Vegas Pro 19, Windows 10 Pro. When I set a render to do VBR, 2-pass, Vegas only does a single pass during the render. Is some setting overriding this and not telling me?
Is your chosen render format MAGIX AVC/AAC MP4?
If yes, I've had that 1-pass only issue occur even when 2-pass is set happen for some years. I think that I've just found out a commonality that occurs in Veg Pro 16 to 19 inclusive. If I select a Blu-ray template (Blu-ray 1920x1080-50i), only 1 pass occurs even though 2-pass has been checked; but if I select an Internet template (Internet HD 1080p 25 fps), there are 2 passes. From this, it seems that 2 pass only occurs with a progressive render but not with an interlaced render. Hopefully, someone on the forum may be able to offer a deeper reason for this difference occurring.
All video tested was progressive 3840x2160 25 fps MP4 (XAVC-S).
MAGIX AVC/AAC MP4. I use a custom template, but it's progressive. Mostly I've been rendering small (720 x 400 to 480) resolution videos, but like you this problem has been ongoing. The source videos are also progressive. I haven't tested the interlace vs. progressive issue, but any outcome of that means the same to me. I use Constant Rate Factor (CRF) in a different program, and that gives excellent results in 1-pass renders. I don't see that option in Vegas.
I use Constant Rate Factor (CRF) in a different program, and that gives excellent results in 1-pass renders. I don't see that option in Vegas.
You have to install Voukoder for Vegas to get able to render CRF with Vegas.
I had Voukoder for a while (VP17), but while it was faster it didn't seem to give the same quality as my other program. But that's just a conversion program, not an authoring program. Maybe it's time to try Voukoder again.
I use Constant Rate Factor (CRF) in a different program, and that gives excellent results in 1-pass renders. I don't see that option in Vegas.
In the Render Custom Settings windows, see if the template that you are using has an RC Mode field right down near the bottom of the window. If yes, the default setting might be H264_VBR, but it can be changed to H264_CBR which, when selected, disables VBR and enables CBR and you can then select one of the CBR bps settings. Unfortunately, the bps options are presets and it doesn't seem possible to code in your own value.
I have no complaints about Voukoder, it gives much better results than Magix AVC/HEVC. Vegas without Voukoder, I maybe would swap to another NLE.
I'm not going to use CBR -- it's too wasteful. I'm satisfied with using VBR with suitable bitrate limits, but I've usually had better results with 2-pass.
Actually, this is a discussion as to why I set a parameter in Vegas that is ignored.
Maybe the 1st pass is too quick so that youvn't noticed it.
Today, new and modern codecs needn't that anymore, e.g. HEVC/VP9 etc. - like once the interlace tech.
No, that's not it. Rendering a 2-hour video would require significant time for the 1st pass.
Normally a two pass render doesn't give real better quality than a one pass render. It only uses the available bitrates more efficiently to get exactly the average bitrate to fit a certain available filesize, a relict from DVD/Bluray ages.
OK, we (I'm including me) are wandering off the issue here. It's not about finding a different codec, it's about why Vegas says one thing and does another (***).
😁😁 Anatomy tells us we still have the coccyx, but we don't use it for a long time. 😂😂😂
👍It only uses the available bitrates more efficiently to get exactly the average bitrate to fit a certain available filesize, a relict from DVD/Bluray ages.
I'm not going to use CBR -- it's too wasteful. I'm satisfied with using VBR with suitable bitrate limits, but I've usually had better results with 2-pass.
Actually, this is a discussion as to why I set a parameter in Vegas that is ignored.
It does something , but maybe not very useful, the dual pass more accurately represents the encoders set average bitrate of 20,000kbps
VBR single pass - average bitrate 17987kbps, peak 28547kbps, minimum 11053kbps
VBR dual pass - average bitrate 20071kbps, peak 23639kbps, minimum 16552kbps
For NVENC, Vegas ignores 2 pass although that is a real thing in other software, it works by using a look ahead mode to analyze frames before encoding, maybe that is what Magix VBR 2 pass is doing with the cpu encode
I use Constant Rate Factor (CRF) in a different program, and that gives excellent results in 1-pass renders. I don't see that option in Vegas.
Sony AVC encoder in Vegas uses a very early implementation of CRF, actually closer to CQ in practice. It works quite well: sometime you should compare render quality and times from Magix AVC 2-pass and Sony AVC at comparable Average Bit Rates. I think you will be surprised.
todd-b, you mentioned something I forgot: I'm using the NVENC encoder. It's something I totally forgot, and that's probably the problem, right?
Yep, that was it. Using the NVENC ignored the 2P setting. Probably others as well. Does someone know what settings NVENC actually takes over?
Generally the defaults are fine for NVENC unless you have a specific reason to change them.
Voukoder does let you configure specific bitrate, you can set it to CQ, CRF, or average bitrate in the Voukoder settings. I've found that if you set the average bitrate to match that of one of the Magix AVC presets, the quality comes out superior. Give it another try.
The kernel used by Voukoder is the best Codec library in the world : FFmpeg.
And integrate with Vegas Pro in the most direct vegas-fileio-plugin way (no Frameserver required).
I've recommended it to a lot of Vegas users.
But some users seem to have reported audio sync issues of Voukoder, although I can't really feel it.
I tried a bunch of different configurations and settled on Voukoder using the NVENC encoder. With NVENC you lose the CRF, so I substituted Constant Quantizer (QP) set to give me a bitrate of around 5mbps. The source media was abominable, but after enhancing it to make it presentable, those settings helped it survive a couple more renderings. Thanks for all the suggestions!
"some users seem to have reported audio sync issues of Voukoder, although I can't really feel it."
For 29.97p video, at sea level, if you sit 24.2 feet from the screen and your audio signal path is a "straight wire with gain" you won't be able to experience the difference between the leading audio of the Voukoder rendered file and the original.
1100 ft./sec X 0.022 sec = 24.2 ft.
I suspect one's life experience affects perception of audio sync. If you were up on the muddy hill at Woodstock, you might expect the audio to lag the vision more than someone who has spent a lot of time watching events on a screen while listening through headphones.