Actually I've noticed this phenomenon today working with 25fps PAL footage. I had to turn off Quantise to frames to be able to line everything up again.

Are you sure that cut is placed exactly on the end of the previous frame- do you have quantize to frames enabled?

Michael,

I'm not clear on your exact problem--are you losing sync between your audio and video tracks--is it gradual drift out of sync or just a constant shift? Or is it that both the audio and video shift on the timeline as you edit? In any case, you can right click on events and lock them so they don't shift--regardless of additional edits.

Best scan settings for old photos?
 

What settings are best for Vegas, when scanning in old photos (resolution, bit depth, etc.)? I've seen mention on this board of the "Ken Burns" effect and Edward's nifty script (on my "to buy" list), but not any discussion of optimal scanner settings to get the pictures into the PC in the first place.

Anyone?

Marcia, I just scan everything at 300 dpi at whatever size the image actually is. Once you add it to the timeline, open Pan/Crop, right-click the image on the Pan/Crop screen, and choose "Match Output Aspect" (there's a script that will do this to a bunch of images at once). Then you can adjust the Pan/Crop settings as desired to create the movement. The PBS Wizard is great if you want to add movement to a LOT of images quickly.

It's not due to any drifting, what I'm saying is that the audio
is not edited, the video is so it is slowing in the preview window
as more editing is done. When you watch playback it gets more
and more out of sync (because it has not been rendered yet).
This is really a function of computer speed but I need to be able
to watch accurately what I've edited from a timing stand point.

John, the footage was captured with the Vegas 5 VidCap program from a MiniDV tape. Some of the clips have been processed through deinterlace and sharpening digital intermediates, all with Vegas.

Glen, the sample I showed is end of the first cut of the timeline.

The thing of note, here, is that the symptom consistently appears on .veg projects that have been "used" but not within brand new .veg projects. I'm not sure of the amount of "use" that results in the symptom.

Michael

Thanks Edward! I'd better take a moment and go grab a couple of your plug-ins now, while I'm thinking about it. I'm a bit distracted these days. I go to sleep, wake up, even dream about what I'm editing...

Marcia

I am not familiar with Vegas details, but does this not relate to the drop frame concept? A 29,...fps frame period is somewhat longer than a 30 fps frame duration. The timecode allways counts in 30 frame units. In order to make this framecounter representative for the real time (duration) it now and then drops a timecode number (not a frame!). If yr Vegas outputs (renders) and inserts a new 30fps timecode you will get the difference between the framenumber and the timeline if you enter that rendered footage again and the timeline is set for 29,...fps

I don't think this is a drop frame thing as mine does it with PAL footage.

Note, too, what I wrote about the cursor and markers/regions. They also end up snapping off-frame along with the video clip.

Why would they be affected by an off-frame length of a video clip?

Michael,

Vegas Preview goes as fast as it can on your computer, but as you add more video effects, etc. it will not be in real time and you will see the actual frame rate (in red at the bottom of the preview window after Display:) slow down. There are a few things that you can do to get a real time preview:

1. Use Draft preview mode. This will speed things up, but will result is a loss of quality.

2. Prerender to disk using Tools/Selectively Prerender Video (Shift-M).

3. Prerender to RAM using Tools/Build Dynamic RAM preview (Shift-B). To use this option, you need to set a RAM buffer via Options/Preferences/Video tab, set the Dynamic RAM preview buffer to as big of a value as you can.

If you use option 3, the amount of time that you can prerender is based upon the amount of RAM that you allocate. This is the fastest option for testing short sections of video.

If you need a longer section, then option 2 is the best bet. It will prerender to disk.

Obviously the faster the computer and especially the hard disk, the more effects you can add before the preview frame rate slows down.

Randall

Thanks, Ed. Sorry for the delay with the reply. It was unavoidable however you did solve my problem with your reply. I just dropped the files in media player and of of many that were loading was corrupted and therefor the .veg file didn't work.

Now I am back dealing with just why my files get corrupted.

In any event, it was great to know the .veg files are all intackt.

Thanks for the info, kinda what I was thinking, can prerendered
stuff be edited though? I want to render a piece to see it but
be able to 'leave it be' in the timeline for additional editing.

Thanks so much

If you PRE-RENDER, yes, you can still edit just fine. As soon as you make a change in that area the pre-render will simply be discarded.

