OT , Pixelan with bezier event in Vegas
 

Hi all,


Don't know if it is OT but named it that way just to be sure.

Well I have an event in which I bezier out a gentleman , further on on the timeline he will move to the left of the screen and disappear. I want to use Pixelan for the dissolve but I only want it to affect the bezier section.


Any way to get it around so it behaves so?


Thanks

Phil

Vegas5 & DVDA2 Do not recognize my DVD Writer
 

Hello,

I have upgraded to a new computer recently and now Vegas and DVDA do not recognize the new DVD Writer, it is a NEC 3520A, and windows/ windows medial player recognizes it. The operating system is winxp sp2, the system is an AMD A64 3200+ on a dfi Nf4 ultra motherboard. Vegas is running fine, it just has a blank pull down box when i try to extract from CD. Same issue for DVDA when trying to burn a DVD.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Matt

The biggest problem is that Sony has always been painfully slow at upgrading DVDA's burner capabilities. I think you'll find that most folks (myself included) use DVDA to prepare the file but use another app (Nero, RecordNow, etc.) to do the actual burning.

Mike

Thanks,

But I have the same recognition problem in Vegas when trying to grab music from a CD. Seems like it just doesn't recognize the hardware in either program.

One way to fix this is to get Sony's Sound Forge. This is a really pro application that is nicely integrated with Vegas. It has every manner of filter and equalizer that you could want. It will fix your problem. The down-side is that it costs about $150 to $200, but I've found it to be worth the price, as getting really professional sounding audio is important to me.

60i in 24p timeline for smooth slow motion - settings questions!
 

I have searched my butt off and found partial answers here, on dvxuser.com, and in Barry Green's book/DVD, but I have some specific questions.

I'm making my movies to be watched on NTSC TV's from a DVD. I'm using Vegas 6.0, and I'm shooting 24PA most of the time.

1) By "24p timeline," do people mean I should be starting with Template set to NTSC DV 24p (720x480, 23.976 fps)? Or should I be starting in a NTSC Standard (or NTSC DV??) 720x486, 29.970 fps and changing the frame rate to 24.000 fps or perhaps 23.976 fps??

2) Do I set deinterlace method to Blend or Interpolate? (or 'None'? though that seems wrong)

3) Do I set it to deinterlace upper or lower field first - and why does it matter? (Or do I leave it at none/progressive, though that seems wrong... ?)

Thanks, hope this helps out more people than just me!

Sorry Matt. I missed that part in your original post.
The only time I 've seen what you're experiencing is when someone didn't have full administrator rights on the computer. Just taking a stab in the dark but could that be the case here?

Mike

If you have Vegas 6, it supports something called VST plug-ins. There's a free de-esser (the audio term for the problem you're having) for download at http://www.digitalfishphones.com/mai...em=2&subItem=5
called Spitfish. Hope it helps you.

Mike

Thanks Edward,

However, I filled in everything in those spaces and it is the following
Clip:UBA High Risk Music Video
Author: UBA
Copyright: Jupiter 2005
Playlist: Playlist 1

I need somewhere to write the name of the song which is Mudvayne- Not falling but I can't find it.

Video you put into Vegas can be:
interlaced (upper field first, AKA odd) -
interlaced (lower field first, AKA even) - i.e. DV; the lower field should be displayed before the upper field.
progressive

2- Let's say your Vegas project is set to progressive, because you want to make stuff for the web (progressive is correct for audiences viewing on computers).

Suppose you bring in footage shot on DV. Vegas will usually see that the footage is lower field first.

Vegas will want to de-interlace that DV footage so it matches the project settings. The de-interlace method is something you can set. Blend fields blends both fields together; interpolate discards one field and uses the other to make the progressive image; none makes Vegas not de-interlace the footage.

None is appropriate if you want to use Mike Crash's excellent de-interlace filter instead of Vegas' de-interlacing. Mike Crash's filter gives the most resolution.


Does that make sense?

Dan: Not really sure if Vegas 6 installs it by default. I don't think it's worth worrying about anyways.

If anyone doesn't have it, they can google mike crash's website.

I believe the filter is donationware, so that could be a problem if Sony is adding their name onto it and not telling people that donations to mike crash would be appreciated.

2- Try cranking the filter to 30. You should see motion artifacts appear where there's motion. It's that ghosting/trailing effect.

Cool, that makes sense, thanks!

