never mind "sync audio to SX2 is a better thread"-please delete

The .wmv codec can take a lot of CPU, and IIRC it was developed with an emphasis on HD streaming. It may seem counter intuitive but the SD 720 x 480 display size may not be much less intensive than the 1080p sweet spot that .wmv offered as a delivery codec.
 
You didn't mention which codec you are using with the .avi export. The fact that it plays back fine in Media Player but stops short in SONAR leads me to guess you are slamming the CPU with that as well. Does it play back in Quicktime Player? Does it play back in Quicktime Player with "play all frames" selected so that Quicktime is forced to play each frame and show you if it chokes?
 
Why not try a well balanced codec that was made to run in an edit application rather than a player and leave some head room for the edit program to use?
 
If you are happy with 720x480 then you can try DV25 codecs or a 200 kb/frame motion jpeg and see if that helps.
 
Good luck.
 
best regards,
mike

Hi Randy,
 The video that you edit in Vegas; What CODEC are you running in that?
 
 Is it a camera codec such as
- HDV 25mbit/sec?
- XDCAM HD 35mbit/sec?
- Canon HD 35mbit/sec?
- XDCAM HD442 50mbit/sec?
- DVCpro HD 100mbit/sec?
 
 Do you have some favorite edit code that you transcode too when you prepare to import the video?
 
 The ones I mentioned are all constant bitrate codecs.
 
 - HDV at 25mbit/sec probably plays really smooth, it's a lo-res, easy to use sort of HD codec.
 - XDCAM at 35mbit/sec for 720p does ok, one reason it's popular for fast turn around TV production.
 - Canon HD will work your system at 50 mbit/sec with 1080P... it will play smooth in a player but tax an edit application. Some folks have a CUDA card to accelerate it. That work flow comes with some gotchas.
 - DVCpro HD probably want's a proper video I/O acceleration card to run smooth all the time.
 
 .wmv averages about 10mbit/sec, it can be variable bitrate as well, and it uses a lot of extra CPU to decode.
 
 Try stacking 2 instances of .wmv in Vegas with a dissolve cross fade and see how that compares to what ever you are using that gets 4 or 5 layers.  (remember... you are only playing one layer at a time unless you are doing a real time transition like a cross fade or have a real time, unrendered, alpha keyed transparency layer happening. Vegas doesn't stream all the *video tracks* 24/7 unless it is using the data for active display.)
 
 Any ways... it's all about balancing the loads with sensible codec choices. There are dozens of useful codecs to try out.
 
 
 all the best,
mike
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
In the long run, it is easiest if you learn how to identify the codecs you are using and learn when and where each is useful so that you may estimate the suitability for any particular codec for any particular task you have in mind.
 
That way you will not fall into the trap of making reactionary conclusions based on an absence of knowledge.
 
For example; you probably don't need any more codecs from k-lite to play back the video that you are already playing back. ( You already have the codecs... that's why they are playing back in media player )
 
For example; you might get confused by bold and wildly incorrect statements such as "Sonar runs fine with MOV files... ...AS LONG as you have the correct codecs installed."
 
That statement is just hog wash.
 
A correct statement might be something like: "Under the right circumstances .mov files do play back in SONAR smoothly."
 
I like that statement because it should encourage one to try to identify and appraise the circumstances.
 
 
 
 
It's a bummer, of sorts, to see that a 25 year old technology hasn't been well understood by it's professional practitioners.
 
It's fairly easy to go read all about it.
 
 
 
 
Pick a codec that plays well in SONAR and leaves a bunch of head room for SONAR to do it's work. It's simple.
 
Don't bother comparing SONAR video play back to Vegas. Vegas doesn't use resources and demand tight timing the way SONAR and other DAWS do. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges.
 
best regards,
mike