Sony Vegas 6 Manual

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Autosaving a project
A backup copy of your project is automatically saved every five minutes. If your system crashes, you are 
prompted to open the backup file the next time you start the program.
Backup files are saved in the location specified in the Temporary files folder box on the General tab of the 
Preferences dialog. Files are saved with the .autosave.veg extension and are deleted when you close Vegas 
software.
If you prefer not to autosave your project, you can clear the Enable autosave check box on the General tab of 
the Preferences dialog.
Vegas software also creates .veg.bak files in your project folder when you save a project to allow you to return 
to the project’s last-saved state. Creation of .veg.bak files is independent of autosaving. 
Using the Make Movie wizard
This feature is available only in Vegas Movie Studio and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum software.
Once you’ve arranged and saved your project, Vegas has an easy way to prepare your final file and get it ready 
for delivery: the Make Movie wizard. This wizard guides you through the process of saving your project in its 
final format (called “rendering”), burning it to DVD (using DVD Architect™ Studio), Video CD, or CD-
ROM, publishing it to the Web, printing it to your DV camera tape, or e-mailing it.
To start the Make Movie wizard, choose Make Movie from the File menu and follow the steps for the 
appropriate task.
Rendering a project
Rendering refers to the process of converting a project into a single new multimedia file and formatting it for 
the desired playback method: media player, Internet streaming media, CD-ROM, video tape, etc. The 
project file is not overwritten, deleted, or altered during the rendering process. You can return to the original 
project to make edits or adjustments and render it again later.
Rendering a video file can take quite a bit of time, depending on the complexity of your project, the speed of 
your CPU, and the final format you have selected. For longer projects, you might want to plan to render your 
movie overnight or when you are not using your computer.
The process for rendering a project is essentially the same, regardless of the final format of the rendered file.
Note: When you route busses to hardware outputs, the 
outputs from those busses will not be included in the mix 
when you render your project. This feature is available 
only in the full version of Vegas software.
Note: For specific information on 5.1 surround projects, see 
Rendering surround projects on page 221. This feature is 
available only in the full version of Vegas software. 
						

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1.From the File menu, choose Render As. The Render As 
dialog appears.
2.Select the drive and folder where you want to save the 
rendered file.
3.Type a new name in the File name box, if necessary.
4.In the Save as type drop-down list, choose the 
appropriate format. For more information, see Selecting a 
file format on page 309.
5.In the Te m p l a t e drop-down list, select the appropriate 
template. 
Tip: If your source media is in DV format, select a DV 
template. For more information, see Working in DV 
format on page 234.
You can customize the rendering settings by clicking 
Custom. For more information, see Customizing the 
rendering process on page 311.
6.Select any check boxes as needed:
 Select the Save project as path reference in rendered media check box to save the path to your Vegas project 
in the rendered file. Saving the project path allows you to easily return to the source project if you use 
your rendered file in another project. The check box will be unavailable if you haven’t saved your 
project or if you’re rendering using a third-party file-format plug-in. For more information, see Project 
references in rendered media files on page 58.
 Select the Render loop region only check box to render only the portion of your project within the loop 
selection.
 Select the Stretch video to fill output frame size (do not letterbox) check box to adjust the aspect ratio so the 
output frame is filled on all edges. Clear the check box to maintain the current aspect ratio and add 
black borders to fill the extra frame area (letterbox). This option is useful when the desired output 
format does not match the frame aspect ratio of your project.
 Select the Save project markers in media file check box to save any regions and markers in your project to 
the final rendered file.
Select the Render using networked computers check box (available only in the full version of Vegas 
software) if you want to queue multiple renders on a single computer or to harness the power of those 
other computers to speed up your rendering times. For more information, see Rendering with networked 
computers on page 316. 
7.Click Save. A small dialog box appears, displaying the progress of the render. You can cancel the 
rendering process by clicking the 
Cancel button in the dialog box. You can also view the progress of the 
render or cancel the render using the status bar in the lower-left corner of the window.  
						

