Sony Vegas 10.1 Blotchy Video after rendering.

[Thomas Turner]

[Stephen Crye] “I can help with the Youtube and Facebook questions direct from Vegas, but I am confused about something.

Sony Vegas Pro comes with DVDA . Which version of Vegas to you have? Even when I bought Vegas MovieMaker Platinum, it came with a non-pro Version of DVDA. Your Download or original media should have included it.

For YouTube or Facebook, if your source is 720×480, I’d render to a .mov or .MP4 format. To avoid “blotch”, pick a higher bit-rate than the defaults, by setting Custom. I never use 720×480, but I just created a quick custom template to show you.”

Being new to Vegas I don’t honestly know if I have DVDA. I have to confirm my version of Sony Vegas when I get home in a couple of hours. Thanks for bringing up a good point and I’ll let you know tonight what version I have.

I see that your using CBR, any reason for not using VBR? I’ve read that VBR is just as good because of the compression technology but it has the added benefit of being a smaller file as well. Any truth to this in your experience?

[John Rofrano]

[Thomas Turner] “After a bit of research I see that MainConcept MPEG-2 is a free plug-in and DVD Architect is Sony’s separate DVD authoring software. For some reason I thought there was a DVD authoring component to Sony Vegas Pro 10. I guess not, that changes things a bit.”

MainConcept is one of the built-in render types and DVD Architect comes with Vegas. If you bought Vegas without it then you would have to buy it separately but it’s worth it to get them both bundled together.

[Thomas Turner] “What is the best way to output great looking 720p video onto a medium like a USB stick, or output the video to youtube or vimeo or something like that for my brother in law to view in a soft copy as opposed to the DVD?”

Try rendering using Sony AVC with the Internet 1280×720-30p template. That should give you really nice quality.

~jr

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

[Stephen Crye]

Tomas wrote: “I see that your using CBR, any reason for not using VBR? I’ve read that VBR is just as good because of the compression technology but it has the added benefit of being a smaller file as well. Any truth to this in your experience?”

I’ll admit I have not done a lot of tests to see how they compare on YouTube. I do know that CBR looks a lot better on my computer. Of course, once YT gets its clutches on it, who knows?

I do know with 100% certainty that your purchase of Vegas Pro 10 entitles you to DVDA 5.2 If they never sent the serial number call them (don’t call support, call the “buy new” line ). I obtained my serial number for DVDA when I registered the software via my account on sonycreative. The serial numbers for all the Vegas software I own can be viewed when I log in to Sony Creative.

I used the Internet Archive to access the sonycreative.com feature page for Vegas pro 10 from March 4, 2011; here it says you get DVDA with the purchase:
” Burn movies to Blu-ray Disc™ directly from the Vegas Pro timeline for high-definition delivery. Use DVD Architect Pro software (included with the Vegas Pro collection) to author DVDs or Blu-ray Disc media with multiple video angles, subtitles, multiple languages, and special features. Preview and test your work in real time. Apply Brightness and Contrast, Auto Levels, Crop, and Anti-Flicker filters. Set CSS and Macrovision® copy-protection flags for masters.”
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com//vegaspro“>https://web.archive.org/web/20101207212105/https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com//vegaspro

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Thomas Turner]

After reading the comments I went digging. I found that I do indeed have DVDA installed as well as the MainConcept MPEG-2 plugin. I tried using the MainConcept MPEG-2 plug-in the other day with a video but wasn’t happy with the results. In the end however I can’t fault the compression method because the source was not very clean (read: jerky) so I wasn’t able to get a good read on the finished product.

I went to the park and shot my son and wife locating the camera on the solid concrete. That should give me a good stable source from which to judge if the compression method I’m using it jerky or not. I’ll go through a few renderings to see which one renders the best. Currently I’m testing Sony AVC with the Internet 1280×720-30p. I’ll report back what I find out.

[Stephen Crye]

Hi;

Excellent, I predict you will enjoy DVDA!

I have great success using the built-in MainConcept setting for NTSC Widescreen. Produces DVDs that have pretty much as good resolution as commercially bought movies. However, because I shoot with a Sony HDR-CX550V ACVHD camera at either 1920×1080 or 1440×1080, my results will be better than yours due to the higher bit rates on my source video (17 Mbps or 24 Mpbs)

For a clip I shot yesterday at the HDFX 24 Mbps 1080 60i setting, Vegas reports this:

Streams
Video: 00:01:38.198, 29.970 fps interlaced, 1920x1080x12, AVC
Audio: 00:01:38.198, 48,000 Hz, Stereo, Dolby AC-3

Do you know the encoder, bit-rate and frame rate of your camera?

Regarding “jerky” – the CX550V has the best image stabilization of any consumer cam, even better than Sony’s newer models. Although the CX550V is out of production, you can purchase essentially the equivalent camera in Sony’s Pro line, the MC50U. It is essentially a gussied-up CX550V with a silly mic and a little hood. I saw one on Amazon the other day for $1200.00 . The Active Steady Shot on the cam is amazing – it is a poor man’s SteadyCam.

Have fun!

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

[Thomas Turner]

[Stephen Crye] “Excellent, I predict you will enjoy DVDA!

I have great success using the built-in MainConcept setting for NTSC Widescreen. Produces DVDs that have pretty much as good resolution as commercially bought movies. However, because I shoot with a Sony HDR-CX550V ACVHD camera at either 1920×1080 or 1440×1080, my results will be better than yours due to the higher bit rates on my source video (17 Mbps or 24 Mpbs)

For a clip I shot yesterday at the HDFX 24 Mbps 1080 60i setting, Vegas reports this:

Streams
Video: 00:01:38.198, 29.970 fps interlaced, 1920x1080x12, AVC
Audio: 00:01:38.198, 48,000 Hz, Stereo, Dolby AC-3

Do you know the encoder, bit-rate and frame rate of your camera?

