Printing to Tape - Failure...Help?
 

I created a HDV project template to edit my HDV 1080 60i footage from my Sony HVR-A1U. I captured the clips using HDV Split - perfect. I rendered each of those .m2t files as a Cineform intermediary 1080 60i (avi). I edited everything with the intermediaries and all is well.

Then I want to print back to my Mini-DV tape (in standard def). I change the properties of my project template to NTSC DV Widescreen, progressive, and field pixel aspect ratio of 1.18 (because for some reason 1.2121 leaves slight black borders on the sides).

Anyways, I turn off my computer, connect my firewire to comp first, then to my camera (which is turned off). Then I turn on my computer, then turn on my camera. I open up Vegas, and go to tools > print to tape (DV). I try to go through the stuff, but in the end, all the options are greyed out. I can't do it manually, can't do it with crash record, or anything.

Why are all the options greyed out? I've tried putting my camera on all the modes (recording, photo, and play/edit) - all still don't work (all fields greyed out).

Help? I've done it once, but back then it was extremely frustrating and tricky too. I don't know why this print to tape thing is so hard.

When I try the second method (print to tape using the capture app, instead of print to tape from timeline), it says Microsoft AV/(something) subdevice or something isn't turned on. What is that? I have my camera connected properly. In any case, I can't print to tape at all.

Thanks for the feedback. The interview "hiss" was on material I was given and a lavalier was used. The subject spoke so softly that I had to increase volume - thus causing the hiss to surface.

Vegas 5 and software similar to Apple Motion
 

I had a chance to play with Apple Motion recently and I can say that I'm impressed.

Does someone offer something similar (price, functionality etc) for Vegas?

not really..
closest thing to the motion particle engine is Particle Illusion.. actaully you can use Particle Illusion emitters IN motion.. so i believe theyre the same engine in fact.. im not sure, ill need to speak to Lawrence about that.. ((lawrence is teh guy who invented Particle Illusion)

The closest thing to the Compositing tools would be Combustion (another tool which ALSO shares the same PI engine... )

Some say that Fusion is great, but im yet to dive into that one due to time restrictions on my workload..

IMO, if you want a fast and dirty way to get some great effects, PI is the way to go. If you want a comprehensive package, with particle sand compositin, motin compensation, tracking yadda yadda, combustion is the way to go.

Motion is dirt cheap for what it is and for what it can do, and i think THAT in itself is more of selling point for it,than anything else.. as most FCP user will be using motion.. hell Mac users really dont have THAT much of a chocie compared to Win users when it comes to this sort of thing..

Another thing, is that Wondertouch are soon to be releasing (for tha last 18 months now.. lol) a Particle Illusion plugin for After effects.
After effects is a great tool.. i hate the interface as adobe and i dont like each other.. and all my own adobe stuff breaks on me.. but my clients seem to love it.. I thik it picks up that i am a vegas nut and decides not to behave for me..

Ive seen fusion in action and im very very impressed. The engine on that bugger is ASTOUNDING.. its particle engine is very differnt to PI and is much more photorealistic, couple that with (IMO) some of the best keying tools on teh market, and you have a great package also.
Combustion is STILL king for keying IMO..

Peter

Thanks for the info. I'll try a demo of particle illusion. I really like motion's price point and the way it integrates with FCP.

Any chance of Sony developing their own version of Motion?

HA

never dude.. theyd find something that worls well first and then BUY it out.. maybe after the intergrate it.. but with Sony, u never know..

I agree motion is good, however i dont liek the idea of being stuck with th choice of one NLE simply because im using a mac.. thats my biggest gripe..

the codec management and performance in FCP are awesome.. i mean were talkin multitracked DVCProHD100 running on software only... offering very close performance to a Matrox Axio in fact..
The only thing that sux is the FCP workflow... compared to the Vegas workflow, it sucks long and hard IMO... but thas not what this thread is about so i'll shut up.. lol

LOL am i THAT much of a nerd??

