new DSLR plugin

Perrone Ford · March 30th, 2010, 05:36 PM

Hmmm, that's a bit dicey...

Taking a full frame, square pixel, 4:2:0 format, and changing it to a anamorphic, non-square, 4:2:2 format. Probably ok for cutting, but I'd want to shift back to the real thing before doing any color work or text overlays, or anything of that nature.

Probably good for the rough cut though.

Robert St-Onge · March 30th, 2010, 06:10 PM

Taken from:

http://dvfilm.com/epic/help.htm

10-bit YUV mode H.264 files
The proxy is used only when the EPIC Quality Column is red. Otherwise the H.264 original is used. The Vegas Preview quality setting has no effect in this mode. In this mode, we strongly suggest that the “Mark Proxy” option be turned on. This will warn you if a file is rendered in EPIC Red.

Normal (RGB) mode, H.264 files
In this mode, with 10-bit YUV turned off, it is the Vegas preview setting that controls the proxy usage. If Vegas is in Preview ½ mode, or in the lesser size modes, the proxy will be used. In Preview Full, the original H.264 file will be used. However, you can force the plug-in to use the proxy in all preview modes by setting the EPIC quality to red.

Robert St-Onge · April 6th, 2010, 09:52 PM

Purchased Epic and really happy so far.
Conversion to 60P from Canon has been fixed.

Got some 450 shots on the timeline, over an hour and a half, all I did shoot with my T2i so far! Several fx and transitions.
Rendered few minutes and all went fine.

Still experimenting on some workflow. I now leave the show quality window set to high at all times. If playback chokes on the native .mov, which it will after a second or so, it automatically switch to the proxy on playback.

Brilliant plugin, again, I think this is the best and cheapest alternative, and let's you render from the original.

Rob

Brian Luce · April 7th, 2010, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert St-Onge

Purchased Epic and really happy so far.

Rob

I am happy so far too. I was gonna get CF but heard too many stories about activation issues and crashes.

Howie Cheung · April 20th, 2010, 10:26 PM

This plug-in seems like a viable solution.

I was wondering what you guys did when you rendered the final output.

My Vegas 9 is rendering out the proxies.. do I have to disable DVFilm when rendering?

Marcus van Bavel · April 20th, 2010, 10:52 PM

At least 2 ways to do it:

For full-size renders, put it in high-quality "purple" mode

For reduced-size renders (like for DVD) uncheck "use proxies"

Sam Kanter · April 21st, 2010, 01:00 PM

Will a future version of Epic work with Vegas 64-bit?

Marcus van Bavel · April 21st, 2010, 04:02 PM

Yes; we have it functioning and it will be included in the next free update.

We are also working on plug-ins for Vegas 8, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro.

Sam Kanter · April 21st, 2010, 07:34 PM

Cool! I'll definitely give it a try when you get the 64-bit version working. Timeframe?

Chris Barcellos · May 2nd, 2010, 01:33 AM

My review:

I had posted over at the Cineform forum about the idea of using Epic as a cutting tool, to render Cineform clips that were to be used in the final edit. The idea was that in a large batch of clips, one could quickly convert to the Epic's proxy files, then cut out clips needed to edited in full Cineform files, and render those portions out. I expected time and drive savings.

It seemed like a good idea, because Epic's demo version seem to render almost instantaneous proxy files. Problem is that in its demo version only renders 5 second sections of any clip, and it hides the transcoding process time for a large file. It also hides how big your transcoded file will be.

The renders times are longer on my Window 7 lap top, than rendering the same file in Cineform.

The Cineform file is about twice the size, but both files play back in Vegas with equal ease.

Except for file size savings in a larger project, I am not seeing a benefit to this program for Cineform owners.

Cineform users pay a bit more for DVFilm -- by about three times-- but the fact that you get a clean editable outweighs the $ 100 or so extra in cost.

Marcus van Bavel · May 2nd, 2010, 11:59 AM

Hi, thanks for purchasing it. You can certainly use Epic as a transcoder, however that's not what it is.

The point of Epic is that you can do many of your editing tasks while Epic is preparing for real time playback in the background. The point is to get away from the tape-like workflow that transcoding forces upon you.