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Selecting a file format
The following table describes the formats available for rendering your project:
More about the MPEG format
MPEG renders can sometimes take more time than renders with some other formats. MPEG video files can 
be played back on most computer systems. MPEG video files can also be burned to CDs or DVDs for 
playback in standalone VCD, SCVD, and DVD players. Sony Media Software cannot guarantee the 
compatibility of MPEG files with VCD/DVD authoring software or VCD, SCVD, and DVD standalone 
players. Consult your specific authoring software’s documentation for information on what constitutes a 
valid file and then customize the MPEG rendering properties to match.
Note: For information on preparing files for DVD 
Architect™ projects, please see the DVD Architect 
documentation.
Format NameExtensionDefinition
Audio Interchange File Format.aifAn audio file format developed by Apple®. Available only in the full 
version of Vegas software.
Dolby Digital AC-3.ac3Encoded Dolby Digital surround sound format. This option creates six mono 
files (WAV or AIFF) that your authoring application can use to create DVD-
Video or 5.1-channel music projects. Available only in the full version of 
Vegas software.
MPEG-1 and MPEG-2.mpgSome versions of Vegas software also support MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 file 
creation through the use of MainConcept® MPEG technology (see notes 
following table).
MPEG Layer 3.mp3Compressed audio format. You may render up to 20 .mp3 files without 
registering the optional plug-in.
OggVorbis.oggA patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology.
QuickTime™.movApple® QuickTime multimedia format.
RealMedia®.rm The RealNetworks® standard for streaming media via the Web. This option 
renders both audio and video into one file.
Perfect Clarity Audio®.pcaA proprietary format from Sony Media Software that is compressed and 
completely lossless (see notes following table).
Wave64™.w64A Sony Media Software proprietary format that allows wave files that are 
(practically) unrestricted by file size (see notes following table).
Video for Windows®.aviThe standard video file format used on Microsoft® Windows®-based 
computers. This option renders both audio and video into one file.
Wave (Microsoft).wavThe standard audio file format used on Microsoft Windows-based computers. 
Wave (Scott Studios).wavStandard audio format used with Scott Studios systems. Available only in 
the full version of Vegas software.
Windows Media® Audio.wmaThe Microsoft audio-only format used to create files for streaming or 
downloading via the Web.
Windows Media Video.wmvThe Microsoft standard used for streaming audio and video media via the 
Web. 
						

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More about the Wave64 and Perfect Clarity Audio formats
The Wave64 (.w64) and Perfect Clarity Audio (.pca) formats are proprietary formats developed by Sony 
Media Software to work around some limitations inherent in other formats. Currently, neither is compatible 
with many other applications and may not be playable in other media players, but both are excellent choices 
for Sony Media Software projects.
Wave64 files work around the maximum file size limitation inherent in the WAV format. The Wave64 
format has no maximum file size and is useful in long format productions.
Perfect Clarity Audio is a compressed format that is completely lossless. Unlike MP3 and other highly 
compressed formats which are lossy, 100% of the quality of your audio is maintained by using the PCA 
format.
More about video formats
When you create a final movie, you will find that there are dozens of formats to choose from, each having 
many customization options. The destination of your final movie is the most important factor in selecting a 
format. Movies created for broadcast television must be of the highest quality, but for many other 
destinations, such as a CD-ROM or the Internet, you may have to sacrifice some quality when you render 
the file. Heavy compression may create visible artifacts in the video, such as when you create streaming 
video for the Internet. Every case is different and it is necessary to experiment to obtain the best results.
VCR or television
If you are creating a movie that you want to send back out to a television, a VCR or a camcorder, there is 
only one choice: use the same settings as the original video.
There is no way to improve upon the quality of your original video (as far as compression is concerned). If 
you have captured your video at 640X480, at 24 fps in an MJPEG codec, then that is how you should set up 
your final movie. This is the only way to maintain 100% quality. For more information, see Wo r k i n g  i n  D V  
format on page 234.
Computer
This can be the most complicated case because you have to decide exactly which computer it is going to be 
played back on, how fast it is, what software is installed, and how you are going to get it there (e.g., burn to a 
CD). Your biggest concern with creating a video file is compatibility. When you create a movie, you must 
select a specific codec to compress the video. That same codec must then be used to view the movie. This is 
not a problem if you are viewing the movie on your own computer, since the appropriate codec is already 
installed. To ensure that your audience has the appropriate software, you should use a fairly universal codec. 
Intel Indeo, Cinepak, and QuickTime (which is not a codec, but installs with a number of different codecs) 
are all widely available. 
Internet
When video on the Internet is discussed, people almost always mean streaming. There are two streaming 
media formats that come with Vegas software: RealMedia and Windows Media Format. There is nothing 
particularly magical about streaming video, and the three rules of creating video files for the Internet are as 
follows: compress, compress, and compress. The smaller the file size the better, and this inevitably results in a 
loss of quality. There are two main places where you can save space: frame dimensions and frame rate. 
Typical Internet video files should be about 160X120 and should rarely exceed 320X240. This is not very 
big, and video with lots of detail does not translate well to this frame size. The frame rate should also be as 
low as possible, with 15 fps being a good maximum. Fast action, pans, and moving backgrounds (e.g., tree 
leaves or ocean waves) do not compress well. Streaming media files must be placed on a special Internet 
server in order to stream properly. 
						

