How can I view? Help needed Please at DVinfo.net

Tim Cee · March 29th, 2009, 08:56 AM

I apologize for the lengthy post. I also want to Thank those of you in advance who’ve taken the time to help me on this. Coming from Still Photography, I’m quickly seeing the jump into HDV includes a steep learning curve.

Question: Can I watch my VEGAS PRO 8 EDITED HD footage on my HDTV based on my equipment and situations as listed below? And if so what is the best way to accomplish this? Here’s my gear followed by what I need the help with.

Vegas Pro 8 with DVD Architect 5
A Dell XPS420 PC with Windows Vista Premium 32 bit OS, 4 GB Ram and a 2.66 processor with a Bluray burner/player and in the 2nd optical bay sits a CD/DVD burner/player
A Canon XHA1 Hi Def Camera, I shoot HD in 60i
In the living room I have a Sharp 52” LCD HDTV in full 1080P connected to a brand new Panasonic Bluray player that says it plays just about all the formats including DVD’s and even CD’s.

After scouring the archives and gathering as much input as I can regarding my objective I am more confused than when I started. Here is where I’m at so far….,

I’ve captured and edited my HD 60i footage with Vegas, I have all of that (sorta) down so far but now I wish to make a disc (DVD or Bluray) to watch my finished projects on my HDTV using my Bluray player in as high of quality or as near as possible. Should be pretty cut and dry right? Ever see the Disney flick Fantasia where the numbers dance off the page and around the room while Mickey is perplexed and in a daze? Well I can relate. My head is spongy with so much new terminology.

Based on my gear, what are my best options to accomplish this?

I see all kinds of threads about using Regular DVD’s to burn HD video using the Bluray feature in Vegas but you need a PS3 to playback. I see threads about downgrading from HD to SD, I see where you can watch everything from your PC, I see threads that talk about many other things but none relating to my specific situation as of yet. I read a few lengthy threads with problems close to mine but with different playback methods. I See threads that say you can download all kinds of freeware to accomplish this but I wish to use what I have if possible, that being Vegas Pro 8. Can anybody point me in the right direction? What am I missing here? What do I need to do to render to disc, then view my project on my HDTV via the Bluray player I have hooked up to it.

I have not yet tried rendering to an actual Bluray media disc and have not yet bought any blank Bluray media but will if it is my only option. It seems a waste to burn a few 2 minute trial clips on a BD disc. I have tried the various combinations I have read about to render HD onto DVD’s to play using the bluray render in Vegas but they do not play on anything but my PC so far, quite possibly I did something wrong in the render but surely there must be an easier way to accomplish this with the equipment I have?

I can play my footage from the camera via one of the many HDMI inputs the TV has but it is not my edited footage. It looks incredible but again, it isn’t my edited stuff. What about printing my edited project back to tape? This defeats the purpose of Bluray in my eyes. I could sure use some help.

Long story short, all I want to do is watch my edited footage on my 52” HDTV using the gear I have.

Thanks,

Tim

Jeff Harper · March 29th, 2009, 09:24 AM

Western Digital Media player sounds like the ticket for you.

Look it up, buy it!

I haven't bought it yet, but it is popular and seems amazing.

I'm not sure what format you'd render to, but you render to a external HD or some USB thing, hook it to WD media player, hook media player to tv via HDMI, and it will play. The player has a menu like a DVD player, and I may go buy mine today.

It will play m2t files, mpeg, etc. I love the fact I can put together blue ray quality video and not have to burn anything.

Available at B and H, Newegg, and amazon. Reviews at newegg and amazon might be helpful for you.

I'm sure you could find it at Best Buy, etc., also.

Marcus Martell · March 29th, 2009, 09:30 AM

How much does it cost and wich model is Jeff?

thx

Jeff Harper · March 29th, 2009, 09:33 AM

About $100 and I don't if they have more than one model. You would obviously want the latest one, other than that, you'll need to look around. I'm going to Micro Center for mine. I like to buy locally whenever I can if prices are similar.

