Choppy Vegas

[xtremeD63]

Hi. I have clips that look smooth before editing in Vegas, but the finished product always looks choppy. It seems to hesitate, then jump forward, as if frames are being dropped. Makes videos look awful.

[guns1inger]

In the preview window ?
After encoding ?

In what context ?

If after encoding, encoding to what, from what ?

You haven't given anywhere near enough detail to work out even if there is a problem.

FWIW, I use Vegas 7 for DV and losslessly compressed footage without any choppiness. You can see my computer stats at the top of this post. Yes, If I go overboard with effects the preview slows down, but rendered output is always fine.

[xtremeD63]

I meant... after I render the video (in any format; .wmv, .divx, uncompressed - anything), I go to view the finished product in Windows Media Player, Divx Player, whatever, and it's just plain choppy. No effects. The source footage varies... it happens no matter what. I've monkeyed around with the framerates in the output sections, and it's always the same. I've tried it with audio, without.

Thanks for your reply, by the way.

[guns1inger]

Can you post a before and after g-spot of a sample clip. Doesn't need to be long. Just one that is fine before, and jerky afterwards.

[xtremeD63]

Just so I understand... you want me to take G-Spot analysis screenshots of the files, and post them here? Or post links to before and after sample clips?

[xtremeD63]

Here's a .zip of both 10-second clips. They're aptly named. You can easily see the "Choppy" one has several spots of hesitation as the camera goes through the doors. The original is 100% smooth. I tried rendering at 23.976 fps, 24.000 fps, 25.000 fps, and 29.97 fps. All do the very same thing. The source is a store-bought DVD, rendered in Vegas. After I got that clip, I re-rendered it those 4 ways I mentioned. No effects. A little of the end is cut off (about 1-1/2 seconds) because I didn't drag the bar over that far.

Here's the .zip file:

TestClips

[xtremeD63]

Maybe that's not what you were asking for? Or maybe you just forgot about me?
Anyone else out there have any advice?

[guns1inger]

Or maybe you just forgot about me?

Don't be so sensitive. I am on the other side of the globe, and also have a day job. A little patience won't kill you.

I am looking at your test clips now.

[guns1inger]

First, both are jerky at the beginning in Windows Media Player, and VLC skips the first few keyframes on both clips. The only thing that seems to play them from the start nicely is Media Player Classic.

Second, your source is reported as 29.970 fps, so unless you are going to IVTC it back to 23.976, simply changing the framerate will give you choppy output because you will be throwing away or blending frames.

Third, WMV can have a variable framerate, which may not be nicely handled all programs when converting. This can lead to odd behaviour when trying to compensate for it.

Finally, WMV is not edit friendly, and doesn't like being recompressed. It is a poor choice for source and should be used simply for the final output, if necessary.

What are you actually doing in Vegas ?

Personally, I would use Windows Movie Maker if you are going from WMV to WMV - that is what it was built to do. Vegas isn't really designed for editing this type of source.

[xtremeD63]

I was making a .wmv of that entire movie so my niece could have it on her computer to watch whenever she wanted, since I can't copy the dvd right now.

I only made the clips in .wmv to make the clips small. The same thing happens in the same places no matter what format I use. Even uncompressed .avi.

23.976 fps was just one of 4 framerates I used. I also tried 24.000, and 25.000 as well as 29.97. Same choppiness in the same exact places.

[guns1inger]

What is the source - the original video ?

If you are taking it from the DVD, use AutoGK to encode it as Xvid. Much simpler and more reliable.

[xtremeD63]

Thanks for the help, but just my luck: when I select the .VOB files to convert, it says, "No video streams found". LOL
It's just in the cards, I guess.
I appreciate the time you took.

Douglas A

[guns1inger]

Open the VOBs with G-Spot to confirm the content. You could also try avi.Net or FairUseWizard

[xtremeD63]

After extensive and time-consuming tests, I concluded that you were right: .wmv is a lousy format to edit with. I'm using Vegas, which will not open XviD or Divx files, so what's the best format to edit with? (Besides uncompressed .avi) MPEG-2 looks pretty smooth after edits. Any advice?

[guns1inger]

DV-AVI or a lossless codec would be top of the list

Mpeg2 is OK if you cap at a high bitrate, however Vegas will expand it on the timeline and force a total re-encode. If you have mpeg2 source you are better off using VideoRedo or Womble Mpeg Wizard instead.

None of the mpeg compression codecs like repeated re-encoding. They degrade very quickly. This covers mpeg-1, mpeg-2 and mpeg-4 (Divx/Xvid etc)

[xtremeD63]

I can't find a program that rips DVDs to that DV-AVI format. I do however, have a program that rips to MPEG-2, which looks real smooth even after editing in Vegas, with some effects. Vegas won't open XviD or DivX.
I rip at 4000 MBs. Looks good.
I tried VideoRedo, but it doesn't have the editing features I need. Well at least, I never found them.

Thanks for your help.