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CHAPTER

Burning CDs

You created your project in Vegas® software, and now you are ready to write the project to a CD. With the

CD-burning capabilities of Vegas software, you can place and arrange audio files to produce professional audio CDs. You can burn CDs for multiple- or single-track projects and build audio CD layouts automatically or manually. You can also create video CDs that can be played in many home DVD players and on computers with a CD-ROM drive and VCD player software, and multimedia CDs that can be played in any computer with the appropriate player.

Understanding track-at-once and disc-at-once

Two ways are provided for recording audio to a CD-R disc: track-at-once and disc-at-once.

Track-at-once

Track-at-once writing records individual tracks to the disc and results in a partially recorded disc. However, the CD-R disc remains unplayable on most systems until you close the disc. The advantage of track-at-once writing is that you can record tracks onto the disc as you finish them versus waiting until you have finished your whole album. Track-at-once writing burns the entire project as a single track.

Disc-at-once (Single Session or Red Book)

Disc-at-once writing is the most common burning method in the music industry. This writing mode is used when creating a master disc to be sent to a disc manufacturer for mass replication. Disc-at-once works just as it sounds. Multiple tracks of audio are written to the CD in one recording session.

Understanding tracks and indices

You are ready to burn a CD. If you plan to use track-at-once to record a single track, you can proceed right on to writing the entire project to a CD. However, you are more likely to set up tracks—and perhaps indices—within your project and burn several tracks at once.

Tracks distinguish songs in the project and have a starting and ending point. Tracks are used to indicate to the CD-R device where to mark the beginning and ending of a track during the writing process.

Indices are single markers that subdivide a track. Indices are useful for navigating to specific areas within a track. For example, a sound effects CD may have one track of breaking glass. The track is then indexed to allow navigation to a specific glass-breaking effect within the track. However, be aware that not all CD players allow navigation to indices.

Tracks and indices are identified in a track list, which is a chronological text list of all tracks and indices defined in the audio CD project.

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Setting up to burn audio CDs

You can set the project properties and adjust preferences to better accommodate writing audio CDs. The ruler and time display are set up for you automatically.

Viewing the ruler and time display

The ruler and time display are automatically changed to audio CD time for you when you mark CD tracks in a project.

Audio CD time formats are as follows:

Display

Ruler

Time display

Format hh:mm:ss (hours:minutes:seconds) or hh:mm:ss:ff (hours:minutes:seconds:frames, with fps=75) when zoomed in tightly tt+mm:ss:ff (track number +/- minutes:seconds:frames, with fps=75)

Setting project properties

Click the Properties button ( ) to access project properties. On the Audio CD tab, you can set the Universal

Product Code/Media Catalog Number (UPC/MCN) or set the number for the first track on the CD. For more information, see Audio CD tab on page 334 .

Setting preferences

From the Options menu, choose Preferences to access the Preferences dialog. On the CD Settings tab, you can

select the CD drive or set the speed at which you will burn the CD. For more information, see CD Settings tab on page 350 .

You can also enter the number of seconds added between tracks when adding Project Media window files as

CD tracks. In the same Preferences dialog, click the Editing tab, and enter a value in the Default time between

CD tracks box.

Finally, you may want to turn off the Quantize to Frames command in the Options menu. When quantizing to frames is active, your edits are limited to the starting edge of frame boundaries. In a CD layout project, you

can turn this feature off to allow greater precision in editing and track placement. For more information, see

Quantizing to frames on page 125 .

Importing CD Architect files

This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.

You can use Vegas software to open projects created in CD Architect™ version 4.0 software.

1.

From the File menu, choose Open . The Open dialog appears.

2.

Browse to the location of the project file.

3.

In the Files of type drop-down list, select CD Architect Project Files (.cdp) .

4.

Select the file.

5.

Click Open .

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Creating audio CD layout projects

Several ways are provided to create an audio CD layout project. If you have a set of audio files you wish to burn to a CD, you can add the files as tracks to a new audio CD layout project. Or, if you want to burn an audio CD from an existing project, you can mark the tracks in your project either automatically or manually.

CD layout bar Track markers

Adding media as CD tracks to a new project

You have a collection of completed audio files that you want to write to a CD. An audio CD layout project can quickly be assembled from sound files in the Project Media window. You can add the tracks one at a time, or use the Project Media window to sort them into track order and add them all at once.

1.

