Best Mastering/Intermediate Format in Vegas
 

What format should I use as an intermediate format in Vegas? I want something that is uncompressed, or VERY lightly compressed.

Here's the project: I have a variety of HD source materials, including 1080i/50, 1080i/60 (MPEG-2 & HDCAM) and 720p/24 (DVCPRO HD). The end product needs to be in both 50Hz and 60Hz, and will be encoded as HD for Blu-ray and HD DVD as well as SD on DVD.

This project requires the best possible quality from the provided content forward.

I plan to upconvert everything that will be in the final product to 1080p in both 50 and 60 Hz. I will then assemble the edits and deliver the 1080p masters for encoding and authoring.

Any recommendations are appreciated!

Hello Jon, i believe the cineform codec is virtually 'losseless' and allows you to work in a 4:2:2 colour space and doesnt suffer any generation loss. hope this helps

I think the Cineform codec does suffer generation loss... just not a lot?

Cineform is likely the most practical. Fast, very good quality.

I'd rather go lossless, if possible. However, I've not found the right combination of filetype and so on to manage it in Vegas 6. As I recall, there wasn't a clear option for saving to AVI 1080p/60 uncompressed.

So... what's the trick for working with uncompressed HD in Vegas. If I need up upgrade to Vegas 7, that's no problem...

You can get lossless; it's easy: just use a lossless AVI codec, like lagarith, huffyuv, or MSU.

However, it might be slow enough that you might just want to use Cineform.

The quality difference between Cineform and lossless is mostly academic. The size difference is significant. If you use Cineform rather than a lossless codec you really will be glad in the long run. It is just so much more practical and you'll never actually see the difference.

Yep, Cineform is *definately* going to be the way to go here. Virtually lossless (go to their website and research their NeoHDV package). And I would also upgrade to Vegas 7 as the speed improvements in that package alone will justify the cost for you working in HD.

Jon

Would there be anything to stop you using the "replace" function to swap the original .m2t files back in at the last minute before render and save the generation loss?

Hi Robert,

I'm going to store the results on a hard drive, and have a 3rd party do the compression for Blu-Ray and HD DVD. I'll probably go uncompressed, since quality is paramount. I want to blame any and all imperfections on the source material, or the final compression. ;)

The total length is 10 minutes, and the schedule isn't all that tight. The end target is for a technical, rather than an artistic audience.

Thanks all!