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Customizing the rendering process
Every media file format has different variables and controls. You can use a template to automatically 
configure a particular format for a particular destination. 
You can also choose to create custom settings for your render by clicking Custom. Once you have customized 
the settings, you can create your own template so that you can reuse the custom settings at a later time.
Customizing the Render As settings
1.From the File menu, choose Render As.
2.In the Render As dialog, choose the format [e.g., Video for Windows (.avi)]. 
3.Click Custom. The Custom Template dialog appears. 
Note: Built-in templates cannot be edited.
4.Adjust the settings in each of the tabs as desired.
Note: When determining bit rates, 1K=1024.
5.Click OK to close the Custom Template dialog.
6.Enter a name and location for the new file and click Save.
Selected templateClick Custom
to change
control settings
or create/delete
a templateand descriptionSelected rendering
format 
						

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Saving custom settings as a template
You can save customized rendering settings for future use. One of the most important reasons to save a new 
template is to save the specific compression codec used to create the final media file, since this is not 
predetermined by the project properties.
1.Modify the parameters in the Custom Template dialog.
Note: When determining bit rates, 1K=1024.
2.In the Te m p l a t e drop-down list, enter a name for the new template.
Note: Built-in templates cannot be edited.
3.Click the Save Template button ().
To use the new template in the future, choose it from the Te m p l a t e list in the Save As dialog.
Tip: To delete a template, select it from the drop-down list 
and click the Delete button ().
Creating custom rendering settings for AVI files
The options that appear in the Custom Template dialog depend on which format you choose for your 
rendered file. This section provides descriptions of the Custom Template options for creating a Video for 
Windows (AVI) file. For descriptions of the options used to customize other formats, use the 
What’s This 
button (
) in the specific Custom Template dialog for that format. For more information, see What’sThis? help 
on page 20.
Some of the rendering settings are identical to your Project Properties and can be saved as a part of a project 
template. Final render settings override Project Properties settings. For more information, see Modifying project 
video properties on page 238.
The Custom Template dialog for rendering to an AVI file has three tabs: Project, Video, and Audio. 
Project tab
Video rendering quality
Higher quality settings result in longer rendering times. Good is the default.
Video tab
Include video
Select this check box to include the video stream and enable the remaining fields on the dialog. If you do not 
want to include the video stream, clear this check box.
Frame size
Frame size contributes to quality and file size. The appropriate frame size is determined by the final 
destination of the movie. See your video capture card’s documentation for more information. The final 
frame size of the movie can be different from the project’s default settings.  
						

