Hello Liz
If you have been using Movie Studio for a long time on the same computer, I would recommend that you reset the program.
Resetting will restore all settings back to factory default values and delete all the temporary files from the cache.
Over time, a large amount of garbage files can build up in the cache and sometimes they become corrupted.
Resetting is safe to do and will not delete any of your saved projects.
Instructions for how to reset are here:
www.moviestudiozen.com/doctor-zen-faq/573-how-to-reset-sony-software-to-default-settings You can skip the warning!
In the Render As window, make sure to NOT turn on any of the Filters at top of Render As screen.
If you have various filters turned on, it can make some formats & templates disappear.
I would actually recommend that you don't use Windows Media Video .wmv
This is an old format and very inefficient - highly CPU intensive.
Mainconcept AVC/AAC should not be making your videos look washed out!
Windows Media Video uses a very high compression algorithm, which adds an artificial colour and contrast to your videos.
I know a lot of people use to use this and still like it, but it is not really advised to use in 2017.
Of course if you still want to use it, that's OK - I'm just explaining how things are now.
It's been a long time since I used version 11, so I can't remember all the settings.
I do have an old tutorial for how to render with version 11 here:
www.moviestudiozen.com/free-tutorials/sony-movie-studio-platinum/68-how-to-render-1080p-hd-video-for-youtube-using-sony-vegas-movie-studio-hd-platinum-11
In this tutorial, I may have recommended to render at lower bit rates, however back then a lot of people had slower internet speeds, so I was trying to make file sizes smaller. In 2017, I recommend using the default high bit rates in the Internet 1080p template.
If you use Mainconcept AVC/AAC, Bit Rates should be High = 24,000,000 and Average = 12,000,000
Make sure you are using Build version #322 of Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11.
That was the final build ever released.
Lower build versions were missing a few important things.
Go to Help/About in program, to find build version installed.
If you don't have #322, I can send a link to download.
Regards
Derek
