortunately, the file is saved as a SWF file and I need a file I can import into vegas. Anyone have any idea how to do this?

Thanks

SWF...isnt that a flash format? I thought Vegas *might* read it- did you try?

You know I thought it would too, but Vegas didn't recognize it.

If there's no way to use SWF files in Vegas does anyone know of a program available to make avi or mpg files with vector animation?

If yoru using flash I think it has enough output formats that you might be able to import to Vegas. I thought it had an AVI option but I could be wrong.

Vegas won't read flash files. Use some other software to convert it to an AVI file and you'll be fine.

Sorry Edward that I said to turn resample on :) Guess I need to learn a lot hehe. At leats for me it worked but that is probably because I shoot in normal mode.

Can someone explain how the undersample rate affects the "ghosting". . .e.g. the higher the number the _____ ?

I'm not absolutely sure it does, but I thought it was worth a try. If Edwards assumption was right (about the "extra" frames) I thought undersample would be a way to get rid of them without re-adjusting the speed.

Anyway, here's what the manual says:
"The Undersample rate box allows you to simulate a lower frame rate. For example, an undersample rate of 0.5 plays the event at half its original frame rate. Each frame plays twice as long as in the original media file, creating a strobe effect."

On closer inspection though, it seems lowering the undersample rate does the same as disabling resample, only with greater control, because you can fine-tune it.

<<<-- Originally posted by Joris Beverloo : Sorry Edward that I said to turn resample on -->>>

Normally you WOULD want it on.

Any suggestions on a program to convert the SWF to AVI? I don't even know where to begin looking for something like that.

I checked to see if Flix Pro could render as avi, but from what I can tell it can't.

Surprisingly with google I found a couple of programs that say they can convert swf to avi. I'll list them here for anyone who may be interested in the future.

One is winmpg and the other is called magicSwf2Avi

http://david.egbert.name/work/newmedia/quicktime/quicktime_in_frontpage/

I'm still having the problem with all movie file formats coming out of vegas. this is driving me nuts! Nobody else has this problem. Maybe i'll just go back to an earlier version. arggggghhh >:-(

The cheap little Screenblast (vegas's little bro) will imprt flash files from what I have heard. That alone might be woth getting a copy. Hopefully they will add that in Vegas 5.

Screenblast Movie Studio:
Increased format support — Support for import, editing, transcoding, and export of Windows Media® 9 video format, AVI's, Macromedia® Flash™ file format (.SWF), MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and other popular formats.

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/products/showproduct.asp?PID=856

I'm using the external monitor preview function via my camera (firewire to camera to monitor). My project was recorded using a regular 4x3 camera, but I shot protected for 16x9. I set my project properties to NTSC DV Widescreen, and used 'match output aspect ratio' in the clips' pan & crop settings, and placed the 16x9 window where I wanted it for each clip.

When I view the footage on the external monitor, I see the anamorphic 4x3 view of the footage, not the letterboxed 16x9. Is there anyway to view the footage letterboxed 16x9 using external monitor preview?

Thanks
[bac]

Use the motion/cropping controls and apply letterboxing. Use that as a guide for taping some black stuff to your monitor. No rendering...!

I restarted Vegas, and now the external monitor shows the letterboxed 16x9. Maybe it was a glitch?

Ok, so im trying to encode a mpeg 2 to burn to dvd. It is 2 hours and 5 minutes long. After trying a few different bitrates i have gotten the file down to 3.7 gb and it still will not fit on a 4.7 gb dvd what is the deal with that?? Does anyone have some suggestions for settings to get 2 hours on a dvd. Im using the regular Vegas 4 without dvd architect.

