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AVI always preferred (?)
Would it be correct to say that Vegas always works best with AVI files?
I ask because, yes, I’ve been able to import and edit with MOVs, but if I stay with them throughout, when I go to final render I almost always see little hiccups at transitions, most typically (for example) over a 15-frame dissolve I might get two frames of frame #8, no frame #9, then frame #10 as it finishes the transition. It doesn’t happen in every instance, but I’d say it pretty nearly always happens somewhere in a piece.
To be safe, should I just start off any project by converting clips to AVI if they’re not?
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4 Replies
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AVI and MOV are “container” formats – they are not a specific codec, but a way of packaging the data from various codecs (video compression schemes) into a file. An AVI file might contain MPEG4 video, and would be equivalent to a MOV file that contains MPEG4 video. AVI files can just as easily contain uncompressed video or DV format video.
It is likely that your MOV files contain MPEG4 format video, and this is difficult to edit with because it is complex to decode – you PC spends a lot of effort doing the decoding, and then struggles with the effects and transitions during playback.
When you render a Vegas project, the output video file should always play smoothly. You will not see the hiccups that you get when previewing your project in Vegas.
You can make things easier for your PC during editing by converting the MOV videos to a format that is easier to decode/edit, such as Cineform (an additional purchase) or HDV (MPEG2) or similar. MPEG4, AVC, WMV, DIVX and the like are generally harder to work with.
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[Kelly Griffin] “To be safe, should I just start off any project by converting clips to AVI if they’re not?”
That is certainly a safe idea. AVI is the native format for Windows which is why it works best with Vegas. MOV is the native format for Mac which is why it can be problematic at times.
As Matt said, they are both just containers and what codec is inside that container is far more important. You want to edit with an Intraframe codec (e.g., DV, CineForm, Motion-JPEG, Lagarith, Huffyuv). These codecs and a complete image for each frame. You want to avoid Interframe codecs (e.g., MPEG2, MPEG4) because these formats use a Group of Pictures (GOP) to represent a frame which means that your computer has to process several frames just to re-assemble a single frame. This requires much more processing power and slows down editing and playback.
It should be pointed out that AVI can contain DivX or Xvid which are both interframe (GOP) codecs that should be avoided for editing so using AVI alone is not enough.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Okay, this is where my confusion, and others I think, comes into play.
HOW do I know which codec I’m using? If I shoot a video, and bring it into Vegas, then render it, how do I know which codec was used? Can you choose a particular codec in Vegas at the time of rendering? Or is choosing a codec something that is done outside of Vegas?
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[Ron Whitaker] “HOW do I know which codec I’m using?”
It starts when you select a Save As format. Sony AVC will use the AVC codec. MPEG2 will use the MPEG2 codec. Some formats like Video for Windows (*.avi) or QuickTime 7 (*.mov) can contain several codecs. These codecs are associated with the templates that you choose.
[Ron Whitaker] ” Can you choose a particular codec in Vegas at the time of rendering? “
Yes, when you select a template, that template uses a codec. If you press the Custom button it will open the template window and you can change the Video Format. Each one of the video formats listed are individual codecs. That’s how you choose one. Like this:
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com
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