Importing Broadcast Wave Format files

You can use Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) files to exchange audio between audio editors or broadcasting platforms.

Broadcast Wave Format files are similar to standard .wav files, but they contain additional metadata including timestamps that tell the software where to add audio on the VEGAS Pro timeline.

NOTE You can also add Broadcast Wave Format files to your project by dragging them from the Explorer window to the timeline. However, if you drag a BWF file to the timeline, events are created where you drop the file. Using the Import Broadcast Wave dialog ensures that events are arranged according to the timestamps in the file.

1. From the File menu, choose Import, and then choose Broadcast Wave Format from the submenu. The Import Broadcast Wave Format dialog is displayed.

2. Choose the folder where the project you want to open is stored:

   • Choose a drive and folder from the Look in drop-down list.

   • Choose a folder from the Recent drop-down list to quickly select a folder from which you have previously opened files.

3. Select the files you want to open in the browse window.

   Information about the selected files is displayed at the bottom of the Import Broadcast Wave dialog.

4. From the Arrange drop-down list, choose a setting to indicate how you want to arrange audio events on the timeline:

   Setting	Description
   Add across tracks	A separate track is created for each BWF file you import.
   Add across time	All selected BWF files are added to a single track.

   NOTE Audio from multichannel BWF files is always added across tracks, regardless of the Arrange setting. For example, if you import a four-channel BWF file, the audio will be added to four adjacent tracks. For control over which channels are used by each event, right-click a multichannel audio event, choose Channels from the shortcut menu, and choose a command from the submenu. For more information, see Audio channels

5. If you chose Add across tracks in step 4, choose a setting from the Order tracks drop-down list to indicate how you want to arrange the tracks in the track list:

   Setting	Description
   By timestamp	Sorts tracks chronologically using the timestamp in each file. Select a file in the Import Broadcast Wave dialog to display its timestamp at the bottom of the dialog.
   Alphabetically by filename	Sorts tracks alphabetically using the names of the files you import.

6. Choose a setting from the Positioning drop-down list to indicate where imported audio will be added to the timeline.

   Setting	Description
   Use ruler time	Adds each imported file to the VEGAS Pro timeline at the exact position indicated by its timestamp. For example, if you import a BWF file with a timestamp of 00:00:30;00, the media would be added to the timeline at the thirty-second mark on the ruler.
   Relative to cursor	Adds each imported file to the VEGAS Pro timeline and offsets the timestamp value by the cursor position. For example, if you position the cursor at 00:00:10;00 before importing a BWF file with a timestamp of 00:00:30;00, the media would be added to the timeline at the forty-second mark on the ruler.

7. Click Open. The selected files are imported and added to the timeline of the current project.