Thanks for the response. Does anyone know why there is such a jump (512k to 3M)?? I probably don't need a file size that is 6 times larger. Plus - as indicated, it is part of a templet - but can the number be adjusted manually?
Thanks
IW

I haven't really used rendering to wmv, but I can tell you what my VMS 6.0a Platinum has available.

First of all, I only see Windows Media V9 -- nothing listed as V10.

I you select "Make Movie", "Save to Hard Drive", select "Windows Media Video V9 (*.wvm)", click the "Advanced Render" button in the lower left corner, then select the "Custom" button to the right of the Template dropdown, you will activate a "Custom Template" window that lets you specify all sorts of details. There are tabs at the bottom of the window for Project, Audio, Video, Bit Rate, and Index/Summary.

Click on the Video tab, and you can select from the following modes:
CBR, CBR (Two Pass), Bit Rate VBR (Peak), Quality VBR, and Bit Rate VBR.

If you select "Bit Rate VBR (Peak)" or "Bit Rate VBR", you can then manually enter a value for Bit Rate. It let me enter a value of 1K, and 1M, and also let me enter a value of 200M, so I don't know what range is really acceptable. (I saw on-screen instructions somewhere that said to use "M" and "K" when entering bit rates.) It looks like it will let you save your own settings as a custom template.

Again, I haven't actually used this, and I'm not really very familiar with it.

Regarding the jump from 512K to 3M -- I'm guessing the different templates are designed to match up to web connections. 512K is probably a reasonable connect for DSL, while 3M is probably a reasonable connect speed for a cable modem? Since it appears you can create your own templates, the default ones are just a convenience, set up for various connection speeds.

If you've got a decent internet connection, consider downloading the trial version of VMS 6.0 (which was recently updated to 6.0a). If you can't manage a 55 MB download, I think I've heard that you can contact Sony and get the trial sent to you on CD. Since you have an older version of Movie Studio, you probably qualify for a discounted "upgrade" price.

Tim L

Thanks - I will give vms6 a try. I have the "advanced render" in version 3 - but the "custom" button is always greyed out - it won't let me change the templet.

IW

If your sole intention of upgrading to VMS-6 is to utilize the grayed out custom function, save your money. I too was once of this mindset but found out from Sony Customer Support differently...here was the response provided me by them;

From: Sony Media Software Customer Support
Response (Kathryn) - 02/06/2006 03:58 PM
Thank you for writing. No, you are not entitled to using the custom button for this MPEG encoder. In order to do that, you would need to upgrade to Vegas 6.0 professional.

Considering the upgrade to the professional version costs nearly $600, one really needs to think long and hard about the benefits derived from utilizing the Custom button.

Javaholics -- you're right that the Custom button is not available for the MainConcept MPEG2 encoder, but it is available for the Windows Media encoder (which is what weaver was originally asking about).

In VMS 6.0, we're still stuck with just a generic, unspecified template for rendering to MPEG2 for DVD. However, this template seems to do a pretty good job.

We also have the option of rendering to DV-AVI from VMS, and sending that to DVDA Studio, where you can manually specify the MPEG2 bitrate you want -- all the way up to 8 or 9 Mbps or so. However, this approach is more time consuming (because you sit through two renders), and I'm not sure if you can really tell the difference between that and the bitrate that the VMS template uses.

Still, I recommend to anyone with an older version of VMS to upgrade to VMS 6.0, if the money isn't a problem. Search this forum from posts from late last summer for comments on the upgrades. Current users of Screenblast and older versions of VMS should qualify for a reduced cost "upgrade" price. You can download the trial for free to try it out if you like it.

Tim L

My apologies to anyone I may have caused confusion to about the Custom function...my rookie-ness is showing through loud and clear now. Thanks TimL for pointing out the error to my ways. I see now that you are correct about the Custom feature being available for the Windows Media encoder. I'll try to pay closer attention in the future.

As you have elaborated, I have been rendering to AVI in VMS and then sending it to DVDAS to render to MPEG but have been doing so utilizing the Optimize and Fit to Disk option...I wasn't aware I could manually specify the bitrate I want. Is the bitrate only specifiable manually if the project is well within the recording media capacity chosen to record the project? Is specifying the bitrate manually done so within the same screen where the Fit to Disk option is displayed? I don't suppose there is a tutorial you could point me to...?

As for upgrades or updates within whatever level of software a person is using, I too am of the opinion that keeping that level of software up to date is important and worthwhile providing ones personal finances aren't an issue.

In DVDA Studio 3.0 (comes with VMS 6.0):

Make DVD >> Prepare >> Next >> Optimize >>

In the "Optmimize DVD" window, the "Fit to Disc" button is in the lower left corner. Just above it is a slider that you can use to select a bitrate manually. But I believe the "Fit to Disc" option will use the best bitrate that will still allow the project to fit onto the DVD. (I've never had a project big enough that I've had to use the "Fit to Disc" feature.)

Note that the estimated size of the project is updated as you adjust the slider.

As far as tutorials -- I'm sure there are plenty on the web somewhere, but I don't know where. People do post some sites now and then. Most of what I've learned (I've only been doing this for less than a year) i've picked up from this forum, and from the Vegas forum on www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs. There are some really smart, experienced people at both forums.

My best advice for anyone trying to learn VMS is to always have a little test project with just a few minutes of videos and still photos in it, and experiment like crazy. Hear about a feature someone described (or had trouble with) on this forum? Open up your test project and play. Try stuff. Click on buttons you're not sure about. Add effects that you're not really sure what to do with. (Oh, and also notice that all the Event Video FX screens have a little "?" in the upper right corner that calls up a "help" screen to describe the settings. Add the effect to an event, when click the "?" for a description of the effect.)

All of this learning and experimenting is scary to do on a real project, so do yourself a favor and always keep a "test" project around that you can open up and experiment with, without any worry about messing something up.

Tim L