Marcus Martell · March 29th, 2009, 09:50 AM

If u'r talkng about the model that has HDMI connection and not component it's WDTV and costs about 100 euros here in Spain 2.....
So if u suggest to buy it on tuesday it will bw mine!
:)
have a nice sunday my friend!

Rick Diaz · March 29th, 2009, 10:25 AM

The easiest way to watch your edited HD footage is to record it back to the camera. Vegas can do this and you don't need any new hardware.

Jeff Harper · March 29th, 2009, 11:18 AM

Rick is correct; using the gear you have, which is what you originally asked about, you could use tape for your edited footage, but what a hassle that would be to me. Fast forwarding would be slow, as would rewinding to rewatch something you missed; plus having to hook up my camera everytime I wanted to watch footage. Not to mention wear and tear on your camera heads.

With a media player you could have many different movies, and they would show up on a menu, and you could pick and choose what to view. Much nicer IMO.

Rick Diaz · March 29th, 2009, 12:18 PM

Personally, I stream my edited videos wirelessly using Media Center to a Linksys extender connected to my 46" display. That is, when I'm not burning them to a BD disc for playback on my Sony BD-350. But that's just me. ;)

Tim Cee · March 29th, 2009, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Diaz

The easiest way to watch your edited HD footage is to record it back to the camera. Vegas can do this and you don't need any new hardware.

Thanks Rick, I forgot to mention I also have an HV30 for capture and playback so I guess I will start reading up on capture to tape.

Tim Cee · March 29th, 2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick Diaz

Personally, I stream my edited videos wirelessly using Media Center to a Linksys extender connected to my 46" display. That is, when I'm not burning them to a BD disc for playback on my Sony BD-350. But that's just me. ;)

Care to elaborate on this a little more? It sounds as if this may be my other option other than printing back to tape.

Peter Greis · March 29th, 2009, 06:47 PM

Just to support Rick and Jeff's suggestions, I use both methods below:

Western Digital WDTV is a fantastic little box as others have mentioned. Coupled with an inexpensive 2.5" portable drive such as the WD Passport series it makes a great play back device with HDMI out. I simply write an out an HDV file from Vegas using the HDV 1080i template and copy the resulting file to the small drive and attach it to the WDTV and playback on my TV.

I also have a Network Attached storage device and I can copy the same output file to that device and then stream it across a 100Mb Ethernet network to a Sony Playstation 3 which produces a beautiful HD picture on my TV.

I don't yet have a Bluray burner, but unless I want to give someone a copy, the two methods above are by far the least hassle possible for watching HD content output from Vegas (assuming you have the equipment).

I have to say the WD device is superb and given it's portability you can take it and a small drive without you so display on some one else's TV (assuming they have an HDMI input).

Tim Cee · March 29th, 2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Greis

Just to support Rick and Jeff's suggestions, I use both methods below:

Western Digital WDTV is a fantastic little box as others have mentioned. Coupled with an inexpensive 2.5" portable drive such as the WD Passport series it makes a great play back device with HDMI out. I simply write an out an HDV file from Vegas using the HDV 1080i template and copy the resulting file to the small drive and attach it to the WDTV and playback on my TV.

I also have a Network Attached storage device and I can copy the same output file to that device and then stream it across a 100Mb Ethernet network to a Sony Playstation 3 which produces a beautiful HD picture on my TV.

I don't yet have a Bluray burner, but unless I want to give someone a copy, the two methods above are by far the least hassle possible for watching HD content output from Vegas (assuming you have the equipment).

I have to say the WD device is superb and given it's portability you can take it and a small drive without you so display on some one else's TV (assuming they have an HDMI input).

Okay Peter, you have my attention. I looked into this WDTV thing and it looks pretty doable for my situation.

Thanks you guys for that bit of info.

Q- What exact render set up would I use for this?

Q- Can any external Hard Drive work with this?

Jeff Harper · March 30th, 2009, 04:12 AM

You can render to most any format that will play on your PC and it will play on the unit.

