three more questions
 

So now when I got laptop and Vegas and soon I will get hard drive ....

1)What speakers do you guys reccomend?

2)Do I really need monitor? Maybe just my laptop screen will do? If I need monitor,which one should I get? Any suggestions?

3)I found on SONY site that to edit with Vegas I got to have a MICROSOFT DIRECTX 8 - what is that?

Thank you very much,

VOYTEK

?
 

How to register? Make a phone call,right?

Voytek

I've done some editing on a laptop. Editing on the screen is fine. However, I usually view the screen on an external monitor. But I HAVE done complete projects on only the onboard monitor. This one has a 60 Gig internal drive but life got MUCH easier easier after adding an external 120 Gig drive.

As for your system specs, it should edit video just fine. I would get more than 60 Gig external if you can afford it.

XP should already have a sufficient version of DirectX. Just try Vegas on it first and then, if it doesn't work, worry about updating things.

Voytek,

I've had Vegas running smoothly on a Dell Inspiron PIII700 with only 256MB.

A monitor will be beneficial but not an absolute necessity. Video looks different on TV to how it looks on a PC monitor so if you don't mind the extra gear then I get a monitor, 13/14" is good but even a smaller 8" will do the job. A TV will do the job to get you started but if you want something better then look at Sony, JVC, or Panasonic broadcast monitors.

DirectX is a multimedia plug-in that is freely available from Microsoft, actually they are up to DX9 now. You can download it here.

:)
 

So as soon as I get my Vegas shipped to me I will test it without external monitor and the only stuff I will buy will be external hard drive.

Do you know any online places or maybe stores in NYC I get get one? What company would you guys reccomend?

voytek

B&H, one of our sponsors, carry everything you need.

Most computer speakers won't be much good since they aren't very accurate. Some of them have resonant frequencies, have extreme bass+highs to make music sound better, or lack bass+highs.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...171<br /> and
http://www.digitalprosound.com/2002/...r_shootout.htm
have some budget monitor recommendations. The two sources also happen to contradict each other. You might want to move this to the audio forum on dvinfo.net and see what people suggest. It gets even more complicated: you will need an amp to drive your speakers (more $$$). And also a reasonable sound card (can be a PCI sound card like the M-Audio Revolution or a USB one). Not only that, you will very likely want to get a decent room to mix in. Jay Rose's books (see dplay.com) have information on the subject, as does Auralex (http://www.acoustics101.com/). They contradict each other a little.

Or you could just rent a good studio.

You should probably search old threads on NTSC monitors. They're expensive and let you accurately see what colors your video are. If you're on a budget then getting one may not be worth it.
A step down would be an industrial monitor, and a step further down would be:
a commodore monitor (they have S-video input once you get the right adapter)
TV with S-video input and/or manual controls for adjusting picture
just any TV

Edward, 4-channel footage & Vegas
 

Ed I noticed your post on the VU forums about shooting with your XL-1 in 4-channel mode. I just invested in a new camera (PD-170) and a wireless system (UWP-C1). I believe the PD-170 has a similar ability to the XL-1's 4-channel mode...the audio is switchable between 32khz and 48khz. With 32 I think it can record two separate streams (in turn 4 channels).

How, exactly, does Vegas handle footage shot in 32khz (4-channel) and are there any specific changes I have to make to the capture preferences before attempting to do so?

Also, doesn't it lower the overall sound quality to compress to allow a second stream? To me- redunancy may be a better choice especially when capturing monumental 1-chance shots like the vows. Thanks in advance!

Hi Glen,

As far as I know, Vegas doesn't support 4 channels capture (could be a nice added feature for the upcoming version 5).

I personnaly use Scenalyzer Live to capture footages with 4 audio channels. Scenalyzer is an inexpensive capturing program that put the second stereo stream into a wave file while capturing video and stream 1 in an avi file.

You can then import your clips in vegas for editing.

I use Scenalyzer Live to capture all of my 4 channel stuff. I use Vegas Capture to capture the the other tapes. Vegas cannot see the secondary audio tracks.

If Scenalyzer Live would accept a manual batch capture list, I could use it full time.

If VidCap would capture stereo 2, I could use it full time.

Kind of a catch-22 situation.

Well here's hoping it's added in 5!

You might want to look here before you buy!

http://www.videoguys.com/vegasvideo.html

Videoguys definitely has some good deals going on right not. Also, follow the links. Anyone purchasing a box version of Vegas right now can get a $50 rebate.

Please help with an audio question
 

Hi

I just purchased a Samson UHF Micro 32 Wireless Mic to work with MA200 and my XL1s. It sound great but I have one small problem and that is when I plug the wireless mic to the "Left" Audio1, the sound play on left speaker when I play it back and if I plug the mic to the "Right" Audio1 it will sound on the right speaker when play back. Is there a way that I can make it sounds on both speaker?

Thanks for your help.
AP

Sorry, just realize that I posted in the wrong section

which hard drive to buy?
 

I bought Vegas DVD yesterday and now I am looking for an external hard drive.

I checked MAXTOR and WESTERN DIGITAL. I will edit on my laptop and will need probably 120GB.

My question is: should I buy USB or Fire Wire disk? I just do not know what is the difference. Or maybe having laptop connected with my camera I can only get one of those. But which one: USB or the one which can be connected via USB and Fire Wire?

Thank you for explanation.

Voytek

USB2. Though, you can get some drives that are USB2 and Firewire.

is this one ok?
 

LET ME KNOW IF THIS ONE IS OK...


Maxtor Personal Storage 5000DV - 160GB 8MB 7200RPM (1394/USB 2.0 Combo) New Low Price!

