The first thing you should do when you create a new project is set the project properties. 

• To do this, go to "File" (or "Project") and select "Properties" to open the Project Properties dialog box.
  You will see five tabs: "Video", "Audio", "Ruler", "Summary" and either "Folder" (Movie Studio only) or "Audio CD" (Vegas Pro only).

Video tab:

The Video tab settings are configured based on the video in your project.

• The easiest thing to do is to start with a template. Select the template that matches the type of source material you are using (e.g. HDV 1080-60i).
• If you aren't sure which template to choose, click the "Match Media Settings" button next to the dropdown menu in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box (the icon with the film strip and arrow).
• Navigate to one of the source videos you want to use and click "Open".
  The program will then automatically select the appropriate settings for your project.
  Click "Apply", followed by "OK".

You can also manually change the template properties and save them as a custom template.

To create your own template, enter a name in the text box and click "Save Template".
The new template will then be added to the end of the dropdown list.

Audio tab:

If you use the Match Media Settings feature to automatically configure the settings for your video, and the video contains audio, the program will automatically configure the audio settings as well.

In this tab, you can choose between stereo and 5.1 Surround sound, as well as set the bit depth and bit rate.

Ruler tab:

The Ruler tab is for projects which are primarily audio-based (e.g. music videos or music-based projects).

Here, you can set various "Timeline Rulers" as well as configure the appropriate dimension and beat settings for your project.

Summary tab:

The Summary tab lets you enter written information about your project. 

Folder tab (Movie Studio only):

The Folder tab is where you choose the folder you want to save your videos and pre-rendered video files to.
In Vegas Pro, the folder options are located in the Video and Audio tabs.

Audio CD tab (Vegas Pro only):

The Audio CD tab provides settings for burning "Disc-at-One" (DAO) CDs, including the Universal Product Code (UPC) and Media Catalog Numbers (MCN).

The information provided here is merely a brief introduction to what you can do in the Project Properties. For more detailed information, please refer to the program help by going to "Help" > "Contents and Index". In the Search tab, search for "Setting Project Properties".