Steve, your problem can be any of the following:

CPU (unlikely) - typical CPU problem would be overheating, although you could have gotten a bad chip. The manufacturer really stress tests their CPUs and they're often much better than their rating (which is why you can overclock them well).

RAM (likely)

Motherboard - unlikely and hard to diagnose. Could be overheating northbridge (case reading in MBM)

Weak power supply + faulty motherboard sensors (unlikely)

I think those are all your possible faulty hardware. To checK:

1- Run memtest86 to check for memory errors.

http://www.memtest86.com/

You download a program that creates a boot floppy or CD. The boot CD or floppy will start running automatically once you reboot. You may need to adjust your BIOS to boot from CD or floppy. The full battery of tests take time so wait an hour or so to let it finish 1 pass.

If you get errors, do a memory swap. Also try the other RAM slots.

*In rare cases, memtest will not find problems related to RAM overheating. Your RAM may become error-prone once it warms up a bit (it doesn't really get hot... just warms up). You could cool your RAM with a table fan (open up the case) and see if prime95 fails if you suspect this.

2- swap parts around. Swap good parts in, or suspect parts into a good computer.

3- visual inspection (unlikely to find much). Look at your motherboard to see if the capacitors are getting bulgy (unlikely).

Also check for good physical connections on everything, and that fans are spinning.

Thanx again for all the help!!!
I downloaded and ran MemTest.....I waited 4 hours and let the test complete 5 passes....no errors at all....I guess this pretty much leaves the Main Board/chipset as my problem.....MSI must be having some QC problems, since my FIRST board died less than a year ago and this was my warranty replacement.
The problem now is that replacing the board only is not really an option since my current model
uses
PC133 ram, which virtually no new boards(that I am aware of) use . So I am looking at replacing the MB and getting ALL new RAM as well....should I just go to a P4?? I hear good things about Asus P4 I865 boards....any comments in that regard or relating to my MemTest results??
Thanx again everyone!!

The performance slut in me says to go upgrade. Rendering speed is closely related to CPU clock speed, so to figure out your speed gains:

A- Assume that AMD's PR rating (i.e. 2000+) is accurate. For Vegas, this quick and dirty rule works well.

Above 2000+, the PR ratings are inaccurate for XP processors.

B- Divide the newer processor's clock speed by the AMD PR rating. i.e. Pentium 3.0ghz is 50% faster than a 2000+.

At MPEG2 encoding, Pentiums will blow away XP processors (something like 2X faster).

That should give you a pretty good idea of how much faster your computer will go after an upgrade.

2- The best bang for your buck upgrade is:

865 chipset motherboard. The Abit IS7 is good as it has firewire, and is much cheaper than the Asus P4P800 deluxe. I also like the MSI Neo2-P Platinum Edition (which I can't seem to find on the MSI website). It's even cheaper than the IS7, has gigE, no firewire, and some nice bundled stuff . Rounded IDE cables, bracket that shows motherboard boot state, Windows overclocking utility (probably not too useful when you can use Speedfan instead), dynamic overclocking (means lower heat while idling), and fan control (kind of lower noise... and makes your fans last longer since it slows them down when you don't need them full blast). It has a passive northbridge heatsink unlike the IS7 (this means lower noise, and doesn't let you do extreme overclocks; may be more reliable as there is no fan that can break down).

I have played with the Abit IS7, the P4P800 non-deluxe, and the MSI board mentioned.

Processor:
Both the Canterwood ("C") and Presscot ("E") processors are good buys. The Presscott consumes more electricity, which means it costs more in the long run. It is about 6% faster than the Canterwood at DSE's rendertest, and more than 6% faster at MPEG2 encoding. Its extra heat means that your computer is louder and maybe more unreliable.

Buy a few steps down from the fastest processor out. The top few speeds of a processor are always overpriced.

RAM:
512MB or 1GB. There are other threads here and over at the sony forum arguing how much you need.

What kind of RAM to get:
Get normal RAM, not the overclocking stuff (anything over PC3200) or low latency stuff. Those kinds of RAM are overpriced and at best give you a few % in extra performance.

You can get away with using the cheapest RAM you can find as long as you test it (prime95 is probably the best idea).

