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tutorial: Frameserving IN and OUT of Sony Vegas (and others)

ThrowgnCpr

ThrowgnCpr

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This tutorial will explain how to frameserve IN and OUT of your editor. It is for Sony Vegas, but should work the same for Adobe Premiere, and Ulead MediaStudio Pro. All the tools here are freeware. However, the editor (e.g. Sony Vegas) and encoder (e.g. CCE or TMPGEnc) are pay software.

Download this file HERE. This will have virtualdub and VFAPI and some other minor installs that you will need for this. ALL are freeware.


Please follow these instructions as you see them. You will need to have avisynth installed on your system. I assume that you do because it comes with many codec packs and programs. Please verify that it is installed, and if not install that first. I have attached a .rar file with virtualdub and VFAPI subfolders. Extract these somewhere in your program files directory. This is all for frameserving INTO sony vegas. you will need a separate frameserver client to frameserve OUT OF sony vegas. Instructions for that follow at the bottom of this email.

FRAMESERVE IN - SETUP

Once you have your virtualdub and VFAPI folders somewhere in your program files folder, here is what you do:

1) navigate to the virtualdub folder and run the auxsetup.exe. click on INSTALL HANDLER

2) navigate to the VFAPI folder and double click the vifpset.bat

3) In notepad, open and change ReadAvs.reg to this path "Avisynth"="C:\\Program Files\\VFAPI\\ReadAVS.dll" (the path should be whatever folder you have. hence if you put it in another sub folder, specify that. there should be double slashes between each directory as indicated above).

4) Double click on ReadAvs.reg and allow the information to be added to the registry

You should be good for AVI files now. If you want to bring MPG video straight into VFAPI, you need this extra step (do it anyway)

5) navigate to the VFAPI folder and double click the m2vconf.exe (just accept the defaults if you are unsure about this stuff) and click OK

everything should work fine now.


FRAMESERVE IN - RUNNING THE PROGRAMS

So once you have these installed, here is what you do.

1) open your AVI in VirtualDub (you can apply any filters here if you want). Click File -> Start Frameserver -> save as a .vdr file

2) execute VFAPIConvEN.exe (This runs the program, make a shortcut on your desktop or in your start menu) open .vdr file in VFAPI. choose to export video and audio. (see notes below if audio is greyed out and you can export video only). It will ask you to save as an .avi file. This just creates a signpost AVI file that is compatible with Vegas. click CONVERT on the VFAPI interface. it will take a couple seconds to convert. Once its ready, there will be a bunch of question marks beside the filename

3) you can now open this signpost .avi file in Vegas.

I mentioned above that VFAPI sometimes will not recognize the audio. If this is a case, you have to extract the audio from the AVI using whatever program and load that directly into Vegas.


FRAMESERVE OUT - SETUP

You will need DebugMode Frameserver. The website is HERE

download link: http://www.debugmode.com/bin/download.php?fssetup.zip

execute the program, and install it for all the software you use. Definitely check the box for Sony Vegas, but if you have any of the other programs (Premiere, Ulead, etc) check those too.


FRAMESERVE OUT - RUNNING THE PROGRAM

OK. so you have hopefully successfully frameserved your videos into vegas, done all of your editing magic, and now you are ready to output your video. We use this frameserver so we can take advantage of the great encoding programs like CCE or TMPGEnc. If you dont have any of these, then you can just render the video through Vegas, and skip all this. BUT if you do have any of these programs, take advantage of them and use the frameserver.

In Sony Vegas...

1) Click File -> Render As... choose debugmode frameserver (avi) Just choose whatever default option when the window pops up. Give the file a name. This is another signpost .avi to open in whatever converting program

2) Open signpost .avi in TMPGEnc (or CCE or whatever). You have to make sure that you tell it what the aspect ratio is. TMPGEnc calls everything square pixel fullscreen when you open a frameserved .avi. Hence, if your video from Vegas was widescreen make sure you specify this.

