Settings for HD

Jillopy wrote on 5/22/2010, 9:48 PM
I have recently purchased a Sony HDR-XR550VE camera and wish to use the hightest quality recording. I use a Sony PS3 and Bravia TV to show the film. If I put it through direct form the camera the quality is excellent. My issue is with editing. I was having problems using Premiere Elements 7 but have switched to Vegas Platinum which came as an add on with the camera. The playback on the programme is jerky - very frustrating - and when I've tried to burn to a Blue Ray it tells me the file is too large - the rendered film appears to be about 38 gigs which is amazing for a 6 minute film. I then used Power to Go to burn to a normal DVD but the result is very bad. I have checked that I have all the correct requirements from the manual but am wondering what settings I should have. I am going overseas shortly and want to make sure that I'm OK to film on the FQ settings on the camera. I did check my quicktime version after reading some of the posts and it is 7.62.14.0. I did just check the project properties and noticed that the Pixel Aspect Ration is set to 1 square - possibly this should be either 1.4568 Pal DV Wide Screen or 1.3333 HDV 1080?

I have done a lot of editing in the past with various programmes and realise that each have their peculiarities. If someone can assist with this I would appreciate it. I am using Windows XP operating system which is automatically updated.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 5/22/2010, 10:11 PM
Let's tackle your questions one at a time:

The playback on the programme is jerky
It takes a heck of a CPU to preview AVCHD smoothly on the timeline. Post your complete system specs.
You can minimize the jerkiness by setting the Project Properties to match your Media Properties. There are plenty of threads on this forum, as well as the Vegas help files, that tell you how to do this. You may want to explore an intermediate codec, such as Cineform, if this continues to be a problem.

and when I've tried to burn to a Blue Ray it tells me the file is too large - the rendered film appears to be about 38 gigs which is amazing for a 6 minute film.
That means you have rendered to the default uncompressed AVI template, which is nowhere appropriate for a BluRay output. Follow the tutorials and read the help files that came with the program.

I then used Power to Go to burn to a normal DVD but the result is very bad.
Sorry, you won't find support here for a third-party authoring program. The Sony authoring program, called DVD Architect, produces beautiful results when used correctly.

I did just check the project properties and noticed that the Pixel Aspect Ration is set to 1 square - possibly this should be either 1.4568 Pal DV Wide Screen or 1.3333 HDV 1080?
See the first response above.

I have done a lot of editing in the past with various programmes and realise that each have their peculiarities.
My suggestion is that you not try to apply your Premiere Elements' (or Windows Movie Maker) experiences to the Vegas work matrix. You will be thankful in the long run.
Jillopy wrote on 5/23/2010, 2:26 PM
Thank you for your help - I think I have sorted out the problem by tweaking a few settings. And it does help to do the tutorials! Just thought I knew most things. I'm sure I will have some more questions when I return from holidays with all my video ready to edit!
musicvid10 wrote on 5/23/2010, 3:50 PM
sounds like you're getting it -- the thing that's hardest for most newcomers to Vegas is that it is an entirely different mindset and learning curve -- but worth the investment of time and patience IMO.