Overclocking: If you do this, make sure you stress test your system well. This takes time which may be better spent elsewhere. An argument can be made for either side. You are definitely fine with a stock system- I would probably recommend this because you really don't need to overclock.

3- You could troubleshoot your problem instead of upgrading (blasphemy I know...). You should try:

Swap parts in/out. In order of priority, I would try to swap: CPU, motherboard, then RAM.
Try just one DIMM of RAM in each of the banks on your motherboard. Prime away.
Re-install your CPU's heatsink. You may need to re-apply the thermal interface material. Read your heatsink's instructions.

4- If you are going to swap your motherboard, read the following thread first to avoid having to reinstall Windows:

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=77909774&m=1400925745

Folks, I didn't find this, and I've looked around the help file and didn't see it, so if it's really simple please shoot me.

Anyway, is there a way to set up different workspaces in Vegas 4? In SAWSTUDIO, I can use the function keys to set up 12 different workspaces, so that I can have 1 track or 8 or 72 whatever, and on and on. But I haven't seen that in Vegas, and the fliping back and forth between the preview and the tracks can be a bit annoying. Some times I want skinny little tracks, some times big fat ones.

Help!!
Milt

This feature is in Vegas 5. ( I know that kind of sucks if you don't need to upgrade. )

Vegas 5 will let you save and recall up to 10 different layouts. However, you may also want to look at things like the F11 key (which will hide everything except the timeline and then restore it back). Take a look through the shortcut keys and you may find one that works for your needs.

Very cool. I expect to upgrade to 5 within the next week. It's got so many very cool features that I just gotta do it.

This just confirms it, and I'm really glad that it's there.

Thanks
Milt

One of Sony's press releases mentions editing systems compatability with the new cam, and Vegas isn't on it. Isn't Vegas 5 already compataible, and if not do you think Sony will release a plug-in?

No one in the know is permitted to comment, simply because of NDA. Keep in mind that Sony Electronics is a different company than Sony Pictures Digital, who owns Sony Software Media, which is the parent of Vegas. At the same time, Sony is working to make all their gear compatible. Xpri works wonderfully with Vegas...

Hi. There's a contest out of NY, where people send in their demo reels. I thought I'd send mine. They won't take VHS, and recommended either CD or DVD. I don't have a DVD burner, so where does that leave me? They recommended Quicktime files on CD as a way to go, so I says to myself, MPEG-4.

Using Vegas 4, I rendered an MPEG-4 version of my reel, that came about to about 250 MB (4 mins, 20 secs). When I simply double-click the file, it plays, and for a the first 25 seconds, everything is fine. Then it goes to a clip with significant movement in it, and it starts to lag, the video playing like 5 frames a second or something. Is this 'cause my computer's somewhat, uh, low-tech by today's standards (Atholon 1600 XP+ processor, = 1060 Mhz or so), or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks.

P.S.
I just tried this with the highest possible settings for WM9, using the Windows Media Encoder, and got the laggy video too.

Also, for some reason, the Window Media Encoder seems to be crushing my blacks, and making the picture look overall darker. Is there a setting that's causing it to do this, or is this a result of the compression, or what?

heres a wierd one..

I select Pal DV all good to capture...

wack it on my timeline, all looks good proportionally, BUT i get vertical jagies.. basically it loks like vertical scanlines.. pretty terrible and it looks like crap..

set my project to the same aspect, or any other aspect and i still get jaggies..

now.. i change the aspect to square pixels and its fine.. but people look a lil fat..

whats the deal?? can i get proper proportioned footage without the jaggies? Ive always had this problem... so now im a lil concerned..

some info..
im using V4 and V5 as editors and capture

cams are DVX100, DVC30 and MX500 , and using an MX500 as a deck

The problem is pretty obvious and u can emulate this error by changing your aspect ratio in the program or the video clip..

Just wanted to let you guys know I was very happy with the production quality and wealth of knowlege gained from the DVDA Training series by Gary Kleiner. This is unsolicited.

I was wondering if anyone else that has the DVD found the easter egg on disc 2? :)

That's quite weird. Have you tried other QuickTime codecs like
sorenson? Otherwise a friend or someone from DVInfo in your
neighborhood might be able to burn a DVD for you as well?

