Premiere Pro vs. Vegas 16. I got another trial. Why is vp16 darker?

trekz wrote on 2/1/2019, 4:54 PM

Here's an imgur link for those having trouble viewing the comparison photo.

I took the same videos and edited them through Premiere Pro 2019 and Vegas Pro 16. I'm still looking to decide which program to commit to. The two snapshots show trial versions of both programs. Here's what I found:

On the left is Premiere Pro 2019. The dark areas show more detail compared to VP16, and that's consistent, even throughout different scenes.

The right snapshot is Vegas Pro 16. However format I render the video, I'm seeing less details in darker areas.

I placed a circle to show an area of focus. Notice how Premiere Pro's snapshot shows more detail in the fan area, whereas Vegas Pro 16's fan area is nearly pitch black. I also included a zoomed-in picture on the bottom left of each snapshot.

From my understanding, selecting AVC/AAC in Vegas Pro 16's render options is the same as h.264. I also selected h.264 in Premiere Pro 2019, yet the final video size is nearly double in VP16.

How come videos processed through VP16 loose detail in darker areas when compared to Premiere Pro?

I've been a fan of Vegas and currently have VP14 installed, but file size and more prominent details in darker areas are factors that are swaying me towards switching to Premiere Pro. Before I do that, can someone please recommend other methods to get Premiere Pro-like results in Vegas? I don't like subscribing to Adobe, so I'd rather stick with Vegas, if possible.

Comments

Kinvermark wrote on 2/1/2019, 5:25 PM

Start with a baseline. You should be able to pass your original "test" video though either program without any modifications (colour fx etc.) and have it look the same as the original. Can you do that?

 

 

trekz wrote on 2/1/2019, 5:51 PM

None of those videos were altered in terms of looks, but I did mix in video transitions between other videos.

Just to make sure, I re-rendered the same video using the same settings as the ones stated in the original snapshots, and I still got the same results.

Imgur link

I also include a snapshot of the original video playing through Window's movies & tv. The video processed through Adobe looks the most similar to the original imo.

 

john_dennis wrote on 2/1/2019, 6:13 PM

Are you aware that Vegas doesn’t control video levels the way other NLEs do?

Musicvid wrote on 2/1/2019, 6:56 PM

Premiere tries to set 709 levels for you.

In Vegas, one must do this by hand.

Only one of these always works for me.

trekz wrote on 2/1/2019, 7:31 PM

Are you aware that Vegas doesn’t control video levels the way other NLEs

From what I searched, NLE is basically a non-destructive editor. If the video I rendered through Vegas 16 turns out to be darker than the original video itself, then wouldn't that mean VP16 altered it?

Please see the second image in imgur, which has three snapshots in one:

https://imgur.com/a/hS9LoIz

I still consider myself new to this, so thank you for everyone's input.

Former user wrote on 2/1/2019, 7:49 PM

Why are you using 2 different media players? Use the same media player for both outputs when you make comparisons.

Kinvermark wrote on 2/1/2019, 7:56 PM

1) NLE's are non-destructive to the source material. But rendering is clearly a new file, and therefore has been processed to some degree and thus can be altered by the way in which it has been processed.

2) On imgur The original has a dark circle in the lower middle; so does Vegas. Premiere does not.

3) Screen captures from media players or other software simply add another source of confusion and error as now you are dependent upon the presentation by that piece of software.

So, you should put the original source on the timeline, render it, then put the rendered file back on the timeline and compare. It should be identical (ok, some compression loss depending on what you rendered to, but no levels change.) The two NLE's may not match, but that doesn't matter for now.

 

 

 

RogerS wrote on 2/1/2019, 10:09 PM

Did you change levels from computer to video before output?

Musicvid wrote on 2/1/2019, 10:16 PM

Trekz,

Read this and learn. If you second-guess, you will get it backwards.

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-why-does-my-video-have-more-contrast-than-the-vegas-preview--104567/

Vegas does NOT change source levels.

Premiere DOES change output levels.

 

Matthias-Claflin wrote on 2/2/2019, 12:46 AM

I just want to say that Bob-H has a good point here. If I'm not mistaken, VLC has the capability to change color space. Perhaps it is set to rec709 and is therefore trying to alter your footage. Use the same player when comparing footage to avoid this.

Former user wrote on 2/2/2019, 1:04 AM

Use this extension to see the correct color space in Vegas

https://www.semw-software.com/en/extensions/

To correct your color space in Vegas go to Video FX, Event FX or Output FX. Under Effects choose Levels and then choose Computer RGB for Studio RGB.