This was addressed in a posting some time back. On the advice of the SF folks, I believe, I use the "Levels" Video FX filter. Drag the "Studio RGB to Computer RGB" setting onto your preview window and then encode your file. It will restore your black level to where it should be.

Al

I had this same question and SF replied here saying you should no longer need this level fix if using the internal VV3 MainConcept MPEG-2 encoder. Seacrh for it here.
My black level looks washed out when viewing on my home monitor hooked up to a set top DVD player. My set is calibrated and looks excellent with regular DVD movies.
...... I'm using version 3.0c bulid 138.

Does anyone know if the Sony VX2000 black level is 0 IRE or 7.5?
I imagine it's probably 0 IRE?
Steve

We have done quite a few color/level matching tests, and with Vegas 3.0c you should be seeing a very close match between DV original fooatge and MPEG-2 burned to DVD...assuming the hardware pipeline is identical. In our tests, color bars match within 1-2% in all regions.

If you need a different look that hat you get with the stock DVD templates (more contrast, balcker blacks etc), feel free to add some filtering to the MPEG encode process- and save the presets you like for future use.

Sonic EPM

Are you saying that the PLUGE marks in color bars are within 1-2% now?

I can't remember if I've tried 3.0c without the levels filter, I just got used to using it in the past and have kind of stuck with it.

Al

Jumbo- Using vegas 3.0c, render some Vegas-generated color bars with the NTSC DVD template, then burn those to DVD and watch them on a monitor and run 'em through a scope- everything is VERY close.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Al

Ok, guys, first of all thanks a lot for everyone's input, really great information! I was experimenting with FX events... and found "RGB studio to Computer" filter, but I also found "Restore Black" filter... which one shoul i use? "RGB Studio..." seems to do the job (based on preview window), but what is "Restore Black" does? and what's the difference between those 2?
Thanks

Help us out please. It looks "a little to bright" compared to:

a) how the video looks on a computer monitor

or

b) compared to the DV source material played off the timeline through 1394 to a TV

or

c) other

thanks

I still need a solution for this too...
My understanding was that you do not need to use the RGB filter preset
when converting to mpeg-2 with VV3 latest version.

Unfortunately, I do not have a way of measuring levels in an analog world.

I can tell you this, the resulting mpeg-2 when played back on my
DVD player hooked to my sampo widescreen tv (calibrated with video essentials), appears to be a bit brighter compared to watching the same footage off of my vx2000 dv camcorder direct to a s-video input. I know sonic mentioned they measured it and did not see a major difference.....???
thx

If your DVD looks too bright or is otherwise not to your liking, you might want to run some tests with rw media and find a filter setting that works for you, save that off as a preset, and use it with all encodes. I'd advise trying this with a few different DVD players- output levels can vary from player to player.

Also... remember the typical TV is NOT properly calibrated. Nine out of ten people crank up the brightness and contrast far beyond what is "normal" this of course will effect results. On older sets excessive brightness can cause blooming (due to excessive high voltage being generated if you overdo the brightness) and distort the picture. Ditto if you crank up focus/sharpness controls.

BillyBoy, you might be right about TVs not being calibrated correctly BUT: on the SAME TV playing off DV camcorder SAME material just captured NOT even edited in VV and encoded to MPEG2 then burned using Pinnacle DVD Pro looks BRIGHTER. I started this thread thinking that it was something i havent setup correclty, but it looks like it's VV issue - too many people notice this, all of whom have diferent setups, different Hardware, different DVD authoring software... only thing that common is VV. And Sonic guys, I understand your frustration when people asking you "fix this, it's not working" without providing you almost no infromation that can let you simulate the problem... but it's us... users :) VV is GREAT application, we're just trying to help you to help us get it the way we want it :) I'm sure all of posters will second my apppreciation for great porogram, very informative tech support and responsivness to your customers. Thanks guys

Different encoderes encode differently. It would be very rare to enocode any file and have it look EXACTLY like the original to the nth degree. Very likely you will pick up a tad of brightness or lose it, hue will shift a tiny bit, that kind of thing.

I think some people try too hard to be too precise. The old gilding the lily thing. There are so many variables in the mix. If or not your TV is properly calibrated, how the DVD player decodes the file, the media the video is recorded on, even minor changes in current or ambient lighting all effect how your video "looks" and we haven't even touched on the human factor which of course has a major impact. We all see things differently.

If the video seems 'too bright' and you've ruled out any calibration issues for your TV, then just adjust using the many filters that come with Vegas Video.

Pinnacle is not re-encoding the mpeg prior to burning? I run into that all the time.