An extra 'audio' track

[jparnold]

Not sure if this has been covered before but I have found a method to add another audio 'track' to a project.

I use the OVERLAY track to drop a video clip which contains audio I want to add and then resize the (overlay) video to the smallest size and then drag it as far as possible into any corner so that it will not be visible in the output video (when played on a TV). Most TVs (flat panels included) have 'overscan' and you will not see any of the video on the overlay track when dragged into the corner. I guess to make sure the video content is not seen you could also use 'apply overlay options' and then use the CROP width and height to 99% to reduce the possibility of any of the video content finding its way into the output.

Has this been covered in a previous post?

[Black Lab]

Haven't seen that one before. Nice little tip.

[sjj1805]

.......
Has this been covered in a previous post?

It has but that was a long time ago!
Well done for rediscovering it

Although not immediately obvious due to the naming of these tracks
Video/Studio has 9 Audio tracks!

I bet that just made a few users sit up in shock!

They are:

1. Video Track
2. Overlay Track # 1
3. Overlay Track # 2
4. Overlay Track # 3
5. Overlay Track # 4
6. Overlay Track # 5
7. Overlay Track # 6
8. Voice Track
9. Music track

Most users are probably aware of 3 - Video Track, Voice Track and Music Track. To use the additional 6 you have to use a bit of ingenuity because they obviously contain 'video' - you just need to hide or disguise them in some way.

The easiest way would be to resize it to 'almost nothing' and shove it into a corner. The uppermost overlay track could resemble a thin black line like the letterboxing effect of a 16.9 video on a 4.3 screen - or hidden underneath a lower third. Just use your imagination.

[Black Lab]

Not only did Steve post this many moons ago, and remembered he did so, but he was also able to find it again!

I would love to see your archiving system.

[Ken Berry]

A useful tip indeed! However, I am finding X3's one voice and 3 music tracks more than sufficient just at the moment!!

[jparnold]

I had considered that X3 has extra music tracks (looked at it's listed features but didn't see extra music tracks) but wasn't sure as I haven't upgraded mainly because my VidCam is not HD (haven't upgraded my VidCam either) and so I don't see any reason to fork out money just to have the latest (I have an old car too - old by years but far from old by kms).
Thanks for pointing that out to the 'viewers' Ken.

[Ken Berry]

No problem!

For those who have X3 but haven't found the extra tracks, you go to Settings > Track Manager and highlight the extra audio (and video!) tracks you need...

[sjj1805]

I only have SD but still consider it is worthwhile upgrading to X3 - there is a lot of new stuff in there - the biggie is of course the ability to do moving paths (New Blue FX filter.)

[jparnold]

Thanks Steve for pointing out the 'moving path' feature which I like to use occasionally and have had to do using MediaStudio outputting to DV for import into my VS projects.

How is X3 for stability?

I guess that is like asking how long is a piece of string. I did find problems with the stability of VS10 (which most others did not seem to have) and as such now normally use VS9 (as VS10 only offered multiple overlaty tracks for me).

I have a new PC now but even still I have experienced problems using VS9 when some of my projects are loaded it shuts down immediately the loading completes without warning or the window displaying the message that there has been an error. I get around this problem by loading a different project and then reloading the other project.

My problems have prevented me from purchasing later versions which don't seem to offer me a lot of additional usable' features.
The moving path features interests me though.

I am wondering if VS X3 offers the same complexity as MS offers so maybe I should try the 'trialware' version to see how extensive the moving path is although 'trialware' may not exhibit the same 'behavior' as the full version.