Right after shooting you can drag your DSLR quicktimes directly into Vegas from the file explorer. You can select takes. You can select the in and out points with the trimmer. You can put the clips into the timeline and set up your rough cut in its proper order of shots. You can adjust transition points. You can do all those things without waiting for any transcodes to finish.

Also if you drop clips into the timeline in rough order from start to finish, the first clip is likely ready for RT playback by the time you have set its in and out points (say for example, one minute to think about the in and out points on a 30 sec clip). Once the clip is trimmed then, it will playback in real time. And thus once all the clips are assembled and roughed in, the whole rough cut is ready for RT playback.

Also its important to use the purple mode for rendering. If you do this the real time playback mode is irrelevant to rendering-- thus the fine quality of the real time files are not important-- you are always using the original files for rendering.

One more point: people have to keep their transcode files forever. With Epic the extra files are deletable. You don't need them to archive or later restore your project. So the extra file space, long-term, is zero.

Robert St-Onge · May 2nd, 2010, 07:18 PM

So I have been using Epic I on and off for several weeks now with Vegas 9.0d (previously 9.0c), did my first corporate job with mixed footage from my EX1 and Canon T2i and it is working very well.

It is now always enabled, no matter what and it is not conflicting at all with Vegas, even if not editing Canon footage or footage that would require Epic I.

I am also leaving the purple mode on at all times, instead I just switch Vegas preview from full to half and vice-versa. This way I never forget to turn the purple mode on for full quality render. You also get a full quality render even if your preview is set to half in Vegas.

Great product, great price and very solid!

Rob

Matthias Krause · May 4th, 2010, 01:55 PM

Still not working with Vegas 8.0?

Marcus van Bavel · May 5th, 2010, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matthias Krause

Still not working with Vegas 8.0?

Not yet, it will be a few weeks at least.

We are working now on the Vegas 9/64-bit plug-in and it is functioning and close to finished.

Matthias Krause · May 6th, 2010, 09:38 AM

Do you guys really force me to buy Neoscene? I´ll have to finish a project next week... ;-(

March 30th, 2010, 05:36 PM	#16
Perrone Ford Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4,100	Hmmm, that's a bit dicey... Taking a full frame, square pixel, 4:2:0 format, and changing it to a anamorphic, non-square, 4:2:2 format. Probably ok for cutting, but I'd want to shift back to the real thing before doing any color work or text overlays, or anything of that nature. Probably good for the rough cut though. __________________ DVX100, PMW-EX1, Canon 550D, FigRig, Dell Octocore, Avid MC4/5, MB Looks, RedCineX, Matrox MX02 mini, GTech RAID, Edirol R-4, Senn. G2 Evo, Countryman, Moles and Lowels.

March 30th, 2010, 06:10 PM	#17
Robert St-Onge Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mtl, CDN Posts: 77	Taken from: http://dvfilm.com/epic/help.htm 10-bit YUV mode H.264 files The proxy is used only when the EPIC Quality Column is red. Otherwise the H.264 original is used. The Vegas Preview quality setting has no effect in this mode. In this mode, we strongly suggest that the “Mark Proxy” option be turned on. This will warn you if a file is rendered in EPIC Red. Normal (RGB) mode, H.264 files In this mode, with 10-bit YUV turned off, it is the Vegas preview setting that controls the proxy usage. If Vegas is in Preview ½ mode, or in the lesser size modes, the proxy will be used. In Preview Full, the original H.264 file will be used. However, you can force the plug-in to use the proxy in all preview modes by setting the EPIC quality to red. Last edited by Robert St-Onge; March 30th, 2010 at 06:58 PM.

May 2nd, 2010, 01:33 AM	#25
Chris Barcellos Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Elk Grove CA Posts: 6,838	My review: I had posted over at the Cineform forum about the idea of using Epic as a cutting tool, to render Cineform clips that were to be used in the final edit. The idea was that in a large batch of clips, one could quickly convert to the Epic's proxy files, then cut out clips needed to edited in full Cineform files, and render those portions out. I expected time and drive savings. It seemed like a good idea, because Epic's demo version seem to render almost instantaneous proxy files. Problem is that in its demo version only renders 5 second sections of any clip, and it hides the transcoding process time for a large file. It also hides how big your transcoded file will be. The renders times are longer on my Window 7 lap top, than rendering the same file in Cineform. The Cineform file is about twice the size, but both files play back in Vegas with equal ease. Except for file size savings in a larger project, I am not seeing a benefit to this program for Cineform owners. Cineform users pay a bit more for DVFilm -- by about three times-- but the fact that you get a clean editable outweighs the $ 100 or so extra in cost. __________________ Chris J. Barcellos

