First HD Project

Sherman

Sherman

Well-known member
We are embarking on our first HD project and I need to know if Vegas can handle it.
If not I'll have to farm out the editing as I don't have time to learn another NLE.
I've ordered Volumes 1 and 2 of HVX Bootcamp, as the producer has specified the HVX200 and I need to know both how to operate the camera and how to handle the footage.
This is daunting and we have a lot riding on the outcome.
I've heard some concerns expressed about Vegas Pro 8 and it's relative stability on the Sony Forum.
It's work fine for my SD projects, but I'm I'm a little concerned about taking the plunge into HD with with my old buddy, Vegas.
Is he up to it or should I look at adding an editor to the project?
 
You'll need to use Raylight to work with the P2 footage in Vegas. Other than that, Vegas 8 should work just fine for you. Lots of HVX users using it to edit.

Compatibility with other systems in the way of EDL's and compatible timeline formats is always an issue but that's much the case now with most NLE's talking to each other at all.

I'm pretty sure Barry covers ingesting to Vegas in the 2nd Bootcamp DVD. If not, there is plenty on DVXuser that would point you in the right direction.

cheno
 
question I have because i dont edit HD... cant you still edit and capture HD footage in vegas without raylight? Like whats the diff between the two
 
Some HD, yes. HD from Panasonic P2 cameras, not without Raylight.

There are also issues with several non-Sony cameras when using the footage with Vegas.

There's nothing inherent about Vegas's architecture that disallows using P2 footage; Vegas has a very robust framework which handles HD resolutions very solidly, and has for many versions. But Sony is, understandably in some ways, worried about supporting Sony cameras and the other cameras may or may not be supported.

Now, with the 200 and Raylight, there are some issues because everything needs to be translated THROUGH Raylight in order to work with Vegas.

If you're working with 720 footage, you're pretty much set. It's pretty much like working with DV, and Raylight is improving all the time to give better performance.

If you're working with 1080 footage, you may well run into some issues. For example, you MUST shoot 24pA if you want to edit in 24p; Raylight can't remove standard pulldown from 1080 footage. The performance will take a bigger hit and you might not get playback of much more than 10 frames per second (YMMV). And you'll be more likely to run into render issues and my old friend, the Raylight Codec Error.

A few other things to keep in mind with Raylight is that if you render FROM Vegas using the Raylight codec (which you'll need to, most likely, for rendering 720 or 1080 footage), you'll need to have "Make Self-Contained AVI" checked in the Raylight configuration, or you'll end up with two files -- a proxy AVI (which is what you use on the timeline) and a .rayl file, which you can't delete or you won't be able to use the proxy AVI. And if you make a self-contained AVI, any other computer you want to use it on will need to have Raylight installed or it won't be able to read it.

It would be nice if Sony would implement the same level of support with P2 that Edius and Premiere Pro 3.1 have; it's something Sonic Foundry would have done and something Vegas deserves. But I've long given up hoping that it might happen . . .
 
Ok so lets say for the panasonic hvx200, theres two ways of recording footage, through a P2 card or through tape. Vegas will allow you to capture from the tape on the hvx but you need raylight to capture from p2 card... all correct?
 
The 200 records DV only to tape. It's exactly like the DVX100 in that respect; Vegas was always the best-integrated NLE with the DVX, and that applies to the 200 when recording to tape. But that's DV only.

Anything else -- HD, DVCPRO 50 -- is recorded to the card.

It's not "capturing" -- it's already captured. The video files are ready to go AS video files on the P2 card when you recorded them. The problem Vegas has is that it does not recognize the standard OP-Atom MXF file format, which the HVX video is recorded with. Too, it doesn't natively support DVCPRO; you have to install the codecs yourself for that (Raylight does this).

So, you need Raylight both to use the MXF files, and to use the DVCPRO codec.
 
David Jimerson said:
The 200 records DV only to tape.
Click to expand...

I believe this is incorrect. While I have not tried to record DV other than DVCPro50 to P2 myself, the HVX user guide shows record times for various size P2 cards when recording DV. It also shows (different) record times for DVCPro50 to P2.

Kevin
 
No, what I mean is that the only thing the HVX records to tape is DV. You can record anything to the card, but to tape, your only option is DV.

Also, DV and DVCPRO 50 are not the same thing at all, except they're both standard def.
 
Peabody said:
So, would I be better off just to use a Sony HD camera?
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a good idea to select your camera based on your NLE. Your NLE doesn't give you the picture you want; your camera (and your shooting technique) does that. In my mind, if a camera gives me the look I want, but my NLE doesn't support it, then I'm going to use the NLE which does.

That said, shooting in 720, Vegas/Raylight is just fine. True, it's a little more complicated than simple native support would be, but it's just fine.
 
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