I use Super (c) to convert my files to a smaller more usable format. Works a treat. Invaluable when trying to work with the terrible MOV files produced by Kodak (stills) cameras.

Super (c) is free. Options are limited, but it works. And for free it's fantastic.

The Cineform codec in Vegas does not support full HD, as far as I know. However, how do you use Gearshift? Generally, Gearshfit follwos the proxy approach - means, that you render proxys, edit the proxys, and then switch back to the original footage, befor you render.

If you look for an intermediate codec, that supports 1920x1080, and wish to render from that intermediate codec to the final product, you either have to purchase another Cineform product, or you switch to the Canopus HQ codec (supports also full HD, but is delivered with the Canopus products Edius and Canopus Neo only). Or you give the cheap solution a try, to use the Pegasus mjpeg-avi codec (but here you should not utilize a lot of render generations). Some people also use the free Lagarith codec.

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Lagarith_Lossless_Video_Codec.htm

I have Canopus installed, and their codec available to choose when rendering full 1920x1080 avi - however, Vegas 8.0a won' t render; id displays this error message:

"An error occured while creating the media fiel "xxx.avi"
The selected codec doesn not support the current render settings"

Who can advise?

Can I suggest we get the terminology correct here. Not to be overly pedantic but a proxy and a DI are two different things.
A proxy is a low resolution copy struck from the master. They're used when you don't have / cannot afford an edit system that can smoothly cope with the full res of whatever your acquisition format was. They can be anything that your edit system can happily cope with, only thing that really matters is they'd better be at the same frame rate as the master. This isn't an entirely trivial matter, major grief has been caused by editing 23.976 proxies when the master was 24fps. Aside from that nothing else matters. The proxy is never used and once the edit is locked can be discarded.

A digital intermediate is a full (or near full) resolution copy of the master in some format or codec other than the acquisition format. The Cineform codecs are not proxies although you could use them as such it'd be kind of daft. A zillion dpx files from a film scan are a digital intermediate as well. These are kept, edited, graded and from them the final output is struck.

Sorry to rant on about this but it's one case where terminology does matter. It is a little confusing when you can have both the master and/or the DI and be editing a DV proxy on the one PC but unless you understand what the bits are traditionally called and what their roles are in the process it can get even more confusing.

Bob.

> Other than Cineform HD (as opposed to the basic Cineform HDV) is there a proxy option in Vegas8 (I can't find one)?

Yes, the Sony YUV codec is HD 1920x1080i but as Bob pointed out, it's not a Proxy, it's a Digital Intermediary. Unlike proxies, these are used to render from because they are full definition.

> And if so does Gearshift utilise it to work with full HD?

Yes, use the HD 1080-60i YUV option under HD Media. This will create a 1920x1080 DI for you to work with.

What exactly are you trying to do? If I were to take your subject literally "proxies for Full HD (1920x1080)" then GearShift already does this. It will create a DV proxy and a Sony YUV Full HD (1920x1080) and swap between them. No need for Cineform anything.

~jr