April 6th, 2010, 09:52 PM	#18
Robert St-Onge Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mtl, CDN Posts: 77	Purchased Epic and really happy so far. Conversion to 60P from Canon has been fixed. Got some 450 shots on the timeline, over an hour and a half, all I did shoot with my T2i so far! Several fx and transitions. Rendered few minutes and all went fine. Still experimenting on some workflow. I now leave the show quality window set to high at all times. If playback chokes on the native .mov, which it will after a second or so, it automatically switch to the proxy on playback. Brilliant plugin, again, I think this is the best and cheapest alternative, and let's you render from the original. Rob

April 20th, 2010, 10:26 PM	#20
Howie Cheung Tourist Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Toronto Posts: 1	This plug-in seems like a viable solution. I was wondering what you guys did when you rendered the final output. My Vegas 9 is rendering out the proxies.. do I have to disable DVFilm when rendering?

April 20th, 2010, 10:52 PM	#21
Marcus van Bavel Contributor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Austin TX Posts: 176	At least 2 ways to do it: For full-size renders, put it in high-quality "purple" mode For reduced-size renders (like for DVD) uncheck "use proxies"

April 21st, 2010, 01:00 PM	#22
Sam Kanter Major Player Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Posts: 205	Will a future version of Epic work with Vegas 64-bit?

April 21st, 2010, 04:02 PM	#23
Marcus van Bavel Contributor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Austin TX Posts: 176	Yes; we have it functioning and it will be included in the next free update. We are also working on plug-ins for Vegas 8, Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro.

April 21st, 2010, 07:34 PM	#24
Sam Kanter Major Player Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Posts: 205	Cool! I'll definitely give it a try when you get the 64-bit version working. Timeframe?

May 2nd, 2010, 11:59 AM	#26
Marcus van Bavel Contributor Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Austin TX Posts: 176	Hi, thanks for purchasing it. You can certainly use Epic as a transcoder, however that's not what it is. The point of Epic is that you can do many of your editing tasks while Epic is preparing for real time playback in the background. The point is to get away from the tape-like workflow that transcoding forces upon you. Right after shooting you can drag your DSLR quicktimes directly into Vegas from the file explorer. You can select takes. You can select the in and out points with the trimmer. You can put the clips into the timeline and set up your rough cut in its proper order of shots. You can adjust transition points. You can do all those things without waiting for any transcodes to finish. Also if you drop clips into the timeline in rough order from start to finish, the first clip is likely ready for RT playback by the time you have set its in and out points (say for example, one minute to think about the in and out points on a 30 sec clip). Once the clip is trimmed then, it will playback in real time. And thus once all the clips are assembled and roughed in, the whole rough cut is ready for RT playback. Also its important to use the purple mode for rendering. If you do this the real time playback mode is irrelevant to rendering-- thus the fine quality of the real time files are not important-- you are always using the original files for rendering. One more point: people have to keep their transcode files forever. With Epic the extra files are deletable. You don't need them to archive or later restore your project. So the extra file space, long-term, is zero.

May 2nd, 2010, 07:18 PM	#27
Robert St-Onge Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mtl, CDN Posts: 77	So I have been using Epic I on and off for several weeks now with Vegas 9.0d (previously 9.0c), did my first corporate job with mixed footage from my EX1 and Canon T2i and it is working very well. It is now always enabled, no matter what and it is not conflicting at all with Vegas, even if not editing Canon footage or footage that would require Epic I. I am also leaving the purple mode on at all times, instead I just switch Vegas preview from full to half and vice-versa. This way I never forget to turn the purple mode on for full quality render. You also get a full quality render even if your preview is set to half in Vegas. Great product, great price and very solid! Rob

May 4th, 2010, 01:55 PM	#28
Matthias Krause Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 203	Still not working with Vegas 8.0?

May 6th, 2010, 09:38 AM	#30
Matthias Krause Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 203	Do you guys really force me to buy Neoscene? I´ll have to finish a project next week... ;-(