3) you can now choose whatever options and convert it

Whew!! thats a lot of steps, BUT the quality is quite nice this way. I hope I havent confused you much. Let me know if you have problems
 
God, I really need this actually. Thanks a lot Throw
 
no problem, GC. Let me know how it goes. This can be quite a pain to get working if you don't set it up right, but its so worth it. Vegas is such a fantastic editor, its amazing that it still has these file compatability issues. Anyway, this frameserving in, really does the trick.
 
Nice written guide ThrowgnCpr!

ONE IMPORTANT piece of info before frameserving out of Sony vegas

click file in Vegas (top left) and then click properties. Change the properties to match the stats that you know your film is. Vegas uses incorrect options when you input a clip (ex: saying it is lower field first when it is upper field, giving wrong framerate and or having it to de-interlace on output). Frameserving without changing this will tell the encoder false info and you will get a screwed picture--
 
Well it looks easy enough, but I'm having a hell of a time A) getting the files into the Program folder. I search and search after attempting to either move them there or install them there, and no luck. Cannot extract the zip files there. B) With the files unzipped on my desktop I cannot open ReadAvs.reg from VFAPI in notebook. Notebook does not recognize it, and I cannot browse to Notebook. Running Vista, which is new to me, so that's probably part of the problem. Trying my best not to screw up too many things in this new laptop. Any sugestions what I might be doing wrong? Can I edit the ReadAvs.reg file on another computer, then bring it over to my own? Goofy little things like that. Thanks,

jeff
 
well, i dont know anything about vista, but can't you right click on the .reg file and choose open with... then select notepad. Yes, you should be able to edit it on another computer and copy it over, as long as you add the correct directory information for the computer you want to run it on

as for the program files folder, i dont know why you cant copy things there. this has to be some sort of Vista thing. You may need to look into it.

I admit first off that this is tricky to set up. And it seems like you are running into some extra snags with Vista. sorry.
 
One problem is that I cannot find notepad via the browse option when I try to "open with," but that's because I don't know exactly where it lives. I could do a search for "notepad" and find the path to it, which I probably should have done before my post, but I'm lazy. The other problem I guess is that Vista doesn't always like my administrator privliges... my security setting may be set too high or something. What I'm going to do is install everything on the older home computer. It's running Windows XP which I know prretty well. Once I get the bugs worked out there, I'll go back to the laptop. I was just wondering if there were any compatability issues with Vista. We have to go through a little bit of pain before we can have our fun!

jeff
 
Hello all,
I am currently ripping a copy of Alien Ressurection to begin my very first attempt at fanediting.

I made this choice since its a movie I have seen many times, I have alot of problems with it (But I still actually like it) and there are no other fanedits of it hosted here (in the event this actually comes out good).

Anyway, this is a first attempt and more of a learning process edit than a full fledged I actually know what the hell I am doing edit.

which finally brings me to my question relevant to this thread, I am going to be using Vegas Movie Studio 9 and I perused Boon's and ADM's guides as well as this one on Frameserving. My question is: since vegas can render on its own, is this something I should definately be doing seeing as this is a learning attempt or is it something I can skip? Will the overall quality take a major hit or what?

I dont want to cut corners because I am lazy but I also dont want to overwhelm myself on my first try.

Any help/thoughts would be greatly appriciated!

Thanks.
 
If you are using Vegas, frameserving is something you are going to want to look into, IMHO. Vegas, although an amazing editor is somewhat finicky about file format. It does not do a good job of editing mpg (mpg really isnt a great format for editing in general). The resulting video can be choppy, and transitions are crappy sometimes. AVI is generally the best format to edit. That said, Vegas wont outright accept XVID clips, and sometimes you get a "black-frames" issue with DIVX (or modified XVID) clips. The way around this is to frameserve your XVID and DIVX clips in using the method I outline above. Of course you can skip frameserving in by using an uncompressed or lossless codec AVI. Vegas will of course accept and edit that fine, but the file size of these videos is enormous, and you need a LOT of hard-drive space.

So, with an XVID you get a nice video that is close to original quality, yet has a small file size. And this is where frameserving is needed.

