Ok, your TV's USB port is only for viewing photos. It cannot play videos. It's good however that you got your Blu-ray player to play the MP4 video.

We need to get the properties of your source video(s) to understand why it did not look as good in MP4 compared to DVD. You can follow Step 1 here to show us the video properties using MediaInfo (make sure you choose View > Text in MediaInfo before trying to copy the information): https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-how-to-post-mediainfo-and-vegas-pro-file-properties--104561/

Yes, the rendering settings override the initial settings (project properties). The best way to set up the project depends on the main contents: (1) if you are producing a slideshow of photos, set the project properties to be the same as your render settings; (2) if you are editing a video, set the project properties to be the properties of the first video added; and (3) if you have a mixture of photos and videos, I would still set the project properties to be the same as the render settings, since it makes editing photos easier if the preview window matches your final video's size and aspect ratio.

Ken.

Hi Ken, thanks again. I hope I've done this correctly!

General
Complete name                            : C:\Users\hasti\Videos\2017 Iceland\2017 Iceland 1 at 21May20\2017 Iceland 1 take2.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                                 : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size                                : 695 MiB
Duration                                 : 33 min 21 s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 2 913 kb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36
Tagged date                              : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : Main@L4.2
Format settings                          : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 4 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=1, N=15
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 33 min 21 s
Bit rate                                 : 2 720 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 FPS
Standard                                 : Component
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.052
Stream size                              : 649 MiB (93%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36
Tagged date                              : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36
Color range                              : Limited
Codec configuration box                  : avcC

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 33 min 21 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 491 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 45.2 MiB (7%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36
Tagged date                              : UTC 2020-05-21 09:38:36

Ken,

Re starting a new Vegas project. Thanks for your advice in your previous message regarding project and rendering settings. I am still a little unclear, however, about how important the initial project settings are. EG I select Project/New/ - region: PAL; stereo; then I need to select a setting under 'video'. I gather if I select eg DVD and eg DVD PAL widescreen but later on decide to make a Blu Ray DVD or MP4 video I can do that by changing the Project/Properties and making the rendering settings match that?

When would you select HDV?

And 'match media settings'?

My apologies if you have already addressed this but I 'didn't get it'!

Best wishes, Christo

Ken, re my last message: I guess to make it simple, what setting is best when first opening a Project eg if I want to make a MP4 video...

(1) that I know will have just a mix of photos from different cameras;

or

(2) that I know will have a mix of photos and mix of video - the latter taken on a Sony camera and/or Sony phone (all except one camera is Sony equipment!!). The video I sent the info on is from the Sony phone. I think it is MP4 format. The Sony camera video says it is M2TS.

If I know I want to make a DVD, do I just select DVD and then PAL widescreen rather than the other options?

OR doesn't it matter if it is the Project / Properties and rendering info that changes everything anyway..

I've googled some of the language but I think you explain things better!!

Thanks, Christo

Hi Ken, again. I don't know if you'll get this twice - the first version disappeared. I just wanted to let you know I think we know why the video in the movie wasn't great. I did a test movie with video and photos from my Sony camera and from my Sony Xperia XA2 phone. All was great except for the phone video, which was OK until I moved the phone whilst videoing. Not sure if this should be a problem but seems to explain the playback issue. What do you think?

I have started other projects, following your advice and even used AMD VCE and all is working well. Happy to receive your answers to my other questions, if you have time.

Thanks again, best wishes, Christo

doesn't it matter if it is the Project / Properties and rendering info that changes everything anyway..

Correct. The render template decides the properties of the output video.

When your timeline contains only photos, it is best to set your project properties to be the same as the render properties. E.g. if you want to produce a 1920x1080 video, set that as the project properties too.

But if your timeline contains at least one video, it is *usually* best to set your project properties based on the video. As noted before, doing so usually makes editing smoother. Also, the render process may need to do less conversion of the video from its source format to its output format, so the final video may look better.

It's difficult for me to tell you exactly how to always start your project. Because once you add videos everything becomes more complicated, due to resizing of video dimensions, resampling due to differences in frames per seconds, encoding, etc. My suggestion is to try it a few times with different project settings to see if it makes any noticeable difference in the output video.

Since only you and I are corresponding in this thread, it might be better to take this offline from now on. I'm happy to continue corresponding with you. Just click on my avatar and you can then click on WRITE A MESSAGE to send me a private message.

Ken.