Prior to Vegas's smart render (no recompress) I believe cineform was probably the best way to go.... but NOW... it's a different ballgame!

Using smart render as much as you can is most definitely the best route to go. No recompress means no loss so the more you can fit it into your schedule, the more original quality will be retained.

jrazz - The majority of work I do requires some amount of CC - especially when shooting underwater, but I edit straight cuts and some dissolves. FX aren't my usual thing. I'm striving for the style of shooting similar to Discovery, Travel Channel, etc.

What issues are there with 32bit processing and using CC, FX, etc?

B3T - I have smart rendering on currently when I edit my DV footaage in 32bit mode - Are you saying then that this new feature in VP8 removes the need for Cineform when working with HDV? For laptop editing, does Cineform provide something that native editing in Vegas doesn't provide?

Thanks! :-)

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt

Probably the best answers can be found at http://www.cineform.com/technology/default.htmCineform technology[/link] where you can see the benefits of the digital intermediate (such as working in 4:2:2 rather than 4:2:0). If you have to produce results quickly (e.g. produce a cut of the afternoon wedding to show at the evening reception) then cutting m2t is the only way to go and will be fine because even with effects (levels/CC/etc) you've only got one or two extra generations. But if time isn't so pressing, the digital intermediate offers advantages.

Serena - Thanks for your input - I'm working primarily in deadline mode, but have been asked to work on a pilot series for broadcast overseas where quality will preside over speed (although Vegas does bring both to the table) - sounds as though Cineform will have to be a part of my work flow.

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt

Since you are doing commercial work, I assume you are using the latest workstation with a Quad processor and a fast drive system (RAID), right?

If so, you should have no problems with HDV using any method.

Jeff - I'm holding out to see what AMD brings to the table for their Quad Core offerings coming soon since I built my workstation around the AM2 socket specifically for this last year.

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt

My system is an Intel using a Q6600 processor.

IMO, the quad processors have essentially completely tamed the HDV editing, where it is real time...ish, depending upon effects. And almost no long waits or freezes wondering what is happening. Also, in some cases, your video card processor will also come into play.

If your camera work is tuned by camera presets to what you are looking for; ie: bleach bypass, vivid RGB, etc., you should be able to smart render and reduce/eliminate all the additional introduced HDV artifacts from a render.

For me, using camera presets to get what I am looking for (instead of accurate color reproduction), makes the whole production process much easier.

Thanks for your experiences Jeff - I'm making a list of hits and tricks.. ;-)

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt

Jeff,
I was thinking of changing over to a quad core from a dual core, but I seem to recall a posting here where people weren't incredibly impressed with the difference between the dual vs. the quad. Any input on this?

Check out the results in the NEW Rendertest-HDV.veg thread.
Most of us quad core users are very happy with the speed :-)

Mike

I'm as curious myself CClub

Cliff Etzel
bluprojekt

CClub:

I moved from a P4 3.4E OCd to the Q6600 system. There is no comparing the P4 to the Q6600, it is so much faster. I never had current dual core system for a comparison.

The other thread link above is fairly accurate. It seems that for that render test, a quad core is very roughly twice as fast as a dual core.

It seems pretty clear from all of the info on the link that it is roughly twice the speed of my dual core. When I purchased the dual core, I picked up the same motherboard and RAM that John Cline had stated is in his system (which can handle the quad core). If I replaced the dual core with the quad core, would I have to change anything else? I have 3 fans in the tower but nothing like water cooled or anything.

Does the quad core help with preview also or just render speed?