Does anyone have the Vegas Video website handy? I keep hearing good things about this software, so I thought I should go and do some reading. Thanks!

http://sonicfoundry.com

I've been using this software for a year now...will NEVER go back to Premiere. I've talked to people who've used FCP and they think VV3 is better. Rumor has it that vv4 will have 5.1 surround sound incorporated in it.

Also, look at SoFo's Noise Reduction plugin.....it's a nice addition to VV3.

Hope this helps.

Frank---www.sonicfoundry.com---download the demo and the pdf manual--the key is to read the manual with this baby because on the surface it seems so simple but it goes very deep--

Here's the direct download url:

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/download/step2.asp?DID=363

Vegas is the best program I have ever used for editing video. I frequently have the program open for WEEKS at a time without a crash. It has a LOT of buried power once you start digging.

There is also a 'free" 3D plugin now available at http://www.debugmode.com/pluginpac/

Check it out. It makes Vegas even better than it is.

Thanks for the link. I read about that 3D plugin---seems interesting.

Also, look at the WinMorph plugin at the same site! It is a very interesting plugin.

Frank, you won't regret going to Vegas. Especially if you plan on doing serious editing on a laptop. Just need an OHCI compliant 1394 interface (they all are pretty much that way now).

Douglas Spotted Eagle did the VAST tour using a Sony Viao, a Mona external pro audio rack using a cardbus interface and an external 1394 HardDrive. Doing realtime previews of even the most complex video/audio effects.

Joe C.

This may be a stupid question..., but will Vegas do PAL?

YES!

Hey Frank...

The demo version is FREE. Seems like all your q's would be answered if you'd try it instead of using up bandwidth.

Hi all,
I was printing out a second office copy of the VV 3.0 manual, and my printer ran out of ink while unattended.

By the time I got around to filling up the ink tray it started the print job over from page 1......ugg

The reason I posted was this.....I hate to see all of this nice color printing and paper go to waste, since this is printed on a really nice printer (Phaser 850DX)..........

If anyone wants the 1st 140 (of the ~400)pages, send me an email and I'll send it to you via USPS for the cost of USA postage.

Rgds.,
Dan

Frank, not only does it do PAL, it easily converts existing NTSC to PAL if necessary and vice versa.
Thats why I want to get a PAL camera, I know it will be a no brainer to do final out to NTSC when I'm done editing.
It will also resequence the Audio correctly, since it manipulates audio down to the sample rate (much more accuracy and control than using just frame rate).

i've been convinsed after reading quite a bit and talking with profecional editors (i admit, i haven't tried any of it myself) that FCP is currently the best NLE software out there in it's price range.
but sinse i'm getting a pc, FCP isn't an option.
AVID XPRESS DV 3.5 seems to be it's best competitor. although in this forum there's excitement around VV3. how come i have'nt come across any seriously detailed and elaborated head2heads of VV3 vs. FCP or more interestingly VV3 vs. XPRESS DV 3.5 based on use of both products?

Sonic Foundry doesn't have the marketing dollars to go head to head with Apple, Avid etc------there have been feature comparisons and lots of discussions in forums comparing the two---The long and the short of it is that Vegas does everything as well as Avid short OMF support and EDL's---It does sound better, the codec is equal or better, compositing better, titling better and so on------The beauty of it is that it cost about 1/3 the price of Avid----

here's review on Vegas Video ... you can also read reviews od FCP and avid at the site

http://www.digitalvideoediting.com/2001/12_dec/reviews/cw_vegasvid3.htm

I just downloaded that 3D plugin. Very nice! Reminds me of the interface on the 50,000 dollars systems they had at our local UPN affiliate. Winmorph download seems to have been corrupted however :-( . I guess I'll try again.

Full version of WinMorph just released!
Taken form a post from the Sonicfoundry fourum (Vegas Video)

1) The WinMorph Morph transition now integrates more with Vegas. The cacheing method has been replaced with a better approach, so now you can use WinMorph like any other transition without any complications. For this to work, the dynamic RAM preview has to be turned off in Vegas (like in PluginPac 3D LE).

2) A new "Warp - WinMorph" video FX plugin has been added. So you can use WinMorph for warping/distorting events in the timeline. The sample veggies will show how easy it is to create innovative effects.

WinMorph 3.01 can be downloaded for FREE from http://www.debugmode.com/winmorph/

If any problems, please post here or at the WinMorph Userforum at http://www.debugmode.com/forums/

Thanks
Satish

What's the deal with turning off the dynamic previewing? Doesn't that mean you can't see your FX without rendering?

Man..., it even converts PAL to NTSC? I have one more question. (And thanks for all the information.) Say I want to put a computer together, what would be good to run Vegas?

1) Motherboard / chip
2) cards
3) HD / memory
4) did I miss something?

Thanks!

PS: I can't download the demo because I'm running an older system (P100). A new computer would be strictly for video. (Please don't suggest a MAC.)

