Can Vegas Pro 10 handle everything I need ??

[Don Parrish]

In tying up some loose ends before making a large equipment purchase I need to select an editing program. The question is not what I intend to do with it, the question is what can it not do, broadcast work etc. Everyone seems to use the other 2 major NLE's for broadcast, can Pro 10 ?? What is it's limitations other than my own abilities ??

Thanks for any help ??

[Edward Troxel]

Vegas Pro can definitely be used for broadcast work (it is every day).

Your question is a little open ended, though.

[Sean Seah]

I would suggest you hang on a short while more. V10 rocks when i started using it but it is now a nightmare. Keep crashing for a 4min project that handles cineform avi stuff. I guess its normal for a program to be unstable when it is launched, i have friends trying to quite CS5 too.

If you are working with mxf (i did it for years with V8) it is rock solid.

[Edward Troxel]

Sean, just to verify - you DID update your Cineform to the version that works with Vegas Pro 10?

[Don Parrish]

Thanks for the reply, yes it was rather open ended, but if it can perform broadcast work with ease, it will more than meet my needs and by the time it ever became a limitation it would be time to replace it anyway.

[Jeff Harper]

Keep in mind Don that if you intend to do much collaborative work with others in the broadcast industry you will likely want to use the tools they are using. Virtually no television stations, production houses use Vegas.

I love Vegas, but if I were doing projects for television I would take a hard look at Avid and Final Cut.

[Leslie Wand]

agree with jeff - vegas can do almost everything i need, but not necessarily what others might need; collaborative tools none existent, as are any comprehensive time code tools - there isn't even cmx output.....

but, if like me you're an indie producer supplying fished programs to the market - vegas can't be beat.

[Don Parrish]

I sold to good morning america once and the today show another time, I simply mailed the DV tape to GMA as they were compiling a Jeb Bush story, the Today show simply had me dub to a local station. My actual reason for asking the broadcast question was to was to keep as many options open as possible. From shooting and editing news, educational programming, a second camera for weddings ( I do not want to be a wedding photographer ) to broadcast quality just in case another network said "We would like to have that". I am beginning to see that the question may not even apply now as raw would probably be preferred. Delivery would be a problem unless the cheaper SDHC cards are used. This is why I continue to bounce between sony and JVC but that is another long story (not counting what a Nano adds to the mix).

Can someone answer this. If I hand a Vegas edited piece off to an Avid broadcaster, will they be able to display it, re edit ? Learning about codecs and files has been one of my attempts lately, but I am failing miserably on getting the big picture. From what I can tell JVC uses Sony EX files right ?? All i want for Christmas is a book that goes in depth with camera files, editing, and documentary requirements :( Some of the terminology used by Discovery for submission requirements is alien to me.

Anyway, just trying to get good stable software that has some tricks without having to buy extra plug ins all the time and can handle a wide range of my needs and teach me a few more.

Sorry for the long winded post, but picking the right camera has as much to do with files, storage and editing as it does with image quality.

[Jeff Harper]

Any Vegas file is pretty much useless to anyone that doesn't use Vegas. AVI, quicktime, etc. are universal, of course, but an Avid editor cannot use Vegas files.

I'm not involved with TV at all, so I don't know anything except that broadcast pros use Avid and Final Cut.

In your position I would contact places I would likely be working with and ask them what they are using. Ideally if you used/had both Final Cut and Avid you would be golden.

I think generally speaking Avid would be the choice, but Final Cut is really making inroads into broadcasting. At least that is my understanding.

[Bill Mecca]

While it's true a Veg file would be pretty useless to someone running Avid. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, the OP was asking if he could deliver a finished product cut on Vegas to a station. The answer there is yes. Vegas can output in most if not all the major codecs, which can then be ingested into any edit system. You need to know what format your client wants. (just like in tape days did they want it on 3/4" Mformat, Beta heck if it had enough news value we took it VHS)and today they are taking stuff off Youtube and broadcasting, if it has news value.

for true collaborative work Avid and FCP do prevail, if you are sharing partial edits etc.

[Don Parrish]

I remember the weather channel doing a story on a news stringer a few weeks ago. He was sitting in his car watching a website saying "yeah, there's a station picking up my story now" I have since wondered how he did that. in 2004 before local stations were HD, there was a DV to tape station set up for us at the studio. At the live vans I would use an RCA to BNC cable and another RCA for audio. I spoke to a friend recently about his new HD live van and he says he prefers firewire now. The RCA was anlog out to TV on the XL1S, I wonder what codec firewire uses, is it a specific codec ? What comes out of HD/SDI ?

[Jeff Harper]

Firewire is a type of cable similar in appearance to a USB cable. Firewire is actually disappearing from many new pcs now. I know when shopping for my motherboard last year I had to double check each model as I shopped because many models don't have FW inputs any more.

Firewire is a connector used for, among other things, transferring digital tape footage from consumer/prosumer cams to PC. Some external hard drives and other assorted hardward also use Firewire.

[Don Parrish]

I am familiar with the cable and computer (bad wording on my part ) , my thinking was what format is it if he prefers it at his live van ? Almost every camcorder I look at has it including some very high end.

[Jeff Harper]

Sorry, Don. I found it hard to believe you wouldn't have known what firewire was..but your questions about what codec it is didn't make sense to me, so I thought you didn't know what it was...sorry.

If he's using firewire he's likely downloading digital tapes, I guess. Is that what you meant by what format is he using?

[Don Parrish]

My friend runs a live van for a local abc affiliate, In speaking with him about camera selection I told him I was in the research phase of a new camera and was going to make sure it was HD/SDI, that's when he said he preferred news stringers to dump to his van with firewire, he takes it in, edits, then feeds it to the station. I had lunch with him but didn't look inside the van. There is a good chance his huge system is now just a small portable device. FOX affiliates use to use a briefcase device for DV and I am sure his old equipment was like a 400 pound VCR compared to what he has now.

My question was, What format does firewire have, it's own, or just a port that outputs whatever data is on it ?? I will have to have lunch and see his van, I do know that his station is 720p not 1080. What kind of file does a pmw ex3 have coming out of the HD/SDI at 4:2:2 ??

Thanks for the replies.