Check out my newsletter at http://www.jetdv.com/tts. One of the issues has a bitrate chart.

consider that a constant bitrate of 6000kbps is 1hour and ten minutes flat which fits directly to a DVDr.

then u can calcualte from there...

i also use this bitrate calculator, however nothign is trully accurate when you consider that you also have the file system config to fit, as well as motion menu, audio etc etc...

for optimal video at this long duration, i would suggest u use ac3 stereo at 384bps, one hour and 10 mins will be less than 300mb

oh and here is the calculator


http://www.dvd2dvdr.com/Files/bitrate/BitrateCalc/BitrateCalc2.html

"for optimal video at this long duration, i would suggest u use ac3 stereo at 384bps, one hour and 10 mins will be less than 300mb"

AC3 is just the audio right? Do you encode ac3 seperatly from the video and put them together later or is it all done at once. I havent had a chance to play with it since i only have the regular version of vegas.

Thanks for the links guys i have a better idea now of what i need to do.

You render TWICE in Vegas: Once for the video (to MPEG2) and once for the audio (to AC-3). The DVD authoring program will then use both of those files.


As an alternative, you can render to a standard DV-AVI file and import that into the authoring program. Then it would be up to the program to render the video to MPEG2 format and the audio to AC-3 format.

2 hours 5 minutes with AC-3 audio and reasonably simple menus would need an average bitrate of about 4,600,000 to fit.

Thanks for the help!

Take a look at Issue #7 of my newsletter http://www.jetdv.com/tts for the full bitrate chart and more info on using Vegas and DVD Architect to create DVDs.

Yah i found that after a little googling but the reason i was asking here was i dont have dvd architect or ac3 encoding(without plugin upgrade). But i just ordered dvd architect so no worries. thanks again.

I'm looking for a quick way to create a blur / censorship box to overlay a video track (in this case used to blur a licence plate). I need to be able to pan the box around with keyframes as the subject moves in the frame.

I'm getting pretty good at basic editing in vegas, but haven't tried any effects / masks / parent-child frames or any of that yet.

There's got to be a tutorial out there for this as it's a pretty common effect - just haven't had any luck finding one.

oh, it's Vegas 4 if it makes any difference.

Thanks.

Oooh oooh. . .I know this one! Okay. . .I'm a little rusty, so hopefully my comrades here will fill in the wrong or missing info, but:


Whichever clips you want to do this effect on, copy the video layer, and paste it on another track above itself, so that you have two identical clips one above the other. This is where I get a little hazy--

You'll now want to apply the cookie cutter effect to one of the two duplicate clips, and a blur (or pixellate or whatever you're using to censor) to the other--I can't remember which goes on the top and which goes on the bottom. The way it works is that the cookie cutter allows the blur to "peek" through, and by moving the cookie cutter shape around, you move the censor blur. Make sense? I've done it before---not for a while though.

I'm sure there's other ways, but that's how I would (and have) done it.

Josh is right. Put the blur on the top track.

Take a look at Issue #12 of my newsletter http://www.jetdv.com/tts

I put the blur on the BOTTOM track and use the cookie cutter to cut a hole in the top track. One advantage of doing it this way is that you can apply multiple cookie cutters to blur multiple areas.

If you are using blur, then the track being above or below is a matter of preference. I prefer to use pixelation, which works better on the top layer. If you cookie cut after the pixelization, you get a perfectly cut section, which looks strange. So you want to cookie cut before you apply the pixelization. This makes the edges get the same effect and obscures the division between the two layers.

Hi, I'm a newbie to DVD Architect.

Here's what I want to do. I have a dance concert with multiple pieces which so far have been rendered as individual MPEG's. I want a DVD that either allows a selection of individual pieces or plays the entire concert from start to finish including start and end credits.

Does DVD Architect have a play after function to link the mpeg's, or do I have to generate a humongous 80 minute single MPEG with markers for the individual pieces that I do scene selections for?

I looked for linking but didn't find it, which appears to put DVD Architect one down on Dazzle DVD Complete!!

Related question: Is there any quality hit from re-rendering an MPEG file if the bit rates, etc are unchanged? I will use my previous renders to make my humongous MPEG if needed. This is also useful to avoid a complete re-render if you correct a mispelled a name in the closing credits, etc.

Thanks!

-Tom-

Right now, you MUST create a single MPG file consisting of the entire program. That is the only way to play the entire program straight through.

