+1 on Quicktime Pro. I tried a lot of freebie options, but nothing beats the reliablity I have experienced using uncompressed .avi's from QT. The 'add to movie' function, and 'Export for Web' option are great for sharing demo's with clients.

.

OK, guys - so I patched Quicktime Pro to 7.7.2

Then, I wrapped my problematic .MOV as an .AVI. using QT Pro.

No dice. Sonar 64-bit wouldn't import it. (Didn't try 32-bit, since I want to score in 64-bit).

One theory here is that for whatever reason, my Windows registry does not have the proper codec to play back this wrapped .AVI file 
(which could be an MPEG-4 file now - I'm not sure what QT Pro did in the wrapping).


OK, so next, I DL'd Sony Vegas Home Studio HD.

I rendered (wrapped) my .MOV file in Vegas's .AVI wrapper.

Then I imported Vegas's .AVI (I don't know what actual format/codec Vegas is employing) to Sonar 64-bit.

It worked. Yay!

So now I have at least one solution. I can use Vegas Home Studio HD for $50, which is not bad. 
Plus, obviously I get the editing features, and I already know the GUI since I used CD Architect for years.

So, thanks for all the suggestions, felluz!

Now, the real questions left are:

1. What file format is Vegas actually using when it generates/wraps an .AVI file?

2. What file format is QT Pro actually using when it generates/wraps an .AVI file?
I'm assuming MPEG-4 here, so I'm surprised Sonar 64-bit won't play it.

On a last note, VLC has also been recommended as a free file converter program - 
but I have no idea if it works for Sonar. If you guys want to check it just be careful where you DL it from  - 
because it's been bundled with some spyware, etc. So you should get it from the manufacturer's site only.

At any rate, I'm very happy to finally have a solution in Vegas. I'll be glad to buy Home Studio HD 
when I have my next scoring gig.

Again, thank, dudes!

.

sqye

OK, guys - so I patched Quicktime Pro to 7.7.2

Then, I wrapped my problematic .MOV as an .AVI. using QT Pro.

No dice. Sonar 64-bit wouldn't import it. (Didn't try 32-bit, since I want to score in 64-bit).

One theory here is that for whatever reason, my Windows registry does not have the proper codec to play back this wrapped .AVI file 
(which could be an MPEG-4 file now - I'm not sure what QT Pro did in the wrapping).
 

64-Bit Sonar is limited to the very few 64-bit Direct Show codecs that 64-bit Windows has. I don't know what QTPro exports by default in an .avi file, but you can adjust it to the few variations that QT does support for .avi files. But I don't use QT for making .avi files, since it is fairly limited in that capacity.

Now, the real questions left are:

1. What file format is Vegas actually using when it generates/wraps an .AVI file?
 

First, "mpeg-4" actually encompasses a large range of codecs and transport methods. But generally speaking, people say "mpeg-4" to mean "mpeg-4 part 2" and "h.264" to mean "mpeg-4 part 10". (It's a lot more convoluted than that...) Sonar 64-bit will playback mpeg-4 in an .avi file, but not h264. 
 
I don't know what Vegas  defaults to, but if it worked in Sonar 64, then it's probably mpeg-4 part 2.  To find out what is exactly in a file, I like http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en which tells you all sorts of info about media files.

2. What file format is QT Pro actually using when it generates/wraps an .AVI file?
I'm assuming MPEG-4 here, so I'm surprised Sonar 64-bit won't play it.
 
 

I don't know, as I mentioned above. But if you've created the avi file in QT, you can open it in QT and "Get Info" to find out what codec is in there. Or MediaInfo.

On a last note, VLC has also been recommended as a free file converter program - 
but I have no idea if it works for Sonar. If you guys want to check it just be careful where you DL it from  - 
because it's been bundled with some spyware, etc. So you should get it from the manufacturer's site only.
 
 

I love VLC as a media player, but I've had nothing but problems using it as a converter. I prefer WinFF for that. Others like SUPER. I don't like SUPER since its website just screams "spyware" to me. Maybe it's fine, I don't know. But WinFF is safe.

At any rate, I'm very happy to finally have a solution in Vegas. I'll be glad to buy Home Studio HD 
when I have my next scoring gig.

If Vegas worked for you, then I'd just stick with it.

.

Hey, thanks so much, Steve. This is awesome.