If you RENDER TO NEW TRACK, you can still edit that section, you just have to manually delete the rendered video from the upper tracks.

1- You can download the demos for the various NLEs out there. Vegas and Premiere Pro for example have pretty functional demos.

For Vegas, the shortcut keys sticky at the top might really help you out.

Premiere Pro: version 1.5 seems to have fixed things. I'm not sure about this.

2- What camera to get: Check out the main forum here (the open discussion one).

There's many threads on which camera to get. Whatever camera you get shouldn't really affect which NLE you pick. Most NLEs can handle 24p editing if you really want that.

3- You will want to put more RAM into that laptop if you go Premiere Pro.

For Vegas I think you can actually get away with 256MB RAM. If you want decent RAM previews in Vegas then you'll need to add more RAM.

4- Mics: check out the audio forum, lots of great discussions on mics there. As far as wireless mics go, the Sennheiser ones are the most popular recommendation (the Evolution and the newer G2 series).

Another alternative to Grain Surgery, although not quite as effective, is the median tool.

Nice work, Michael! I loved the colors, lighting, and camera composition. The story itself left me a little baffled, probably because trying to see it in a small quicktime file embedded made it more of a visual effort than an emotional one from the viewing side.
Any chance of an HD WMV that could be either downloaded, or at least streamed at a decent rate?

Douglas,

That is fine praise, indeed, coming from you. Many thanks, sir.

Good comments on the narrative. I agree the film is a bit obscure and first time director Robie Kentspeth and I agree the first act setup runs too long before we see our principle characters' conflict. As the D.P., I did my best to capture Robie's esoteric vision, but she had some very specific ideas about camera movement and coverage. I think she did a pretty good job, however, on her very first short film project.

[ disclosure: Robie is my girlfriend too. :-) ]

I've not tried a WMV file and am concerned about migrating away from a "universal" format. If a film clip can't be played by absolutely everyone who visits my site, I'm doing my visitors a disservice and only harming myself.

I understand/agree about "universal" delivery, however some things to consider:
To get a great Quicktime stream, you have to have massive file sizes, and risk non streaming, but rather full downloads for many users.

Quicktime is less ubiquitous than REAL, although I hate REAL like most people. But, REAL can deliver HD streams for about the same file size as your very small QT.

Windows Media, while not universal, has by far and wide the lions share of streaming formats, owning more than 72% of the streaming market, according to Marken & Associates. (research firm) And, WMV can deliver a 720p stream with surround, for less bandwidth than your QT can deliver.

So...may I suggest that you deliver in QT for those that insist on watching through very small previews and have lots of bandwidth, and a second option for those that want the best experience possible on the broadest use platform available?

On our Mac/PC training tools, we deliver in both, realizing that QT will always be demanded by some folks. But the majority want Windows, based on internal and external research.
Our Copyrights training DVD has both, and interestingly enough, there have been 61 downloads/streams of the QT file.
there have been 860 streams of the WMV file. Quarter the size, quadruple the quality.

Just my nickel's worth. But the stream does look very good, which is hard to do in QT for that length a project with that small a file size.

V4 audio ?
 

OK is it me or does Vegas 4 not have an audible audio scrub
i.e. when trying to trim an event ,“clip”, sound bite

Thanks

Vince

Countdown
 

Adobe Premier 1.5 has a countdown generator that works great.
You can customize it with ease. Saved me a bunch of time since I didn't have to design one.


File, New, Coundown generator....


Thanks

You have the CTRL-Drag option in preferences. You can also playback a loop region. Plus there's the thumb control below the timeline headers.

Excellent advice drawn on thorough research.

Fortunately, I have quite a bit of space on my Yahoo-hosted site. As you suggest, I will add some full-rez streams to my half-rez QT's.

Thanks again.

Thanks Edward

Vince

Vegas Crashes during rendering
 

Heres an annoying problem that I have been dealing with for the last week or so: While rendering my timeline out to a standard NTSC DV file Vegas hard crashes(takes the OS down, back to the bios startup/bootup screen and re-boots) This only seems to happen when I use the "glow" filter, although I have had some trouble (Vegas_ SOMETIMES BUT NOT ALWAYS crashes but the OS is left standing) when I try to use a TGA graphic on the timeline. System has been quite stable up until now, but this is the first time I have tried to use this filter. Kind of a a pain since I need to use this filter for editing weddings....