Callled
 

I called and asked them that very question by phone and I can verify that you are correct.

decompilers
 

There are decompilers out there. I'm not sure if they'll work with protected stuff, but the other day I needed old footage off a DVD that didn't exist anywhere else (from an old shoot) and it decompiled fine.

On a side note, that dvd wouldn't import in Vegas either for some reason.

Anyway, try to Google "decompilers", and if you still need help, let me know. When I get in in the AM I can see what decompiler I got and let you know the exact name.

nested effects, animations and actionscripts
 

I've done some work this way, and nexted animations and actionscripted effects don't work. This pretty much blows it for a direct conversion, although I have an app somewhere that I bought that does it frame by frame. The results aren't exactly broadcast quality however.

You can do this with generated media, compositing, and 3D parent track motion but it’s a lot of work are you really have to be well versed in 3D track motion to pull it off. It would be much easier to use a 2D animation program or hire an animator to do it.

~jr

When you say 2d do you mean simply sliding a fixed object across the screen or can I have say 4-6 versions of the same object with the stick legs in different positions so I can change them out in succesion to make it appear that the bird is walking. The bird itself is 2 dimensional.

Jeff

I have found that if I IMPORT from the DVD and mpg file is created that is fine. But on one DVD I decided to just bring over the VOB and although it played - the sound started out ok and then progressively got out of sync as the clip plays.

Any ideas as to why that would happen? I just did a straight copy to the HD.

stills in widescreen problem...
 

Editing my first widescreen wedding with Vegas 6 and even though I've got the stills I'm using at 720X480, and it all looks fine when I preview the project in Vegas, when I render out to wmv for my site the stills don't conform to the same letterboxing that all the video does. I've checked and unchecked 'maintain aspect ratio' and am unable to figure this one out. Is it just because I'm rendering into wmv format, or will I have the same problem with the final render to widescreen mpg?
I'm clueless here...

Yes, totally. Just animate in the traditional way...

Work up all of the cells that you need in photoshop. Just the chic on transparency (Vegas works with Photoshop transparency with no problem), then save them as sequentially numbered images.

Imposrt them as a sequence, then use track motion to move the chick across the screen.

Legs move, chick moves, that's it. It's traditional animation!

DJ

ok, sounds great.

I have never done an animation before. Any comments on how I can learn to do this if I have all of the parts?

Jeff

This won't help in the traditional way, but I just want to say that photos have always given me fits. I've resized photos again and again in Photoshop, changed pixel aspect ratio, and it's always a case of accidentally stumbling across the right settings. Suddenly it works and I leave it alone.

Matching pictures to video has always been a major problem for me.

Looking forward to a straight answer on picel aspect ratios and size.

DJ

Glad I'm not the only one, DJ. I achieved some success by changing the template in pan/crop on the photos, but I still get a pic slightly taller than the video when outputting to a wmv. I also think part of my problem is that I'm using 3d on the track. I'll let you know if I stumble on the right solution here.

windows media is square pixel, you're starting with non-square pixel.
you can tick the "stretch to fill" at render, and you won't see those borders, or you can preview it at square by right clicking the Preview Window and turning OFF "simulate display device etc"

My head hurts! Need help on aspect ratio and compression
 

Hi all

I've put this in the Vegas forum because thats what I use and I want to refer to some Vegas menu options.

I need a bit of help getting my head round aspect ratios and compression. Aspect ratios first...

I live in PAL-ville by the way....

OK - I know that a PAL picture size is 720x576 - which is a ratio of 1.25:1. I also know that pixels aren't square. For a 16:9 project you have to multiply by 1.4568 = 1048/576 = 1.82 - er which is just over 16:9 - but I think this is something to do with hidden pixels - so not too bothered about that.
When I render in Vegas in as either PAL DV or PAL DV widescreen I get exactly the same result when viewed back in Windows Media Player - a correct proportion picture. How does Media Player know that this is a 16:9 file - does the render process put a flag in the file. Because my under standing is that computer pixels are square - therefore I would have expected to see a picture 1.25:1 format. I guess Media player simulates the 16:9 by using more horizontal pictures? Which takes me onto compression....