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Frame rate
Frame rate is important in determining the quality and size of the final media file. The appropriate frame rate 
is determined by the final destination of the movie. See your video capture card’s manual for more 
information. The final rendered multimedia file can have a different frame rate from the project itself. 
Field order
Video that is displayed on a television monitor is interlaced. This means that every frame of video is actually 
composed of two fields, each of which is made up of half of the lines that make the final frame. These two 
fields are woven together in alternate lines, but which of the two fields is displayed first can be important. 
Choose 
None (progressive scan) to ignore interlacing for video to be displayed on a computer. For video on a 
television, most hardware supports 
Lower Field First. If the output is jittery or shaky on a television, or your 
hardware’s manual specifies it, choose 
Upper Field First.
Pixel aspect ratio
A pixel is a single picture element or dot on a television or computer screen. Computers display pixels as 
squares: 1.0. Televisions display individual pixels as rectangles: 0.909, 0.899, or anything other than square. 
Using the wrong pixel aspect ratio can result in distortions or stretching of the video. Select the aspect ratio 
for the final movie’s destination. Consult your hardware manual if you are in doubt about the appropriate 
ratio. The pixel aspect ratio and frame size determine the frame’s aspect ratio.
Video format
Codec, which stands for COmpressor/DECompressor, is the mathematical algorithm used to compress a 
media file. The codec directly determines the size and quality of the movie, as well as its compatibility with 
various playback devices. The final destination for the movie dictates the choice of codec. Many of the 
codecs used for specific rendering formats are updated periodically by their creators. For information about 
specific codecs, contact the codec’s manufacturer.
Each codec is a small program that may have additional custom controls used to fine tune the output. Click 
Configure to adjust these parameters manually.
Quality slider
If the codec you choose in the Video format drop-down list supports it, use this slider to adjust the quality of 
the compression applied by the codec.
Interleave every
This control allows you to specify how often the audio and video streams are interleaved. Interleaving relates 
directly to how the data is saved in the file. For example, during the rendering process, the audio data is 
written in between the video data based on the frame setting that you specified. Interleaving allows for 
optimal playback of the AVI file.
Keyframe every
If the codec you choose in the Video format drop-down list supports compression keyframes, select this option 
to set compression keyframes to adjust the quality of the compression. More keyframes typically produce 
higher quality video, but a larger file size (and thus a higher data rate).
Data rate
If the codec you choose in the Video format drop-down list supports a data rate ceiling, select this option and 
enter a maximum data rate for the final file.
Render alpha channel
If the codec you choose in the Video format drop-down list supports alpha channel transparency, select this 
option to save this information with the file. 
						

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Create an OpenDML (AVI version 2.0) compatible file
Select this check box if you want to save your file as an OpenDML file. OpenDML files allow you to create 
files that are limited in size only by the format of your hard disk: 2GB using FAT32 or 4GB using NTFS.
Audio tab
Include audio
Select this check box to include the audio stream and enable the remaining fields on the dialog. If you do not 
want to include the audio stream, clear this check box.
Audio format 
This lists the audio rendering codecs that are available.
Attributes
If the codec you choose in the Audio format drop-down list supports it, select the appropriate attributes for the 
codec from this list.
Sample rate
The sample rate directly affects the audio’s quality. The sample rate is defined as the number of times a 
second that data is sampled in an audio file. It is similar to the concept of resolution in an image file. The 
higher the setting you choose, the better the quality, but the larger the file size.
Bit depth
The bit depth directly affects the audio’s quality. The bit depth is defined as how much data is used to save 
each sample. The higher the setting you choose, the better the quality, but the larger the file size.
Channels
You can render a project in either stereo or mono.
Exporting a movie to a PSP
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
If you want to render your project to Sony AVC/AAC format and transfer it to a USB-connected PSP™ 
(PlayStation® Portable) system, you can do this using the Vegas Export to PSP™ feature.
Note: PSP firmware version 2.0 is required to use this feature. 
To check your firmware version, choose Settings > System 
Settings > System Information on the PSP. For the latest 
firmware, go to http://us.playstation.com (in the United States) 
or http://www.playstation.com (outside the United States).
Note: If you’re using high-resolution video, choose Best 
from the 
Full-resolution rendering quality drop-down list on the 
Video tab of the Project Properties dialog before exporting 
your movie to prevent resizing artifacts.
1.Click in the timeline to position your cursor on the frame you want to use to represent your movie. This 
image will be displayed as a thumbnail on the PSP™ navigation system.  
						