MP4, avi, mpeg, wmv. Go find it and read the specs and you can see the list of what it will play.

Any usb should work.

Very simple device.

Peter Greis · March 31st, 2009, 06:43 PM

As Jeff has said, you can use quite a few different formats that the WDTV will play.

Check out the manual on the Western Digital website for the detailed listing.

I personally use the HDV 1080 60i render preset in Vegas and it creates M2T files that play perfectly on the WDTV.

I use a small Western Digital 2.5" external drive. Although it is a 5400RPM drive, the videos play without any glitches. The nice part about those drives is that power comes from the USB port, so you only need to use the WDTV power supply making one less thing to carry.

Mark OConnell · March 31st, 2009, 08:19 PM

Could someone who has the Western Digital box let me know if you can set it to repeat a movie, like for continual playback?

Thanks!

March 29th, 2009, 08:56 AM	#1
Tim Cee Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Orange County, California Posts: 179	How can I view? Help needed Please I apologize for the lengthy post. I also want to Thank those of you in advance who’ve taken the time to help me on this. Coming from Still Photography, I’m quickly seeing the jump into HDV includes a steep learning curve. Question: Can I watch my VEGAS PRO 8 EDITED HD footage on my HDTV based on my equipment and situations as listed below? And if so what is the best way to accomplish this? Here’s my gear followed by what I need the help with. Vegas Pro 8 with DVD Architect 5 A Dell XPS420 PC with Windows Vista Premium 32 bit OS, 4 GB Ram and a 2.66 processor with a Bluray burner/player and in the 2nd optical bay sits a CD/DVD burner/player A Canon XHA1 Hi Def Camera, I shoot HD in 60i In the living room I have a Sharp 52” LCD HDTV in full 1080P connected to a brand new Panasonic Bluray player that says it plays just about all the formats including DVD’s and even CD’s. After scouring the archives and gathering as much input as I can regarding my objective I am more confused than when I started. Here is where I’m at so far…., I’ve captured and edited my HD 60i footage with Vegas, I have all of that (sorta) down so far but now I wish to make a disc (DVD or Bluray) to watch my finished projects on my HDTV using my Bluray player in as high of quality or as near as possible. Should be pretty cut and dry right? Ever see the Disney flick Fantasia where the numbers dance off the page and around the room while Mickey is perplexed and in a daze? Well I can relate. My head is spongy with so much new terminology. Based on my gear, what are my best options to accomplish this? I see all kinds of threads about using Regular DVD’s to burn HD video using the Bluray feature in Vegas but you need a PS3 to playback. I see threads about downgrading from HD to SD, I see where you can watch everything from your PC, I see threads that talk about many other things but none relating to my specific situation as of yet. I read a few lengthy threads with problems close to mine but with different playback methods. I See threads that say you can download all kinds of freeware to accomplish this but I wish to use what I have if possible, that being Vegas Pro 8. Can anybody point me in the right direction? What am I missing here? What do I need to do to render to disc, then view my project on my HDTV via the Bluray player I have hooked up to it. I have not yet tried rendering to an actual Bluray media disc and have not yet bought any blank Bluray media but will if it is my only option. It seems a waste to burn a few 2 minute trial clips on a BD disc. I have tried the various combinations I have read about to render HD onto DVD’s to play using the bluray render in Vegas but they do not play on anything but my PC so far, quite possibly I did something wrong in the render but surely there must be an easier way to accomplish this with the equipment I have? I can play my footage from the camera via one of the many HDMI inputs the TV has but it is not my edited footage. It looks incredible but again, it isn’t my edited stuff. What about printing my edited project back to tape? This defeats the purpose of Bluray in my eyes. I could sure use some help. Long story short, all I want to do is watch my edited footage on my 52” HDTV using the gear I have. Thanks, Tim __________________ www.socalt.com

