print to tape in vegas 6d

[Brian Luce]

Does a timeline need to be rendered before outputting to tape? what format?

[Mike Kujbida]

Brian;
Rendering is a part of the Print To Tape process.
If you want to keep the file for future use though, rendering it to DV-AVI is recommended. That way, you only have to do the render once.

[Dana Salsbury]

Would you elaborate? Do you mean you only have to do the render once for both your DVD output and your tape backup? I've been debating whether to keep buying HD space or spend the time putting my client's finished videos onto tape. I don't have the time, and I don't want to wear out the tape heads on my cameras. Thoughts?

[Mike Kujbida]

Would you elaborate?

Glad to Dana.

Do you mean you only have to do the render once for both your DVD output and your tape backup?

Those are 2 completely separate operations so no, that's not what I mean.

If you want to render to tape, the usual procedure is to go Tools - Print to Tape. This is OK if you're doing it once as it does a pre-render before it does the print-to-tape. If you don't save the pre-render file, it's gone and you'll have to go through this again if you want another tape.
That's why I suggested doing a render to DV-AVI and than saving that file in a Completed Project folder on your hard drive.

A DVD render is always to MPEG-2 (video) and AC-3 (audio) format so, as I said, this is a completely different operation.

I don't have the time...

Do your print-to-tape on a coffee/lunch/dinner break.
BTW, tape is still a better long-term storage medium than DVDs, if that's what you're thinking.
The price of hard drives keeps dropping though so that's another good storage idea.
Keep in mind though that, dollar for dollar, (good name brand) tape and hard drive costs are close to the same amount.

In either case, make sure to keep at least one copy of each client projects stored off-site in a safe (climate controlled and fireproof) environment.

I don't want to wear out the tape heads on my cameras.

Buy a cheap miniDV camcorder from your local big box store when they have a sale. There's no difference in picture quality between a $200 camcorder and a $2,000 one when doing a print-to-tape.

[Dana Salsbury]

coffee/lunch/dinner break? Hehe, I should try that!

Thanks for the reply. I have no problem buying more HDs, but it's hard to justify when I have all these tapes laying around. I've already bought the tape, used it once, cannot use it again in good conscious, yet would feel comfortable using it as an archive. (It's highly as unlikely I'll need it again, and highly unlikely that the re-used tape will have any problems.) The only other downer is the need to recapture the footage -- another time killer. I'm to the point of getting another computer just to do "laundry".

I think I'll set up my little cam to do the work and set up a new system. My friend does 10-12 HD weddings a year and has eight terabites to store it all. I can't deal with that kind of addiction...I'd just snap! I do feel I should keep all the captured tapes on the HD until the client is happy, then archive the rendered version. That way if the client buys a BluRay in the future I can re-capture and burn on my own future BluRay burner. Thoughts?

[Brian Luce]

Originally Posted by Mike Kujbida

Would you elaborate?



Buy a cheap miniDV camcorder from your local big box store when they have a sale. There's no difference in picture quality between a $200 camcorder and a $2,000 one when doing a print-to-tape.

but that can't archive hd material can it? 200 dollars cams only record sd right?

[Dana Salsbury]

Good question. My little cam is HD though, an HC3 by Sony.