Our Price: $200.00
8MB Cache and both FireWire® (IEEE 1394, i.LINK®) and USB 2.0 interface ports. PC and Mac compatible.


160GB Capacity

Flexible Dual Interfaces:
- FireWire, i.LINK, and 1394 compatible
- USB 2.0 & USB 1.1 compatible

IF IT'S OK I WILL BUY IT.
THANKS,

VOYTEK

The first thing I do is plug a "Y" into the plug in which the mic is connected and record the signal on both tracks of the stereo channel on the MiniDV tape.

Since you've already taped, right-click the audio track, choose Channels, then pick left only, right only, or combine as appropriate.

Capturing 16:9 but want to put it to 4:3
 

Hi all,


i got some editing to do with footage that was shot in 16:9. I want the final product to be in 4:3.


Any tips before or when capturing it or anything in particular that i should know , iM new to the 16:9 format.


Thx a bunch in advance


Phil

or a more efficient way might be to let it run on left...
then run the onboard mic on ch2...(right)

during edit, u cna select which cannel to switch from as ed has explained..

on top of that, if anythign happens to your wireless, youll have the shotgun recording to work with... its a failsafe method used by many, and i for one wouldnt work any other way :)

You basically have two choices:

1. Pan and Scan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan
2. Letterbox it

I've never done it but I think you could use track motion to pan and scan. It might be a bit tedious.

Letterbox would certainly be the easiest - do a search here, should be lots of posts on technique.

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.co...ssageID=257603

Check the links within the posting above for some additional advice.

I can't advise on the drive you mention but I CAN tell you that I have a problem with my WD 250Gb drive conflicting with my Canon GL2/XM2 (different sources suggest the camera or the drive)

Voytek: that's the same drive I have. Both USB2 and firewire
seem to work fine. I did find the drive a bit slow, but I'm not sure
if this is the drives fault or my firewire / USB connections (I can't
do an accurate USB test since I only have USB 1 here).

It has worked great with Vegas and all of my DV work.

<<<-- Originally posted by Peter Jefferson : or a more efficient way might be to let it run on left...
then run the onboard mic on ch2...(right) -->>>

When I do this, I'm recording 4 channel: Stereo 1 = on-camera mic and Stereo 2 = Wireless (Y'd to both channels). Sort of the "best of both worlds"

how can I make the sound morph with slow-mo?
 

when I do a velocity envelope to make a clip slow motion the sound says at the same rate, how can I make the sound slow as well?

thanks

Not sure what you are looking for but there is a time stretch in the audio fx package----keep it between 75% and 115% and you shouldn't have a problem. Hope that helps.

Ill give that a try!

thanks

EXACTLY!!!!!!

and it works fine too :)

Audio does not have a velocity envelope similar to the video. However, you CAN change the speed assuming you want ONE constant speed change. Hold down the CTRL key are resize the event.

anyone doing Vegas in Denver Co
 

Would like to get some help on some stuff I'll buy lunch..

Thanks

Vince

You might want to look at my newsletters, Gary Kleiner's DVDs, DSE's DVDs and Book, and asking questions here.

Can you make CD using DVD Architect??
 

Hello,

Something I never have tried yet, but have wondered about, and now may have a need for.. Can I use DVD Architect to create a menu based CD(not a DVD) ??
It would have 2 buttons, one launching a picture slide show, and the other palying a piece of video that is 30 seconds long.. (surely this will fit on the much less capacity of a CD versus a DVD)


Thanks,
Mike Moncrief

Not exactly sure but I think DVD is the format you will have to wrk with not CD.

In other words you an do anything you want AUDIO wise but will still have to do it on DVD to be played in a DVD Player even if it is just Music.

Thanks Edward ..You have already helped me I got another ILink card its working now

haning fun playing ...pretty cool to edit video on a 599.00 Dell

Thanks

Vince

DVD Architect cannot burn to CDs. However, there's no reason DVD Architect cannot create files small enough to fit on a CD. However, there's no guarantee that it will play in your player.

Not sure what you mean by a menu-based CD but:

You can make a music compliation DVD with DVDA

You can make an audio CD with Vegas.

Gary

There are two official formats basically:

1) DVD with menu's

2) VCD (2.0?) with menu's

Most DVD authoring packages do not support making VCD's
with a menu, but some do. A VCD is a movie encoded with
MPEG1 at lower resolution than DVD and put onto a CD. DVD
uses MPEG2 at full resolution.

Now there is also something we call "miniDVD" where a full
DVD structure is put on a CD. You can't put much footage on
such a disc and it won't play on most players.

I would stick with either DVD or VCD 2.0 (you need a VCD menu
creator or something like that).

Problems with a reframing job ...
 

Hey all. Well I had applied a "widescreen" mask to a 4:3 project I had completed and had some problems. I have some cuts from MS to LS etc. and sometimes when I do this, a single frame will have the original positioning if I hadn't moved the frame inside the widescreen mask at all and then the next frame is where I moved the 4:3 picture in order to reframe items. When I go frame by frame there seems to be no problem but when I render out, it has a few jerks. They are almost unnoticeable but I can tell and it bothers the hell out of me. Thanks guys!

Why not just apply a mask on the top track? That way it would EVERYTHING beneath it.

Or for simplicity, render everything out and then apply the mask?

Recommended system requirements
 

I am considering buying Vegas 4, which would be my first major NLE software purchase. I know the minimum requirements as listed on the Vegas site, buy I was wondering what current users would consider the recommended requirements as far as processor speed, RAM, HDD, etc.