What about question 1 though? :)
about which Template and possibly frame rate to use to get smooth slow motion from 60i footage:

<<I'm making my movies to be watched on NTSC TV's from a DVD. I'm using Vegas 6.0, and I'm shooting 24PA most of the time.

1) By "24p timeline," do people mean I should be starting with Template set to NTSC DV 24p (720x480, 23.976 fps)? Or should I be starting in a NTSC Standard (or NTSC DV??) 720x486, 29.970 fps and changing the frame rate to 24.000 fps or perhaps 23.976 fps??>>

Thanks all

Here is where you can find Mike's plugin:

http://mikecrash.wz.cz/


This plugin does NOT come standard in Vegas.

I use SF for audio, too, and it integrates nicely into Vegas. But doesn't Vegas have the "Multiband Dynamics" audio filter installed with it? If so, it has a good de-esser preset. Maybe this is something that was installed with SF, I'm not sure.

Dear Glenn and Edward,

Thank you for the information.

Yes, I am using Mike Crash's plug-in. Sorry, but I just did not remember downloading Mike Crash's Dynamic Noise Reduction plug-in. After some research, I did discover that I downloaded the plug-in from Mike Crash's website.

Here are the results of my experience. I was really pressed for time and needed to remove the video noise for some of the scenes.

1. I had the entire moive on one timeline (one video and one audio track). I used the track fx to select Sony's Dynamic Noise Reduction, with a threshold value of 0. This eliminated a lot of the video noise. I rendered this to an AVI file.

2. I opened the AVI from Step 1 and applied the Dynamic Noise Reduction again (with a threshold value of 0). This second step worked wonders.

I assume that I have some side-effects from performing Steps 1 and 2, but I can find them if they exist. I do not have any visible ghosting or smearing.

I realize that it would have been better and safer to just apply the filter to the scenes that had the problem, but I did not have the time to do this on a scene by scene basis. The results were great.

We had the World Premiere of our movie, The Battle of Aiken, last night. The movie was well received, but we had a very friendly audience.

Thanks Brian, that's what I was looking for. Vegas does have "Multi-Band Dynamics" and I found the de-esser as an option. Works great.

Thanks to Mike and DJ too, I learned more. Since I got these BX8s and can hear better, I have all kinds of things to learn about audio.

Same problem.
 

I've got this issue working with Sony Support. AMD 64 4800 dual core, etc, with the NEC 3250. There are no driver updates I could find. Neither V6, DVDA3, nor DVDA2 see the drive.

Meantime, I rip my CDs with WMP and burn my DVDs with Nero Recode (after authoring and "preparing" in DVDA3).

You'll find the odd post here and there about this drive and Vegas, no solutions I've found other than the workarounds.

Darryl

Big difference from 4 to 6?
 

Is it worth me getting 6? ive learned 4 pretty good and is it alot different and worth upgrading?

Read my April 2004 newsletter to see the difference between Vegas 4 and Vegas 5. Then read the April 2005 newsletter to see the difference between Vegas 5 and Vegas 6. That should give you the major differences from 4 to 6.

As Edward said, read his newsletters. But if you're lazy and just want someone to tell you what to do - then yes, upgrade :). Not for 6, cause I think 6 is really a ripoff, but for 5.

Aaron

Ah, but 6 has that totally new way of handling 24p pulldown conversion which looks really good, AND is capable of editing HD. So not so much of a ripoff if those things are in your future.......

Yes, the feature that makes Vegas 6 a worthwhile upgrade for me at least is the frame rate conversion. Vegas 5 and earlier treat interlaced footage like every other non-linear editor: like 30 interlaced frames. Vegas 6 treats interlaced footage almost like 60 progressive frames. This makes a huge difference on frame rate conversions. 24p looks as clear as the 60i starting footage (which of course is still not as clear as native 24p). NTSC/PAL conversions look MUCH better now as well. PAL to NTSC is so good, I wish I had a had a PAL camera. I'd shoot PAL all the time and convert it to NTSC, and use the extra lines of resolution for rendering widescreen versions and deshaking.

Well that is a real bummer. Please keep me up to date with what Sony has to say about this issue. (I have been logged on with administrator rights when seeing this issue)

Unfortunately I do not have Nero or any other burning software, so I can not burn a DVD. I know of some free CD ripping tools, are there any free DVD burning tools anyone could recommend?

