Hello, I've been using Premiere on a recent project because Vegas could not handle the load and I've discovered some interesting things out about how Premiere handles it's video levels.
1. The default video background in Premiere is 0 IRE unlike Vegas which is superblack (-8 IRE). To fix this in Vegas you need to add a solid color on the bottom track and set it to 16,16,16 RGB or equivalent using the strange new color values they switched to since Vegas 11.
2. When you import a full range (0-255 RGB) graphic or photo into Premiere it automatically maps it to studio levels and it falls between 0 IRE and 100 IRE. In Vegas you need to apply a levels fix or you will have illegal superblacks (-8 IRE) and superwhites (109 IRE).
3. When you create a title or solid in Premiere black is defined as 0 RGB and white is 255 RGB. In Vegas Black needs to be 16 RGB and white 235 RGB or you will get superblacks and whites.
4. Both Premiere and Vegas interpret my EX1 video as studio RGB and the waveform monitors are nearly identical. A properly exposed shot will have black at 0 IRE and white at 100 IRE. Both also allow superwhites on the video clips. Note: After Effects clips superwhites at 100 IRE.
5. On output everything seems to be exported at proper studio levels from Premiere. I tested a white solid on youtube created at 235,235,235 and it was not pure white. I needed to make it 255,255,255 in order for it to be white on youtube playback. In Vegas pure white would need to be made at 235,235,235 to play back properly without clipping because of the level expansion used by web players.
So in my opinion Premiere is doing things the right way and helping users to avoid the many pitfalls Vegas has in regards to superblacks and whites caused with graphics, Vegas titles and solids. Premiere recognizes the format you are using and adjusts it automatically in the same way I am used to doing it manually in Vegas. Part of the problem is that many Vegas users do not know about these pitfalls and it causes problems in their final output. Why not make the Vegas color defaults what most of us are aiming for in the first place—legal video levels?
1. The default video background in Premiere is 0 IRE unlike Vegas which is superblack (-8 IRE). To fix this in Vegas you need to add a solid color on the bottom track and set it to 16,16,16 RGB or equivalent using the strange new color values they switched to since Vegas 11.
2. When you import a full range (0-255 RGB) graphic or photo into Premiere it automatically maps it to studio levels and it falls between 0 IRE and 100 IRE. In Vegas you need to apply a levels fix or you will have illegal superblacks (-8 IRE) and superwhites (109 IRE).
3. When you create a title or solid in Premiere black is defined as 0 RGB and white is 255 RGB. In Vegas Black needs to be 16 RGB and white 235 RGB or you will get superblacks and whites.
4. Both Premiere and Vegas interpret my EX1 video as studio RGB and the waveform monitors are nearly identical. A properly exposed shot will have black at 0 IRE and white at 100 IRE. Both also allow superwhites on the video clips. Note: After Effects clips superwhites at 100 IRE.
5. On output everything seems to be exported at proper studio levels from Premiere. I tested a white solid on youtube created at 235,235,235 and it was not pure white. I needed to make it 255,255,255 in order for it to be white on youtube playback. In Vegas pure white would need to be made at 235,235,235 to play back properly without clipping because of the level expansion used by web players.
So in my opinion Premiere is doing things the right way and helping users to avoid the many pitfalls Vegas has in regards to superblacks and whites caused with graphics, Vegas titles and solids. Premiere recognizes the format you are using and adjusts it automatically in the same way I am used to doing it manually in Vegas. Part of the problem is that many Vegas users do not know about these pitfalls and it causes problems in their final output. Why not make the Vegas color defaults what most of us are aiming for in the first place—legal video levels?