Broadcast guidelines using Vegas 9

[John Rofrano]

[Russel Labadie] “In Vegas9 session properties i used:
NTSC IMX (720×486; 29,970 ips) Field Order:Upper field, Deinterlace method:Blend fields, 0.9 – 8bit pixels, stereo Audio 44kz,16 bit, adding an empty Timecode track on top of timeline (29.97with loss) + 1 empty stereo bus, all shots reframed to 16:9, main audio @ -3db…”

It looks like you shot 16:9 video but you selected a project of 4:3 and you’ve totally ignored the audio requirements. The audio alone will get the file rejected for broadcast.

Let’s look at what what you have and they want:

[Russel Labadie] “had to mix 720x480x32(1.21px,lower field 1st) mpeg shots and 1440x1080x12(1.33px,upper field 1st) avchd m2ts shots,both@,29.97fps.”

It looks like you shot a combination of DV widescreen and mixed in HD. You probably want to deliver this as an SD Widescreen product. Set your project in Vegas to NTSC DV Widescreen (720×480, 29.970 fps) if it isn’t already.

[Russel Labadie] “-Product on Beta SP (SD) or on HDCAM-SR in 1080i60 Dropframe (HD)”

The key word here is “Dropframe”. Open your project properties (Alt+Enter), go to the Ruler tab and set the Ruler time format to SMPTE Drop (29.97 fps, Video). This will set up your timecode correctly (this is not the default in Vegas so make sure you set this up properly) Broadcast almost always uses Drop Frame.

[Russel Labadie] “-Product average level between -26 dbfs and -23 dbfs__-Maximum peaks (PPM) (–10 dbfs) “

This means that the average “loudness” of your audio should be between -26 dBFS and -23 dBFS and the peaks should NOT EXCEED -10 dBFS. So your -3dBFS audio is way out of spec. You can’t allow it to ever peak above -10 dBFS. You need to hard limit to ensure this. You also need to lower the overall loudness it so that it averages -24 dBFS.

[Russel Labadie] “-data DVD (SD): MXF or MOV (IMX50) /- 4 audio channels – NTSC (720×486) -pixels CCIR601 (40:27) – 29.97 fps – Interlaced – “

To achieve this, you want to render using Sony MXF using the NTSC MPEG IMX 50 Widescreen template. Press the Custom… button, go to the Audio tab and set the Channels to 4.

CCIR601 is closed captioning. If the recording artist sings words, those words need to appear as closed captions. See if this is mandatory (I believe it might be).

There is no need to make a MOV file. This is for people with Mac’s. PC editors should be delivering MXF.

Let me make sure I answered all of your questions:

[Russel Labadie] “1 – What would be my best Vegas 9 session property setup prior to rendering ? Should i consider HD settings ?”

NTSC DV Widescreen (720×480, 29.970 fps)

[Russel Labadie] “2 – What is the ideal rendering settings (.mov and .mxf) for these required broadcast protocols ?”

Sony MXF using the NTSC MPEG IMX 50 Widescreen template.

[Russel Labadie] “3 – How to setup the required 4 audio ch ?”

Press the Custom… button, go to the Audio tab and set the Channels to 4.

[Russel Labadie] “4 – How to insert the required timecode without making it visible on the music video ?”

Set the ruler format to SMPTE Drop (29.97 fps, Video). I’m not sure of they want burned-in timecode that’s visible on the screen. If so, drop a Sony Timecode FX on the master video bus. I would ask them what they mean by this since they want two files (one with timecode and one without) they may want it burned in (visible).

[Russel Labadie] “5 – Should it end up in 4:3 or 16:9 (for either .mov or .mxf renders) ?”

16:9. You shot widescreen, keep the output widescreen.

[Russel Labadie] “6 – Should i author and burn the required Pre-screening dvds with the rendered .mov video file ?”

Don’t make MOV files at all. I assume the pre-screen DVD would be a “real” DVD which is MPEG2. The data file should be MXF.

Hope that helps,

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Roger Bansemer]

Just a reminder that some production companies that may be making your HDCam master tape do not take MXF files as we were working with one that only took the uncompressed .mov files.
John knows all about this so best to take his advice.
CaptionMax will accept the MXF files and they will add captioning from start to finish without you having to do anything (except pay)

[Russel Labadie]

Thank you very much John,
i really appreciate your expertise on this…
I’ll reset the project and render again in mxf
using your obviously better settings……

I thought -10dbfs(max peak)limit was applicable for Beta SP only,
as the guidelines mentioned this with the analog requirements…

I feared that that briging down the audio(which was obviously mastered by a pro who’s aware of nowaday’s Loudness War) to -10 and below, the AGC from those TV stations would add a pumping feel
to the song.I contacted one of TV stations and asked if -3db
was acceptable for the .mov or .mxf file and got a positive answer.
This might not be the same with the other stations…

One question comes to my mind,
since i have only one stereo track(music)on the project,
rendering 4 audio channels in mxf would mean track 3 and 4 empty ?

