@ser-z What have you set your preview quality at?

From the Help system:-

The Preview Quality setting in the Video Preview window determines whether the proxy files or original files are used for editing and preview:

When the preview quality is set to Draft or Preview, the proxy file is used.

When the preview quality is set to Good or Best, the original file is used

Note that you should upload your screencast via the upload button in the comments header rather than us having to download it to our PCs.
 

I know when Vegas uses proxy but it doesn't in Vegas Pro 19. With VP16 & VP17 I don't have the problem.

No idea why Vegas isn't seeing your sfvp0 files; maybe its pointed at the wrong directory?

But if you have Vegasaur, why bother with sfvp0? You can make better quality proxies, faster that will actually work with the trimmer (sfvp0 doesn't). I like Nvidia created mp4 versions - the are small, scrubbable, hardware accelerated and you can burn-in timecode or "proxy" so you know what you are looking at.

My Sony camera records simultaneous 1280p proxy files along with the 4K. I copied them both into the same folder and renamed the proxys to sfvp0 accordingly but Vegas 19 doesnt recognise them. Vegas only recognises files it has created itself. Shame because it would be a good time saver.

I don't understand why you renamed them to .sfvp0. Can't you just leave them alone in a separate "proxy" folder and point Vegas at that? Please educate me. :)

My Sony camera names the 4K file eg C0001.MP4. It names the 1280p proxy file C0001S03.MP4 in a separate folder called SUB.
When vegas makes a proxy it calls it C0001.MP4.sfvp0 and puts it in the same folder. So thats why I renamed them and copied across. I didnt know I could point vegas to a specific proxy folder. It's me that needs educating!

I confirm that sfvp0 proxies created by third parties no longer work in VP 18+ as they did in earlier versions of VEGAS. I suggest using regular proxies (when replacing original files and vice versa)

I like the automatic way proxies work in Vegas. I like that I can preview in proxy mode and just by switching to 'good' I can view the original file. I know I can swap files with those in a different folder but it'd probably confuse me! Sometimes I only make proxies for bits where there are effects. It works well but needs a faster way to make the proxiy files or be able to use third party.

I like the automatic way proxies work in Vegas. I like that I can preview in proxy mode and just by switching to 'good' I can view the original files

Sounds like a good reason. Perhaps we can extend this thread into a feature request:

1) allow Vegas' automatic proxy system to work with third party proxies in a specified directory, and with a variety of file types.

2) support proxies in the trimmer

Anything else?

As a work around I've been making custom proxies in their own folder and activating them with the right-click/replace function in Project Media. Seems to work better than Vegas-created proxies with double-rate footage.

When I wrote the KwikProxy tool in HOS, I added the VegasAuto (sfvp0) option which works well in versions prior to 18. However, starting with 18, it's really hit and miss. It works OK for some media files, but not others. E.g. I just tried a few successive GoPro 4K 60P HEVC media files today in V19 using QSV encoding. It worked OK for some, but not others. The reason???? For that reason, creation of custom proxies and use of switching is the only option that reliably works. What's important (at least for speed) is to create proxies externally before they are added to the timeline, which can be done in HOS, FFmpeg, Handbrake or a host of other apps--especially for HEVC media.

One thing I did learn is that beginning in V18, sfvp0 proxies cannot contain audio--they must contain a video stream only--which seems a bit counter-intuitive since Vegas must read the video from one file and the audio from another for preview. It would seem more efficient to read both video and audio from the same media file--but perhaps not.

Small proxy files, but most importantly, ones that will perform *well* in VP and be clear enough to work with during a 3x3 MC edit -- that's key.

What format is everyone's favorite? I've been making 720p .MP4 files with semi-low bitrate and it's worked OK, but I recall "back in the day" that MPEG files decoded much easier.

After many tests, I came to the conclusion that for smoother playback and work on the timeline in VP, the key frame interval (GOP) should be equal to 30. @wwaag modified KwikProxy to be able to set the appropriate GOP. And it worked! Working with proxy files has become much smoother, and VP19 has also started to "see" these proxy files! So there is a way out of this situation - with the new version of HappyOtterScripts @wwaag will add this feature, so I recommend all VP19 users to use KwikProxy, which creates proxy files MANY times faster without loading the CPU at ALL.

So if we were using FFMPEG to generate proxies, you'd use -g 30 for a keyframe every 30 frames, and the -an option so it's a video-only file?

I own a Sony a7iii, which has the ability to record proxy files. Has anyone successfully used third-party proxy files with Vegas 19? If so, might you know where I can find a video or text tutorial? Thank you.

@wwaag @ser-z

In this thread it was mentioned that VP 18+ doesn't see proxy files created by third party applications.

You mentioned that craeting video files with no audio and with GOP 30 solved the problem.

I tried:

ffmpeg -y  -i "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004.MP4" -c:v mpeg2video -pix_fmt yuvj420p -qscale:v 5 -bf 2  -r 23.976 -vf scale=1280:720 -g 30 -an  "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_proxied_MPEG2_GOP_NO_AUDIO.MP4"

and I tried:

nvencc64 -i "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004.MP4" --codec h264 --vbr 17 --cqp 23 --preset default --colorrange full --gop-len 30  --fps 23.976 --avsync forcecfr  --audio-codec aac --audio-bitrate 128 --output-res 1280x720 -o "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_proxied_VBR_gop30.MP4"

and I tried:

ffmpeg -y  -i "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004.MP4" -c:v libx264 -pix_fmt yuvj420p  -crf 23 -preset medium -x264-params force-cfr=1  -vf scale=960:540 -g 30 -an "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_proxied_LIBX264_GOP_NO_AUDIO.MP4"

changed the output file extension to sfvp0 but Vegas Pro 19 doesn't recognize the proxy file and playback in Vegas Pro is not smooth.

