VP14 can still render Cineform with alpha channel

NickHope wrote on 11/21/2016, 11:58 PM

There was an error in the release notes for Vegas Pro 14 build 201 that said:

"Removed a Render Alpha Channel checkbox that mistakenly appeared when rendering to a CineForm AVI file (which does not support an alpha channel)"

Actually the checkbox was removed because the inclusion of the alpha channel in the render is controlled by the "Encoded format" in the Cineform Codec options in the render custom settings, so the checkbox was potentially misleading.

A procedure to verify this (from the developers) is shown below. The free Cineform VFW (.avi) and Quicktime (.mov) codecs are installed with GoPro Studio which is now part of GoPro Quik Studio. I used Jam_One's file from this post to test this.

- Start a new Vegas project
- Add a test clip to the timeline known to contain an alpha channel
- Set the clip's media properties, Alpha channel setting to "premultiplied"
  [note that the thumbnails on the timeline change to a checkerboard background]
- Verify alpha transparency by
    - Add a video new track below the test clip's video event
    - Add a generated media event
    - Check that the generated media shows through those areas of the test video
      known to be transparent.
    - Delete the track containing the generated media
- Open Render As dialog
- Select template "Windows AVI", "HD 720-60p YUV"
- Customize the template,
    - Match the original media's frame size and frame rate
    - Set "Video format" to "Cineform Codec"
    - Click the "Configure" button
        - Set "Encoded format" to "RGBA 4:4:4:4"
        - Click OK (to close Configure Cinform Codec popup)
    - Click OK (to close the template Custom Settings dialog)
- Specify a valid destination and file for the rendered output
- Click OK to begin the render
[ when render completes, verify it contains the alpha channel ]
- Start a new Vegas project
- Add the rendered clip from the procedure above to the timeline
- Set the clip's media properties, Alpha channel setting to "premultiplied"
  [note that the thumbnails on the timeline change to a checkerboard background]
- Verify alpha transparency by
    - Add a video new track below the test clip's video event
    - Add a generated media event
    - Check that the generated media shows through those areas of the test video
      known to be transparent.

Comments

Marco. wrote on 11/22/2016, 6:14 AM

Yes, preserve of alpha channel in CineForm renders works fine here if 4444 RGBA is selected for CineForm output.

Jam_One wrote on 11/22/2016, 8:57 AM

Roger!

... the inclusion of the alpha channel in the render is controlled by the "Encoded format" in the Cineform Codec options in the render custom settings, so the checkbox was potentially misleading.

Thank you Nick Hope, thank you Vegas Creative Team for clarifications!