I Really Screwed Myself On This One: DVD Help!
 

I have a very annoying story to relate I will try and keep brief:

Long before I discovered Vegas I bought Ulead DVD Workshop. I then discovered Vegas, and then had a chance to upgrade to the Vegas 5/DVD Architecture combo at reduced price. I opt only for Vegas 5. Baaaaaad mistake. Why? I figured I already have Ulead and decide to get their upgrade (I know, I know, the Vegas DVD thing would have only added fifty bucks). So I spend a not insignificant amount on Ulead's DVD2 Workshop upgrade. To make a very long story short, the upgrade discs just don't work with my computer(s). I exchanged a disc and still nothing. Yadda yadda etc. I wish I could now just grab the Vegas Architecture program, but it's now priced way high and I blew the earlier opportunity. So, right now I'm just too damn mad to use the basic Ulead program, and with the Vegas thing unavailable, does anyone have a suggestion for a wonderful >third< choice for DVD creation? I'm willing to write off this awful experience if maybe there's something else out there I can use with Vegas. I STILL want Vegas Architecture, but that's the way I rolled the dice. Anyone, pardon the rant; any suggestions welcomed.

Here is a link to download a section of video to see what I am talking about.

The widescreen footage looks fine, but the 4:3 is all squashed in the center.

When I pre-render this section and watch it through my camcorder connected to a 27" TV, everything looks great. But as soon as I render to MPEG2, it gets messed up.

Video Link:

http://www.alcanada.com/other/problem.mpg

Vegas Veg File:

http://www.alcanada.com/other/problem.veg

Thanks

I put several scripts along the top row like Excalibur, Tsunami, and Neon. Just find the functions you use most - that's what I would put on the buttons (i.e. jump to next/previous clip...)

Call Sony and see if they'll let you pay the difference for the upgrade.

You should probably put a hold on all software purchases, you sound like a crazy software addict :-p

And if that doesn't work, I saw this on another forum. Someone said it was good.
http://www.mrbass.org/dvdburn/

I have never used the program but it's free:-)

Unfortunately, the upgrade from Vegas 5 to Vegas 5 + DVD has now gone up significantly. You could try, as Michael suggested, calling Customer Support to see what they will do for you. Who knows, you *might* get lucky.

New Sound Forge book.
 

The new http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books Sound Forge 7 book is shipping now, written by Jeffrey P. Fisher. Amazon has a deal going for $17.50 Good book, low price, great Sound Forge information. Has some information relating to the export/import from Vegas to Sound Forge as well, not to mention the authoring of ACID loops.
Jeffrey is a terrific author, wait'll you see the new Instant VASST book on Vegas that Jeffrey and I are doing together. In the meantime, enjoy Jeffrey's newest book on Sound Forge! This is one book that isn't a rewrite of the owners manual. It's all tip/technique oriented.

Cool, I can't wait for the Instant Vegas book too.

Thanks so far for your suggestions.

What does anyone here think of DVDlab?

My settings are pretty much the default.

I do have the trim right point, left point and exit edit on the 3 buttons above the wheel. makes it easy to jump to event trim mode, jog with the wheel and exit. This is a great tool. While I can use keys for most stuff, just being able to easily move 1 frame to adjust some footage is great. I wish though that there was something in Vegas that would allow you to "enter" an adjacent trim mode (Not just hold down qualitier and if mouse is over a point, then you can adjacent trim). That way I could use the wheel for that too.

Aaron

Keep in mind that all DVD players can playback progressive since
it doesn't know there is any difference. The timing has just changed
between the fields, that's all.

It sounds like all went the way you wanted it to go.

I just checked my WinDVD and I see I can change the way it
does de-interlace, but it looks like I can't turn it off indeed. Hmmm,
I could swear the software supported that in an earlier version.

Sorry!

I would stick with the big names in DVD authoring Barry. And
first call Sony. Only start looking futher if they are not willing
to help you out.

What's with the fonts?
 

I've got Vegas 4, and Vegas 4 has quite a few fonts to choose from. . .


Or does it?

