It doesn't load in Windows Movie Maker - it hangs the app.

I opbtained info from GSpot and this is the result after rendering:

Video Src type: MPEG1Payload
Video path: (S) --> MainConcept MPEG Splitter --> MPEG Video Decoder --> (R)

I thought that if I vdieo file played in one app then the codec existed on the PC so Vegas should be able to accept it?

Cheers

I think I'd use Super or VirtualDub to turn the clip into something else that Vegas accepts -- at least that would be the simplest rather than troubleshooting the display problem now. I suspect that whatever decoder is being used doesn't output the rgb Vegas needs, or else the Vegas MC decoder doesn't like the way the clip was encoded.

An alternative to conversion might be DGIndex if it'll open the file, then VFAPI to make a fake avi for Vegas.

There are two types of video codecs, Vegas is based on Video For Windows (VFW) codecs, Windows Media Player is based on DirectShow codecs. Just because WMP will play a file using a DirectShow codec, doesn't mean that there is an equivalent VFW codec that Vegas can use.

The freeware video processor, VirtualDub, uses VFW codecs just like Vegas, but it has a built-in MPEG1 decoder and can be used to convert to a format which Vegas can use.

www.virtualdub.org

John

Thanks mikkie

I ran it through VirtualDub - kept all the default settings and the resultant file (produced in around 60 seconds) was a massive 1.3GB - the original was only 42MB!

Anyway, Vegas 5now plays and renders it.

One last Q:

I am rendering as MPEGs for compiling to DVD. Is there really any major reson for choosing Best rather than Good. Not sure I can really see a difference on my 19" montior.

Would there be a noticable difference when played on a 32" screen?

Cheers

Edit: Thanks john, too. I saw your reply after I posted mine.

If you are enlarging the MPEG1 clip to DVD image dimensions, which you probably are, then rendering "Best" is the way to go.

Vegas uses the best setting when resizing & things like that [sure I'll get flak for being so imprecise ;?P] but for just a regular edit/encode don't bother.

The reason your file was so big out of V/Dub is you didn't include a compression method or codec. You got uncompressed which is the default. If your target is DVD mpg2, I'd suggest one of the mjpeg codecs, or HUFF -- you can pick up lossless or near lossless codecs at videohelp.com if you need one. DV will work if you've got a codec available outside Vegas - but if you don't, do not install one without research beforehand... Folks have had plenty of problems adding the wrong DV codec.

[edit] John beat me, which is good because I forgot some mpg1 is 320. If that were the case, I'd actually recommend doing a test, resizing in VirtualDub rather than Vegas -- see what you think. There are also many freeware tools to do the conversion for you... Those relying on Avisynth for the resize might be the best yet, but again run a short test. In my experience over the years Avisynth or V/Dub are magnitudes faster, & far better quality doing resize work (sorry), so if you want check them out and see what you think.

Thanks again for the advice.

Having had many troubles installing too many free codecs in the past (videos suddenly playing at twioce the speed, etc) I think my best option is to use VirtualDub to produce and uncrompressed AVI of the mpeg. Then inport to Vegas and render from their to MPEG2 (already built in).

I just compared the file sizes of the same mpeg1 => AVI then rendered in V5 to Good and Best:

Good: 115,559
Best: 115623

All other settings are identical.

VirtualDub shows a Codec: MJPG_MainConcept Video3.2.4. Is the the right codec for MPEG2?

Cheers

Edit

As a newbie to VirtuialDub it seems that you can only save as AVI (which I know is a container file). So, if I compress in VD to AVI using the mainConcept Codec above how will DVDA know not to re-render it as it doesn't have an mpg extension?

Sorry to be a bit thick but I want to learn so that I can reduce to total work flow as I have many short mpeg1s to convert and put on to DVD.

Edit 2:

Just use VD to compress with the MainConcept Codec yet DVDA needed to recompress the file so, obviously, it's not an MPEG2 codec.

MJPG is "Motion JPEG" which is a completely different animal from MPEG2.

Motion JPEG is nothing more than a series of JPEG images. It is a very useful codec for video editing though. The new Blackmagic "Intensity" HDMI card uses MJPG to store and edit full 1920x1080 HD video.

John

RE: Codecs, not installing is often a good thing... :?P

The problem with V/Dub & Avisynth is that you can't easily avoid some sort of intermediate format to bring into Vegas. In your case using a codec would mainly have gotten you a smaller file is all -- not a huge deal as the video was short. Start adding up 10s and hundreds of gigs though and it can be a problem. ;?} If the need arises in the future, HUFF has been around forever it seems without problems -- at least I can't think of anything safer.

For the types of codecs, there's mpg1 - used with audio & once popular because of use on VCDs -- it's similar but more primitive than mpg2.

Mjpeg is a series of jpg images strung together basically, good for editing because it's all keyframes. It's less common today because of the popularity of DV, & I suspect might become rare as or if VFW dies out. [MS has wanted to kill it off for quite a while].

Mpg2 is the DVD format, besides being used a lot in broadcast and as a recording format.

VirtualDub, the original, will not do anything but avi, though there are Mod & Mpg2 versions available that allow a bit more. Some folks do frameserving, which is what Avisynth is about (plus a whole lot more) -- this takes the output from one program and feed it to another without any intermediate. It gets fairly involved though, and with Avisynth there is a fairly steep learning curve.

Answered the questions on mjpeg (mjpg) vs mpg2 & V/Dub doing only avi... For smart render, not re-compressing unless necessary, if you save the same format and settings in V/Dub, then render to the same in Vegas, frames that don't change don't get re-encoded.

V/Dub will do batch work, which might save you some hassle doing a lot of these mpg2 files. There are also freeware converters that might make it easier -- feed it a list of files and it spits out mpg2s -- but then you might run into the same problem as codec pacs, since many include a bunch of codecs. Some like FAVC however don't use an installation program -- just unzip & run - so the chances of anything going wrong are minimal, should be cured by deleting the folder.

Having converted a lot of clips to uncompressed AVI and then rendering in V5 using the 'built in' MainConcept MPEG-2 encoder, DVD PAL template and Quality set to Best I added a few to DVDA.

When I attempted to Make DVD I got a message informing me that all the clips would have to be re-compressed.

I also tried with the DVD PAL separate streams & DVD Architect PAL videostream templates each with the same result.

Surely if I have rendered from V5 into DVD MPEG2 then DVDA should not require re-rendering. What, if anything, have I missed or done wrong?

Cheers

What, if anything, have I missed or done wrong?

Did you go over the maximum file size (4.3 GB, as I recall)?
If so , DVDA would re-compress it.

Mike

No.

For my test I rendered two sections of one clip (about 10 seconds each). Total size was around 20 MB.

If you go to the optimize screen in DVDA it may give you some clue as to what it doesn't like about the video.

Thanks ScottW

I checked in the Optimize screen and it informed me the Product video format was NTSC although the File=> Properties was set to PAL.

Changing the Product video format to PAL solved the issue.

Cheers