Can you help me? What am I doing wrong?

The input file is:

General
Complete name                            : C:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004.MP4
Format                                   : XAVC
Codec ID                                 : XAVC (XAVC/mp42/iso2/nras)
File size                                : 288 MiB
Duration                                 : 11 s 520 ms
Overall bit rate                         : 210 Mb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59
Tagged date                              : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Format Range@L5.1@High
Codec ID                                 : hvc1
Codec ID/Info                            : High Efficiency Video Coding
Duration                                 : 11 s 520 ms
Bit rate                                 : 200 Mb/s
Width                                    : 3 840 pixels
Height                                   : 2 160 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 50.000 FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:2
Bit depth                                : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.483
Stream size                              : 275 MiB (95%)
Encoded date                             : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59
Tagged date                              : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59
Color range                              : Full
Metas                                    : 3
Codec configuration box                  : hvcC

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : PCM
Format settings                          : Big / Signed
Codec ID                                 : twos
Duration                                 : 11 s 520 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 1 536 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Stream size                              : 2.11 MiB (1%)
Encoded date                             : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59
Tagged date                              : UTC 2022-06-25 17:28:59

I have also noticed that Vegas Pro holds a lock on proxy file if it is validly recognize by Vegas Pro 19.

Vegas proxy files created from above processing don't have lock so Vegas Pro 19 doesn't recognize them.

Please help me... :(

I have a wedding and I need to create proxy files for many files, but using Vegas it takes 2 days to create proxy files.

@marcinzm

If you can upload a short sample file that I can download, I'll take a look.

@wwaag

I uploaded a short video. Please download: https://we.tl/t-dVSMAWxaNf

After 7 days the link will be inactive.

@marcinzm

Downloaded your file and created a Vegas style proxy using HOS KwikProxy. No problem--the proxy was successfully created. Here is a link to a demo. If you use a 4K monitor, I'd suggest selecting the 4K Vimeo setting.

https://vimeo.com/726501157/cc9eed94df

One other thing. After creating the demo, I changed from Preview (Full) to Preview(Half) and I was able to get full frame rate playback--even using my very old graphics card (1050Ti).

The problem with attempting to create a Vegas style proxy using FFmpeg is that you must account for frame count differences. For whatever reason, Vegas often drops the initial frames for certain formats including your FX3 footage. Note the difference in frame count between FFmpeg and Vegas in the demo. If you don't account for these differences, proxy creation will fail.

If you don't have HOS and want to create proxies using free tools, then follow the suggestion offered by @joelsonforte.br or just use you own FFmpeg-created proxies. In my opinion, swapping is much more reliable than use of the Vegas proxy option. It is also an option in KwikProxy. Good luck.

@wwaag

Thank you for your test and help.

I did some tests and finally it worked but....

I was able to skip frames only by ffmpeg call:

ffmpeg -y -i "C:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_original_raw.MP4" -vf "select=gte(n\,2),setpts=PTS-STARTPTS" -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -an "C:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_output\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_original_raw_skipped_2_frames_wersja2.MP4"
 

and then I run the following command:

nvencc64 -i "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_original_raw_skipped_2_frames_wersja2.MP4" --codec h264 --vbr 17 --cqp 23 --preset default --colorrange full --gop-len 30  --fps 50 --output-res 1280x720 -o "c:\!!!_YouTube_upload\_media_file_extractor_ffmpeg_input\05_zakonczenie_Sony_FX3_004_original_raw_skipped_2_frames_wersja2_no_audio_25p_h264_gop30.MP4"
 

and it worked perfectly. But as you can see the video processing is splited into two parts.

I would like to enhance the process. Is it possible to skip first two frames of video file, but only by nvencc64 call. I wouldn't like to use ffmpeg for it. I would like to use only nvencc64 encoder by single call. Is it possible to do it? I was reading nvencc64 help, but nothing worked.

Can you help me?

@brad-huddleston

Thank you for you recommendation. I will try to create my own application in C# for creating proxy file in parralel mode, so many proxy files would be created in the same time. It will speed up the process of proxy files creation. I have many weddings where I record even 4 hours of video content and I am not able to wait such a long time for proxy files using Vegas Pro proxy creation feature.

@marcinzm

Sure. Just use the trim command. This is from the nvenc help file.

--trim <int>:<int>[,<int>:<int>]...
                                trim video for the frame range specified.
                                 frame range should not overwrap each other.

Here's the command line I used for your footage.

nvencc64 -i "D:\Downloads-New\05_zakonczenie_Sony FX3 079.MP4" --codec h264  --vbr 12000 --preset performance --colorrange full  --ref 2 --gop-len 30  --fps 50.000 --trim 2:1080  --output-res 1920x1080 --format mp4 -o "D:\Downloads-New\05_zakonczenie_Sony FX3 079.MP4.sfvp0"

@wwaag

Do I always need to drop first 2 frames from every videos I made from different cameras to make proxy be recognized by Vegas?