If I render as n uncompressed avi I DO get a picture in media player with a ratio of 1.25:1 (I measured it!!!) and it looks vertically stretched. Oh and I almost ran out of disk space!!!!

If, after I render, i want to put the output file thorugh another standalone program (to deinterlance for instance), sn't it best to save it as uncompressed so that nothing is lost when taken into the stand alone program? Or would you render as PAL DV in Vegas and then render as uncompressed in the next program in the chain - or am I just losing the plot?

Finally - there is a template for PAL DV and PAL Standard - I can't see the difference.

Sorry it's a long one guys!

Ian

Just when I think I'm getting my head around 16:9 technical stuff, you set it spinning again. See recent discusssion here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...719#post476719

Sorry about that Chris.

I'll have aread of that thread.

Also - just to avoid any confusion (er, any MORE confusion) - I'm shooting using a 16:9 camera.

Ian

Yea, when I say 2D I mean cell animation. Product’s like Bauhaus Mirage will allow you to do onion skinning so you can see the previous frames in the animation and line them up properly. I don’t expect you to spend all that money or time learning an animation package that detailed which is why I said, hire somebody.

~jr

Thanks for the info.

Jeff

You da man!
 

As usual you were 'spot' on. Thank you for bailing my sorry butt out once again with your editing expertise, DSE. Being my first widescreen project, I see I have a bit to learn about pixel shapes, eh?

Moho
 

I don't remember the website, you'll have to google it, but Moho allows for bones to be implanted in a 2D vector graphic, and then you can keyframe the bones to move the object, its an excellent piece of software for basic character animation, and you can learn it overnight. Highly reccomend it for this sort of work.

edit: http://www.lostmarble.com/

-raza

LOL,

I just don't know how you market yourself, shoot video, edit, keep up with everything there is to know about Vegas and the wedding industry, and still manage to participate in these forums it seems 24/7.

I'm beginning to think you are an android....

I have had the same burdens especially with broken edges and fast motion. I have worked it out though with a cool guy from Sony. My m2t files have to be loaded onto timeline and rendered to intermediate codec. Work with those files and render to NTSC DV stock or 720p 2,3. Those are the only two that work for me. Every other combination, and i mean hundreds of "custom" combinations are horrible. Interlacing issues and bottom field first wiped me out for weeks. I rendered a 10 second motion clip 51 diff times and saved the output to compare the only two options were as listed. Sony has stated they have some .exe conflicts with xp background files that can play havoc with renders. I have the email if its needed identifying the conflicting exe's

Have you tried Vegas own "Film Effects" Fx?

You get : Jitter; Dust; Scratches; HAIR!; Flicker and Dust .!!

Plus there are Templates for "very Old Film"; "Low Quality Colour"; Circa 1908 and 1980.

Try 'em

Grazie

Did you try the VLC player?

Decklink HD Extreme - no Vegas support
 

Previous versions of Blackmagics Decklink HD Pro were compatible with Vegas for both capture and preview - the new Decklink HD Extreme is not.

The HD Extreme needs the 5.1.1 drivers - Vegas can only operate with the 4.8.1 drivers. We learned the hard way - and I think Blackmagic could be a little more clear on this issue on their site...

It seems to me that Vegas has no native SD uncompressed 4:2:2 support - Premiere Pro has and works perfect with this card.

/Magnus

hey Grazie, what would be good would be to have all those standard ol film fx AND maybe a script interface to access teh sample rate.. all in the one filter... now THAT would be good...

as for me being an android... well i can tell u one thing, i dont dream of electric sheep... lol

Oh another not so bad film look is the Magic Bullet MisFire.. awesome quality, BUT, not cheap (render and cash wise) BUT, for the same money, u can grab Edius Pro3 and do virtually the same film filters all in realtime... I actually use Edius as an FX box simply due to its performance.. edius as an NLE.. well.. i wont comment.. but neither of these will emaulte that frame skipping youre wanting :)
Again, vegas is king..

I wonder if we can put 50fps XDCam HD footage and undercrank to 0.50 to get full realtime slowmo... hmm...

