How to Render 720p (.mp4) Video using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10

: By: Derek Moran; In: VEGAS Movie Studio; Published: 02 June 2011; Last Updated: 02 September 2022

In this video tutorial I show how to Render a 720p HD Video with the Sony AVC (H.264) codec and .mp4 file extension using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.

Sony AVC (H.264) .mp4 Video produces a higher contrast look compared to Windows Media Video .wmv, whereas .wmv produces a smoother looking video and a smaller file size.

I also have a separate tutorial showing:

How to Render 720p HD .wmv Video for YouTube using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10

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Derek Moran is the author of all articles on Movie Studio Zen.
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Anonymous · 08:32 26/12/2016
Thank you!
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Aman · 01:10 15/07/2016
Hi Derek can you please help i want to do Two things in my video which size is more than 300MB
1. watermark on video
2. convert into Smallest size (Quality viewable like 360p) how can i do this
.
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  Derek
  
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  · 19:47 16/07/2016
  
  Hi Aman
  1. I have an old tutorial which shows how to add a Text Watermark here:
  https://www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/sony-movie-studio-platinum/21-how-to-make-a-text-watermark-using-sony-vegas-movie-studio-hd-platinum-10
  If you have a picture/icon you want to use, the best format is to save the picture to is .png format first and make sure it is a transparent "checker-board" background, so that videos show through. You will need a program like Photoshop to do this. Then in Movie Studio, use the Track Motion tool to position watermark where you would like. Track Motion tool is inside video track description/control box. I will be making a tutorial about this soon.
  
  2. Which version of Movie Studio are you using. In Movie Studio Platinum 12 and 13, there is actually a pre-made template you can use for 360p video. Watch this tutorial first:
  https://www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/sony-movie-studio-platinum/516-1080p-video-in-movie-studio-platinum-13
  Follow everything from beginning section, but when you get to the actual rendering part, inside the Mainconcept AVC/AAC templates you will find [b]360p Widescreen[/b]. The Bit Rate setting determines quality and file size. A Bit Rate of 3,000,000 would be a good starting point. If you need further help with this, please post new message on MSZ Forum.
  Derek.
  
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Simon Morgan · 08:00 08/07/2015
Hi Derek, thanks for this. Do you have a video for rendering (Pal) MiniDV recordings for Vimeo/YouTube? If not, is there a template you could recommend? Thanks
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  Derek
  
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  · 10:07 08/07/2015
  
  Hi Simon
  Which exact version of the program are you using ?
  What Frame Size is your MiniDV video ? 1280x720, 1440x1080 or 1920x1080
  
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  Simon · 17:21 10/07/2015
  
  Hi Derek,
  
  It's Movie Studio Platinum 12 (64 bit), not sure about the frame size other than it was shot on a 2003 Sony TVR50E which has effective resolution of 970 pixels
  
  thanks
  
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  Derek
  
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  · 18:19 10/07/2015
  
  Open the folder on your computer where you have videos located.
  Right-click video and go to Properties/Details - here you will find the Frame Width, Frame Height and Frame Rate.
  What does it say ?
  
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  Simon · 05:09 11/07/2015
  
  720w x 576h 25fps
  
  thanks Derek
  
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  Derek
  
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  · 11:28 11/07/2015
  
  OK. Now we are getting somewhere.
  Your camera is recording Standard Definition video using the PAL 25fps format.
  I would not recommend you render 1080p HD video, because it is going to "blow up" your low resolution video and it may look very pixelated and blurry. You can if you like, but it is up to you.
  What would be better is if you render to 480p or 720p settings.
  480p is actually a perfect match for the video type you are working with. Back before people started using HD cameras, everyone on YouTube was using video like yours and the maximum resolution was only 480p.
  I actually have a tutorial you can watch right now here:
  https://www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/sony-movie-studio-platinum/436-how-to-render-720p-video-movie-studio-platinum-12
  Do an experiment. Render a project to 720p and 480p, and then see which one you like the best.
  Inside the Mainconcept templates, you will find the 720p and 480p template.
  [b]VERY IMPORTANT - make sure when you render it is set to 25fps and not 29.97fps![/b]
  
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  Simon · 18:44 11/07/2015
  
  Many thanks Derek/DrZen - that's really helpful and straightforward. I'll certainly follow your advice and see how I get on!
  
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Pierre · 15:29 05/01/2014
Hi. How to render .mov with a H.264 codec? Thanks!
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  Derek
  
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  · 15:56 05/01/2014
  
  Hi Pierre
  You cannot strictly do that with Sony Vegas, because Apple Software owns this format and they do not allow other companies to use this.
  However, in Sony Vegas, Mainconcept AVC/ACC uses H.264 to encode video. When you render to this format it creates a .mp4 file extension.
  Quite often, you can simply rename the file after rendering and change it to .mov and it will work.
  Are you actually using Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10 ?
  In this version, the best rendering templates are actually under Sony AVC .mp4
  In Version 12 - Movie Studio Platinum 12, they moved all the best templates to Mainconcept AVC/ACC .mp4. Included in the list, Sony has CUSTOM templates for all the MAJOR Apple Devices, which makes rendering good video for Apple very, very easy.
  Regards
  Derek.
  
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  Pierre · 16:07 05/01/2014
  
  And other people are saying that Vegas does not support H.264. Is this true?
  
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  Derek
  
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  · 17:00 05/01/2014
  
  [B]Vegas DOES support H.264 - it just does not use "H.264" in the naming of templates.[/B]
  There is a lot of confusion about Video Codecs, Video Formats, File Extensions and Video Containers. There is so much dodgy information on the web, that spreads like wildfire without anyone questioning it.
  Here is a simply test you can do, that proves what I am saying is true.
  Download Any Video Converter free version from this link:
  [url]http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/[/url]
  This is one of my favorite free video converters that I use all the time. Once you have it installed, render some video to Mainconcept AVC/AAC and also Sony AVC/MVC. Drop these test videos into the program and you will see that it identifies the [B]actual[/B] video codec as H.264.
  If you would like to learn a little more, I have another article/video that explains more about the mystery.
  [url]https://www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/miscellaneous-help-tutorials/503-how-to-convert-video-into-different-video-codecs-and-formats[/url]
  Make sure you have Quicktime for Windows installed - very important for making Vegas work properly with any Apple codecs.
  
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  Pierre · 16:12 05/01/2014
  
  That clears it. Thanks a bunch, Derek!
  
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Jack · 16:59 03/04/2013
Is Australia NTSC or PAL? I remember seeing PAL 4 and other things PAL-related on DVDs but I'm not sure if I should always be rendering in NTSC. Thanks!
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  Derek
  
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  · 18:19 03/04/2013
  
  Hi Jack
  Australia is a PAL Country = 25fps (or 50i in some cameras).
  UK, Europe and most of Asia are also PAL Countries.
  USA and Japan are NTSC = 30fps (29.97) (or 60i in some cameras).
  It is all due to what the power line frequency is for each Country. PAL Countries are 50Hz, NTSC Countries are 60 Hz. If it is mis-matched you can get horrible flicker in Video Recordings when shooting inside near light sources.
  Dex :)
  
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How to Render 720p (.mp4) Video using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10

In this video tutorial I show how to Render a 720p HD Video with the Sony AVC (H.264) codec and .mp4 file extension using Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 10.

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