Rendering H.264 in Sony Vegas 11 or 12

B

bigox

Well-known member
I have specs I need to follow for rendering a feature length movie that will be used for streaming, but I'm rather lost and can't seem to find the right information on how to follow these specs.

I have Sony Vegas 11 & 12, so I can use either one for this. The info I'm listing about what I'm trying to do will be in terms of Vegas 12.

The footage I'm trying to render was shot on a DVX100B 24fps Squeeze

Here is the spec information I'm trying to follow:


  • Codec/Compression format: H.264
  • Multipass: On
  • Frame rate: Current
    This should be either 24, 25 or 30 fps - whatever you edited in.
  • Video data rate: 2500kbps
  • Resolution: for PAL videos 1024x576 orfor NTSC videos 854x480
    The pixels should be square or 1:1.
  • Interlacing: Video should be de-interlaced or progressive
    If the source video is interlaced, be sure to select the "Deinterlace video" option, but if the source is progressive or already de-interlaced you don't need to do this again. It's important to select the right de-interlacing option or your video will look bad on the web.
  • Sound: AAC Codec, Stereo, 48khz, 320kbps
I'm not entirely sure what H.264 is and the information out there is a little sketchy. For awhile, I was under the impression that H.264 and MP4 are the same thing, but with further research, it appears that they may not be. I don't really understand it, obviously.

Here's where I'm running into problems and there are many:

First choosing the right CODEC:
I'm thinking I need to render as MP4 to get this H.264 - There are 2 options for MP4 Rendering on Vegas 12. One is Sony AVC/MVC and the other is MainConceptAVC/AAC.
The Sony AVC/MVC has a lot of options that don't make sense to me. So I'm assuming MainConcept AVC/AAC is where I want to be.

Inside this codec I am guessing I should choose one of the internet options and the highest quality option appears to be Internet 480p widescreen, so that's what I've been choosing.

IF I'm in the right codec, this is the issue I'm having with following the specs.

Codec/Compression format: H.264 - - - I think I'm in the right spot ????

Multipass: On - - - I have no idea what this means and see no options for a multi pass at all.

Frame rate: Current
This should be either 24, 25 or 30 fps - whatever you edited in. - - - When I click on CUSTOMIZE TEMPLATE the Frame Rate I have has several options. There is one option of 23.976000 (IVTC FILM) and 24 (FILM) and I'm assuming I should choose 23.976000. Does that sound right?

Video data rate: 2500kbps - - - I see no option for for Video Data Rate at all. The closes I see to that language is variable Bit Rate, but it doesn't have an option close to 2500kbps that I can see.

Resolution: for PAL videos 1024x576 orfor NTSC videos 854x480
The pixels should be square or 1:1 - - - There is an option for Multimedia wide (854x480) so that's easy enough, but for Pixels, I don't see any options for 1:1 - I have an option for Pixel Aspect Ratio, but my options are 1.0000 or 1.3333 - Is 1.0000 equal to their spec of 1:1 ?

Interlacing: Video should be de-interlaced or progressive
If the source video is interlaced, be sure to select the "Deinterlace video" option, but if the source is progressive or already de-interlaced you don't need to do this again. It's important to select the right de-interlacing option or your video will look bad on the web. - - - I'm pretty sure DVX100B footage is progressive, so I don't have to do anything here correct? If so, I don't see any options for it anyhow.

Sound: AAC Codec, Stereo, 48khz, 320kbps - - - When I click the Audio tab at the button, it shows the sample rate(Hz) at 48,000so that should be good. I don't see an option to adjust to 320kbps. In the format information section it is mentioning audio at 128 Kbps. Is there anyway to up it to the request 320kbps?


I've tried rendering using all the above information and the MP4 render comes out in horrible quality.

Any information anyone can give is much appreciated. I'm very lost.
 
Some quick info.

MP4 is a wrapper or container just like AVI. Usually H.264 is put into a MP4 wrapper but I believe other codecs can also be used in the MP4 file.

Using a pal resolution seems odd to me but whatever. Here is a good chart on resolutions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution
I believe most people are using 720 (1280x720) or 1080 (1920-1080) HDtv. And that's pretty much all I use.

Always render progressive not interlaced. De-interlaced just means you converted a interlaced video to progressive. There are setting in Vegas do this and some give better results then others. Best to find a frame with fast motion so you can see the interlaced image. Then change the setting to 'interpolate' (I don't recommend 'blend'). I'm not at home so I can't pull up Vegas and show exactly where the settings are but from memory there are two places. One is project settings and the other is if you right click on the video clip in the timeline you can change some settings. I believe it's 'resample' to "off" gave better results. But again lots of variable. I don't know the FPS of your source footage, what you're rendering it out to ETC.

Multipass: I'm assuming they mean a 2 pass render. The 'Main Concept' allows for 2 pass rendering.
Here I have a video that I think will answer a lot of your questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jADhisvtjo0
If you are pressed for time skip to the 10:08 part of the video. It shows the Main Concept rendering options. I believe this is exactly the option you are looking for.

The Audio AAC Codec, Stereo, 48khz, 320kbps. I don't know why you can't change the KBPS but I wouldn't worry about it. 128kbps is fine, I defy anyone to tell the difference from 128 and higher.

Looking back at your post the pixel aspect ratio is for if you shoot with a anamorphic lens. If you shoot with a normal lens it will be 1.0

Bit-rate: 2500 KBPS also seems really low! That's only 2.5Mbps (million bits per second) I usually recommend starting at 10Mbps. Thou as low as 4 can still look really good depending on the footage and resolution but 2.5 is really getting it down there. Unless bandwidth is a huge concern and this video is going to be streamed online only. I can't see why they would request such a low bit-rate.

Anyway, watch my video. I put a lot of time into it and I really think it will help you. If you have any specific questions. Message me on youtube and I'll get it right away. Or post it here and I'll try to check this thread from time to time.

Good luck.
 
Thanks a lot. This spec and the other spec that you commented on are for 2 different companies. This on H.264 will be for it to be streamed on the web only. Actually, the quicktime codec(the other thread) is for web only as well, but it's a different company and i guess they prefer different specs.
I will watch your youtube video(Multiple times) and let you know if I have more questions from there. I really appreciate all the info. Thanks!
 
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