Create a new project.

2.

Add all the media to be included in the project to the Project Media window. For more information, see

Using the Project Media window on page 47 .

3.

To add all tracks at once, use the following steps to sort the files into track order:

• In the Project Media window, click the arrow on the Views button ( menu. The Project Media window changes to Details view.

• Select the sorted files in the Project Media window.

) and choose

• In the Comments column, enter the track number for each media file (01, 02, etc.).

• Click the Comments column header to sort the list into track order.

Details from the

4.

Right-click a media file (or the selected media files) and choose Add as CD Track from the shortcut menu.

The files are added to a new track and the audio CD tracks are marked on the CD layout bar. The name of the media file is used to name each track. If necessary, you can edit the information for the new audio CD

tracks using the markers on the CD layout bar or using the Edit Details window. For more information, see

Working with tracks and indices on page 355 .

Right-click files in the Project Media window to add them as CD tracks to a audio CD layout project.

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Marking tracks in an existing project

Once you have laid out your audio project with the appropriate pauses, you can mark tracks and indices either automatically or manually.

Note: In DAO CD burning, Vegas software burns from the beginning of the timeline to the last track marker, regardless of the location of the first track marker. Material before the first marker is included as a hidden track on the disc (if your drive supports burning this material).

Adding pauses

Each audio CD track in your project should have a two-second pause following it. This default setting is based on the Red Book specification for audio CDs. The exception to this standard is a continuous recording, such as a live concert CD. For a continuous recording, you can omit the pauses after tracks for

continuous playback. For more information, see Red Book specification on page 385 .

Note: The Red Book specification also requires a two-second pause at the beginning of an audio CD. If the first track in your project begins before the two-second mark, a ruler is added offset to ensure the project begins with the required two-second pause.

If you use the

Add as CD Track

command to add tracks from the Project Media window, the appropriate pauses are added automatically. However, if you are laying out your project manually, you must create these pauses between audio CD tracks.

Two-second pauses

1.

Position the cursor where you want to insert the pause.

2.

From the Insert menu, choose Time . The Insert Time dialog appears.

3.

Enter two seconds in the Amount of time to insert box.

4.

Click OK . Two seconds are inserted in the timeline at the cursor position.

Marking tracks automatically

Vegas software can examine the events in your project and mark the audio CD tracks for you. Once the

tracks are marked, you can adjust them manually if necessary. For more information, see Moving track and index markers on page 355 .

1.

Lay out your project with two-second pauses between tracks.

2.

From the Tools menu, choose Lay Out Audio CD from Events .

The new audio CD track markers appear on the CD layout bar above the timeline. The name of the media file for each event is used to name the tracks.

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Marking tracks manually

You can make a time selection and then mark that selection as an audio CD track.

1.

Make a time selection that includes the audio for the new track.

2.

From the

Insert

menu, choose

Audio CD Track Region

. The markers for the new audio CD track appear on the CD layout bar.

Marking indices

You can create an index marker in much the same way as you create track markers.

1.

Position the cursor where you want the index mark to appear.

2.

From the

Insert

menu, choose

Audio CD Track Index

. The new index marker appears on the CD layout bar.

Working with tracks and indices

Once you have marked your tracks and indices, you can edit, move, rename, or delete them as needed.

Navigating to and selecting tracks and indices

Several shortcuts are provided for navigating to and selecting audio CD tracks on the CD layout bar.

• Double-click a track marker to select the track.

• Press

.

(period) to jump the cursor to the next track or index marker.

• Press

,

(comma) to jump the cursor to the previous track or index marker.

• Press

• Press

Ctrl + .

Ctrl + ,

(period) to jump the cursor to the next track marker (index markers are skipped).

(comma) to jump the cursor to the previous track marker (index markers are skipped).

• Add

Shift

to any of these keystrokes to select rather than jump. For example, press

(period) to select from the cursor position to the next track marker.

Ctrl + Shift + .

The shortcut keystrokes can be used to jump the cursor while working on a project or during playback.

Moving track and index markers

Track and index markers function just like markers and regions in Vegas software (pg. 115). You can drag a

track or index marker to move it along the CD layout bar. Alternately, you can use the Edit Details window to make precise adjustments.

Tip: Move both the starting and ending markers for a track by pressing

Alt

and dragging either of the markers.

Renaming track and index markers

1.

Right-click a marker and choose Rename from the shortcut menu that appears.