As far as frameserving out (you final edited video), this is something that might not be necessary but is really easy. it only takes a second to install the debugmode frameserver, and you can send the video then to a higher quality encoder like TMPGEnc or CCE (best). Of course you have to have these software packages. Vegas does a decent job of rendering the video, but the results will be much nicer from one of the others, especially CCE.

As I noted, setup up the frameserver for frameserving out from Vegas is really easy. Setting up the stuff for frameserving into Vegas can be tricky though.
 
I see, thanks for explaining.

However I already hit a snag. I ripped the Audio and Video by following ADMs guide (using DVD decrypter) but the Video came out as an m2v file that vegas wont accept.

how do I either re-rip an acceptable file or covert it to something vegas will accept? (after frameserving of course)

I know my asking you specific questions doesnt belong in here so feel free to delete it from the thread.
 
we can veer off topic for a sec :) and yes, Vegas wont accept an elementary stream video. You would have to mux it back with the audio file to make a program stream (mpg). SO you dont need to remux. If you have TMPGEnc you can mux it there.

Remember though, you may not get the best results by using an MPG for editing in Vegas. You'll see for yourself, I'm sure.
 
:oops: pardon my ignorance but I really have no idea what that meant.
could you be so kind as to break it down step by step?

do i need to re rip or convert? and then, how?

sorry, but I am putting the new in noob ATM.
 
sorry, let me try to break it down a little easier.

-The video on your DVD (as a .vob) is in mpg2 (.mpg) format. Using decrypter you are getting the elementary streams from the disc; video (.m2v) and audio (.ac3). This process is called demuxing. You can "mux" the elementary streams back into a program video, an .mpg. There is no encoding re reencoding involved, its just putting the elementary streams back into a playable format.

-A program like TMPGEnc (which is actually an encoder, but has other tools built in) can mux the streams back into an .mpg video.

-So, you dont need to convert, encode or anything like that. You just have to put your elementary streams back into a .mpg. This only takes a few seconds to do (OK, maybe a minute or 2 ;) ).

Now, you will have a .mpg that can be played on your computer, and opened in Sony Vegas.


...and as I was alluding to earlier, you may notice some choppiness when editing an .mpg in Vegas (in your output file). Thats why most people using Vegas use an .avi file to edit. (where frameserving may play a rol)

Let me know if this is still confusing and/or I can help with anything else.
 
Ok, that makes alot more sense but I am now having issues w/ TMPGEnc rather than waste more of your time I'll just list my steps and maybe you can make sense of what I am doing.

I open TMPGEnc and theres a project menu and a tools menu.
I select start new project and a "source" screen opens asking me to add a clip.
I select "add file" from the upper right hand corner of the screen
-I navigate to my m2v file and add it

A new window appears "clip properties" theres a preview window and under that is a space for a Video file (recognizing the file I just added) and a space for an Audio file (not yet filled)
-I navigate to the VOB file and get this error:

access to a file with the extension VOB is not supported. use the source wizard DVD import function to read a DVD content.

I select import anyway and it does (even though I am wrong I continue)
this gives me another pop up:

The source has been changed. cut edit and key frame lists will be reset. do you wish to proceed?
if "no" the audio siource is changed w/o resetting the cut edit and key frame list

By this point I am just guessing so I choose "no" and the file appears in the space for Audio file

This brings me to the next page that shows a clip that appears to have both files merged into one
I select Format from the top of the screen which then asks me how I wish to export the file.
I choose MPEG file output and am brought to a specs screen for the file output
I change the default from MPEG1 system (automatic) to MPEG2 Program (VBR)

I select Encode from the top of the screen and that opens a new page with a larger preview screen and the optios to start the encode, register on batch encode tool or display output preview.

the preview is a quick clip of nothing and the encode exports a useless file that is a few MB's
 
OK, you are trying to encode. We don't want that. Here's what you want to do (for TMPGEnc 4 XPress)

