Render in Progressive????

Ros wrote on 4/12/2001, 9:01 AM
I just ordered a Pinnacle Studio DV card, will very soon
get a DV camcorder! (most likely Sony PSRPD 150)

I would like to know if it is possible to capture my DV
NTSC footage, edit it in Vegas, render it in Progressive
mode 720 x 480 as opposed to Interlaced, import the
progressive footage into Pinnacle Studio DV software and
export it back into my DV camcorder to a full resolution
Progressive scan? All this to get a similar image texture
(film look) that a Canon XL-1 would give you, since this
camera shoots in a true Progessive mode.

Comments

nlamartina wrote on 4/12/2001, 1:22 PM
Rosto,

Yes, Vegas can edit and render progressive scan DV. To
check/set this, do the following:

1. Click the "FILE" menu.
2. Click "PROPERTIES".
3. A dialogue box with pop up. On the "VIDEO" tab, look
where it says, "FIELD ORDER".
4. Set it to, "NONE (PROGRESSIVE SCAN)".

That's all you need to do. Remember, your camera MUST
support progressive scan to use this template, or else
you'll run into some serious problems later. Be patient,
and have fun.

Best wishes,
Nick LaMartina
Rockaway17 wrote on 4/12/2001, 4:02 PM
This is a stupid question, but what is the difference
between Progressive and Interlaced?
nlamartina wrote on 4/12/2001, 6:19 PM
Not a stupid question at all, Rock. Lemme break it down for
you:

INTERLACED:
- Video is broken up into "even" and "odd" "fields", and
played back one set at a time. A "field" is not a "frame".
It's half of one. The term "interlaced" comes from the fact
that only half the scanlines of each "frame" are included
in each "field" (like half a picture, or window blinds).
Think of it like this... Hold your hands in front of you,
with your fingers outstretched and spread. Your left hand
is the "even" field, and your right is the "odd" field. Now
lace them together. This is like one "frame". Understand?
Most consumer-level camcorders film interlaced, ie, half
the picture in one pass, and the other half in the next
pass. So when your camera manual says that it films at "60
fields per second", that translates to 30 full frames per
second. It looks great, and is wonderfully smooth, but
there is a better alternative. This is where progressive
scan comes in...

PROGRESSIVE SCAN:
- Video images are scanned one full frame at a time. So
instead of taking half the picture in one pass (your left
hand), and interlacing it with the other half in the next
pass (your right hand), it takes both at the exact same
time. In fact, it's not a matter of taking two at once. It
just shoots one frame each pass. The reasoning behind this
is because it simply looks better. It's more like actual
film works, ie, lots and lots or photographs being played
back in sequence to simulate motion. This negates the need
for a field order (even/odd). Besides looking more natural,
still framing is also far superior. Editing is also
cleaner, since you'll never end up with a "half-frame", an
instance in which the still image jerks around because it
was caught in the middle of interlacing. Slow motion FX can
also be more stable. All this comes at a price though.
Progressive scan camcorders come with a considerably more
hefty price tag, but if you're doing this professionally,
you won't want anything less.

There. That's the best explanation I can give. Sorry if
it's a bit hard to understand. It's also pretty hard to
explain. If you have any further questions, just post them
here, and I'd be glad to help.

Best wishes,
Nick LaMartina