Quantize to frames

From the Options menu, choose Quantize to Frames to force edits to occur on project frame boundaries. This setting is independent of grid and marker snapping.

When Quantize to Frames is turned on, the following actions will always occur on frame boundaries:

  • Moving video events

    If Quantize to Frames is on while dragging an audio event and the selection group contains video, the movement is quantized so the first video event is quantized (instead of the audio event).

    When performing audio-only edits, quantization will occur only if Quantize to Frames is turned on and the Do not quantize to frames for audio-only edits checkbox on the Preferences | Editing tab is not selected.

  • Positioning the cursor

  • Making selections

  • Placing markers and regions

NOTE

If you drag to a snap point that does not occur on a frame boundary when Quantize to Frames is enabled, the snap indicator is displayed as a dashed line to indicate that the snap point will be quantized to the nearest frame boundary. For more information, see Enable snapping

IMPORTANT Edits that do not occur on frame boundaries can produce an undesirable visual result. For example, if you split two events and move them together to create a cut, splits that are not at frame boundaries can produce a short dissolve in your rendered video.

Show Unquantized Event Edges

You can turn on an obvious display that shows all of the event edges that do not begin or end exactly on a video frame. By default, VEGAS Pro quantizes event edges as you move or trim them. However, if the media you add to your timeline was shot at a different frame rate than your project framerate, the edges of the event that holds a piece of media might well land between project frames. You’ll notice this when the right edge of an event you added does not end directly on a project frame. There are other ways that event edges might end up off of a project video frame as well.

It can be easy to miss event edges that don’t land on a project frame, especially when you’re working at zoomed-out view levels. The settings make it easy to identify unquantized event edges so that you can fix them.

NOTE Leaving unquantized edges in your project timeline can cause unpredictable results in the final rendered file, so it’s important to fix these before you deliver your project.

The Enable Quantize to Frames option turns frame quantization on and off. The setting defaults to On in order to help you avoid quantization problems. It’s usually wise to keep this setting on. But even still, as described above, you might end up with unquantized frames in your project.

Choose Options | Quantize to Frames | Show Unquantized Event Edges.

Notice that a bright red line appears on the event edge that was not quantized. This indicator serves as an invaluable check against problematic edits in your project.

The indicator appears on any unquantized event edges whether left or right and regardless of whether the event holds video or audio. You don’t need to worry so much about unquantized audio event edges unless those edges correspond to a partner video event. Frame quantization has no benefit for audio events, and in fact, VEGAS Pro ignores this quantization for any audio-only edits, but will still identify audio event edges that are not quantized.

You might consider working with this indicator on at all times. But if the red highlight annoys you while you edit, then at the very least you should turn this indicator on at the very end of your edit before you deliver your project just to make sure you won’t have unexpected rendering results.