Damn. The answer I was really hoping for is: Oh laggy playback is normal on lower-powered computers. Damn damn damn.

Yeah, I know a few people who could make a DVD for me.

Can you still encode in MPEG-4, with Vegas, using Sorenson? I'm not near it at the moment, so I can't check. I seem to remember having to pick from a list of templates or something, and MPEG-4 and Sorenson being mutually exclusive. Whenever I've encoded in QT before, the files always come out ridiculously large (as in, larger than the original DV footage!) unless I use a severe method of compression, like one of the MPEG brothers.

Any other opinions before I drive 45 minutes away to have a DVD made?

Well it *might* be your PC, or it might not be. That's a bit hard
to decide without access to the machine. It might be too slow
for WM9 indeed.

MPEG-4 is indeed mutual exclusive with Sorenson. The idea
usually is that you lower the resolution / framerate to reduce
file size as well.

I do think having the DVD made is the best option. Do make
sure you render out to MPEG2 with the DVD template in Vegas.

1. which program did you use to capture with?

2. are you seeing this jaggies on the preview? or media player? or watching on TV?

3. are all the settings for interlaced / progressive correct?

Yes, I am compressing to reduce file size. The judges in that contest said a CD-R is okay, and CDs only hold 700mb. Completely uncompressed, as an AVI file, the reel takes up about 944 mb. I suppose I could screw around with just lowering the quality slightly, or something, reducing the framerate. . whatever, I don't know, and still making it an AVI, and if I can knock off the extra 244mb that way, but MPEG-4 just seemed like a better option, and likewise with the WM9.

If I make a DVD, I'll have to take a raw AVI file to the person doing it for me.

1. which program did you use to capture with?
'((Vidcap 4 AND 5... ))

2. are you seeing this jaggies on the preview? or media player? or watching on TV?

((Everything.. on TV it looks like terrible vertical scanlines, on a monitor, thru the edit monitor.. BUT...
When i watch the raw footage, the jaggies arent there.. in Mediaplayer, everything is fine.. on output thru the faw file, its not there.. only thru vegas is it there..

3. are all the settings for interlaced / progressive correct?
((yeah... ive tried various settings, from file level through to project level.. the only way i can get it to work properly with proper proportions in Vegas (and ONLY Vegas) is to use square pixels (768x576) which isnt standard...
but more importantly, its ONLY from footage taken by the DVX100 (PAL)
Now the camera is fine, ive tested the footage on other editing suites as well as other capture devices.. but the footage thats being taken into vegas shows these Jaggies..

now, ive just opened up Vegas5.. threw the same clip at the exact same point lo and behold this problem doesnt exist...
Its just V4...

I mean ALL the settings ARE identical.. in Vegas four AND Vegas 5.. so why isnt it working for me in Vegas 4.......
Im using a pal aspect of 1.0926 for both apps, the base file is the also useing this ratio...

I still cant decipher where its coming from but the only workable solution is to use Square pixels.... which is something i DONT want to do..

I mean im SURE someone has had this phenomenon??

I agree with you Glen, Very informative and well put together. Great job Gary!!!! I missed the Easter egg:-/ Please share how to find this for us who are a little on the slow to find things side...:-))

WHICH version of Vegas 4 you have running? I remember they
had a fix for the DVX in one their updates. Then again if it works
under 5 your at least saved yourself for now.

Can someone please tell me what the 'Ken Burns' effect relates to?

Thanks
Neil

yeah i know, but ive had to re-render another project, which is slowing down my workload...

not happy.. but i do recall the DVX update.. i thought the update was for the 24p pulldown???

by the way, im running, 4.0d Build 2.05

That should be okay. There was one newer release, 4.0e but
I think Edward mentioned this only had the Sony name on there
and nothing else was changed. Can always try it out, ofcourse.

Otherwise this might be some sort of PAL bug (there still is one
in the capture application in regards to PAL) that just never was
fixed in 4.0. Who knows.

Basically, it's just adding movement to the images: Zoom in, zoom out, pan across...

I explain how to build this type of slidesow in my newsletter (link under my name). Very simple in Vegas using Pan/Crop.

