My only comment would be. Once again Sony has let us down.

I bought Vegas MSPP9 due to the comparision chart saying it supported custom templates, expecting it suported custom templates on MPEG-2. I sent a email regarding this to Sony, no reply from Sony but the next day the comparision chart had been changed. Also I never received the memory stick that was part of the purchase.

Markus.

I was frustrated too with the fact that Movie Studio is unable to keep the field order unchanged while creating an MPEG2 file.
I end up rendering my AVCHD footage from the timeline into an intermediate uncompressed HD YUV and then converting it to SD MPEG2 using a third party software.
Shame on you, Sony.

I have the same problem too, i pay £70.99 for vegas pro pack and get rubbish, having this software for weeks now yet UNABLE to burn any AVCHD disc!! Don't buy this product.

I wouldn't call Vegas rubbish...
Why didn't you first download the TRIAL version? It is full featured and works for 30 days.

I downloaded the trial. The function I wanted was custom templates. The comparison chat had it listed. It didn't say Mpeg2 not included. It had custom templates ticked for Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Pro Pack and Vegas Pro.

In the Trial it had the custom greyed out. I just assumed that the trial must have been Vegas Movie Studio or Vegas Movie Studio Platinum.

Markus.

You cannot expect any company to list what a product does NOT do. That list would be endless. Make this mental note: always first use TRIAL software.
You must realise: if you want pro features, you need to buy the pro version (and invest a lot more).
Still, I understand your frustration. My advice: stick around in this forum and read some of the tutorials of experienced users like Eugenia.
The first couple of month I used Vegas, I would burn dvds myself. But then I bought a good quality Pioneer dvdplayer with usb connection, so now I render to the wmv format instead of the mpg2 format, and play videos from usb stick rather than dvd.

VMS is a good editor with a bunch of features, no one asks for any extra. But once you've finished editing your project you need to be able to export into something playable on a standalone player. Right?
In my case I needed an MPEG2 for creating a DVD and an AVCHD file for Blu-Ray. What could've been simplier than that... but... None of those essential features worked properly. And this is nonsense. It's a bug that Sony should have fixed ASAP. I had a trial version then but two month later I see people on this forum still struggling with the same issues.

Ivan123, now, you're suggesting to buy a DVD player with a USB port supporting wmv? I dont know if that's gonna be easy for me to convince all my friends, ralatives, workmates and many other people whom I'm sharing my videos with, to follow this route and toss all their DVD players and get a new one only because my current video editor is unable to create a simple MPEG2 file... That will be tough.

I would hardly call maintaining the proper field order of your source video a "pro" feature. EVERY SINGLE OTHER editing suite, even the most basic that comes with the hardware, has provisions for keeping the proper field order. Apple even issued a patch for compressor-2 that allows for proper field order in their product when used with AVCHD cameras.

This is a huge bug that Sony chooses to ignore. And it's only going to get worse as more and more of these cameras become in use. Hopefully the number of complaints will rise to the point that Sony will respond, as Vegas truly is a marvelous piece of software. Unfortunately, it is impossible to create acceptable results while this bug exists.

Forum Admin, where are you?

I am somwaht confused here. Are you saying an AVCHD/HDV footage could not be rendered as MPEG-2 for DVD ?

All my movies are a mix of HDV and other formats (photos, movies in MJPEG, MOV, etc.). I always render every finished project in HDV (.m2t file), and DVD (.mpg + .ac3). So far my VMS 8 Platinum never had any problem with DVDs.

Although I watch these DVDs on a DVD player with progressive scan in 480p. Is it a problem with watching in 480i (regular TVs or DVD players with no progressive scan)? Or is it a problem with specifically VMS 9 (and not 8)?

AVCHD/HDV footage can be rendered as MPEG-2, but Vegas will swap the field order to lower field first, causing combing and jerking playback on interlaced devices.

Each frame of interlaced video has two fields. Think of each field of the frame as a moment in time. You have to play the earliest recorded field first, then the later or it would appear you are going backwards in time. The order in which to display the fields of the frame is determined by the field order. Different types of equipment have different field orders. NTSC DV cameras, for instance, recorde the lower field first. HDV/AVCHD cameras, however, record the upper field first.

Essentially, Vegas is taking our upper field first video, and rendering it as lower field first. Upon playback on an interlaced TV, the lower field of the frame (the later position in time) is now played before the upper field (the earlier position in time). Our output now has a backwards jerking motion for every frame. The effect isn't noticeable on scenes with little movement, but a fast pan is a terrible thing to behold.

You will usually not see the problem on a progressive display, as the entire frame (both fields, or moments in time) will be displayed at the exact same time. Some de-interlacers, however, will show a ghosting or combing type effect depending on the type of de-interlacing. (blending, smart, bob, etc..)

To see if you are affected by this problem, you'll need to watch your output on an interlaced display. Make sure your footage is not static. The faster the motion, the more noticeable the problem. It affects all versions of Vegas that do not allow us to set the render to upper field first. (Vegas Pro allows for custom MPEG-2 templates).

There are a couple of current threads on the Vegas pro video forum about deinterlacing & field order. Check the thread by JohnMeyer. I don't know if it is related at all, but might be worth a read.

Thanks for the heads up. Over there, they are discussing artifacts produced from resizing and de-interlacing HD footage to SD.

I'm not de-interlacing, and I'm shooting in SD, so that conversation is not applicable. They have the luxury of selecting the proper field order in Pro, so they wouldn't be battling this one anyway.

Have you considered the following: first render your video to dv avi, which allows customizing field order, and then have DVDA creating the dvd, or then re-render that file to mpeg2 yourself? Is there a reason this shouldn't work?

I'm sure that would work if you don't value your time and don't care for the quality of your finished product.

Interestingly enough, I'm trialing both Corel X2 and the Pinnacle 12 products. Both allow upper field first selection, and even smart render my source keeping quality at 100%. I'm leaning towards X2 right now, but I will sure miss the Vegas interface. Sadly, quality output is more important... after all it's the end video I am concerned about, not the interface niceties.

Well, I'm not the ultimate Vegas cult follower myself. I'm even using Roxio's Wave editor if it suits me (I love its automated 'cinematic' movie creator). Sony is a bit like God: its decisions are sometimes unclear or unmotivated. Some highbrow exec must have oracled at one point; "There will be no mpeg2 customization on Vegas Studio," somewhat like the failed PS3 strategy, which killed off Sony's respect among gamers.

If X2 and Pinnacle 12 are stable, go for it. They offer a lot under the hood.

A few questions and a comment...

Q1: This is a Vegas rendering issue rather than a DVD Architect question, right?

Q2: Did it work properly in V8 Platinum and was disabled in V9? If so, you can probably get an inexpensive copy of V8 now.

Q3: Have others duplicated this "lack of respect for the field order"?

Comment: If you use an AVCHD camcorder with DD5.1 AC3 encoding, only one software package that you mention will carry through the DD5.1 audio. One of the packages (although not advertised as such) will not.