MPEG-2 always lower field, no smart render

IdahoJoe wrote on 11/24/2008, 10:00 AM
Has anyone gotten smart render of mpeg-2 files in Vegas Studio 9 to actually work? I followed the guide in the help file, and matched my project settings to my mpeg-2 files, but no smart render goodness. Pretty much makes the software unusable due to recompression of the video stream.

I don't have any problems in Corel 12... smart render there works absolutely wonderfully with these mpeg-2 files (off a JVC cam)

EDIT: OK. I just figured out that Vegas Studio 9 is rendering the files lower field first, where my source is upper field first. This is causing the the clip to be rendered. Unfortunately, one can not adjust this option in Vegas Studio 9... the "custom" option is greyed out under "render as..." so you can not adjust the MPEG-2 codec... and it ignores your project settings... you need the full Vegas Video for this...

If I click the little folder icon under Project Properties and select my media file, it changes the project settings to match as one would expect (to upper field first). However, once I "Render As...", even with absolutely no changes on the timeline, VMSP9 will render the clip again, and do so so with lower field first, even though project properties specifies upper.

I rendered a 5 minute test sample. Even though I had selected upper field first in the project properties, the resulting video was (predictably) rendered as lower field first.

I then started a new project, imported the above sample, then selected "Render As..." and indeed the fast render works with the sample. Preview window states "No Recompression Required" and everything is fine and dandy.

Stupid lower field first non-changeable setting really makes me upset. Recompression and field order switch causes horrible shuttering during panning.

Comments

Neil7 wrote on 12/16/2008, 11:05 AM
I have run into the same problem. I am converting old analog videos that are taped in interlaced upper field first format. I always had captured them to .avi files and rendered them in .avi format (still interlaced and UFF) and re-encoded to mpg using TMPGEnc which takes care to re-render in the same format. It is extremely frustrating to have tried to render a new project that is captured directly as an MPG file still interlaced and UFF and have no option to render the final project as anything other than BFF. I will have to de-interlace this particular project and render as progressive in order to smooth it out somewhat, or start all over. As you say, it's no problem if you have lots of time to waste and don't care about the output of your project.

I do have a new capture program that actually deinterlaces very nicely and I may just start using that right off the bat.
The final result, though, and how much hassle one has to go through to achieve it, is the mark of a truly good or lousy program. Right now, for lack of a simple ability to render something properly, Vegas is not doing what I had hoped it would.
Neil7