Render, Vegas, FCP, Realtime, Matrox RTX100......

[Flintstone]

I searched and I searched. Found some answers. But need more info.

Short intro. I used in the past Premiere Pro with a Matrox RTX100. Nice, very nice! The render times I mean; meaning there are practically no render times with that setup. Well almost. Job changed, and in my hands came a Mac with FCP. Nice indeed! Unfortunately, render, render, render! I was so used to realtime performance with the PremierePro and Matrox combo, that I was starting to get homesick. First caveat with the Matrox setup? Other then getting the right config for not crashing too much; No 24p realtime support. Bummer!

I started digging a bit and looked at some NLE options, you know, the usual; Avid, Edius, Liquid, Vegas, a new twist on Premiere, and some form of uber FCP platform. Bottom line, I want 24p with room to grow for the HVX200 (this means DVCPro50 and DVCProHD support); I want multicam support (either native or through some form of plugin); eventual SDI/HDSDI connectivity; and last, but not least, as much REALTIME as I can afford! Is this too much to ask? Apparently!

OK! Now let me redefine what I want from a realtime setup a bit. I've been spoiled a bit with my previous RTX100 for standard run of the mill DV effects and layering (did I mention that it just doesn't freekin support 24p!). I am willing to compromise with background rendering and/or some form of a network render farm.

Conclusion of NLE comparison for my requirements?
- Avid has most bases covered with the Mojo, but the Mojo is in the way for DVCProHD. Plug, unplug, plug, unplug! Setup gets to be a tad expensive with all the strenuous requirements!
- Premiere Pro with Matrox RTX100 has no realtime support for 24p, no support for DVCPro50, let alone DVCProHD. Which brings us to Axio, a nice and expensive version 1.0 setup that COULD do the work, but knowing Matrox, will be buggy until the sun turns blue.
- Liquid. No 24p. Period!
- Edius. After trying to figure the differences between all the options while looking through the Canopus web pages, nowhere have I found that you can actually edit 24p. Only that it states that you can mix and match frame rates and resolutions on the timeline, including 24p. But does that mean that it is a true 24p timeline? Anyway, I didn't see multicam support. Perhaps there is a plugin?
- Final Cut Pro, has everything I need, except one thing. Some form of realtime acceleration, render farm, or background rendering capabilities. The only cards that help out are BlackMagic and the likes, but only provide inputs and outputs. No form of acceleration whatsoever.

This leads me to think that there is no one all encompassing NLE that can do it all, except maybe those that cost as much as my house! OK, maybe not my house, but my mini van.

In comes Vegas, which is not too harsh on system requirement, hardly ever crashes, supports 24p, DVCPro50 and HD, supports SDI cards, you can get a multicam plugin... and all the nice stuff everyone talks about! But what about realtime performance and render times? I keep hearing about all those lame render times.

I read network render! This tells me that the more computers you through at it, the shorter your render times. But this is where it gets fuzzy. Do you have to break down your project and manually feed it to the render farm? Or is it as simple as, press a button, and watch the progress bar go X times faster then usual? Does the network render only apply to the effects on the timeline, or does it help out for exports like MPEG2?

Some insight would be helpful for a poor soul in search of realtime 24p.

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the long post!

 

[Spot]

In comes Vegas, which is not too harsh on system requirement, hardly ever crashes, supports 24p, DVCPro50 and HD, supports SDI cards, you can get a multicam plugin... and all the nice stuff everyone talks about! But what about realtime performance and render times? I keep hearing about all those lame render times.

I read network render! This tells me that the more computers you through at it, the shorter your render times. But this is where it gets fuzzy. Do you have to break down your project and manually feed it to the render farm? Or is it as simple as, press a button, and watch the progress bar go X times faster then usual? Does the network render only apply to the effects on the timeline, or does it help out for exports like MPEG2?

No, you don't need to break up the project. Vegas does this for you.
Vegas isn't the fastest renderer in the group, that's for certain, but you also gain speed in the creative process, negating some of the additional render times. Further, when you compare renders, you'll see Vegas is superior to most. Render out a page curl, see what I mean. Look at the edges. You'll see Vegas is cleaner.

 

[Flintstone]

Why Vegas!

Why Vegas!

Vegas Rules? Maybe not in render speeds, but obviously it shines otherwise!

I've heard, searched and read a lot of good things about Vegas. The audio tools alone are worth it. However, I would like to hear the impressions and opinions from switchers. Those that used PremierePro, Avid, FCP, etc. How do you evaluate Vegas compared to your previous NLEs. Obviously the workflow is quite different, but feature-wise, how does it compare? Are all the feature you had before all present in Vegas? What drawbacks to you perceive Vegas to have?

Thanks,

 

[Daygola814]

I switched from Premiere to Vegas. I love Vegas. You lose the two monitor thing but honestly.... I've become accustomed to it. It doesn't seem to matter anymore. Other than that... Vegas doesn't integrate with After Effects as well as Premiere does. I think that's about it. I can't think of anything else... Oh, maybe I miss previewing my video on the on-screen monitor at the same time as a CRT display (Vegas can only do one or the other). But honestly, I love Vegas and I don't see a reason to switch back (unless I hit the lotto so I can afford an HVX, and if Vegas lacks DVCProHD support).
-Paul DV

 

[producer]

I love Sony Vegas too, but the only disadvantage is the little number of plug-ins. Ok, there is enough at all, but what about a plug-in like SteadyMove for After FX? Sometimes all we need a plug-in like that. That's why I use After FX, because I can't do this in Vegas. I know the Deshaker for VirtualDub, but it is much complicated than SteadyMove Pro. Why nobody tries to make a plug-in like SteadyMove for Vegas - some programist?