Also,i read that the METADATA is somewhat important in .mxf,
is there anything i should do or watch closely to be up to standards?

Thanks again for your time…

Russel

[Russel Labadie]

Thanks for the tips, Roger…

Russel

[John Rofrano]

[Russel Labadie] “I thought -10dbfs(max peak)limit was applicable for Beta SP only, as the guidelines mentioned this with the analog requirements…”

The specs are written poorly. It also didn’t say anything about using Drop Frame for SD (only HD) but obviously they need to tell you for both, so you have to “read between the lines” a bit.

[Russel Labadie] “I feared that that briging down the audio(which was obviously mastered by a pro who’s aware of nowaday’s Loudness War) to -10 and below, the AGC from those TV stations would add a pumping feel to the song.I contacted one of TV stations and asked if -3db was acceptable for the .mov or .mxf file and got a positive answer. This might not be the same with the other stations…”

Exactly! Some stations will accept over -10dBFS while others won’t which is why you need to supply everyone with -10dBFS as the limit. They are very sensitive to program material that attempts to be louder than all others. This is why they measure loudness and not just levels. TV programming is kept at an average -24dBFS so that all shows and commercials stay constant.

[Russel Labadie] “One question comes to my mind, since i have only one stereo track(music)on the project, rendering 4 audio channels in mxf would mean track 3 and 4 empty ?”

Yes, and that’s OK. Just let them know that channels 3 & 4 are empty so they don’t think something is wrong. Usually you would add bars and tone and a slate that says the content is SD Widescreen Stereo so that they know what to expect. I’m surprised they didn’t ask for bars and tone. Usually they want a minute of bars and tone of either 400Hz or 1KHz at -20dBFS so that they can calibrate to your levels.

[Russel Labadie] “Also,i read that the METADATA is somewhat important in .mxf, is there anything i should do or watch closely to be up to standards?”

There’s noting really for you to do here. Vegas will create the proper MXF container.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Roger Bansemer]

Hi Russell,
John really knows what he’s talking about when it comes to this. He has gotten me through some really rough times with his expertise.
If you have a deadline or air date, I can add one thing… No matter how much you get it right, there will be something else that comes up which you had no clue or idea about that messes things up when it comes to getting a tape to someone like PBS.
So…just be sure you give yourself plenty of time to work the bugs out before you commit to getting an air date otherwise it will be a lot of stress.

[Russel Labadie]

Thank you Roger,
i’ll be meticulous about this video,
the deadline is still far ahead, thank God…

[Russel Labadie]

Thanks a million John…

I’ll keep the highest audio peak under -10dbfs…
I have to submit a spec sheet with the video,
which contains the IRSC code, band members and such,
i’ll annex and mention the audio tracks numbers and content…

I really appreciate your help…

Russel

[John Rofrano]

You’re welcome. Good luck (let us know how you make out)

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Russel Labadie]

Hello John…

I’ve finally rendered the sought after mxf file,
thru Vegas with the appropriate properties and rendering settings,
1.98gb for the 4 minute clip,audio averaging -24dbfs,
peaks at -18dbfs…
nice and clear vid, very happy…

Checked the file with VLC, no audio output…
Checked the file in an empty Vegas project,
perfect picture and sound…

The specs of the mxf clip read all the right properties in Vegas,
except for the audio: 48k,16bit,8 CHANNELS ???

I tried to render again and checked the audio tab in rendering settings,and specified 4 channels again…

Now when i press ok to render, i get an error that says like,
Can’t use this rendering model preset,
model setting doesn’t match project properties…
I used NTSC MPEG IMX50 WIDE SCREEN preset & MPEG MX video format
in personalize setting, as well as 4 audio channels…

If i specify 2 channels in audio tab of rendering properties,
it will work and export, but the final .mxf will have 8 channels ???

I tried adding one or 2 stereo buses with no audio,
i tried adding an empty audio track also,
neither worked, still get the same error message…

I also checked the PROPERTIES tab in rendering settings,
Noticed that i could either use OPTIMIZED(Best)
or USE PROJECT PROPERTIES,could that affect my render…?

Could the ACTIVATE MULTI-CHANNEL MAPPING check box in Render window
be of any use…?

There’s something i’m doing wrong,
maybe from my audio setup or bad match between my
Project Properies and Rendering Settings ???
Everything is perfect except for
not having the required 4 audio channels…

Rendering takes around 2hours+,
so i do test renders with 15 secs worth of the project
to see the outcome before doing a full render…

I think you can see me scratching my head
in front of my computer screen trying to do the perfect .mxf file…