Here's what changed betweeen 4.0d and 4.0e (besides the "Sony" name)

Notable fixes/changes in version 4.0e
URL flip metadata commands are now supported when rendering to RealMedia 9.

A bug has been fixed that caused gain reduction when track envelopes are used and the pan mode was set to Constant Power.

A bug that prevented Vegas from closing some DV files has been fixed.

A bug has been fixed that could cause Vegas to crash when pressing the Down Arrow key when the Master bus fader has focus.

Before computers it used to be done using something called a 'rostrum camera' which is familiar to any of us who have worked in traditional animation.

About the rostrum camera (http://www.animationpost.co.uk/doping/4-rostrum.htm)

its really bloody wierd to tell u the truth..

i mean i cant explain these vertical lines.. but ive ALWAYS had them..

Thanks for the feedback.

I've d/l all your newsletters Ed.

Many thanks once again
Neil

Oh c'mon- if I told you how to find it...it wouldn't be an easter egg now would it! lol

Hint- it's on Disc 2, chapter selection menu.

I am not very happy with any of the results I get encoding my avi files with Vegas 5.0 CBR or VBR. My bigger but is the quality of high lights that tend to break -lose detail-

I work mainly in Pal with DV captured with a Panasonic GS400.

Have you tried any third party encoders that will give better results, or Vegas mainconcept is as good as it gets. I have read lots about Canopus procoder, but for $600 is too expensive. TMPGEnc maybe?

This is my first post at this forum and I come from a non English speaking country so sorry for any incorrections.

Andrés
Madrid

No, I guess it wouldn't be an easter egg if you told me. I was one of those kids that followed other kids and picked up the eggs that fell out of their easter baskets. I guess that's why I had to ask you where it was :-))

How do you do that? I'm very new to vegas and am trying to get the film look as close as possible so can someone help me out please?

Mitch

Procoder is the only software encoder I've found that is equal to or better than, Vegas MC 2pass encode.
If you aren't happy with the encodes, I'd suggest it's pilot error and not the encoder. Vegas implementation of the Main Concept tools is about as good as it gets without going to hardware. I wish that Compressor on my Mac was as good as Vegas.
Anyway, Procoder does a great job. On VCDHelp.com, there is a shootout between most of the major encoders, and Vegas was one of 2 winners. Procoder was the other.

There is a tutorial or 2 on this very subject on the http://www.vasst.com/login.htm site.
Look for the "Getting a Film Look in Vegas 4.0" tutorial. You can search by author too. (DSE)
Edward also offers a script you can purchase that does much the same thing as what's in my tutorial.

Josh, why use the Windows Media Encoder? Why not use the Vegas encoder? It's much better, has far better preprocessing. It's slower, but who cares?
Go to Tools>Burn>Multimedia CD. Burn an MPEG 2, Windows Media,REAL, Quicktime, whatever you want directly in there. You can also include a player installer if you need to, or are worried the judges won't have a player.
As far as the lagging...have you tried a different media by chance?
DVD or CD, if the avi file (which is actually compressed if it's DV) is only 944 Mb, getting it to 700Mb is easy as breathing. And the datarate should play off of anything.

Why do you think de-interlacing and converting to 24p will give
you a "film look" (whatever that is exactly). I'd suggest you read
the threads in our "film look" forum as well (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=34)

Keep in mind that there is also an Canopus ProCoder Express
which should be cheaper. TMPGEnc (cheap) is also a good
encoder as is CinemaCraft Encoder.

The ProCoder engine is definitely better than the MC Vegas one
and CCE should be better as well. Not sure about TMPGEnc.

www.canopus.com (ProCoder)
www.cinemacraft.com (CCE)
www.tmpgenc.net (TMPGEnc)

You can always try the trials for CCE & TMPGEnc.

www.doom9.org (guides)
www.vcdhelp.com (guides)

Note: I wrote earlier that CCE also has a free version but it
looks like that has been discontinued. Only trial and full product
(which last I heard is still expensive).

The film-look script is FREE.