2.

Type a new name for the marker and press

Enter

.

Deleting track and index markers

You can delete a single track or index marker by right-clicking it and choosing Delete from the shortcut menu. To delete all markers at once, right-click the CD layout bar and choose Delete All from the shortcut menu.

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Editing markers using the Edit Details window

This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.

The Edit Details window provides a way to adjust the settings for a track or index.

1.

From the View menu, choose Edit Details . The Edit Details window displays.

2.

From the Show drop-down list, choose Audio CD Track List . The track settings display.

3.

Double-click a setting to edit it:

• In the Position column, adjust the track starting position or index position.

• In the

End column, adjust the track ending position.

• In the

Length

column, adjust the track length.

• in the Name column, enter the name of the track or index.

• In the

Prot

column, select the check box to apply copy protection to the track.

• In the

Emph

column, select the check box to enable a simple noise reduction process that is

implemented by a CD player. For more information, see Emphasis on page 380 .

• In the ISRC column, enter the ISRC number for the track (if used).

Copying a track list from the Edit Details window

This feature is available only in the full version of Vegas software.

You can use the Edit Details window to copy your track list and paste it into another application.

1.

Click the gray box in the upper-left corner of the Edit

Details window to select all the cells.

2.

Press

Ctrl + C

to copy the cells.

3.

Switch to another application and paste the information into a document or spreadsheet.

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Burning audio CDs

You can burn either single tracks (track-at-once) or the entire disc (disc-at-once).

Burning single tracks (track-at-once)

You can burn your Vegas project as a single track (track-at-once). Once you have burned all your tracks to the CD, you must close the disc before it can be played.

Burning a track-at-once CD

1.

From the Tools menu, choose Burn CD , and choose Track-at-Once Audio CD from the submenu. The Burn

Track-at-Once Audio CD dialog displays the length of the current file and the amount of time remaining on the disc in your CD recorder.

2.

Choose a setting from the Action drop-down list:

• Burn audio begins recording audio to your CD when you click the Start button. You will need to close the disc before it can be played in an audio CD player.

• Test, then burn audio performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD recorder without encountering buffer underruns. Recording begins after the test if it is successful.

• Test only performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD without encountering buffer underruns. No audio is recorded to the CD.

• Close disc closes your disc without adding any audio when you click the Start button. Closing a disc allows your files to be played on an audio CD player.

• Erase RW disc erases your rewritable CD when you click the Start button.

3.

Select your burning options:

• Erase RW disc before burning : If you’re using a rewritable CD, select this check box to erase the CD before you begin burning.

• Close disc when done burning : Select this check box to close the CD after burning. Closing a disc allows your files to be played on an audio CD player.

• Eject disc when done : Select this check box to eject the CD automatically when burning has completed.

• Burn selection only : Select this check box to burn only the audio within the loop region.

4.

From the Drive drop-down list, choose the CD drive that you want to use to burn your CD.

5.

From the Speed drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to burn. Max will use your drive’s fastest possible speed; decrease the setting if you have difficulty burning.

6.

Click the Start button.

Warning: Clicking the Cancel button after the disc-writing process has begun will render your disc unusable.

7.

When the writing process is complete, a confirmation message displays. Click OK to clear the message.

Closing a track-at-once CD

1.

From the Tools menu, choose Burn CD , and choose Track-at-Once Audio CD from the submenu. The Create

CD dialog appears.

2.

Click the Close Disc button.

3.

When the disc is closed, a confirmation message displays. Click OK to clear the message.

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Burning a disc (disc-at-once)

1.

From the Tools menu, choose Burn CD , and choose Disc-at-Once Audio CD from the submenu. The Burn

Disc-at-Once Audio CD dialog appears

2.

From the Drive drop-down list, use the CD drive that you want to use to burn your CD.

3.

From the Speed drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to burn. Max will use your drive’s fastest possible speed; decrease the setting to prevent the possibility of buffer underruns.

4.

Select the Buffer underrun protection check box if your CD recorder supports buffer underrun protection.

Buffer underrun protection allows a CD recorder to stop and resume burning.

Note: Buffer underrun protection can create a disc that can be played in CD players, but may contain a bit error where burning stopped and restarted. Consider clearing this check box when creating a premaster disc.

5.

Choose a radio button in the Burn mode box:

• Burn CDs begins recording audio to your CD immediately.

