cineform and vegas 6
 

I've noticed vegas 6 is selling for 99 bucks. It includes the cineform codec I think but not the associated softed "connect hd". So generally, how does one use the codec without the software?

V6 comes with the codec ... so you would capture HDV thru V6 .. then you would drop mt2 clip in TL and render out using cineform codec ...

if you had connect HD - you could use it to capture HDV and at same time convert mt2 to cineform .. you have choice to keep both files or just keep the cineform ...

also connect HD can be used to convert any mt2 to cineform file .. i believe connect HD uses VFW which makes playback a little easier on processor & provided other benefits ( check cineform site)

Basic Vegas online tutorial?
 

Hi,

I'd like to train someone who has no experience in editing to use Vegas and I remember seeeing a simple very basic online free video tutorial that I thought was done by Sony but I haven't been able to find it since after a couple of days of searching.

Does anyone know where it might be? It was about 10-12 pages and covered just the real basics of Vegas editing.

Thanks.

Tony

That sounds familiar...

Did you check the download pages for the older versions of Vegas? I'm thinking V3 or V4.

Seth was right. It was Vegas 3. The tutorials (24.3 MB) are at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/dow...p2.asp?DID=375
There's also some Vegas 5 stuff (taken from the Vegas 5 and DVD Architect 2 Seminar Series) at http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/sup...sp?prod=vegas5

Thanks very much, guys!

Problem recording sound into timeline
 

I am having a real problem here. I can record sound through my microphone (Videomic) but there is a tremendous amount of hiss and the voice levels are quite low. I have searched this and other forums in search for help without success.

I have a Realtek AC97 sound card which I understand isn't great. I don't need professional results but I am looking for something decent which I am not getting.

I am using the Mic Boost in the advance settings. The hiss disappears when it is not selected but so does the recording sound.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Curt

Selecting nested events
 

I am discovering the delights of nested projects while cutting a trailer. A small problem I have run into is how to select events in the nested project. Say I have multiple sound tracks and I only want to copy some of them. What is the easiest way to get to the event in the nested file from the timeline containing the trailer?

There is a very long and technical answer why you're getting all the hiss by using the mic jack on your sound card but it won't come from me because I don't know. I have a vague idea why but it's not enough to warrant me posting about it with any authority.

What I do have is a work around.

Cheap and quick work around: Talking with your team mates while playing those on-line games is a necessity. Manufacturers have made headphones with built in mics. If you want to capture just the voice audio these work, not professional but do-able. My Altec Lansing AHS515 cost $40. Test it with boost on and off but I've always had my boost on. I use it to do BTS commentary for the movies my team makes with me. Sound has always been fine for that.

Expensive and kind of worth of it: On the low end you can buy an mp3 recorder (think iRiver T30 series $150 USD) and record to that. More expensive is Sony's MZ-M100 recorder (I bought one of these and like it a lot $400 USD). Sound is only going to be as good as your microphone though. There is another one but it's more expensive than the Sony. I don't remember the name of it but I've seen pro audio guys talk about it being the best solution. The nice thing about this set up is that it's totally portable. Set it up in a studio controlled environment (think moving blankets and quiet room) or take it on location.

Hope this helps some.

Tony, you might also have him check out the "Beginner's Corner" series in my newsletters.

Vegas editor needed in Seattle area
 

Hope this does not break any forum rules. I have an instructional DVD project that I need to get finished. I just don't have time to do it and need to hire a pro.

TIA,

Konrad

Right-click it and choose "Edit Source Project"?

That does not select the event; it takes you to the beginning of the timeline, so you have to search the nested file for the particular event.

Themes, Buttons, Backgrounds - GONE!
 

I was attempting to download some themes from the Sony website. Following directions, I downloaded them to the DVDArchitect\Themes folder. When I started DVDA, the new themes were not showing, but the old ones were all there. I used the explorer window in DVDA to look at the themes folder for the new ones, but they were not there. I then used "my computer" to look in the folder and the new ones were listed. When I went back to Architect the Theme, Button, and Background tabs all were empty with text "No Themes(buttons,backgrounds) Available."

Is there anyway to get them back, short of re-installing DVDA? Thanks - PK

How do you do this?
 

I have a clip and want it to go from black and white to normal color. Can vegas 5 do that? what are the steps?

Hi Brian,

My method would be to use an instance of the Sony Black & White plugin on the video track or clip you want to affect.

At the beginning of your clip you'll want a FX keyframe with the plugin level at 100% (ie 100% b&w) and at the end of the clip add a second keyframe with the value set to 0% (ie off, or full colour).

Ian . . .

I have a USB shuttle, but no luck, the problem still persists... perhaps it is solved with the new Vegas 7?

Besides, I only have the problem with HD files, SD-files work fine. If it was a constantly outputted keystroke, SD would suffer the same problem...

I also use Vegas 6.0d and I have not noticed this problem.

Tonight I will load an HDV take into the trimmer and play it.

Do you have trouble on the actual timeline? I am not having any of your symptoms on the timeline.

Yes, since the problem does not appear with SD takes then it probably is not a random keystroke. However, just for a test, remove your USB Shuttle.

