Vegas Video discussions from 2005 (Q1Q2)

Rob Lohman · November 18th, 2004, 04:27 AM

This was done on Vegas 5:

For the vertical flip do the following (everything will be flipped).

1. go to "track motion"

2. give "angle" under "rotation" a value of 180
(make sure "enable rotation" button is pressed)

-OR-

2. right-click in the schematic on the right and
choose "flip vertical"

I couldn't find an easy way with trackmotion to add 16:9 letter-
boxing (it was stretching the picture instead of cropping), but
if you go to my letterbox calculator you can download a mask
for 16:9 from that page. Make a new track above your current
ones and drop the mask in. Get it here:

www.visuar.com/letterbox/calc.htm

1. add the .GIF to a new track ABOVE your other tracks

2. right-click on the GIF in your timeline and go to properties. Go to the media tab and set the pixel aspect ratio to "0,9091 (NTSC DV)" or "1,0926 (PAL DV)" (whichever applies) and OK everything.

3. now change the tracks compositing mode from "source alpha" to "Multiply (Mask)"

And you are done! You can stretch the event to as long as you
need to cover your complete project length. You can also shift
footage up or down underneath these black bars.

Kyle Ringin · November 18th, 2004, 03:02 PM

Gary,
I was refering only to the addition of a mask and not 'reframing' the shot (Hugh got his response in while I was still writing mine...).

While I haven't actually done what you say (reframing vertically) I agree it would soften the image somewhat.

Hugh DiMauro · November 18th, 2004, 03:10 PM

So then, if I want a pristine image, just shoot 4 x 3 and shut my hole?

Kyle Ringin · November 18th, 2004, 07:25 PM

If a true 16:9 camera or anamorphic convertor are out of your price range (or not really warranted for your production), you can either crop in camera, crop in post or shoot with a fake anamorphic 16:9 (or just use plain 4:3).

http://members.macconnect.com/users/...een/index.html

This site explains it all pretty well as I recall.

Fred Finn · November 18th, 2004, 11:48 PM

THANKS ROB!!!!

Hugh DiMauro · November 19th, 2004, 06:45 AM

How do I crop in camera? I have the PD 170 and doesn't that use a crappy anamorphic squeeze?

Tung Bui · December 18th, 2004, 10:25 PM

I currently run a p4 3Ghz processor with 1G of ram.
I like to do alot of previews during editing. Will increasing ram to 2G significantly improve the speed of ram renders? On the preferences menu you can alocate as much ram as you need so will doubling the ram halve the speed of ram renders or is it a law of diminishing returns?

Also what is the difference between a pre-render and a ram render? is one faster then the other or do they look different or does one use cpu power and the other just ram?

Why does the pre render disappear after you play with the time line? isnt it prerendered to a temporary file? so why doesnt vegas keep that file for later use if needed?

Edward Troxel · December 18th, 2004, 10:29 PM

Shouldn't reduce the speed of them but WILL increase the possible length of them.

Ram Render renders to RAM - Pre-render renders to the hard drive.

If you change something that affects the section of the timeline to which the pre-render applied, the pre-render will be "lost" (technically the file is still on the hard drive). That's why many people prefer the "Render to New Track" option instead.

Tung Bui · December 20th, 2004, 10:51 PM

Thanks Mr Troxel.
I'm slowly working through your dvd guide which I think is very helpful.

Chris Moore · December 24th, 2004, 01:46 AM

I have purchased the academic ver of vegas 5 + DVDA 2. Vegas registered fine DVDA acts as if it registers then say i have 14 or whatever days left. next time same thing anyone have this problem. Should i just call sony?

Edward Troxel · December 24th, 2004, 06:57 AM

Call Sony Tech Support and they should be able to walk you through solving this problem.

Bob Costa · December 24th, 2004, 07:05 AM

Calling is best. If you can't get thru you may try re-registering with your firewall/antivirus disabled.

Brian Bechard · December 24th, 2004, 10:31 PM

I need more screen real estate in vegas...I'm looking at the plethora of dual display cards out there and frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choices. Would I benefit from buying a high end graphic/video card w/ dual display capibilities...or should I just buy a cheaper dual head card? Do these high end "gamer" graphics cards help out with render times for effects in Vegas? What do I need here?

David Mintzer · December 24th, 2004, 11:22 PM

NO reason to buy a high end video card. Lots of people use the Matrox duel head cards without incident.

Glenn Chan · December 25th, 2004, 12:02 AM

The gamer cards don't help at all for Vegas.

Get something cheap and quiet (passive heatsink... look at pictures) and with the right outputs (DVI, VGA, etc.) and hopefully with a DVI-VGA adapter if necessary. ATI, Nvidia, and Matrox all make dual monitor cards. I recommend Nvidia since they have better drivers (you can quasi-calibrate your monitor to NTSC bars and tone) and they are cheaper than Matrox if buying new. On eBay, there's lots of old Matrox cards that'll work and those are cheap.

If buying new, go to newegg.com and check out the geforce4 series cards (or the newer but slower performing fx5200 cards).

