Exporting/Rendering timeline from Vegas to SxS card?

[Ian Cook]

Yes, this is possible. Select file–>Render As, choose EX .MP4 as the file type and the appropriate EX codec as the output template (e.g. ‘HQ 1920 x 1080 60i, 35Mb’). You can export locally and then place the file on the card or you can export directly to the card. In either case the file needs to go to the root of the CLPR folder. Afterwards you need to update the card in order for the new file to be available for playback. (See below.)

As far as placing the file on the card if you export to another location, this can be done manually or by using XDCAM Browser or Clip Browser to File–>Import the clip. If you use one of the above applications to move the file to the card, the metadata will be automatically updated. If you export directly from Vegas or drag/drop the raw .mp4 file to /CLPR, you need to manually update the card to add the new file, create the metadata and generate a thumbnail. This is easily done from either the camera menu or using one of the above applications. On the camera, go to the CLIP menu and select UPDATE (Menu–>Others–>Clip on EX1, 1R and EX3; Menu–>Operations–>Clip on the PMW-320/350). Or, to update from the desktop, open one of the Browser applications and click on the card in the Explorer window. Simply selecting it will cause the Browser app to check for new files and add any new .mp4s. You will not see a thumbnail or be able to play back until the card is updated.

One last note re Vegas export. When the Export is complete, Windows Explorer will display two new files on card, the .mp4 file that was exported and an .sfl file. The .sfl file is a reference file automatically generated by Vegas with most file exports. It contains Vegas-specific metadata relating to the audio properties of the parent file. It is best to manually delete the file before inserting the card into an EX device. When an EX camcorder or deck senses a new, unregistered media file or any type of unexpected non-EX file on the card, the device will display a “Media Needs to Be Restored. Restore Now?” prompt. This is (in this case) a routine file system check. Once it verifies the file structure of the card the device and the media will operate normally. But because this process does not delete the ancillary file, the prompt will re-appear every time the card is inserted into an EX device until the card is reformatted or the file is otherwise deleted. So it’s best to delete the .sfl file before updating the card. It is not possible to disable the .sfl file creation when exporting.

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Ian Cook
Sony Broadcast and Professional Company

[Martin Seemungal]

great…thanks! very helpful and works fine now. Much appreciated.

[Martin Seemungal]

Thanks again Ian—-it was very helpful—-I’m having another problem.
Sending mp4 files generated by Sony Vegas— I render using Sony AVC—I use custom to make it interlace upper field first—then I encode at 10,000 or 15,000 depending on length of the project.
Files play beautifully for me using windows media player or quicktime… I generally then send by FTP—-people at the other end complain of ‘jittering’… when they payback through a scan converter and think its related to the way Vegas encodes.
This doesn’t make sense to me since the files play fine for me.
Just wondering if you might know what the issue might be?
Thanks

[Ian Cook]

their player may be reversing the field order and trying to play it back lower field first. this is a common cause of jittery/fuzzy playback. that’s my best guess at any rate. Vegas does very clean encodes and i have not seen this on any of our AVC/264 renders..

[Heath Cozens]

Hello Ian,

This is a little off-topic, but is there any way to achieve this using Premiere CS 5.5? I need to get my edited reports back to SxS cards for satellite play-out on a job I’m working now.

[Ian Cook]

This can be done but it requires the Main Concept encoder suite. Premiere does not natively support exporting to EX