•

Test first, then burn CDs

performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD recorder without encountering buffer underruns. No audio is recorded to the CD during the test, and recording begins after the test if it is successful.

•

Test only (do not burn CDs)

performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD recorder without encountering buffer underruns. No audio is recorded to the CD.

6.

Select the

Render temporary image before burning

check box if you want to render your CD project to a temporary file before recording. Prerendering can prevent buffer underruns if you have a complex project that cannot be rendered and burned in real time.

Note: The rendered temporary file will remain until you modify your project or exit. If an image file exists when you open the Burn Disc-at-Once Audio CD dialog, the check box is displayed as

Use existing rendered temporary image

.

7.

Select the

Automatically erase rewritable discs

check box if you’re burning to rewritable media and want to erase the disc before burning.

8.

Select the

Eject when done

check box if you want the CD to eject automatically when burning has completed.

9.

Click

OK

to start burning.

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Burning video CDs

Video CDs can be played in many home DVD players and on computers with a CD-ROM drive and VCD player software.

1.

From the Tools menu, choose Burn CD and choose Video CD from the submenu. The Burn Video CD dialog is displayed.

2.

Choose the movie file you want to use:

• If you want to render the current project, select the

Render format

radio button.

a.

Edit the contents of the

File path

box to specify the name and location of your rendered file.

b.

Choose a template from the

Template

drop-down list to specify the parameters that should be used for rendering your file, or click the

Custom

button to create a new template.

c.

Select the

Render loop region only

check box if you want to use only a portion of your project. If the check box is cleared, the entire project will be rendered and saved to the Video CD.

d.

Select the

Stretch video to fill output frame

check box if you want your video to be reformatted so it fills the output frame size listed in the

Description

box. When the check box is cleared, the current aspect ratio is maintained and black borders are added to fill the extra frame area (letterbox). This option is useful when the desired output format does not match the frame aspect ratio of you project.

Note: Clear the

Fast video resizing

check box if you see unacceptable artifacts in the rendered video.

Turning off this option can correct the artifacts, but your rendering times will increase significantly.

•If you want to use an already-rendered MPEG file, select the

Use an existing file radio button, and enter the path to the file in the

File path

box (or click the

Browse

button to locate the file).

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3.

Select recording options for your CD-recordable drive: a.

Choose a burn mode:

•

Burn CDs

begins recording audio to your CD immediately.

• Test first, then burn CDs performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD recorder without encountering buffer underruns. No audio is recorded to the CD during the test, and recording begins after the test if it is successful.

•

Test only (do not burn CDs)

performs a test to determine whether your files can be written to the CD recorder without encountering buffer underruns. No audio is recorded to the CD.

b.

From the

Burn speed drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to record.

Max

will record using the fastest speed possible with your drive; decrease the speed if you have difficulty recording.

4.

Your movie is recorded to the CD. When recording is finished, you can select the

Save movie file

check box to keep the MPEG file that was rendered, or you can clear the check box to delete the file.

5.

Click

Finish

.

Creating a multimedia CD

From the

Tools

menu, choose

Burn CD

and choose

Multimedia CD

from the submenu to render your project and burn it to a data CD. The rendered project can be played in any computer with the appropriate player.

1.

From the

Tools

menu, choose

Burn CD, and choose

Multimedia CD

from the submenu. The Burn

Multimedia CD dialog appears.

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2.

Select the options for burning the multimedia CD:

• Choose the appropriate format and template for rendering the project from the

Format

and

Template drop-down lists.

• Select the

Render loop region only check box to burn only a portion of your project.

• Select the

Stretch video to fill output frame

check box to have your video reformatted so that it fills the output frame size listed in the

Description

box. When the check box is cleared, the current aspect ratio is maintained and black borders are added to fill the extra frame area (letterboxing).

• Clear the

Fast video resizing

check box if you see unacceptable artifacts in the rendered video. Turning off this option can correct the artifacts, but it increases rendering time significantly.

• Select the

Play movie inside web page

check box to create an HTML page and embed the finished video in it.

• Select the

Include movie player installer

check box to include a media player installer on the CD. Click the

Browse

button to locate the installer file.

• From the

Speed

drop-down list, choose the speed at which you want to record. The

Max

option records using the fastest speed possible with your drive. Decrease the speed if you have difficulty recording.

3.

Click

OK

.

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