Okay, so I just finished reading the manual (this doesn't mean I know it!) and I think I understand some of it. There are some questions that I will post later. I shot a short sequence to play around with HDV. So, here it is:

Question 1. How do I get the video to be captured?
I have Vegas 6c and am using the internal capture. It sees the HVR-A1 and plays the tape on the preview window, but once I hit record it displays an error showing that the file name is not valid. It takes whatever I attempt to call it and puts a .m2t after it. Should I manually change that to .M2T or is it something else?
Thanks

j razz

The firewire drive that I was capturing to went offline. That was the issue. I selected a different location to save the capture to and it worked fine. Now, how do I use Cineform as opposed to the raw footage? I'll do a search and see what I can come up with.

j razz

put the m2t in media pool
drop on timeline
Render as avi
select desired HDV Intermediate template

edited:
Then use the intermediate in your project. For final render, you can replace the intermediate with the original m2t, then do final render. Since I'm picky, I always replace with original m2t for final render. I'm sure it's slower.

How do you replace the intermediary with the m2t file and still keep all the edits?

Also, am I doing this right?
I render the m2t as an avi with the last HDV 1080i template and then do the edits that I want to do and from there I would take that file and somehow replace the avi on the timeline with the m2t file, which will keep the edits I made? I am assuming I am missing a 3rd party plug-in or I am just lost.
I read some of the articles on VASST concerning HDV, but they were mainly dealing with Vegas 5d and I also read that vegas 6 has everything you need. I also read that Cineform or gearshift make things a lot quicker. I do not have Cineform that I know of and if I am supposed to have the 200 dollar downloaded version, I sure don't have that.
Any suggestions?

j razz

If you're going to return to the original m2t for output purposes, I think you'd be better off using a widescreen DV Proxy rather than a Cineform Intermediate.

The Intermediates are extremely good and can be used right through to rendering for output, e.g. to MPEG 2 for DVD.

But, they are about three times bigger files than HDV or DV proxies (which are similar sizes) and if you're only using them for editing you'd save a lot of space by using proxies.

Proxies can be created and used "manually", but by far the easiest way is to use Gearshift, which allows you to switch back and forth from m2t to DV Proxies any time.

"How do you replace the intermediary with the m2t file and still keep all the edits? "

I right-click the intermediate in the "media pool" and select the "Replace" option, then select the original m2t. I've never had a problem with preserving edits.

Make sure your intermediate is an exact copy (length, audio) as the m2t.

In Response to the Topic Title - I quote Naploeon Dynamite:

"LUCKY!"

Take a look on B&H they are claiming a factory $500 rebate on the a1 from any Sony Authorized retailer purchased between December 28/05 through March 31/06.

As far as I'm concerned, the A1 is the camera that changes everything. Yeah there are better cameras and yeah the competition will be right on Sony's heels, but this is a camera that lets you do astounding quality production for very little investment. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see somebody do a funny irreverant run and gun production that becomes a top grossing hit. Yeah, you can probably get a more polished wedding or industrial video with a more expensive camera, and I doubt many people will be using it on high budget productions, but for quick unobtrusive shooting that captures the mood of something fun that's happening without making an issue of the fact that it's being recorded, this camera absolutely rocks!

Okay, I have been experimenting with the camera and so far so good. I am glad that John Meyer went through all of his questions as they have really helped me and saved me from asking them, so thanks John.

With that being said, there is a setting on the camera that I don't understand and the manual hasn't really spelled it out for me. There is an option under camera set called setup and it has 2 options, one being 0% and the other being 7.5%. I don't have a clue what they do, but when I switch between the two I can see a change in the brightness. Any ideas on what this is for? Thanks

j razz

NTSC in the US uses a black level of 7.5 IRE, not 0 IRE like the rest of the world.

See here.

So, if I output to DVD via firewire, then the 7.5 & 0 really have no effect, but if I output to VHS then I would want to change the 0 to 7.5 to match the North American Standard? Did I get that right? Is the only purpose for this setting in dealing with analog output?
Thanks for the article, it did explain exactly what the options are but that just led me to more questions. Thanks again,

j razz

I went to fill out the rebate form on-line for the A1, but the rebate is not there. A slip was packaged with the camera stating there is a 500 dollar rebate and that I should go to this address: www.sony.com/hvra1ucashback , but there is no rebate there. I sent an email to the support there and I will post what I find. Has anyone else had an issue with this?

j razz

Edit: Sony now has the rebate form up on the site.

Notice how the XLR connector sticks WAY out the side?
We've replaced the ones on ours with Neutrix right angle connectors, these let you angle the cable in at 45deg steps and reduce the width of the whole unit by quite a bit.
Why does this matter you ask?
Well without doing that the camera don't fit too well into any of the smaller sized Storm or Pelican cases.

Bob.

Okay, I have contacted B&H who I bought the camera from thinking they might have some information on the rebate as I am sure other customers have called about the rebate not being on the site. I was then directed to Sony support. I called them, they directed me to the call center that handles rebates. Once I told them the address of where I was supposed to send the information, they said they don't handle those and they referred me back to Sony support. From here, the lady researched the issue and said that it was a professional camera and that is why her department and the rebate center did not know anything about it. She gave me a number to the professional equipment dept. and I called them. There was a message that said go to sony.com/professional for all my needs. Hopefully I only got that message b/c today is Sunday. I will try back tomorrow. Anybody else already went through this?

j razz

jrazz, check your snail-mail

Thanks Spot!

So now I went through 5 Sony numbers and a couple event numbers and there is still no resolve to the rebate issue. The last person I spoke with (after getting a number that worked) said that he thinks that it is just an issue of they haven't got around to putting the link on the site yet to where it reflects the a1u. He also said that I was the second call this morning about the same thing. He assured me that it would be up there by the end of the week as he would carry this issue up the chain. Hopefully that will happen. The form says that it started on Dec. 28, 05 and ends in April of 06 so I do have some time.

j razz

So, if I output to DVD via firewire, then the 7.5 & 0 really have no effect, but if I output to VHS then I would want to change the 0 to 7.5 to match the North American Standard? Did I get that right? Is the only purpose for this setting in dealing with analog output?

Yes.

I am having a few issues with capture that I do not have with my SD cameras, but of course I am now using the internal capture feature of vegas for HD.
I will hear the sound that tells me that I have my camera plugged in via firewire and sometimes it will show up and sometimes it won't. Sometimes if I turn the camera off, wait for the disconnect sound and then turn it back on, sometimes it will be recognized and sometimes it won't. I don't know why it isn't consistent. I also notice that a firewire drive that I have hooked up will dissappear once I plug the A1 in. I don't know why this happens. Both are plugged into a pci firewire card on different ports, but it is the same card. I have not had this problem with the SD cameras I have. Any ideas or am I being too vague? Is there another capture program (pref. free) that I can use to capture or is the internal capture app that Vegas provides the best way to go?
Also, when I am making intermediary Cineform files within Vegas, what do I need to be using- mpg, avi? I have the HD presets in the drop down under both. I am using the 1440 instead of the 1880 as that is the frame size that the A1 uses.
Thanks

j razz

Bump.