Some of them work fine, and some, when I select them, the text changes in the "edit generated media" dialogue box, but NOT in the Vegas preview window, which I'm assuming means that if I used that font, I'd just get nothing, or, more precisely, the font I selected before that DID change in the preview window. What's up with this?

audio data rate when rendering - 192 Kbps?
 

i am trying to make a dvd using vegas 5 + architect.

the way i am doing it is by rendering the project in vegas 5 into 2 seperate files, a video file and an audio file:
1. mpeg-2 DVD Architect PAL video stream (containing only video)
2. AC-3 Stereo DVD (containing only audio)

then i open these files in architect and create the dvd.

i just have a question regarding the rendering of the audio to AC-3 Stereo. in the "DESCRIPTION" box, in the "RENDER AS" dialogue (below the template menu), i noticed that the audio is data rate is set to 192 kbps. by entering "CUSTOM..." i have the option to select a higher data rate in the "Audio Service" tab . my questions are:

1. is there a particular reason that the default is set to 192 Kbps?
2. if i change that variable in the "Custom..." menu to a higher data rate, will i be affecting anything besides the quality of the sound? am i risking anything? will the sound be suddenly out of sinc or something of that sort?

1. is there a particular reason that the default is set to 192 Kbps?

No, this is a standard set by Dolby Labs. Reason is strorage vs quality

Mainly, this is used for larger projects and the smaller audio bitrate requires minimal disc space.. this is ideal for 2hour + dvd5's

2. if i change that variable in the "Custom..." menu to a higher data rate, will i be affecting anything besides the quality of the sound? am i risking anything? will the sound be suddenly out of sinc or something of that sort?

It will affect the size of the file as well as quality. Think of it as an MP3 (coz thats basically what it is)

David,

I just ran a similar test last night. We've been shooting in Canon's "Frame Mode" and I wanted assurance that MPEG progressive burned from DVDA2 would work in a standard Home DVD player. The burned DVD has 2 buttons on the menu (1 interlaced and 1 progressive of the same widescreen scene). Playback on a standard DVD player monitored on an NTSC TV was not significantly different for either clip. Motion interlace distortion seemed slightly more noticeable on the progressive clip, but this is probably due to the timing issues brought up by Rob.

Brad

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Rivadue : Thanks so far for your suggestions.

What does anyone here think of DVDlab? -->>>

Pegasys (same people who do TMPGenc) DVDLab is an excellent DVD authoring app for someone without DVD Architect.... which means I still prefer DVDA as it's selectable data/compression rate, selectable audio format (PCM, AC3 and Dolby 5.1) options give the best looking results while maximizing disk usage. DVDA's interface is a lot easier: i.e. intuitive than DVDLabs' in my opinion, let alone the fact that Vegas will write MPEG2 DVDA format video to make things even easier!!!

Brad,

Thanks for confirming my test results. Since my Elura can shoot in Progressive, I was considering always shooting and rendering in progressive. However, my target TVs are mostly interlace and one progressive capable set.

After not noticing much difference, I think I'm going back to shooting in interlace mode.

Another concern I have with shooting in progressive is the original tape footage. It seems like most consumer or pro-consumer miniDV cameras have dropped progressive scan mode. I don't know if my progressive scan tapes will play properly in a camera that doesn't support progressive scan.

I want ensure I can grab a few frames from my original source tapes regardless of the camera I'm using at the time. One of these days I need to run to a store and try one of my progressive scan tapes in a standard camera.

Lots of our progressive (frame mode) footage shot on GL2s has been downloaded to a computer on a JVC MiniDV with no progressive capability. The footage comes up in the media pool as progressive, so I don't think that should be an issue for you.

As far as the look of progressive vs interlaced, I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. the marketplace doesn't seem to have decided the fate of progressive vs interlaced HD TVs at this point. And as far as prosumer DV or HDV camcorders go, I'm not sure that progressive has been abandoned. It looks like it's here to stay (an opinion).

How do i stop DVDA from re-rendering files i dont want it to re-render?
 

I carry a Dolby TSA, so I can use their logo's and stuff.. but when I go to use that as an intro, DVD2 always wants to reprocess/re-render it..

Is there a way to stop this from happening in the disc optimization??

Any thoughts; ideas would be greatly appreciated..

I've used from project, other times I've used PAL (I'm in Pal land) but it always wants to change it.. and when i select to NOT re-render, (from yes to no in the drop down) it automatically switches back to yes..

not happy!!!!

Output file setting for burning a DVD on Mac iDVD?
 

Hey all, well I have a friend who wants his reel I cut together for him in Vegas 4 on his computer so that when he needs copies, he can burn some on iDVD (he's from South Africa so me burning copies for him doesn't work). I originally figured mpeg-2 made the most sense and would save him the render time only to discover that iDVD and his mac don't support mpeg-2 encoded files (odd). When I go to Quick Time, I can't get a reasonable file size (6.3 gigs for a 4 minute piece) or as soon as I touch compression, the file size and quality plummet. Any suggestions?

ok. so if i understand what you're saying, i should set the audio data rate to maximum (if i am interested in acheving maximum audio quality). and the only thing i have to worry about when doing so is not to exceed the DVD media available memory.

correct?