Vegas 4 version (http://www.jetdv.com/scripts/RC3_VegasFilmLooks.exe)


Vegas 5 version (http://www.jetdv.com/scripts/FilmLook(Vegas5).exe)

Mpeg 4 IS included in Sorenson Squeeze but not the "lite" version.

yeah, procoder expres is about $50US does everything apart from batch render and afew other "pro" features...

but as DSE says, teh main concept encoder is actually really good depending on how u use it..

Ive done 2 and half hour 4.7gb VBR discs which ive tests on a high def Plasma screen with no excessive noticable artefacts....

IM actually quite surprised at teh results considering the speed in which this encodes.. procoder IS good, but it IS slow..

Can you use Vegas on a PC that has shared video memory?

I went to Sony's site and under Vegas specifications it doesn't say that it can't be used with shared memory.

I'd appreciate your views.

it can.. shared video memory is basically your video card leeching resources from ur ram and cpu...
So when configuring your ram setting in vegas, leave a bit of a buffer so ur GFX card doesnt die :)

I've never said the Vegas MC encoder is bad. It is actually quite
good. I do think (personally) that ProCoder and CCE are just
better, that's all.

Acid Pro 4 AND Volume 1 of the Vision Series...

which is bloody awesome value if u ask me..

Also, SOny have released a hacked down version of Vegas+ DVDA 1... its Vegas Studio + DVD
Looks quite good.. nice lil consumer package dumbed down a lil and good for those wanting to get into vegas but were to afraid to take teh full plunge.. it also has a walkthrough tutorial (like the Factory series)

If anyone wants mroe info and theyre in Oz, drop me an email with their fone number :)
Id be more than happy to go through the details with you.. i mean thres not that many people in Oz who use Vegas as much as id like.. lol

Thanks, but on Rob's advice, I've arranged for a friend who's decently close by to burn it to a DVD.

When I having the lag issue, I actually WAS playing it off my hard drive, not off the CD. That's why it bothered me so much, didn't seem like it should lag being played right off the HD.

Regarding Windows Media Encoder: A long time ago, I complained about not being able to get a good file size/quality ratio from Vegas 4s encoder, and someone on here pointed me toward the Windows Media Encoder, so I've been using it ever since.

After I burn this DVD, I'll come back and screw around with the suggestions you guys have given me.

I'm at the early stages of purchasing a new PC for Vegas for personal/recreational use. Anyone have experience with ABS and specifically the Awesome 5500?

So far I like what I see from ABS. All standard parts and decent prices.

Thanks.

You can check them out on resellerratings.com

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1431.html

Their rating is kind of average, although much better than Dell's (~4.1/10).

Some people also like Monarch Computer.
They charge you street prices for parts plus a build fee ($50USD).
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller2079.html

The only thing bad I heard about Monarch is that they may take a little time to ship.

2- From basic configurations, you might want to add more hard drive space.

Don't get Creative sound cards... they're not very good for video editing. Something like a M-audio revolution will give you better quality sound. On-board sound is ok too if you aren't audio savvy.

I needed to print a small 5 minute Vegas 5.0 project to MiniDV tape so I selected the footage on the timeline and clicked on Tools/Print video to DV Tape. I've done this numerous times with no problems but now, no matter what I do, I get the same error.

First try-the pre-render ran and then when it was just about done, I received the following message: "An Error occurred while creating the media file Error 0x8007001f (message missing)"

So I rebooted, and tried again with the same message. My next attempt was to render the project to a separate AVI using the Huffy Uv Codec. Then I took that .AVI and created a new project, selected the footage and tried the same thing with the same error message. I don't know what else to do. I have plenty of disk space available and a powerful machine using WinXP with 1.5 gb of memory. I'm stumped but I seem to recall something like this happening in the past but can't remember.

Glenn, thanks for the great info. The reselerratings.com web site is an excellent resource. I'll take a look at Monarch.

I agree with you on Creative sound cards. I'm planning on purchasing a M-Audio 5.1 or 7.1 card.

Anyone else have recommendations for a PC integrator?

Thanks.

Sorry but I feel stupid now and can't delete the post. The camera wasn't in a ready mode ... it was on but I had opened the tape door on my camera because the camera shuts off after a few minutes to save power. Opening the tape kept the camera on until ready for rendering.

I Simply needed to ensure the camera was completely ready even though I hadn't made it to the final prompt in the process.