[Paul Anderegg]

OK, found the solution. I tried switching the Project Media view to details, and clicking date until they appeared in the correct sequence, then dragging them to the timeline, but they still post in the incorrect order. Apparently, the order in which the separate files are/were selected depends on how they appear on the timeline. I was simply importing them, and leaving them highlighted prior to switching views. Even though they appeared in the correct order, Sony was still considering them arranged with the previous Project Media view selection, and they would drag to the timeline out of order.

The solution is to switch to DETAILS view, select DATE MODIFIED until the files appear with the oldest at the top, then select the first clip by clicking it, then each new clip in order by holding the control key and clicking them, or by simply holding the shift key and clicking the LAST clip. This will highlight your entire “shoot” in order, and when you drag them to the timeline, they will appear in the correct order! Make sure you begin this procedure with nothing already selected.

This fix was brought to you by Andy Olson with DVFilm, the makers of RayLight…THANK YOU ANDY!!!

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I just switch the 15 foot USB cable I was testing with to a 6 foot one, and my transfer speed now averages around 19MB/s, about a 30% increase…….I guess that is a slight difference…..unfortunately, I require the longer cable run, so I am stuck with the speeds I am getting.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I was surprised by how easy it was to switch to P2. I simply plugged the camera into my laptop, each installed P2 card showed up as a drive letter….that’s it. As for editing and storage, I simply upgraded to a $300 Sony Vegas Pro 12 NLE, import the clips directly from the attached camera, then render them as a single DV AVI files……couldn’t be simpler. Rendering speed to convert SD MXF files into DV AVI files is about 15 seconds per minute.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I just finished my first night rendering the new 15Mbps 59.94i files…..I am very pleased with the resulting quality as it aired on the morning news, much sharper, just as good as the original AVI file.

The reason I render Sony AVC MP4 files is because I upload them to a website for distribution, so I have to keep the files under 1GB. The story I shot tonight was 7 minutes long, and came out as a 15Mbps file at a total of 735MB. My NBC client requires MP4 files, they REFUSE to accept anything else, and MP4 works out for everyone else as well, pretty much the universal standard for distributing breaking news.

The strange thing I noticed is that the FOX local that edits 720p on FCP, the video looked interlaced, but everyone elses versions looked fine….go figure.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

My target is TV, specifically broadcast news, so normal 720p and 1080i viewers. The local CBS affiliate still shoots XDCAM, and their video has similar lines at times. I still prefer some stair-stepping on spots and highlights instead of just a dull blur. 🙂

All the testing I did seems to indicate that the Sony AVC progressive settings wont render past 10Mbps, will test some more.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I think I fixed the problem……after an hour of rendering a small 10 second clip, I got the darn program to spit out the best file it can muster…..I think.

Previously, it was spitting out the 8-10Mbps from the following settings. Sony AVC 720×480 Main 29.97 progressive 26Mbps (max setting). In Windows Explorer, the files show as 720×480 29.97p. After tons of changes, I finally found the following settings work best. Sony AVC 720×480 Main 29.97 interlaced lower field first 15Mbps (max setting). With these settings, the file reads 720×480 59.94i 15Mbps! When I tested 29.97p on a Main Concepts template, some of the files even came out as 14fps!

Anyway, except for slight venetian blinds effect, the video is much cleaner, sharper, crisper, doesn’t look like I am shooting VHS anymore! Only took about 30 rendering tries to get this…..the down side is the rendering takes 25% longer, but for twice the quality that is a fair trade-off.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

That makes a lot of sense……perhaps that it a Sony “inverse GPU” feature! Haha. When I uncheck my GPU acceleration, the rendering takes an extra 4 seconds per minute, go figure.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I am going to guess you know enough about the program to have selected the proper GPU settings etc……..can you tell us what your original file/s format specs are, and your final output….I am assuming standard mpeg2 DVD?

I render DVCPRO AVI files to SD MP4, and it takes Movie Studio 12 about 30 seconds per minute to render on my new i7 laptop. My old i3 laptop does the same task at about 1 minute 30 seconds per minute, so hardware does make a difference!

I made a 35Mbps 1080i MP4 file to test rendering speeds if I upgrade to an HD camera, and it takes about 45 seconds to render a minute of that to SD MP4.

Paul