Field order selection

kunal wrote on 9/19/2009, 10:56 AM

I'm importing 1080i footage from the fx7. The default project properties for the HDV 1080-60i template has the field order set to upper field first.

When I render and click on custom settings, the default field order setting (for DVD Architect NTSV DV Widescreen template) has lower field first. Is the field order while rendering supposed to match what it's in the project properties?

Thanks!

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/19/2009, 11:01 AM

Your project field order should match your media properties.
Your render field order should remain what is set in the template.
Vegas does all the rest for you, and you need not concern yourself any further.

That being said, with renders for DVD, it makes no difference whatsoever if it is set to lower or upper. Your authored DVD will play correctly either way.

kunal wrote on 9/19/2009, 11:05 AM

"Your project field order should match your media properties."
For 1080-60i footage, how do I know what the media field properties are?

johnmeyer wrote on 9/19/2009, 12:31 PM

For 1080-60i footage, how do I know what the media field properties are? You right-click on either the event or on the media (in the Project Media view) and select properties. It will tell you what Vegas thinks the field order is. Vegas usually gets this right, and you almost never should change this.

The project properties should match the media properties, although if you mix media on the timeline (like SD and HDV) which have different field order, you have to make a choice. Generally the best choice is to set the project properties to match the higher resolution so that any generated media (like titles) will be created at the higher resolution.

The Render field order should match the properties of the output media (e.g., DV SD should be rendered lower field first). If you are rendering to DVD, as already stated, it doesn't matter whether you render upper or lower field first. Therefore, when going from HDV (or AVCHD) to SD DVD, I always choose upper field first so that Vegas doesn't have to do the extra operation of converting field order.

musicvid10 wrote on 9/19/2009, 3:44 PM

Thanks for elaborating, John.

The easy way to set your Project Properties to your media properties is to click on the little folder icon in the top right-hand corner of the project properties dialog, and select one of the files from your shoot. This sets the properties straight away.

Rendering files for DVD as upper field first is also useful for smart-rendering from some DVD camcorders and set-top DVD-RAM recorders, although lately I am doing most of this in VideoReDo.

John_Cline wrote on 9/19/2009, 5:15 PM

Vegas does not actually analyze the video in the source files to determine their interlace order. HD files, like HDV, AVCHD and HD transport streams are always upper field first. DV-format AVI files are always lower field first. SD MPEG2 files can be either, but they contain a flag in their header to indicate field order and Vegas will read it and set it accordingly. (Assuming that it was encoded correctly in the first place.) The biggest problem is when using AVI files of questionable origin. AVI files (other than DV-format) do not have a flag in their header to indicate field order or aspect ratio and Vegas won't really know for sure. You must either know or manually figure it out yourself.