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2.Connect the USB cable and AC adapter to the PSP™ system and place it in USB mode.
3.From the To o l s menu, choose Export to PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable). The Export to PSP™ 
(PlayStation®Portable) dialog is displayed.
Note: If you want to render an H.264 video without 
transferring to a PSP, use the Render As dialog and choose 
Sony AVC/AAC (*.mp4) from the Save as Type drop-
down list. Name the rendered file in the format 
MAQ0nnnn.MP4 (where nnnn is a number) to conform to 
the PSP file-naming convention. 
4.The Title box displays the title of your project from the Summary tab of the Project Properties dialog. This 
title will be displayed on the PSP. 
Editing the title in the Export to PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) dialog will also update the Project 
Properties dialog. 
5.The File path box displays the folder and file name that will be used to render your movie. If you want to 
replace an existing movie, choose its name from the 
File path drop-down list. Click the Refresh button if 
you need to rescan the device.
6.Choose a setting from the Te m p l a t e drop-down list to specify the settings that will be used to save your file.
You can choose to encode with QVGA or QVGA widescreen frame aspect. Both settings create 320x240 
video, but the widescreen templates use anamorphic widescreen encoding, which is properly decoded on 
the PSP™ system.
When you use the 
Automatic frame size templates, the video is encoded using the Pixel aspect ratio setting 
from the video tab of the Project Properties dialog. When using these templates, set your project aspect 
ratio to DV for 4:3 content or DV Widescreen for 16:9 content.
All templates use 128 Kbps audio. The 512 Kbps templates are useful when you want to minimize file size, 
and the 896 Kbps templates will produce higher-quality video, especially in scenes with high-motion 
video.
Note: The settings for the selected template are displayed in 
the Description box. 
7.Select the Render loop region only check box if you only want to render a portion of your project. If the 
check box is cleared, the entire project will be rendered to a new file.
8.Select the Stretch video to fill output frame size (do not letterbox) check box if you want to reformat your video 
so it fills the output frame size listed in the 
Description box. When the check box is cleared, the current 
aspect ratio is maintained and black borders are added to fill the extra frame area (letterboxing). This 
option is useful when the desired output format does not match the frame aspect ratio of your project.
9.Click OK. Your movie file (MAQ0nnnn.MP4) and thumbnail file (MAQ0nnnn.THM) are created and 
transferred to the appropriate folder on the PSP™ system. 
						

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Rendering with networked computers
This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.
Network rendering allows you to designate a specific computer to render the entire output file, or you can 
distribute a single rendering job among several computers. 
 Distributed network rendering splits the video into segments that are rendered by multiple computers. In 
this mode, each computer renders a portion of the project, and the rendered sections are then reassembled 
into a single file by the one computer (called the stitch host).
Distributed rendering is a good way to reduce the time it takes to render a project containing a significant 
amount of processed video (video effects, transitions, panning/cropping, track motion, and compositing). 
However, distributed rendering requires increased disk space and network traffic because each segment 
must be saved before the final output can file be generated.
Nontemporal video output formats, such as DV or uncompressed AVI, are also well suited for distributed 
network rendering because segments can be reassembled without re-encoding.
 Nondistributed network rendering behaves very much like standard rendering, but you can choose which 
computer you want to render the project. In this mode, each computer renders a complete file from a 
Vegas project or the loop region. 
If you want to encode the same project to multiple streaming formats and bit rates, it is best to queue up 
multiple nondistributed jobs because streaming formats use temporal compression and you can assign 
different renderers to different output formats. If you have a project or output format with audio only, 
choose nondistributed rendering because only video is rendered in the first phase of a distributed job.
Both distributed and nondistributed rendering jobs can be queued to be performed as computing resources 
become available so you can render multiple projects or render the same project in multiple formats. 
Rendering using a computer other than your main editing computer allows you to continue working without 
waiting for the render job to complete.
Setting up your computers for network rendering
The computer that initiates and manages a network render is considered the owner of the job. Each 
networked computer that you use for rendering is called a renderer. The computer that reassembles rendered 
segments in a distributed rendering job is called the stitch host. The computer that is designated to perform a 
nondistributed network render job is called the render host.
To use network rendering effectively, we recommend the following:
 256 MB RAM in each renderer.
 100 Mbps switched local area network.
 Your media files and output file must be in shared folders, preferably on a dedicated file server, All 
renderers must have permission to read, write, create, and delete files in the shared folders. 
Before network rendering begins, a copy of your project will be saved in the shared output folder for use by 
the renderers. This version will have all media paths remapped based on the Network Render Service file 
mappings. For more information, see Setting file mappings on page 321.