John Rofrano
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Steve,
I’m glad that worked for you but I’m not sure you are going about this the right way. If your target is to make a DVD (which only accepts MPEG2), then why would you render your final video to any codec other than MPEG2? Why the extra step to Lagarith?
I can only assume as your original post said that you are experimenting and learning to see what’s best. Let me save you a lot of time. A codec does not enhance your video. In fact, most degrade it which is why you want to limit re-rendering as much as possible. If I were you I would render directly from the Vegas timeline to the final MPEG2 format that will be used on the DVD. This will give you the absolute highest quality possible.
> Now to find a suitable 5.1 codec…
I don’t follow. Why would you have to find one. Doesn’t Vegas Movie Studio Platinum already come with a Dolby Digital AC-3 encoder?
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
Highlight the audio track and press the ‘V‘ key to make the volume envelope appear and disappear.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
> To simplify the procedure, for each group (1-3 songs/chapters) I added the main video and set in/out points at the start and end of each group. I then added each group’s “movie” to a menu and set the end action for each group to the proceeding group.
This is not quite the procedure I explained. The secret is to add the main movie only once and then ctrl+drag/copy the buttons. If you’re not doing that, then this is why the DVD is becoming too big.
> As such, it also won’t navigate backwards to previous titles. Playlists exhibit the exact same behavior.
You are correct. You cannot navigate backwards because this is not a continuous piece of media. The links only navigate forward but they will give you a “Play Music” button that plays only the music parts in order.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
I would right-click on the video once it’s on the Vegas timeline and go to the Properties. Then check the Media tab and make sure the Pixel Aspect Ratio is set correctly. I’m betting it says 0.9091 (NTSC DV) or the PAL equivalent. Just set the proper value from the list (e.g., NTSC DV Widescreen is 1.2121). This should unsqueeze the video if it truly is widescreen.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
It sounds like you understand the mechanics of how to do it and you just need the menu to match size. I’m not sure what template you used to render but the DV Widescreen template should give you the exact same size as a widescreen DVD Architect menu. I’m not sure why the size would be any different if you rendered it correctly.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
> I expected to see it listed in the Vegas “Make Movie” and “Render As” menu items, whereupon I would then expect to be able to choose it and configure it. In practice all I get to see are Mainconcept, Quicktime, Realmedia, Video for Windows, and Windows Media Video. No option for Lagarith.
You are confusing CODECS with CONTAINERS and it’s a common misunderstanding. Quicktime, Video for Windows, Windows Media Video, etc. are containers that can use multiple codecs. Lagarith is a codec that requires a container. I believe Lagarith uses Video for Windows (AVI). So you would select Video for Windows and then select a template and press the Custom… button. Then on the Video tab you would select the Lagarith codec as the Video Format. Don’t forget to save the template for future use.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
> It does not, however, solve my problem of wanting several, non-linear sections of a video under a single title.
Yes it does. You simply make the end action of each button link to the next button. The you hide the buttons in the middle that you don’t want exposed (or use them as discrete chapter points that play and return to the menu).
If you don’t understand how it’s done please feel free to ask questions about my explanation. How far did you get? What did you experience? I do this all the time so I know it works.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
While hooking his camera up to your PC shouldn’t mess anything up… why tempt fate? Personally, I would not try anything like this in the middle of a project. I’ve seen plenty of things happen to a PC that shouldn’t happen but they do. I wouldn’t chance it.
Also, do you have a complete backup of your system? You should! I use Acronis TrueImage to do a full backup of my C: partition on the first of each month and an incremental back daily! These simply get stored on another physical hard drive. Then if any software messes up my PC, I can wipe it clean and go back to yesterday, or last week, or last month. I can’t stress enough how important backing up up is.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
> By the way John, I have the HVR-A1 and I love it. Hows the Z1 in low light?
The Z1 is significantly better than the A1 in low light. It’s not as good as say a PD-170 with it’s larger CCD’s but it is noticeably better than the A1. You can use a lot of gain on the Z1 and still have a very usable picture.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
I agree, both workflows have their advantages. I bought a Sony HVR-DR60 Hard Disk Recording Unit and I absolutely love the workflow. When used with my HDV cameras it gives my the best of both worlds. I have a tape backup and direct access to my media for editing. Of course, I wouldn’t want to use that when skydiving so it all depends on the circumstances.
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com