HDV Dropped Frames Problem!
 

Just got my FX1e and shoting in 1080-50i now. The playback on the FX1e looks great when I tested it on a CRT TV. (I cant imagine the beauty on a HDTV yet!) However, the workflow below gives gives an average one drop frame, why?

1. Import to Vegas6d via Firewire, internal HD capture.
2. Render to cineform intermediate 1080-50i.avi
3. Import avi on timeline, edit and render.

I notice the drop frame in the avi. I am checking on the m2t now. I used a new Panasonic Pro tape (it isnt HD). I thought if there are drop frames I should notice it during my playback on the TV? If yes this means it occured during the capture. I'm capturing direct to my internal 300GB HDD enabled with DMA. My PC is 3.0GHz single core, 2GB Ram. Please advise, I have a wedding in 2 weeks!!

Cleaning up Vegas templates/presets
 

Whilst learning Vegas and doing various projects, I have saved various set-ups as (1) render templates, (2) video track fx presets and (3) event pan/crop presets.

Now that I'm through with many of those user-saved templates/presets, I would like to clean up those menus and delete the ones I no longer need. Unfortunately, despite searching this forum and the Vegas instruction manual, I have been unable to discover how to do that.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Open the Effects dialog or Render As - Custom dialog. Now select the preset you no longer wish to have. Click on the "X" to the right of the preset name. Repeat until all unwanted presets are gone.

Thanks very much Edward (I never even saw that "X" before).

I am an idiot.

ive done a heap of RnD for flash into PP2, best export is SWF from
flash then do a conversion to Uncompressed AVI. using a third party prog
(AE, or free ware tools) Then import.

If you do a Flash export to UNcompressed AVI any animations in MC's will
not show up.

Black levels to high
 

I am having problems with programs edited in Vegas 6d and burned through DVDA3.

Default PAL settings to render the program to mpeg2 eventuate with a washed out image, sharpness of image is lost [expesially when compared to the original] and the black levels are to high [ie not black].

With the help of a friend on another group I tried setting to CBR 8,000,000 and Best setting 31.[this is in PAL]
Analyzing it, I see the black levels are still too high, ie not black, the image lacks contrast [possibly because of the reduced black level] and saturation is down.
Also I notice the pans and tilts are not smooth, a slight jitter in pans, even slow ones, and on a static shot with objects moving across screen.

Also an interlace flicker. The type you get when doing an NTSC / PAL conversion- you can actually notice the interlace lines on moving the top and sides of objects. Yet all this has been done in the what seems to be correct PAL settings in Vegas and DVDA 3.

All scenes were colour corrected using Vegas 6d CC, Secondary CC, vectorscope and waveform. We see that the scopes are set to Studio 16-235. Our DVD's are for screening on a TV, not computer screens so should we uncheck that box? I just did so and notice the blacks are now upped about 10%, from 0% when checked for 16-235 setting. After all we did do the CC for 16-235.[7.5 IRE is not checked as that's for NTSC right?].

Another test. Rendered the same CC'd timeline to avi then to tape. The scenes fed to the same monitor [same as used for DVD to screen] shows better contrast [better blacks] and better colour saturation. So peeling back the layers, it appears i have a problem in the transfer from Vegas timeline to mpeg2 render or in the actual burn.

BTW, how valuable do you find the Colour Curves Fx plugin? I've just used it and it looks like a very efficient way of getting good results quickly.

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Try adding the color corrector, with the "studioRGB to computerRGB" preset. Burn a DVD and view it on the same monitor. Do the levels look right then?

2- Wrong field order may explain why you have interlace artifacts? Try the other field order in that case.

Thx Glenn

We are already in PAL land where I have set the fields to Lower first. I haven't done the test yet [reversing the field]. Why would changing it help when the PAL default is lower?

When changing the CC to "studioRGB to computerRGB"...wouldn't that change the colour/contract to look its best on a copmuter moniotr...which is what i don't want. I need these programs to be seen on a Tv screen.
hx very much anyway.