Frank--the beauty of Vegas is that hardware requirements are minimal although the more raw computing power, the better the performance. Just make sure you have an OCHI complient firewire card--(the ADS Pyro with TI chips seems to be the card of choice) a dedicated video hard drive running at 7200 rpm, and 512k of memory. It runs great on either Intel or AMD and a quality mother board.

I've seen the conversion of NTSC to PAL and vice versa. It's not something I would sell to a client. Maybe, it would be suitable for event type work, weddings etc. The best conversions I've seen are through stand alone hardware (Snell & Wilcox).

Jeff

Josh, No you still get a good preview.
even on my dual 600 pentium three.

Jeff, I've seen it too, and it's great when the proper settings are used.

I'm still not sure why they say to turn off the previewing for use of the 3D pack. I've had it on and everything still works fine.

Thanks for the hardware advice.

Re: "The best conversions I've seen are through stand alone hardware (Snell & Wilcox)."

Yeah, someone at the camera forum at www.dv.com said this costs around $125,000 US. Ouch! I'm just a bottom feeder...instructional and event videos. (Pays the bills, though.)

They have units for less than 1/10 that price, maybe even 1/20 (just checking your math skills, Frank, your probably reading this at 5 in the morning). But if jojolimited says it has a great look, he's probably right. I don't use VV and the footage I saw was done by someone else. Proper settings will make all the difference in software encoding.

Jeff

1/20 of that price, that's about what a top of the line SVHS multi-system converting VCR/deck costs.

<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : Man..., it even converts PAL to NTSC? I have one more question. (And thanks for all the information.) Say I want to put a computer together, what would be good to run Vegas?<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski

I'm running the following low cost setup with VV:

MB: Abit BD7II-Raid (built in LAN/Audio/USB 2.0/ATA 133)
CPU: P4 1.8ghz
Video: ATI Radeon 7500 AGP 64meg DDR
RAM: 512 Crucial PC 2100
HD's: Seagate barracuda's 7200 spin (4 drives @ ~140gig in a RAID 0 configuration)
Firewire: OHIC compliant "plane jane" card
OS: XP Pro

VV works pretty well with the above, and if you upgrade to a faster CPU, video, and RAM you are still in for "cheap"..... if you shop around.

Also, VV plays nicely in the M$ XP operating system sandbox!

The above MB can take any flavor of the socket 478 with 400mhz/533mhz DDR bus speeds, hyper threading, and will take up to 2gig of DDR RAM <;~).

Hope that helps.

Rgds.,
Dan

Frank, in the past, you indicated you do a lot of travelling. If your budget allows, look for a well equpped laptop and add an external firewire drive. More expensive, but very usable with VV.
You could shoot and edit just about anywhere.
Also, the license from SonicFoundry license reads, you can install on a desktop and your laptop (basically more than one machine) just as long as you only use one copy at a time. That doesn't mean you can share a copy with a friend.

I got that directly from a SoFo support rep. Capture in the field, come back transfer to desktop, finish it up. wooohah!

Thanks. I used to do a lot of travelling, but not right now. Perhaps in a year or 2. Personally, I don't like laptops, and I don't like "brand computers." I've had enough of these. I'd rather research, and pick the parts myself. I'm just going to put together a bare bones editing machine.

Last question: XP or WIN 2000?

Frank...

I've got a TYAN system that can dual boot W2k or Win XP. Rendering benchmarks on both OS's come out identical in render time. I will say, however, that Win XP seems a lot more refined than w2k, unfortunately, one has to deal with M$'s Machiavellian registration scheme. In practice, either system works equally well with VV3.

As far as stable chipsets and motherboards are concerned, these are recommended if you are building for editing. BTW, these are not my recommendations, they were given by someone who knows much more than me.

Recommended for AMD: AMD 760 chipset.

Recommended for Intel: Intel 845 or 850 chipsets.

Supermicro, Tyan , Gigabyte, and ASUS motehrboards are also recommended.

XP or win2k ?

i have BOTH ( 2 computers) ...

if i had to choose between them i'd would take XP -no if's, and's or butt's !!!!!!!!!!!!
the activation is nothing ... i've have pull out HD's , firewire drives, USB devices, i pull out CD-RW 3-4 times a week, update software ..and it has never asked to be activated again.

Josh,

The 3D-LE tool will work just fine without setting RAM Preview to zero. However, if you turn on the crosshair, it will not update on the screen correctly without RAM Preview set to zero. I feel this is a VERY MINOR problem.

Now, if you are using the newest version of the WinMorph tool, WinMorph cannot get all of the frames necessary if RAM Preview is not set to zero.

Thank you. Also, that pivot function doesn't work the way I thought it did. Isn't that just like adjusting the rotation center? Why doesn't it work.

Josh,

Yes, that is basically what it does, move the pivot point in the x, y, and z directions. However, it may not effect it exactly the way you think. Sometimes it may be simpler to add multiple 3D-LE controls - one to angle this direction, one to rotate that direction, one to move it this direction...

Yeah, what's up with that jazz? Why doesn't it work uniformly all the time? That's the main reason I downloaded the plugin-- to rotate along the z axis. Granted, it makes moving and sizing clips much easier (for me) than using the pan/crop function, but still.