An Ebay scam? or steal? Vegas -$100
 

Can somone tell me if this is completely insane?...this person seems to be selling Vegas 5.0 and a number of plugins for under $100. When I ran on search on ebay for Vegas 5.0 this guy
(ebay# 3685837779) was at the bottom of a pile of other Vegas 5.0+plugins for the same price (#'s 3684897847 others) ...looked like some kind of wholsale thing. The only thing was, this seller and the other seller had the exact same page, exact same words, except the other seller had some bad feedback about bootleg and copied software. So I'm thinking maybe its the same guy, who just changed his identity to get rid of the bad feedback. He claims to be "reselling".
#3684897847

Something smells fishy...but at this price...should I care?

thanks
-alex

You should always care! Unless it is legal software, you should never pay someone for it. You are asking them to continue stealing and selling, after which others see how cheap it is and want to buy it too, after which others who sell it realize they can make money doing it, after which it spreads so rampantly that the software company cracks down and then raises the cost of their software for innocent bystanders who actually paid for the software to begin with.

It all starts with one person - you!

At the bottom of the auction it says this..

This software is FULL Version, NOT academic. It's not used neither registered, but not in Retail Box. I don't know if it can be registered. It's fully functional and working great without registering it. Sold As Is. I am just reselling it. These picture are for reference only. User Manual is included on CD for all programs that come in package.

If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

My guess is he is selling a copy of the 30 day trial.. All of his statements are true. It works great, for 30 days...

Stay away...

Alright, I was thinking that, but good to be sure. Thank you very much.
-alex

Okay, I resolved it; I phoned Sony and realized I was incorrect about the upgrade price--it was way less than I thought, and not greatly more than the original promotion--so I ordered it. Though it's still an added cost I wasn't looking for, at least now I'll have the Architecture program finally incorporated into my Vegas 5 program!

And Ulead owes me a few good lunches. :p

Josh: I've moved your post to the Vegsa forum.

Keep in mind that Vegas is just using the fonts that you have
installed on your system.

Do those fonts work in other programs like Word or other
graphics applications?

I'll have to check. I thought I posted in the Vegas forum in the first place? My bad.

Well it seems to think it needs to do that for some reason. I'm
assuming the logo's and trailer are already in MPEG? That does
not mean they are DVD compliant. DVD's use a strict subset of
MPEG2 and not every MPEG2 file fits that criteria.

Easy to test. Render some DVD MPEG2 with Vegas. Does it want
to recode that? No? Then the other MPEG is simply not compliant
enough.

What you can do is load those files up in to Vegas and render
out DVD compliant MPEG2 files. Then you can use those files
from that point forward without needing the originals. So you
only have to do it once.

One other reason I think this might be happening is because
dolby gives out there footage in NTSC? So if you are in PAL it
will definitely need to be converted to be used in a PAL project.

Hello,

If it is not boxed and cannot be registerd,then I would not buy it..
But it is possible to purchase a good copy of Vegas from Ebay if you pay attention to the details and ask all the right questions..I purchased my copy from there for a much reduced price than retail , and all worked out well.. Make sure it is boxed, not academic(unless you are a student), the seller has very high marks on his Ebay history, and that is is a registerable version of the software..

Mike

No, that is incorrect. From the DVD FAQ:Source: The DVD FAQ - Audio details of DVD-Video

So the minimum supported bitrate is 64 and the maximum is 448.
Personally I would stick with 192 or 384 because that seems to
be the most used out there.

Keep in mind that a lot of people cannot hear the difference or
have a good enough set to be able to hear the difference. Just
so you know.

Sounds like an illegal copy with a "crack" or something. Since
it does run according to his claims. Smells bad!

Vegas uses your default Windows fonts. However, not all fonts installed will work. True Type fonts will. Some others won't. You just need to experiment.

Thanks. I found a site called www.1001freefonts.com that has a ton of true type fonts, so I guess I can probably find whatever I need there.

Josh,

Thanks for the 1001freefonts link. It'll come in handy for my next project's titles.

also go and visit dolby.com for technical info regarding bitrates and encoding routines..

i thought about the PAL vs NTSC and i think thats the case, however im using the SAME intros in DVDA1 and i can easily skip this step and let it author the files untouched..

basically the TSA doesnt alow me to manipulate the material provided by Dolby.. :(

Well if you are in PAL land and you have NTSC footage there is
no way around that. Unless you can get PAL footage from them.

Anyway it should not matter much. If you do it correctly they
cannot see you re-rendered the footage.