Any DVC Pro HD issues in Vegas?

DataMeister wrote on 2/12/2009, 8:21 AM

On behalf of some user commenting on this Vegas review (end of article)...

http://www.studiodaily.com/studiomonthly/reviews/Sony-Vegas-Pro-8_9007.html

They ask...
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This is really a question and not a comment and would therefore appreciate it a great deal if someone, with experience, would care to comment on it. I am a filmmaker and have just edited my first feature-length documentary on Vegas 5 and indeed I finished the whole thing on it. As a result I would like to stick with Vegas and get actually my own system, also in order to maintain access to my feature documentary file. Right now, I am preparing a short film to be shot potentially on a DVC Pro HD Panasonic and I am wondering about issues that may arise in the postproduction starting in fact with importing the footage into Vegas. Will there be problems? How can I prepare for them?

Thank you.
Posted by Behzad Sedghi on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 @ 10:32 PM
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True it's a little bit old, but I thought maybe it would be a good for Vega's image if the comment were answered (archived for future readers). However, since I don't use DVC Pro HD perhaps someone with a DVC Pro HD format could answer that better than I.

Comments

farss wrote on 2/13/2009, 12:06 AM

Not that I've ever worked with DVCPro HD however I can tell you that you cannot import DVCPro HD into Vegas. A search will reveal much discussion about this in this forum
You can however use Raylight, a 3rd party tool that will convert DVCPro HD into something that Vegas can handle and I've not read one negative comment about it or the attendant workflow. Again a search of this forum would provide more information

I guess though given that you're replying to a question 9 months old many things have changed and in that time Sony's XDCAM EX cameras have kind of stolen the indie market from Panasonic.

Bob.

kmr wrote on 2/13/2009, 2:50 PM

While Raylight gives you the option of converting the files, the current version of the program also actually allows Vegas to work with the DVCProHD mxf files themselves. With the program installed on the computer, you're able to drag the clips right into your timeline--no conversion necessary!

Sidecar wrote on 2/14/2009, 12:07 PM

I am in discussion with Raylight at the moment over this very issue.

We capture in DVCPROHD. It's almost impossible to get Panasonic into Vegas directly, unless you have an SDI card.

What does work well is capturing on a FireStore FS100 hard drive. (You can do this and record to tape simultaneously.) The drive mounts on the desktop like any other drive and allows immediate import of the files, with all four audio tracks. Very cool.

Once you get DVCPROHD files onto your computer, you then need to have a product called "Raylight Decoder" installed and functioning to see the files. It is available from dvfilm.com (the makers of Raylight). You will also install the full Raylight package too.

The only real downside is that the Raylight license expires every year. It's a free upgrade, but is a real pain.

I installed the original Raylight package under Vegas 6.0, I believe. Then I moved to Vegas 7.0. Then to Vegas 8.0. Unfortunately, Raylight only sees 7.0, even after I uninstalled Vegas 7.0. Must some leftover registry entries or something.

Even though I went through the free Raylight upgrade process and reinstalled Raylight per their instructions, it reports back "Found Vegas 7 is installed." Then the license expired and I can no longer see my DVCPROHD footage.

Anyway, I can't use it in Vegas 8.0 yet until I somehow upgrade Raylight Decoder. This requires me to be properly registered with dvfilm.com.

Bottom line, Raylight (if it's working) delivers very good quality DVCPROHD imagery and appears to be the only way that Panasonic DVCPROHD can be worked in Sony Vegas.

I have heard it's not Sony's fault that DVCPROHD cannot work directly in Vegas. Something about Panasonic not allowing Sony to include the DVCPROHD codec.

Obviously, a deal was struck with Apple Final Cut Pro because the DVCPROHD codec comes standard with FCP. It's also in Media100.

The whole thing makes Panasonic appear petty to me.