Yes, I have a feeling it's exactly what you're saying - 

QT Pro is creating - or passing on - h.264 mpeg-4 files in the AVI wrapper.

And Vegas is actually creating an mpeg-4 part 2 file in the .AVI wrapper.

Is this what you're saying?

And thanks for the WinFF recommendation - I'll definitely try it next time.

I think as a rule I will be receiving these particular .MOV files - which are also h.264 mpeg-4 wrapped in QTs format?

It's all very confusing...yikes.

Anyway, yes indeed I will be sticking with Vegas for the converting for now.

Thanks again, man - this is very helpful!

.

Hi ! 

I do music to picture about everyday, while it's not always a pleasure in Sonar, 
I get lots of lags, and ridiculous lags when scoring after the video....on a 6-core Xeon...(and all my other computers too, and that, since as long as I score on Sonar..)

For most projects I just can't give up Sonar, afterall, it's such a good program for so many other reasons...I managed to make up for most of it's annoyances, 
l use AVS video converter, export in WMV9, it's the best codec I've found that works in X1 X64. (There is a conversion preset for that).

Wierd thing is that Quicktime import and export works in Cubase-Nuendo...
and in Logic, the video player is another thread, and it works so well...

I don't see why Cakewalk sees running QT (or any video) in a wrapper, as a problem?
while some tends to see it as a solution?... just sayin'....;)

.

Thanks, vlab!

.

vlab


Hi ! 

I do music to picture about everyday, while it's not always a pleasure in Sonar, 
I get lots of lags, and ridiculous lags when scoring after the video....on a 6-core Xeon...(and all my other computers too, and that, since as long as I score on Sonar..)
 
 

Are you using time offset on the video to place it elsewhere in the timeline? When I use an offset, I get horrible lags when I do anything after the video. Removing the offset seems to remove the lag. Is that what you're seeing?

For most projects I just can't give up Sonar, afterall, it's such a good program for so many other reasons...I managed to make up for most of it's annoyances, 
l use AVS video converter, export in WMV9, it's the best codec I've found that works in X1 X64. (There is a conversion preset for that).

Wierd thing is that Quicktime import and export works in Cubase-Nuendo...
and in Logic, the video player is another thread, and it works so well...

I don't see why Cakewalk sees running QT (or any video) in a wrapper, as a problem?
while some tends to see it as a solution?... just sayin'....;)

Quicktime support is the reason I've stayed with 32-bit Sonar. I always get .mov files and it's too cumbersome to re-encode them to a format that 64-bit Sonar can use. 

sqye - as i mentioned at the top of the page, you need to export an uncompressed .avi from QT. File > Export > mov to avi > options > video settings > compression type: none........ do that once and the setting will be saved.

SCorey

vlab


Hi ! 

I do music to picture about everyday, while it's not always a pleasure in Sonar, 
I get lots of lags, and ridiculous lags when scoring after the video....on a 6-core Xeon...(and all my other computers too, and that, since as long as I score on Sonar..)
 
 

Are you using time offset on the video to place it elsewhere in the timeline? When I use an offset, I get horrible lags when I do anything after the video. Removing the offset seems to remove the lag. Is that what you're seeing?

For most projects I just can't give up Sonar, afterall, it's such a good program for so many other reasons...I managed to make up for most of it's annoyances, 
l use AVS video converter, export in WMV9, it's the best codec I've found that works in X1 X64. (There is a conversion preset for that).

Wierd thing is that Quicktime import and export works in Cubase-Nuendo...
and in Logic, the video player is another thread, and it works so well...

I don't see why Cakewalk sees running QT (or any video) in a wrapper, as a problem?
while some tends to see it as a solution?... just sayin'....;)

Quicktime support is the reason I've stayed with 32-bit Sonar. I always get .mov files and it's too cumbersome to re-encode them to a format that 64-bit Sonar can use. 

Up until now, this is what I was doing, as well - scoring in Sonar 32-bit.

But it seems as if the .MOV > .AVI conversion/render in Vegas is working fine in Sonar 64-bit, so we'll see.


.

perfectprint


sqye - as i mentioned at the top of the page, you need to export an uncompressed .avi from QT. File > Export > mov to avi > options > video settings > compression type: none........ do that once and the setting will be saved.

Thanks, perfectprint - I'll have to remember to try this.


.