-open TMPGEnc
-on the lower right of the front screen there is a section called "Tools Menu"
-select MPEG tools
-select "Multiplexer" tab (this is default)
-change format to "MPEG-2 Program Stream"
-put your .m2v file in the "Video input"
-put your .ac3 file in the "Audio input" (it may auto select it if its the same name as the m2v)
-give it a name in "Output File" (will be a .mpg)
-click "Start"

should only take a minute or 2. and you will have your mpg (no converting or encoding required)
 
first off, Thanks alot. that was very simple. so simple that I feel like a big idiot. but I'm never in short supply of that.
:?

second off -
ThrowgnCpr said:
-put your .ac3 file in the "Audio input" (it may auto select it if its the same name as the m2v)
Click to expand...
DVD decrypter exports the AC3 as a VOB - does that matter?

I'd try it out but its still muxing (slow work computer) but it should work this time.

Thanks again.
 
a .VOB is a program stream (synonymous with .mpg), so you will still need to get your ac3 from that.

PGCdemux is a nice free tool to extract the .m2v and .ac3 from the DVD folder (where you have your VOBs, IFOs, and BUPs (the guts of a DVD)).

Hopefully all of that helps. I guess it would also be instructive if I briefly described the tools and methods I use, that eventually lead to this topic (frameserving into and out of vegas :grin: )

1) DVDFab HD Decryptor to copy DVD folder to HDD (removes region coding, & protection)
2) gordianknot (or also autogk as an easier tool) to convert to AVI (can just select the video from the VIDEO_TS folder on my HDD)
3) frameserving time!!! see instructions above, but basically open in virtualdub -> frameserve out -> open with VFAPI -> frameserve out
**note** I use the original audio from the dvd not the one in the AVI. so if your vegas wont accept the ac3, convert it to a wav (or 6 wavs if its 5.1) using BeSweet.
4) finally VEGAS!!! edit edit edit until you pass out
5) frameserve out (via installed debugmode plugin) to CCE (or TMPGEnc)
 
Well it worked and vegas accepted it but damned if it wasnt really choppy when I played it in there. I cant tell if thats what you meant or if its just my slow ass work PC.
I will try the file at home to compare.

1) DVDFab HD Decryptor to copy DVD folder to HDD (removes region coding, & protection)
2) gordianknot (or also autogk as an easier tool) to convert to AVI (can just select the video from the VIDEO_TS folder on my HDD)
3) frameserving time!!! see instructions above, but basically open in virtualdub -> frameserve out -> open with VFAPI -> frameserve out
**note** I use the original audio from the dvd not the one in the AVI. so if your vegas wont accept the ac3, convert it to a wav (or 6 wavs if its 5.1) using BeSweet.
4) finally VEGAS!!! edit edit edit until you pass out
5) frameserve out (via installed debugmode plugin) to CCE (or TMPGEnc)
Click to expand...


so should I convert the MPEG file to AVI with "Gordion Knot"? or just start over and rip the DVD differently?

I am just pretty overwhelmed by all the different methods to rip/convert/etc.
 
I know this is overwhelming, and honestly the methods described by ADM are not the best methods for Sony Vegas.

I'll start with this... MPG is not a great editing format. Some editors can deal with it well, but a lot can't. AVI is a perfect format for editing. That said, since you are going to be using Vegas, I strongly suggest converting your video to AVI. you can take 2 methods:

method 1: convert to XVID using autogk (using the steps I outlined in my last post) and frameserve it into Vegas (using the steps in the first post of this topic). You want this method if you don't have SHIT-TONS of hard drive space (most people).

method 2: convert to AVI using a lossless codec such as lagarith or huffyyuv (or some others, lagarith probably best). You won't need to frameserve into Vegas (which is nice) but this will create a huge video file (for a whole movie on the order of a few hundred gigabytes). The benefit of this is that there is zero loss in quality from the DVD, yet you are editing with an AVI (a great format for editing). The downside is it takes up SHIT-TONS of space.



and now you are finding out that editing (quality editing) can get rather complicated :) once you get going you will see that all these steps will be worth it to create some nice high quality edits. For Vegas' quirks (file compatability issues mostly), I really love it, and it is an incredibly powerful piece of software. I wont switch to anything else right now.
 
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