Nero 6.6 for US $79.99
 

http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html

Hard to beat, not free, but quite an ensamble. I only download and use the first 2 packages of the 4 bundles. Nero Recode will take your authored DVD Video_TS and drag the Audio_TS with it, then burn quite nicely. Let me see, if memory serves, click, click, click, click, burn. Darryl

Compressing mpeg2
 

I need to compress an mpeg 2 file to fit onto 1 dvd. Can Vegas do this or do I need a separate software?

Tricky PIP (for me)
 

Hello hello,

I've shot some basketball footage (2 cameras) and am trying to get a particurlar PIP effect. Both shots started full back (wide? haven't got the jargon down yet), while a player was at the free throw line. One camera zoomed in to catch half the amount of information. His reaction while the ball was in flight was very interesting (no, no, no...yes!), so I'd like to put that in the top right hand corner.

My problem is that the zoomed shot doesn't keep him in the centre of frame (and he moves some) - so I can keyframe to follow him, but this just gives me a track with a small picture that moves over various areas of the second track. Is there any way I can keep this in the top right of the second track?

I've been playing with this for awhile, but no luck - can anyone offer a suggestion?

Thanks,

Steve

Use Pan/Crop to zoom and pan and follow the player.

Use Track Motion to actually create the PIP.

Vegas can do it but you'll be much better off starting with the original (i.e. non-mpeg2) footage. However, it is quite possible for Vegas and/or DVD Architect to recompress an MPEG2 into a smaller MPEG2 file.

How would I go about doing that? I tried setting the quality to about half but it keeps rendering to the same file size.

Thanks Edward. It appears I'll have reposition many times in track motion, but it works perfectly.

Leave the quality slider set at full. The only parameter that determines final file size is the bitrate.

John

Thanks - boy do I feel stupid
 

Well, it turns out that my problem was a stereo to mono cancelling problem that Edward suggested. After taping I noticed that one channel was alot noiser than the other channel. So, after reading the section in Jay Rose's book about Stereo similiation with comb filters, I thought I would give it a try. So I go to Sound Forge and try Process>Channel Converter>Mono to stereo - invert phase psuedo-stereo - thinking it was also use a comb filter. Well, just as advertised, it just does a phase inversion, so when you add up the two channels - you get zilch :)

I then when back to Jay Rose's website to download Stereoizer (written by Timothy J Weber) which does the comb filter. Ran my mono track through that and now I get sound out of the TV.

So, not only did I learn a new thing about audio tricks, but I also learned that my DVD-to-TV connection is just mono. After looking at the back, I realized that I have a coaxial cable going from my DVD to TV. I always thought the DVD-to-TV connection was stereo.

One more thing (maybe Edward can help me again). When you run Vegas and Sound Forge, you have two choices when it comes to editting your audio:
1. Open in Audio editor
2. Open copy in Audio editor.

I usually use Option 2, make my changes in SoundForge, save, and the new audio appears in the Vegas track. I noticed the update .wav file, so I assume that the original .avi file's audio is unchanged.

If you use Option 1, make the changes in SoundForge, and save - is the original .avi files audio altered permantly?

Thanks again,
Isaac

Sorry for the double post - can someone delete this please
 

Well, it turns out my problem was a stereo to mono cancelling problem that Edward suggested. After taping I noticed that one channel was alot noiser than the other channel. So, after reading the section in Jay Rose's book about Stereo similiation with comb filters, I thought I would give it a try. So I go to Sound Forge and try Process>Channel Converter>Mono to stereo - invert phase psuedo-stereo - thinking it was also use a comb filter. Well, just as advertised, it just does a phase inversion, so when you add up the two channels - you get zilch :)

I then when back to Jay Rose's website to download Stereoizer (written by Timothy J Weber) which does the comb filter. Ran my mono track through that and now I get sound out of the TV.

So, not only did I learn a new thing about audio tricks, but I also learned that my DVD-to-TV connection is just mono. After looking at the back, I realized that I have a coaxial cable going from my DVD to TV. I always thought the DVD-to-TV connection was stereo.

One more thing (maybe Edward can help me again). When you run Vegas and Sound Forge, you have two choices when it comes to editting your audio:
1. Open in Audio editor
2. Open copy in Audio editor.

I usually use Option 2, make my changes in SoundForge, save, and the new audio appears in the Vegas track. I noticed the update .wav file, so I assume that the original .avi file's audio is unchanged.

If you use Option 1, make the changes in SoundForge, and save - is the original .avi files audio altered permantly?

Thanks again,
Isaac

FX questions
 

Hi all,

I have a few questions about Video and Audio FX that I would appreciate some help with.