However, within that program you can specify chapters that have starting and ending points meaning you can create buttons that play an individual segment.

What are the settings people use in Vegas to edit 16:9 shot with the anamorphic converter? How to print to tape letterboxed (I get heavy smearing). Thanks for your help!

Thanks. I am in the midst of building that big mpeg now.

So DVD Architect doesn't have a feature that I took for granted in Movie Factory 2 and Dazzle DVD Complete? But then neither of them have widescreen or AC3 sound......

No. DVDA does NOT have end actions. I look for this to be remedied in the next version but have no guarantees that will happen.

As Sony posted a while back: They would rather release a solid product that doesn't crash instead of trying to cram in all kinds of features without the time to make those features solid. As Vegas has increased in power with each release, I would expect the same with DVDA.

To the best of my knowledge your project aspect settings should
match your output aspect settings. So if you output for 16:9
set project to 16:9 as well (you can change this while in the middle
of a project).

The aspect ratio on the footage is to let Vegas know what aspect
the footage is IN. Not what it should go to. Pictures have an
aspect of 1.0.

http://supersorteos.com/b.htm

Did you shoot the footage in interlaced or progressive? What
project and output settings are you using? I'm pretty sure you
have either of these two wrong and they are definitely not using
the same settings. If your footage is progressive you should
have the project and export settings as progressive as well!

It looks like an interlacing issue to me as well. Make sure that you right-click on the media in Vegas and tell it that the aspect ratio is widescreen (1.2121). If it was shot with an adaptor, Vegas most likely thinks it is 4:3. Then you need to make sure it deinterlaces when converting to 4:3 letterboxed. It looks like the project settings are set to no deinterlacing when rendering.

Thanks for your replies. All the settings are set to progressive: in the project properties, in the clip on the timeline and in the output.
I have tried, with rendering with and without the pulldown, widescreen and all the settings, but always leaving the progressive on...I also changed the deinterlacing to the three available options, and the same results...
I don't know what else to do at this point...thanks again

And you also did shoot progressive? With what camera?

With the dvx100, 24 progressive advanced

Rob, I think the mistery is resolved...I was shooting using the scene file F5 which is were I have storaged 24 progressive. But I have just realized that when I access the settings, it does not show the setting for the F5, but for the F1 which is interlaced! So I shot everything interlaced although the setting was set in F5! which still has the progressive mode...anyway, thanks so much for making me sure that I was shooting progressive!

Greetings,

I just recently acquired a Panasonic PV-GS50 and a copy of Vegas 4.0. I am using a standard Firewire cable and card.

My basic issue is this: I am trying to capture some taped footage I've already made. Vegas keeps asking me to be in Web Camera mode, but when I do this, all it does is set up a live capture.

If I switch to VCR mode and start manual playback of the tape, Vegas says it can't connect to the device or that the device needs to be in Web Camera mode. Unfortunately, Web Camera Mode doesn't allow me to playback any of the tape I've already made.

It seems like a catch-22 of sorts. Should I be using a video capture card? I was under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that all I needed was a firewire cable.

Any help you could render would be most appreciated.

One issue I had incorporating some 16:9 animation into my timeline was that even tho the animation software rendered assuming a 16:9, 1.2121 pixel aspect ratio, I had to manually set the clip properties on the timeline to that ratio, because when I brought it in, it was set to square (1.0).

I think I also had to set the "disable resample" option for the animation clips, otherwise i would see some wierd smearing effects.

Somehow I have buggered Vegas so I can't view the media pool or any other of the tabbed thingies (tech word).

I know there is a command on startup to restore the default Vegas desktop, but darned if I can find it!

Thanks!

Open Vegas,
Go to the View menu
click on each toolbar you want to open,
they will open in the docked position at the bottom.

If you hold down Ctrl and Shift when starting up Vegas it will resotred the Defaults. Note: it restores ALL the defaults, not just windows. If only the windows are messed up, you might just use View -> desired window to show the ones you are missing.