Heres my system and what I have done so far:

MSI K7T turbo2 MB w/VIA KT-133A chipset, latest Bios.

Matrox AGP G450 16 MG dual display card, latest drivers

2 Hard drives on controller 1

DVD recorder on Controller 2

2 hard drives on Promise TX133 controller(PCI)

Allied 450 W true-power supply

768 PC133 ram

Vegas 4.0E

WinXP (fresh installl)

Serial ports, paralell ports, legacy sound and USB1 disabled

M-Audio 24/96 sound card

USB2 card

Pyro firewire card

Have updated Vegas from 4.0c to 4.0E

Updated DirectX from 8.1 to 9.0C

Updated drivers for Matrox Card

Have had SOME success by tuning off the video preview during rendering and rendering in sections instead of trying to render the whole timeline at once...obviously this workaround adds a lot of time to my edit. Anyone have any ideas?? my memory useage stays right at 270 MB , so there seeems to be plenty of ram on the system without having to go to the page file...I suspect:

video card

lack of available video ram

KT133a chipset conflict

Any suggestions?? feel freeto write directly or forward your reply to:

Steveleone@aol.com

Check the temperature of your CPU. Sounds like it may be getting too hot and shutting down. First, make sure ALL of your fans are working correctly. If the CPU has a fan, also make sure it is working. Make sure the airvents are not clogged with dust and debris. As a test, you can always take the cover off and blow a fan toward the computer.

Vegas Crashes
 

Thanx for the input...I checked the temp immediately after the crash and its was 114 F...I am sure it was already falling...I have the unit set to shut down at 176 F...also, I have 2 fans on the power supply, 3 large fans in the case, and a Volcano 9 running at full bore on the CPU, along with a couple of HD fan enclosures; I have a lot of air moving around that case....I keep the room temp around 68-70 degrees. that along with the reasonable CPU temp and the fact that it only crashes while rendering with that specific filter(gausian blur works just fine even tho its very CPU intensive) makes me suspect that Temp is not the problem..but again, thanx....

1- Try updating the latest drivers for your KT133 chipset. You should do this anyways if you haven't done so already. The chipset has some known problems, one of which can cause dropped frames for you I believe.

http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2

2- XP will automatically reboot on a serious error. You can tell Windows to show you a BSOD (blue screen of death) instead.

Go to Start --> settings --> control panel --> system --> advanced (tab) --> startup and recovery --> settings --> uncheck "automatically restart"

If you get different BSODs every time then it's probably a hardware problem. If it's the same error code each time then it's most likely a software problem.

Example BSOD error code (the 3 most important lines):
---
***STOP: 0.000000D1 (0x00000000, 0xF73120AE, 0xC0000008, 0xC0000000)

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
---

3- Try running the following two programs to check for hardware problems. The first is used to stress test your computer.

Prime95
Prime95 is a distributed computing program that tries to find certain prime numbers. Its 'torture test' stresses your computer with mathematical calculations and checks the output against known results. This makes prime95 a good diagnostic for instability problems from your CPU and your RAM. Download it from:

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

Run the “torture test” through options --> torture test --> Ok
Prime95 will stop immediately once it detects an error, and continue indefinitely if it does not. I suggest running Prime95 overnight as you do not need to watch this program run. Prime95 will log errors in results.txt in the installation directory. The icon will also turn from red to yellow when it detects an error.

Motherboard Monitor (MBM)
This program monitors your computer's temperatures and voltages. You want to get readings when your system is being stressed, so run MBM with another program like any recent 3d game or prime95. Download it and install it off:

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html

Interpreting readings:
Right click the MBM system tray icon and click on settings. Click on high/low. Mouse over the alarm bells to see the tolerances of the temperatures and voltages (5%). Are any of them past their tolerances? Ignore all the zero readings. If many of the readings are zero then MBM may be too old to be supported.

*To get Motherboard Monitor working, you may need to know what motherboard you have. The utility CPU-Z can help you determine what model your motherboard is:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

**Abit should have a motherboard monitoring program that should be just as good.

This is almost certainly a form of a hardware problem. Basically
it should be impossible for Vegas to "crash" (which it probably
is NOT doing) and reboot the whole PC.

Glenn has some very good pointers, tips and suggestions!

