Hi all

I'm about to start a project where I'll have to consolidate multiple footage formats into one timeline and then render to DV PAL 4:3 for broadcast.

The footage I have is 1080p 25fps, 720p 50fps, DV PAL 4:3, also MPEG 1 and MPEG 2

Quite a colorful bunch isn't it?

So how do I set my Vegas project? Do I set project properties to 1080p? Or shall I set it to DV PAL 4:3 since that's what I'm going to be mastering it to?

Should I keep the project at 1080p since that's what my main footage is composed of, render the project as 1080p and use a transcoding software like adobe media encoder to do the scaling and converting?

Further still, which setting will be least taxing on the computer and take the least time to render and process? I anticipate a fair amount of color correction and compositing to be done too, and I don't have a powerful computer.

Any help and insight would be most appreciated! Thanks!

I am not a Vegas expert but I would try setting up the project for the final delivery out 4:3 output.

I'd agree with Troy.

Yes you'd get better detail control working in the higher resolution, but you're going to have to crop anyway since you need 4:3... may as well bite the bullet and rez down to 720x576 now; working in 16:9 isn't gonna help.

And if there's enough time I might pre-render the larger sized 16x9 media to DV PAL frame size before editing. I hate doing that myself (like to wait til everything's done before committing to a pan/crop) but it might make your computer happier... a slow stuttering computer sucks for editing much more than the absence of flexible pan/crop options... course if you've hours and hours of footage to sift thru, maybe this isn't such a hot idea. :)