DVD A has two themes folders: "themes" which has a series of "thm" files and "_Themes" which has a series of folders (one for every "thm" file in the other folder). You need the "thm" files in the "themes" folder and they automatically populate the "_Themes" folder.

Indeed, i failed to mention the most important part: When i take the file out of the trimmer and onto the timeline, the problem is gone... i.e., the problem is only when playing back from the trimmer...

Hate that trimmer anyway. .. I know its not great work flow, but I just trim it on the time line....

is this enough gig?
 

We have an hour and 44 minute project we need to do. It's in 10 sections now and we need to compile the 10 sections together end to end with simple titles for the sections and brightness and contrast correcting. Oh, and possibly some minor audio level changes.

It wouldn't seem there would need to render too much right? The guy uses vegas and has one gig of RAM. He doesn't know if that's enough RAM to render it all. Is it? He says for really big projects it only gets about 50% through and stops because he doesn't have enough RAM. But since there isn't many effects or anything, just brightness/contrast correcting and titles I thought maybe it would work.

Anyone know?

Also, is 80 gig enough to hold an hour and 44 minutes of footage?

You should be fine with only 1 gb of ram. I have rendered feature length movies hundreds of times with only 1 gb of ram.

Are you attempting to perform a Dynamic Ram Preview?

I recommend that you use "File|Render As" to render your project.

To turn off "Dynamic Ram Preview":

"To turn off dynamic RAM previewing, enter 0 in the Dynamic RAM preview (max) box on the Video tab of the Preferences dialog."

Dear Werner,

I attempted to duplicate your problem.

I am using Vegas 6.0d.

I used a ".M2T" file from a Canon XL H1, then captured it using Vegas' internal capture program. Then I rendered it using the Cineform software included with Vegas 6.0d.

Then I loaded the take into the trimmer and played it with Video Preview on.

I did not have any problems.

as a reference, 1hour of DV equates to 13gb...

how to author in DVDA for PC viewing?
 

So far I have only authored two DVDs in DVDA and they are fine if viewed on an stand alone DVD player, the main menu appears and all is selectable from there as authored. Opening the DVD on a PC all kind of files are dipalyed, though if I remember correctly choosing the first video file might lead to the main menu page as well.

My question:
How to author a DVD in DVDA so that, when opened on a PC, it shows a window with a custom made file structure, or even better the main menu page?
( In the WMP one can choose to go to the main menu page, but I want a DVD to open so that anybody who does not know much about computer and how to use software can access the DVD's content easily. )

Don't most PCs come with a software DVD player now - wg PowerDVD, etc?

When you install it will usually come up in the list of "what do you want to do" when you insert a DVD.

Ian

Weird. I'm using 6.0d also, but I was using the .avi-files from cineform (large - progressive, it's from a JVC GY-HD101E)

Let's just hope the problem is solved with the Sony Vegas 7.0a version...

All the ones I've authored for DVD players also play correctly in computers. It sounds like that computer is set up to "explore" the disc instead of "play" the disc. Assuming the computer had DVD software installed, you should be able to get it to play as well.

1Gig should be plenty. The only time I've really seen RAM be an issue is if you're using a LOT of LARGE photos. Is that the case? If yes, you might want to pre-render those sections before the final full render.

Personally, I disagree with dropping the RAM Preview to zero unless there's some specific reason to do so (i.e. using a plugin like WAX). Even then, I would go above zero before rendering.

I agree, you should not have to set Dynamic Ram Preview to 0.

This was only included so you could perform a test. I was worried that you were doing a dynamic ram render instead of a normal render.

Thanks for the reply. Is this the type of problem that replacing the soundcard with a better sound card would fix?

I should add that the hiss experienced is substantial. When Vegas is armed to record, the green graph bars extend more than half way across, all from the hiss. Adding voice through a mic only bumps the bars a bit even though the volume is turned up.

This would suggest your pre isn't hot enough. Vegas doesn't add gain during record. You need to do this at the input of your mic, which is likely your Blaster or other sound card controls.

Split up track into two? (multicam issue)
 

I have a two cam shoot here and I want to color correct each cam differently. I am using DoubleTake for the multicam part and it's done 1.5 hours of a kids playing music badly ;) Is it possible to not only expand track layers but to split them... since I bounce from one cam to the next the expanded view has one cam on top and the other on bottom.

Any suggestions welcome.

Do the color correction on the EVENT - not on the track. Then when it's copied to the master track the correction will be copied as well.

I thought of that.. but it's a 1.5 hour concert with LOTS of cuts.... I guess I could do a copy and paste attributes after highlighting the rest?

You could also repair/correct in the Media Pool and that will apply the correction to all events stemming from the original clip.

That's excellent... I didn't know that!

is there a keyframe feature on the sony b&w filter? I couldn't find it. I'm using vegas 5.

Brian,

When you open up the b&w plugin there should be a timeline with keyframe tools at the bottom of the plugin window (maybe the window got resized?).

Bizarrely, I just uninstalled v5 about 30 minutes ago, having upgraded to v7 so I can't check this, sorry!

Ian . . .