I would either say:

1: virus / trojan
2: heat problem (you mentioned it will shut down at a certain thres hold => which the prime programd should nicely test)
3: your promise card
4: problems with your mainboard
5: memory chips are faulty

Do you get ANY message at all before it reboots?

Vegas Crashes
 

Thanx to all for your input!!!...I have followed the suggestions so kindly offered....I installed and ran Prime while monitoring with MBM....MBM reports pretty average numbers regarding temperatur...CPU is averaging 113F , which sounds about right for an Athlon. High is 134, low at 109...turn-off temp is set for 158F I believe...I have it set at 176 in my Bios. Core voltage varied between 1.54 and 1.58, with an average at 1.58. Unfortunately, My system failed the Prime Torture test 2 out of 3 executions with inaccurate reporting of expected results....does this sound like a Chipset problem??? My original MSI mainboard died last year, and this current board is a replacement given to me by MSI under warrenty....
BTW...I had already installed the latest 4in1 drivers when I installed this OS last week, and I have been unable to find a virus or Trojan using AVG and AdAware. Should I start shopping for a new MB?
Thanx to all!!!
Stephen
PS...
even tho my system failed the Prime test, it did not crash as a result of the testing.

Steve, your problem can be any of the following:

CPU (unlikely) - typical CPU problem would be overheating, although you could have gotten a bad chip. The manufacturer really stress tests their CPUs and they're often much better than their rating (which is why you can overclock them well).

RAM (likely)

Motherboard - unlikely and hard to diagnose. Could be overheating northbridge (case reading in MBM)

Weak power supply + faulty motherboard sensors (unlikely)

I think those are all your possible faulty hardware. To checK:

1- Run memtest86 to check for memory errors.

http://www.memtest86.com/

You download a program that creates a boot floppy or CD. The boot CD or floppy will start running automatically once you reboot. You may need to adjust your BIOS to boot from CD or floppy. The full battery of tests take time so wait an hour or so to let it finish 1 pass.

If you get errors, do a memory swap. Also try the other RAM slots.

*In rare cases, memtest will not find problems related to RAM overheating. Your RAM may become error-prone once it warms up a bit (it doesn't really get hot... just warms up). You could cool your RAM with a table fan (open up the case) and see if prime95 fails if you suspect this.

2- swap parts around. Swap good parts in, or suspect parts into a good computer.

3- visual inspection (unlikely to find much). Look at your motherboard to see if the capacitors are getting bulgy (unlikely).

Also check for good physical connections on everything, and that fans are spinning.

Vegas Crashes
 

Thanx again for all the help!!!
I downloaded and ran MemTest.....I waited 4 hours and let the test complete 5 passes....no errors at all....I guess this pretty much leaves the Main Board/chipset as my problem.....MSI must be having some QC problems, since my FIRST board died less than a year ago and this was my warranty replacement.
The problem now is that replacing the board only is not really an option since my current model
uses
PC133 ram, which virtually no new boards(that I am aware of) use . So I am looking at replacing the MB and getting ALL new RAM as well....should I just go to a P4?? I hear good things about Asus P4 I865 boards....any comments in that regard or relating to my MemTest results??
Thanx again everyone!!

The performance slut in me says to go upgrade. Rendering speed is closely related to CPU clock speed, so to figure out your speed gains:

A- Assume that AMD's PR rating (i.e. 2000+) is accurate. For Vegas, this quick and dirty rule works well.

Above 2000+, the PR ratings are inaccurate for XP processors.

B- Divide the newer processor's clock speed by the AMD PR rating. i.e. Pentium 3.0ghz is 50% faster than a 2000+.

At MPEG2 encoding, Pentiums will blow away XP processors (something like 2X faster).

That should give you a pretty good idea of how much faster your computer will go after an upgrade.

2- The best bang for your buck upgrade is:

865 chipset motherboard. The Abit IS7 is good as it has firewire, and is much cheaper than the Asus P4P800 deluxe. I also like the MSI Neo2-P Platinum Edition (which I can't seem to find on the MSI website). It's even cheaper than the IS7, has gigE, no firewire, and some nice bundled stuff . Rounded IDE cables, bracket that shows motherboard boot state, Windows overclocking utility (probably not too useful when you can use Speedfan instead), dynamic overclocking (means lower heat while idling), and fan control (kind of lower noise... and makes your fans last longer since it slows them down when you don't need them full blast). It has a passive northbridge heatsink unlike the IS7 (this means lower noise, and doesn't let you do extreme overclocks; may be more reliable as there is no fan that can break down).

