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In this tutorial I show how to render an "intermediate format" video from Vegas Movie Studio Platinum and then use Handbrake to render a high quality "final delivery" format video.

For many years, experienced Vegas Pro video editors have been using a special technique called Frame Serving, to render high quality videos using the x264 encoder in Handbrake, instead of using one of the included encoders in Vegas. Some types of video can be very difficult to render and that's when using Handbrake, can often output better quality video and smaller file sizes, compared to using Vegas Pro or Vegas Movie Studio Platinum.

Topics covered in this tutorial

What is the advantage of using Handbrake to Render Video ?
Vegas Pro to Handbrake
Vegas Movie Studio Platinum to Handbrake
Rendering to an Intermediate Format Video
Rendering Video with Handbrake

What is the advantage of using Handbrake to Render Video ?

Handbrake has many more advanced settings compared to using the Mainconcept AVC or Magix AVC encoders. Some types of video that contain lots of fast moving scenes and large ranges of colour like Gameplay videos, often do not encode very well in Vegas, but can end up looking better if encoded with Handbrake instead.

Vegas Pro to Handbrake

If you are a Vegas Pro user, this tutorial is not for you. I have already made a special tutorial for Vegas Pro users wanting to render video with Handbrake here. In this tutorial I show how to set up "frame-serving" using the Script function in Vegas Pro and how to send video output directly into Handbrake for encoding.

How to Render HD Video from Vegas Pro to Handbrake

Vegas Movie Studio Platinum to Handbrake

If you are a Vegas Movie Studio Platinum user, this tutorial is most definitely for you! Because Vegas Movie Studio Platinum does not come with a script function, you cannot frame-serve video directly from Movie Studio into Handbrake. However you can use a more conventional technique of doing a double render.

There are two basic steps.

Step 1 - Rendering to an Intermediate Format Video

First you need to render a high quality "intermediate" format video using Vegas Movie Studio Platinum. Intermediate formats use very low levels of compression, which means they are much larger in file size, but also much easier to edit with in Vegas. An intermediate format can also be re-rendered over many different generations, without losing quality along the way.

Vegas Movie Studio Platinum does not include any useful intermediate video formats in the Make Movie (Render As) options window. The only option that is included is Video for Windows .avi. However this is a 100% uncompressed format and not practical to use, because the file sizes it produces are MASSIVE and will fill your Hard Drive very, very quickly!

A better option is to install the free version of Avid's DNxHD Codec and render using Quicktime with a .mov file extension. Avid DNxHD "Digital Nonlinear Extensible High Definition" is a high-definition video post-production codec developed by Avid for multi-generation compositing with reduced storage and bandwidth requirements. 

A have a separate tutorial here, which will teach you how to render video using Avid's DNxHD codec. Please read/watch this tutorial first, then come back for Step 2. There are download links for Avid's DNxHD Codec in the tutorial linked below.

How to render Avid DNxHD video from Vegas Pro and Vegas Movie Studio

Step 2 - Rendering Video with Handbrake

The second step is to import your intermediate format video into Handbrake and then get Handbrake to render a "final delivery" format video, which is compressed as efficiently as possible without losing too much of the original video's quality.

Download link for Handbrake: https://handbrake.fr/

Beginners Guide for how to use Handbrake

I have written a detailed beginners guide for how to use Handbrake here:
How to use Handbrake 1.1.1 - Beginners Guide for Exporting Video

There is an online instruction manual for the use of HandBrake at HandBrake.fr.

There are lots of other detailed descriptions of HandBrake adjustments, just like the ones at mattgadient.com.

Related Topics and Tutorials

How to export Cineform video with Vegas Pro and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum
How to export Avid DNxHD video with Vegas Pro and Vegas Movie Studio Platinum
How to export video from Vegas Pro to Handbrake
How to use Handbrake 1.1.1 - Beginners Guide for Exporting Video

 

Buy the latest version of Vegas Pro here !

VEGAS Pro 21 - On Sale Now!

 

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About Derek Moran
Derek Moran is the author of all articles on Movie Studio Zen.
You can find me on YouTube, FacebookTwitterRead more about Derek...

 

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