March 29th, 2009, 06:47 PM	#11
Peter Greis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 41	Options for HD Playback Just to support Rick and Jeff's suggestions, I use both methods below: Western Digital WDTV is a fantastic little box as others have mentioned. Coupled with an inexpensive 2.5" portable drive such as the WD Passport series it makes a great play back device with HDMI out. I simply write an out an HDV file from Vegas using the HDV 1080i template and copy the resulting file to the small drive and attach it to the WDTV and playback on my TV. I also have a Network Attached storage device and I can copy the same output file to that device and then stream it across a 100Mb Ethernet network to a Sony Playstation 3 which produces a beautiful HD picture on my TV. I don't yet have a Bluray burner, but unless I want to give someone a copy, the two methods above are by far the least hassle possible for watching HD content output from Vegas (assuming you have the equipment). I have to say the WD device is superb and given it's portability you can take it and a small drive without you so display on some one else's TV (assuming they have an HDMI input).

March 31st, 2009, 06:43 PM	#14
Peter Greis Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dayton, OH Posts: 41	Wdtv As Jeff has said, you can use quite a few different formats that the WDTV will play. Check out the manual on the Western Digital website for the detailed listing. I personally use the HDV 1080 60i render preset in Vegas and it creates M2T files that play perfectly on the WDTV. I use a small Western Digital 2.5" external drive. Although it is a 5400RPM drive, the videos play without any glitches. The nice part about those drives is that power comes from the USB port, so you only need to use the WDTV power supply making one less thing to carry.

March 31st, 2009, 08:19 PM	#15
Mark OConnell Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 420	Could someone who has the Western Digital box let me know if you can set it to repeat a movie, like for continual playback? Thanks! __________________ http://www.markoconnell.org

March 29th, 2009, 09:24 AM	#2
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Western Digital Media player sounds like the ticket for you. Look it up, buy it! I haven't bought it yet, but it is popular and seems amazing. I'm not sure what format you'd render to, but you render to a external HD or some USB thing, hook it to WD media player, hook media player to tv via HDMI, and it will play. The player has a menu like a DVD player, and I may go buy mine today. It will play m2t files, mpeg, etc. I love the fact I can put together blue ray quality video and not have to burn anything. Available at B and H, Newegg, and amazon. Reviews at newegg and amazon might be helpful for you. I'm sure you could find it at Best Buy, etc., also.

March 29th, 2009, 09:30 AM	#3
Marcus Martell Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: spain Posts: 1,202	How much does it cost and wich model is Jeff? thx

March 29th, 2009, 09:33 AM	#4
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	About $100 and I don't if they have more than one model. You would obviously want the latest one, other than that, you'll need to look around. I'm going to Micro Center for mine. I like to buy locally whenever I can if prices are similar.

March 29th, 2009, 09:50 AM	#5
Marcus Martell Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: spain Posts: 1,202	If u'r talkng about the model that has HDMI connection and not component it's WDTV and costs about 100 euros here in Spain 2..... So if u suggest to buy it on tuesday it will bw mine! :) have a nice sunday my friend!

March 29th, 2009, 10:25 AM	#6
Rick Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 146	The easiest way to watch your edited HD footage is to record it back to the camera. Vegas can do this and you don't need any new hardware.

March 29th, 2009, 11:18 AM	#7
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Rick is correct; using the gear you have, which is what you originally asked about, you could use tape for your edited footage, but what a hassle that would be to me. Fast forwarding would be slow, as would rewinding to rewatch something you missed; plus having to hook up my camera everytime I wanted to watch footage. Not to mention wear and tear on your camera heads. With a media player you could have many different movies, and they would show up on a menu, and you could pick and choose what to view. Much nicer IMO.

March 29th, 2009, 12:18 PM	#8
Rick Diaz Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 146	Personally, I stream my edited videos wirelessly using Media Center to a Linksys extender connected to my 46" display. That is, when I'm not burning them to a BD disc for playback on my Sony BD-350. But that's just me. ;)

March 30th, 2009, 04:12 AM	#13
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	You can render to most any format that will play on your PC and it will play on the unit. MP4, avi, mpeg, wmv. Go find it and read the specs and you can see the list of what it will play. Any usb should work. Very simple device.