I have played with the Abit IS7, the P4P800 non-deluxe, and the MSI board mentioned.

Processor:
Both the Canterwood ("C") and Presscot ("E") processors are good buys. The Presscott consumes more electricity, which means it costs more in the long run. It is about 6% faster than the Canterwood at DSE's rendertest, and more than 6% faster at MPEG2 encoding. Its extra heat means that your computer is louder and maybe more unreliable.

Buy a few steps down from the fastest processor out. The top few speeds of a processor are always overpriced.

RAM:
512MB or 1GB. There are other threads here and over at the sony forum arguing how much you need.

What kind of RAM to get:
Get normal RAM, not the overclocking stuff (anything over PC3200) or low latency stuff. Those kinds of RAM are overpriced and at best give you a few % in extra performance.

You can get away with using the cheapest RAM you can find as long as you test it (prime95 is probably the best idea).

Overclocking: If you do this, make sure you stress test your system well. This takes time which may be better spent elsewhere. An argument can be made for either side. You are definitely fine with a stock system- I would probably recommend this because you really don't need to overclock.

3- You could troubleshoot your problem instead of upgrading (blasphemy I know...). You should try:

Swap parts in/out. In order of priority, I would try to swap: CPU, motherboard, then RAM.
Try just one DIMM of RAM in each of the banks on your motherboard. Prime away.
Re-install your CPU's heatsink. You may need to re-apply the thermal interface material. Read your heatsink's instructions.

4- If you are going to swap your motherboard, read the following thread first to avoid having to reinstall Windows:

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/...4&m=1400925745

different workspace or view in Vegas 4
 

Folks, I didn't find this, and I've looked around the help file and didn't see it, so if it's really simple please shoot me.

Anyway, is there a way to set up different workspaces in Vegas 4? In SAWSTUDIO, I can use the function keys to set up 12 different workspaces, so that I can have 1 track or 8 or 72 whatever, and on and on. But I haven't seen that in Vegas, and the fliping back and forth between the preview and the tracks can be a bit annoying. Some times I want skinny little tracks, some times big fat ones.

Help!!
Milt

This feature is in Vegas 5. ( I know that kind of sucks if you don't need to upgrade. )

Vegas 5 will let you save and recall up to 10 different layouts. However, you may also want to look at things like the F11 key (which will hide everything except the timeline and then restore it back). Take a look through the shortcut keys and you may find one that works for your needs.

Very cool. I expect to upgrade to 5 within the next week. It's got so many very cool features that I just gotta do it.

This just confirms it, and I'm really glad that it's there.

Thanks
Milt

Support for SONY HDV HDR-FX1
 

One of Sony's press releases mentions editing systems compatability with the new cam, and Vegas isn't on it. Isn't Vegas 5 already compataible, and if not do you think Sony will release a plug-in?

No one in the know is permitted to comment, simply because of NDA. Keep in mind that Sony Electronics is a different company than Sony Pictures Digital, who owns Sony Software Media, which is the parent of Vegas. At the same time, Sony is working to make all their gear compatible. Xpri works wonderfully with Vegas...

MPEG-4 playback laggy - normal?
 

Hi. There's a contest out of NY, where people send in their demo reels. I thought I'd send mine. They won't take VHS, and recommended either CD or DVD. I don't have a DVD burner, so where does that leave me? They recommended Quicktime files on CD as a way to go, so I says to myself, MPEG-4.

Using Vegas 4, I rendered an MPEG-4 version of my reel, that came about to about 250 MB (4 mins, 20 secs). When I simply double-click the file, it plays, and for a the first 25 seconds, everything is fine. Then it goes to a clip with significant movement in it, and it starts to lag, the video playing like 5 frames a second or something. Is this 'cause my computer's somewhat, uh, low-tech by today's standards (Atholon 1600 XP+ processor, = 1060 Mhz or so), or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks.

P.S.
I just tried this with the highest possible settings for WM9, using the Windows Media Encoder, and got the laggy video too.

Also, for some reason, the Window Media Encoder seems to be crushing my blacks, and making the picture look overall darker. Is there a setting that's causing it to do this, or is this a result of the compression, or what?