You might consider taking a look at the free SeMW extensions for Vegas Pro from:

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

... includes an option for a new dropdown at the top of the preview screen to switch on the fly out of the 0-255 environment to PC and TV ranges.

Does that conversion shift the preview's gamma to match REC 709, or am I still seeing the gamma of the computer space (2.2 vs 2.4, I believe)?

Although I have no earthly idea what that means (e.g., levels ≠ gamma), I'm reasonably sure the correct answer has been given five times in this thread, from a collective 50+ years of experienced voices. Might get a little boring for our volunteers, if you catch my meaning ....

@marc-s said

you always want to use your waveform monitor to see what's going on with the footage.

@Kinvermark said

setting up project, scopes, and monitoring for 16-235 rec709 is the safe, tried and true way

@RogerS said

levels appear identical visually (and on the non-studio RGB scopes)

@marc-s said

Oh... and scopes are your best friend. Learn to use the waveform monitor if not already using it.

musicvid said

 Use the grayscale

The short answer to your question is yes, it will give you 16-235, but as pointed out above, always verify with your scopes.

Although I have no earthly idea what that means (e.g., levels ≠ gamma), I'm reasonably sure the correct answer has been given five times in this thread, from a collective 50+ years of experienced voices. Might get a little boring for our volunteers, if you catch my meaning ....

Musicvid, I really don't know how to respond to that.

I like this quote: "If people seem slightly stupid, they’re probably just stupid. But if they seem colossally and inexplicably stupid, you probably differ in some kind of basic assumption so fundamental that you didn’t realize you were assuming it, and should poke at the issue until you figure it out."

For everyone else, here are my tentative observations, based on testing back-and-forth between Vegas' behavior and Davinci Resolve's (all of this applies to Vegas in 8-bit pixel format mode, not any of the 32-bit ACES options; my monitor uses an sRGB profile), using the timeline preview window (which I assume is identical to the windows secondary display provided the conversion checkbox is unchecked):

If I put an image on the timeline with an embedded Adobe RGB profile, Vegas discards the profile and displays it incorrectly.

If I put an image on the timeline with an embedded sRGB profile, Vegas displays the image correctly.

I think that means Vegas operates in Monitor Color mode (it does not warn about or perform color space conversions).

If I render out an sRGB image with a computer-to-studio level correction applied (to an MP4 codec which expects REC.709), Vegas gives me a compliant MP4 which is *a little bit darker* than what Vegas was showing me on my preview window (pre-levels conversion).

I think that means a computer-to-studio levels conversion *does not* correct from sRGB's 2.2 gamma to REC.709's 2.4 gamma.

In contrast, if I put an image with an sRGB profile on Davinci's timeline and render out an MP4 (no levels conversion needed; Davinci does this for you), I get an MP4 that exactly matches what I saw on Davinci's preview window (good).

So, playing around with Vegas' levels FX, I think I get close to identical results if in addition to a computer-to-studio conversion, I add a very slight gamma boost = ~ 1.008

That seems to make the timeline preview match REC.709 output provided your timeline clips are conformed to the 0-255 range.

For those of you who operate on video clips encoded at video levels, I'm not sure if there's a gamma shift between what you see on your computer monitor (after editing) and your output renders. Haven't tested that.

For those of you who use a computer monitor and either conform your video clips to 0-255 and then levels-convert for export, or who intermix still images and video clips, I feel slightly confident in saying Vegas is slightly misleading you when it comes to previewed image density vs output density.

That is all.

I can see you are a hands-on learner, and that it's a mistake for me to try to expedite your thought process. The "st----" word never crossed my mind, quite honestly. You'll get there.

Using precise terminology is always considered an asset in our discussions, as is testing your assumptions. The problem is not in the quality of the observations, but with stating attributions based on an incomplete lexicon and set of information.

 

If I put an image on the timeline with an embedded Adobe RGB profile, Vegas discards the profile and displays it incorrectly.

If I put an image on the timeline with an embedded sRGB profile, Vegas displays the image correctly.

I think that means Vegas operates in Monitor Color mode (it does not warn about or perform color space conversions).

If I render out an sRGB image with a computer-to-studio level correction applied (to an MP4 codec which expects REC.709), Vegas gives me a compliant MP4 which is *a little bit darker* than what Vegas was showing me on my preview window (pre-levels conversion).

I think that means a computer-to-studio levels conversion *does not* correct from sRGB's 2.2 gamma to REC.709's 2.4 gamma.

^^^ This.

I've given up fretting over Vegas weirdness, and correcting with LEVEL 16-235 doesn't always work as hoped. So, I render and tweak per visual observations on my calibrated monitors, laptops, phones, tablets, and TV, until it looks how I want.