1. First of all. what does FX stand for (is it short for effect) ?

2. There is Video Event FX, which applies to the individual event. Then there is Video Track FX, which applies to the whole track. Is the order of application to the .avi file Event FX, then Track FX?

3. On the video previewer, there is Video Output FX. Is this applied to whole project? Is this the best place to use the Broadcast Colors FX if you want it applied to the whole project?

4. So, when you render to .mp2, I just want to make sure that the order that is applied to the .avi files is Video Event FX -> Video Track FX -> Video Output FX

5. I just noticed that the default Audio Track FX is not empty, but has Track Noise gate -> Track EQ -> Track Compressor already in the plug-in chain. Do most people here use this default Audio plug-in chain, or turn it off? Also, what exactly is FX Automation?

Thanks in advance,
Isaac

1. First of all. what does FX stand for (is it short for effect) ?

Yes. FX = "effects"

2. There is Video Event FX, which applies to the individual event. Then there is Video Track FX, which applies to the whole track. Is the order of application to the .avi file Event FX, then Track FX?

Effects can be added in multiple places: Events, Tracks, Project, Media Pool. Look at my "Scope of Effects" article in Vol 1, #12 of my newsletter.

3. On the video previewer, there is Video Output FX. Is this applied to whole project? Is this the best place to use the Broadcast Colors FX if you want it applied to the whole project?

Yes.

4. So, when you render to .mp2, I just want to make sure that the order that is applied to the .avi files is Video Event FX -> Video Track FX -> Video Output FX

Search for "Video Signal Flow" in the manual. It's on page 35 in the Vegas 5 manual. Should be close in the Vegas 6 manual.

Media on track -> Velocity -> field order/frame rate/alpha channel -> MEDIA FX -> pre-pan/crop fx -> Pan/crop -> post pan/crop FX -> transitions -> pre-compositing track FX -> Track fade envelope -> etc....

5. I just noticed that the default Audio Track FX is not empty, but has Track Noise gate -> Track EQ -> Track Compressor already in the plug-in chain. Do most people here use this default Audio plug-in chain, or turn it off? Also, what exactly is FX Automation?

These are standard on audio tracks but are "off" by default. These are commonly used on audio tracks so are added by default. This can be changed if desired.

Automation allows you to change the affect over time via envelopes. Not all audio FX supports automation.

25p to 24p
 

Hello. I wish to convert a 25p video footage to 24p, so i can see what it will look like when it is later transfered to film.

So how do i do that in Vegas without supersampling and those things.

I want to do it as it is done in the transfer facilities. Play the 25 video a slower so it goes at 24 frames per second.

It should be easy but i don´t know how to do it in Vegas.

Thanks

Vegas is Dropping Frames!!!
 

I'm finding that randomly Vegas is dropping frames read from AVI files on my RAID array. The files are MidVid MJPEG encoded, 1280x720. Other programs don't read the frames as black, only Vegas, and it appears to be random. This is extremely frustrating. Any ideas for a solution?

Mpeg2 Compression
 

I am working on a 115min(1hr 55min) project and fitting it on a DVD has been a learning experience. Considering the render time if you didn't make the correct calculations.

I found that Ed Troxell's newsletter on this subject to be very informative. I believe it's Vol 1 issue 7.

I am currently encoding my project with a bitrate of 5,000,000 Max, 5,000,000 Average and 2,000,000 Min to see if it will fit on a dvd.
Yesterday, I encoded 6,000,000 5,000,000 2,000,000 and it was 4.8gb dvd project, just a little too big.

I will post my results of my new render.

Jon

The average is the key. You can leave the max at 8,000,000 and be fine. But change the AVERAGE as indicated in the chart. For example, for 2 hours I will use roughly 4,800,000 for the average. Looking at the chart, it looks like 5,000,000 should be sufficient for 115 minutes. Also, this is assuming AC3 audio!

Did you look at the actual file size? Or were you looking at the DVDA estimate? DVDA tends to estimate large and if you know the file sizes are OK, do a prepare anyway and see how large the result really is.

Ed. Thank You!

My footage is HS football and I am sure it will be mostly 5,000,000 .

It stinks that I didn't render the dvd anyways. I already deleted the original render too, ouch!

I will let it finish rendering, only 4 hours to go :(

Hopefully, it will fit. These long render times are killing me. I will have 9 more 115 minute clips to do, so once I figure out the correct settings, I will be happy!

Thanks,

Jon