Regarding “jerky” – the CX550V has the best image stabilization of any consumer cam, even better than Sony’s newer models. Although the CX550V is out of production, you can purchase essentially the equivalent camera in Sony’s Pro line, the MC50U. It is essentially a gussied-up CX550V with a silly mic and a little hood. I saw one on Amazon the other day for $1200.00 . The Active Steady Shot on the cam is amazing – it is a poor man’s SteadyCam.”

Steve,
For 1280x 720 HD the bit rate is ~30-35 Mbps. I used both the the Sony AVC and MainConcept MPEG-2 compression modes with the Internet 1280x720p template and all seemed to workout fine. Windows Media Player 11 sucks for playing back these files, I can say that. It hiccups sometimes when playing back the file making it difficult to know if the render was good or not. I played back the files in VLC and all was good, except there was no audio which is because I didn’t render the audio separately into a folder with the video feed.

I now want to forgo the dvd and distribute the video to my brother in law on a USB or something like that. That would require the format I encode with to be “”portable” if I’ve got my nomenclature down. Problem is, last time I rendered the video in avi format (1280x720p at 29.97fps) it came out with hiccups and blotchy video. So I may need to play with the different encoding options. Advice??

You’re using a video cam? What is your main subject matter? Landscapes, sports, people, animals, etc, etc. I shoot casually but have been increasingly used the video in my E-PL1 to see if I like shooting video. If so I’ll delve deeper, make an investment and maybe take a stab at wedding, boudoir, business, etc videos as a side business.

I’m working out the issues now doing free stuff so I can learn the software, equipment, do’s, don’ts and short-falls before I get any paid clients. One of the first free projects I hope to do is for my current employer. I want to make a video for them to put up on the website.

If I sold my Olympus E-PL1 now, I would possibly be able to add a couple hundred dollars to the pot and upgrade to a better camera (dSLR) with better video chops. What would you recommend?

[John Rofrano]

[Thomas Turner] “I now want to forgo the dvd and distribute the video to my brother in law on a USB or something like that. That would require the format I encode with to be “”portable” if I’ve got my nomenclature down. Problem is, last time I rendered the video in avi format (1280x720p at 29.97fps) it came out with hiccups and blotchy video. So I may need to play with the different encoding options. Advice?? “

You don’t want AVI. Did you try Sony AVC with the Internet 1280×720-30p template. This is what you want to give your brother-in-law. It’s small, it’s portable, it’s high quality.

~jr

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

[Stephen Crye]

Hi;

Sorry about the delay. Been hectic …

I shoot mostly with my HDR-CX550V. For what I shoot, check out my YouTube channel – outdoors, indoor, sports, animals, tutorials, how-tos, various stuff.

Here’s a recent upload I did for my “stevecrye” channel on YT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C__RkhYqEZk

You can go directly to the channel by appending the YouTube.com with /stevecrye .

Regarding portability:

.avi is too big and also seems to require processing horsepower. The idea is to use a popular compression method such as mpeg-2 or h.264 / mp4, but don’t crank the bit rate up. VLC will play those, so you can also put a copy of VLC on the thumb drive to that your recipient can install it.

Below is a screen shot of a Vegas render setting that I find will play back on most computers, I often put the video on a thumb drive and plug it into various computers. The audio is embedded right into the .mp4, no need to do anything special. This is also the encoding I do for a lot of YT uploads, but I suspect it is not optimal (still learning about H.264 and the best Vegas for YT)

I’m pleased to see you are getting better at Vegas, enjoy!

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V

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[Thomas Turner]

Cool Youtube video, it reminded me of my high school days. I didn’t play in the band, but had many friends who did. I still have fond memories of the music they played at football, basketball games and especially during rallies.

I agree that avi is too large, h.264/mp4 is much more efficient. I’ll try the settings you posted and include a copy of VLC player on the flash drive as that seems to be the best solution. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I’d like to get another DSLR that does good video, but none really get me going. Maybe the Sony NEX-5n since it has full manual control while in video mode, however, no hotshoe. Not sure about external mic input though. Any suggestions?

[Stephen Crye]

Hi;

Thanks for watching the vid.

There are lots of pros and cons regarding still cams like the NEX-5 that also shoot vid, vs video cams like the NX70 that also shoot stills. Sadly, there seems to be nothing that really does both well. (this is a source of extreme frustration for me). I guess I am doomed to lug two cameras everywhere I go.

However, some people like Sony’s new NEX-20, which tries to bridge the gap. Others claim it does a horrible job of both … I personally am not a big fan of shallow depth of field. Sure, our eyes have shallow DOF – but you can also choose to point your eyeball at something other than what is right in front of your face, and in less than 1/4 second, focus far or close. When a video is shot with “bokeh” the composer is FORCING you to look at what he chosen. I prefer freedom to look anywhere in the frame is see things in (more or less) clear focus. I know I am not in the majority with this opinion…

Go slow, read a lot. Don’t make a purchase in haste. I assume you are young, new stuff is coming out all the time. Practice editing. Read. Learn. Save your $$ and only when ready buy.

Right now, because audio is very important to me, I lean toward videocams. Although it has plenty of flaws, I just re-ordered a NX70 (this less than 2 weeks after sending one back!). Yes I am CraZY and conflicted… One reason is the firmware update that will fix some of the problems. The other is I just learned that it will output uncompressed 4:2:2 video on the HDMI port that can be consumed by the Atomos Ninja.

Steve

Win7 Pro X64 on Dell T3400, MultiTB SATA, 8GB RAM Vegas 10e x64 DVDA 5.2(build 133) Sony HDR-CX550V