Gearshift and Vegas HDV Questions

[Yi Fong Yu]

hi mark,

that's precisely what i have done, only what happens is that i get those two error messages when i tried to swap the real media out for proxy ones. so... i dunno what2do from thereon.

as of right now, i have to move on with my work, i can't wait for gearshift bugs to be worked out. i don't have time. i thought $50 will get me that DV proxy pronto, but i was wrong.

i'm currently rendering it all as cineform .avi's. when that's all done, i'll do my editing.

[Mark Bryant]

I'm not sure if I made myself clear. The steps I copied were your steps, and if that's what you did there is a problem with it.

1. capturing m2t.
2. place m2t onto timeline in vegas 6.
3. click on gearshit.
4. click on timeline tab.
5. select entire timline w/swap media on timeline checked.
6. click on gearshift.
7. select swap out real w/DV proxy (Problem is here. As you had swap media checked, the DV proxy has already been swapped at this point. Trying to swap it again would cause that error).

Mark

[John Rofrano]

Originally Posted by Yi Fong Yu

hi mark,

that's precisely what i have done, only what happens is that i get those two error messages when i tried to swap the real media out for proxy ones. so... i dunno what2do from thereon.

as of right now, i have to move on with my work, i can't wait for gearshift bugs to be worked out. i don't have time. i thought $50 will get me that DV proxy pronto, but i was wrong.

i'm currently rendering it all as cineform .avi's. when that's all done, i'll do my editing.

I must apologize for leaving this problem open for so long. (it slipped through the cracks) If you are not extracting regions, the best way to work with GearShift is to select the source files from the filesystem. This has always worked. I’m not sure why the timeline option is giving this error but I will work on this today and get you a fix.

~jr

[Yi Fong Yu]

hi mark,

what steps should i take if my steps aren't correct? how do you do it?

i also wasn't making myself clear. i'm running into problems in step#5. NOT #7. it doesn't matter what happens afterwards. the initial step of swapping out the real media for DV proxy doesn't work for me.

[Mark Bryant]

What I do:

1. capturing m2t.
2. place m2t onto timeline in vegas 6.
3. click on gearshift.
4. click on timeline tab.
5. select entire timline, swap media on timeline NOT checked. Select the same directory as where the m2t files are for the proxy location.
6. Click OK. Gearshift kicks off a render of the DV proxy.
7. Click on Gearshift, and click "Shift Gears".

You have to create the proxy first (this is what you do in step 5) before you can shift gears to use it.

Mark

[Mark Bryant]

I should add, the only reason I've started doing it this way is I do some rough cuts on the timeline first, so that the render to DV proxy is shorter and smaller. I've found this feature really useful, especially when I know I only want to use a small amount of the source material. Otherwise, I'd simply select the source files and convert them as John R suggested.

Mark

[Yi Fong Yu]

mark,

lemme try this @home when i get tonight. thx for the help.

john,

i tried doing that, it won't lemme batch render. haven't had any luck with it. it seems to be giving me errors @every turn after reinstalling fresh.

[John Rofrano]

I’m sorry you are having so much difficulty with this. Feel free to email me jrofrano [at] vasst {dot} com and we will find a solution to your problem.

~jr

[Yi Fong Yu]

mark,

i'm @home now. your step#5 isn't clear.

i did select entire timeline radial dial and then unchecked swap media. the problem is that at this point, i can't click on the render directory, it is greyed out!

so when i click on OK right now, THEN it gives me a warning message about how it needs a directory, THEN i can select the directory.

also, the HD media is changed to [none] cause i don't need any YUV or cineform avi files.

i just finished the render. on your 7th step, i did click on shift gears and there are 2 more options, 1 is to swap out dv proxy for real media the 2nd option is to swap out real media for dv proxy. neither worked with or without the swap media under timeline checked.

i can't f00l around any longer, i'm going to have to render cineform .avi's to try and edit by the weekend. wish me luck!

[Jim Montgomery]

Try this

1. capturing m2t.
2. place m2t onto timeline in vegas 6.
3. click on gearshit.
4. click on timeline tab.
5. select entire timline w/swap media on timeline checked.

Steps 1-5 are yours. After step 5 be sure that the HD Media pull down box is set to "None" then click OK. Gearshift will build the proxy files and replace your m2t files on the timeline with the proxies.

After you finish editing then

Click on Gearshift
Click on Shift Gears amd select "Swap out proxy media replacing it with real media"
Click OK

Your proxies sgould now be replaced with m2t files.

[John Rofrano]

The error in Gearshift is that swapping M2T files for DV proxies is not supported in Timeline mode. So GearShift should not allow you to specify HD Media=(none) with Timeline selected. You MUST render both HD and Proxy to use Timeline mode and have Shift Gears work.

My apologies for GearShift not preventing this. I will update it so that it doesn’t allow you to do this.

The reason you can’t use M2T files for the timeline render is because you can trim the events on the timeline but if only DV Proxies were generated, there would be no information to know the offsets into the original M2T file so that you can swap the proxies out for the real media. Perhaps I can devise a way by using the timecode offset in the filename or something, but it doesn’t do that today.

If you just want to use DV proxies, then you MUST use the Source Files option so that the entire M2T file becomes a DV Proxy (and the swap is one-for-one). If you want to use the Timeline option, then you MUST ALSO render an HD Media AVI file with the DV Proxies (again so the swap is one-for-one).

I also apologize because there is no documentation to tell you this. I will work on that too.

~jr

[John Rofrano]

A new version of GearShift (1.5.2) is available on the VASST site. This version will warn you that you must select HD Media if Timeline is your Source. DV Proxies can still be generated from M2T files if the Source Files option is used. (this has always been possible from Version 1.0 and is still the primary way most people use GearShift) As I said in my previous post, I will look into a way to support only using DV proxies with Timeline and M2T files.

~jr

[Mark Bryant]

John, Yi.

My apologies... I'm sure I got this to work yesterday - I put a m2t file on the timeline, I deleted all but a small bit of it, and rendered a DV proxy only, and shifted gears. Maybe I created a HD file as well without knowing it.
Mark

[Yi Fong Yu]

I resolved my main issue! The key for me was to keep my tab on the Source Files Tab, render my DV Proxy and gearshift (like the way I drive stick shift!).

Thank you John for your help/assisstance. I think the amount of time you spent on this is already waaay over $50 I paid for the plugin! The time you put in to secure the reputation of VASST is to be highly praised! Even Microsoft, Sony, Adobe, Avid combined doesn't equate to the personal support that you give. You've won a customer for a lifetime =).

addendum: i am unaffiliated in any way with VASST or John! =). he's still gotta fix that timeline issue in Gearshift 2.0!

PS I also recommend that you update the name somehow, if you miss the f in shift... i've had to re-read my posts several times to make sure! check out the posts by mark&jim from above =).

[John Rofrano]

Yi Fong,

Thank you for the kind words. It was a pleasure working with you. I didn’t realize that we never wrote a users guide for GearShift (although we do have a tutorial and demo video on our web site) so I took the time to write one tonight so that others will have more guidance on how to use GearShift. I just have to proof read it tomorrow and I’ll get it up on the VASST site. I’m also working on a way to just use M2T files and DV proxies from the timeline like you originally wanted (stay tuned as I will contact you for beta testing). ;-)

Thank you for being so patient and for working through this with me. I know you were under project deadlines and you took the time to answer my questions to figure this out. We try to build the best products we can for our customers and when we fall short of your expectations, we try even harder. Thanks for your support of VASST.

~jr