Using Vegas 5:

I was just having issues with this the other day. Just changing your render size, and even adding compression will probably still leave you with a big file and less than optimal results.

The first thing you want to do when you "Render As" is change the 'save as' drop down box to .mov, .wmv, or .mpg. I personally use .wmv right now but that's just off of a friends recommendation not off of any testing.

Next change the "template" drop down menu. I like to use 256kbps template since its the best compressed template that uses 30fps.

Thanks Dan, it does help to know I'm not the only one :)

I'd also add, you may want to brighten up your video for the web. Video looks darker than normal on computer screens. Here are some basic color correcting examples to see the differences (click here).

I do this a lot for clients, even with movies lasting many minutes and so long as your target viewers have broadband, you should have no real problems.

What screen size are you looking at using - 320x240 or something else? If 320x240, 256k (video and audio combined - 240/16), as Matt mentions, is a good sweet spot for size vs qualty tradeoff (about 2MB's/min).

And yes, .wmv is a good way to go. If you use 160x120, you can halve the bitrate for equivalent quality and if you use 640x480 you'll need to double it. If the movie is to be played on a PC, as on the web, de-interlacing is also recommended.

I get consistently good results using 2-pass unconstrained VBR, 29.97 fps and 1-pass 16-bit CBR 22k audio, 16 or 32kbps, depending on the source.

I should mention that I frameserve out of Vegas to Procoder Express for .wmv conversion so these are Procoder settings but I imagine they have equivalents in Vegas.

Some people have reported problems getting .wmv files encoded in Vegas to stream and have found that encoding the same files in the free Windows Media Encoder instead has solved the problem for them.

Hope this helps.

Tony

Multi Video, Multi Paths
 

Hi, I am new to Vegas. I just bought Vegas 6 and I love it.
I had a question, maybe someone could point me in the right direction.

I have 3 videos, I want all of them to play in the single frame at the same time. I pretty much figured out how to do this. It looks like 3 Picture in Pictures in the frame. Now I come to the part I cant figure out. I want these videos to move across the screen at different intervals.

Ex. The first one moves from right to left at the top of the frame and the second one moves from left to right in the middle of the frame, and the third one moves from right to left at the bottom of the frame.

I am almost positive that this can be done. Does Vegas support this?

Thanks for any info.
Marshal Hewit
Las Vegas, NV

you can do it several ways, the easiest of which is to line up 3 tracks, using track motion to squeeze the vid into either vertical or horizontal areas. You can also easily achieve this with masks.
Other methods can be found http://www.vasst.com/search.aspx?text=split

Click on the link below my name and go to the newsletter archives. The first three issues teach how to use Track Motion which will let you achieve exactly what you are wanting to do.

I have an older Plextor but I've never had problems on my Sony DVD player, even when my computer has some trouble recognizing the disc. My bother-in-law, however, had trouble playing some of my DVDs so it may be machine dependent. He ended up viewing them on his PS2. By the way, I usually burn DVD-R discs.

Sound Forge Problem
 

Not a Vegas issue, but I think this is probably the most appropriate forum, since many of us use Vegas with SF. I use SF7, and my "wave hammer" plug-in reverts to demo mode from time to time (in demo mode, you get electronic beeps throughout the processed file).

This is apparently a known issue from Sony, as it's on their knowledge base -- they say to uninstall and then reinstall SF, then re-register the software.

That's fine, and it works for me, but sometimes it takes a couple of cycles of uninstall/reinstall before it comes back. Also, it's a *major* hassle, and I don't understand why it keeps having problems.

It seems like I have to do this every couple of weeks, and it "breaks" randomly -- no changes at all to the computer in the meantime. By now, I've probably uninstalled and reinstalled SF 8 or 10 times. I'm worried that one day it will tell me I've registered the same serial number too many times!

This is extremely frustrating. Has this happened to anyone else? Are there any better solutions out there?

My deck was to old. Went out and got a new $150. deck and they all play back. Wow, I thought it was the burner. Thanks anyway. Bob

I think I would try a more severe step:

1) uninstall ALL Sony programs
2) delete the Sony folder in Program Files
3) If you're adventurous, remove any remaining Registry entries for the Sony products
4) reinstall ALL Sony programs (may want to do Sound Forge after Vegas)

Edward - I may just try that. I have a bunch of Sony stuff on the computer in addition to SF (V5.0, NR2.0, CDA5.2, DVDA2.0, and the version of Acid that comes with V5). Maybe one of them is messing up the Wave Hammer plug-in registration somehow? I can only assume that's why it reverts to demo mode, it suddenly thinks that the registration isn't valid. The weird thing is that it only happens with that plug-in.

In any event, I'm considering upgrading to SF8 at some point. I wonder if it uses the same copy protection scheme? The program itself seems to remain satisfied it is a legal copy, but the Wave Hammer plug-in registration is extremely touchy! I'd much rather use a h/w dongle than put up with this frustration.

Last night, I just got so frustrated reinstalling SF for the umteenth time that I sent a note to Sony support and started this thread. Thanks for letting me vent.

"Script Menu" I can't find it any where
 

Hi all:

I downloaded the "match aspect ratio" script for my vegas 6b. I followed the instruction on the help section by placing the script in side c:\Program Files\Sony\Vegas 6.0\Script Menu but I don't have "Script Menu" folder on my computer. For the heck of it, I went a head and create a folder in Vegas 6.0 folder called "Script Menu" and placed the script in there but nothing happen when I scan it.

Why am I missing this folder? Can some one help me find it please

Allan

Are you looking in the "Sony" folder or the "Sony Setup" folder? I can guarantee that the default Sony install includes the "Script Menu" folder inside the "Sony\Vegas 6.0" folder. You don't need to create it manually.

Please rename the Match Aspect script so that it begins with a capital letter. Also, don't be afraid to check out all the other scripts that are available.

Dumb Audio Question
 

Alright. So right now i'm working on a project with a lot of slow motion, and reverse shots. I want the audio to Slow/speed up/reverse with the video. Is there any way to do this in vegas? because i've been searching and cannot find one. Is this something i have to do in a seperate audio editor? I know, from working with Premiere in the past, I had achieved it with that program.
I'm assuming there is no audio velocity evelope in vegas. Oh. Version 4.0
Anyway, Thank you anybody who responds.

-Joe