November 18th, 2004, 04:27 AM	#16
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	This was done on Vegas 5: For the vertical flip do the following (everything will be flipped). 1. go to "track motion" 2. give "angle" under "rotation" a value of 180 (make sure "enable rotation" button is pressed) -OR- 2. right-click in the schematic on the right and choose "flip vertical" I couldn't find an easy way with trackmotion to add 16:9 letter- boxing (it was stretching the picture instead of cropping), but if you go to my letterbox calculator you can download a mask for 16:9 from that page. Make a new track above your current ones and drop the mask in. Get it here: www.visuar.com/letterbox/calc.htm 1. add the .GIF to a new track ABOVE your other tracks 2. right-click on the GIF in your timeline and go to properties. Go to the media tab and set the pixel aspect ratio to "0,9091 (NTSC DV)" or "1,0926 (PAL DV)" (whichever applies) and OK everything. 3. now change the tracks compositing mode from "source alpha" to "Multiply (Mask)" And you are done! You can stretch the event to as long as you need to cover your complete project length. You can also shift footage up or down underneath these black bars. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

November 18th, 2004, 03:10 PM	#18
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,205	So then, if I want a pristine image, just shoot 4 x 3 and shut my hole? __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.

November 18th, 2004, 11:48 PM	#20
Fred Finn Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Jackson, WY Posts: 178	THANKS ROB!!!! __________________ i am the muffin man.

November 19th, 2004, 06:45 AM	#21
Hugh DiMauro Trustee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Central Florida Posts: 1,205	How do I crop in camera? I have the PD 170 and doesn't that use a crappy anamorphic squeeze? __________________ Interesting, if true. And interesting anyway.

December 18th, 2004, 10:25 PM	#22
Tung Bui Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 101	dynamic ram preview I currently run a p4 3Ghz processor with 1G of ram. I like to do alot of previews during editing. Will increasing ram to 2G significantly improve the speed of ram renders? On the preferences menu you can alocate as much ram as you need so will doubling the ram halve the speed of ram renders or is it a law of diminishing returns? Also what is the difference between a pre-render and a ram render? is one faster then the other or do they look different or does one use cpu power and the other just ram? Why does the pre render disappear after you play with the time line? isnt it prerendered to a temporary file? so why doesnt vegas keep that file for later use if needed?

November 18th, 2004, 03:02 PM	#17
Kyle Ringin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 241	Gary, I was refering only to the addition of a mask and not 'reframing' the shot (Hugh got his response in while I was still writing mine...). While I haven't actually done what you say (reframing vertically) I agree it would soften the image somewhat.

November 18th, 2004, 07:25 PM	#19
Kyle Ringin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 241	If a true 16:9 camera or anamorphic convertor are out of your price range (or not really warranted for your production), you can either crop in camera, crop in post or shoot with a fake anamorphic 16:9 (or just use plain 4:3). http://members.macconnect.com/users/...een/index.html This site explains it all pretty well as I recall.

December 18th, 2004, 10:29 PM	#23
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Shouldn't reduce the speed of them but WILL increase the possible length of them. Ram Render renders to RAM - Pre-render renders to the hard drive. If you change something that affects the section of the timeline to which the pre-render applied, the pre-render will be "lost" (technically the file is still on the hard drive). That's why many people prefer the "Render to New Track" option instead. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

December 20th, 2004, 10:51 PM	#24
Tung Bui Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 101	Thanks Mr Troxel. I'm slowly working through your dvd guide which I think is very helpful.

December 24th, 2004, 01:46 AM	#25
Chris Moore Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Wentzville Missouri Posts: 59	DVDA 2 will not register I have purchased the academic ver of vegas 5 + DVDA 2. Vegas registered fine DVDA acts as if it registers then say i have 14 or whatever days left. next time same thing anyone have this problem. Should i just call sony?

December 24th, 2004, 06:57 AM	#26
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Call Sony Tech Support and they should be able to walk you through solving this problem. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

December 24th, 2004, 07:05 AM	#27
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Calling is best. If you can't get thru you may try re-registering with your firewall/antivirus disabled. __________________ You are either growing or dying.

December 24th, 2004, 10:31 PM	#28
Brian Bechard Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 94	Dual Display Card I need more screen real estate in vegas...I'm looking at the plethora of dual display cards out there and frankly I'm a bit overwhelmed by the choices. Would I benefit from buying a high end graphic/video card w/ dual display capibilities...or should I just buy a cheaper dual head card? Do these high end "gamer" graphics cards help out with render times for effects in Vegas? What do I need here?

December 24th, 2004, 11:22 PM	#29
David Mintzer Rextilleon Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Pleasantville, NY Posts: 520	NO reason to buy a high end video card. Lots of people use the Matrox duel head cards without incident.

December 25th, 2004, 12:02 AM	#30
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	The gamer cards don't help at all for Vegas. Get something cheap and quiet (passive heatsink... look at pictures) and with the right outputs (DVI, VGA, etc.) and hopefully with a DVI-VGA adapter if necessary. ATI, Nvidia, and Matrox all make dual monitor cards. I recommend Nvidia since they have better drivers (you can quasi-calibrate your monitor to NTSC bars and tone) and they are cheaper than Matrox if buying new. On eBay, there's lots of old Matrox cards that'll work and those are cheap. If buying new, go to newegg.com and check out the geforce4 series cards (or the newer but slower performing fx5200 cards).