ACPI , Windows XP Single Processor Machine, and VV3

adamonebox wrote on 12/23/2001, 2:30 PM

I am in the market for an NLE and I am very interested in Vegas Video 3. I am concerned, however, that the Knowledge Base articles from SF state that for quality capture and DVT output you must make sure, among other things, that the capture card doesn't share an IRQ (which it will if an ACPI Bios is used, and which cannot be reassigned under ACPI), and that ACPI is disabled. ACPI is the standard config for Windows XP machines, and proper driver detection and power management in a newer system is dependent on having ACPI on.

My hardware config is a single-processor Athlon XP 1900+, 1 Gig DDR-RAM (PC2100), 120G ATA 7200RPM system drive, 120G ATA 7200 media drive, Windows XP Home - HP Pavilion 9995 with integrated IEEE 1394 I/O and DVD+RW.

Will this sytem work flawless for capture and DVT output using VV3 with ACPI enabled, and presumably a shared IRQ among all PCI devices? If not - you cannot reassing IRQ under a standard XP install, and eshutting off ACPI is NOT a simple procedure, and not without ramifications - loss of many power management features, and driver reinstallation requirements. You either do what Microsoft Recommends and completley reinstall Windows XP with a new, non-ACPI BIOS setting, or alternatively use Device Manager to update the Computer profile to non-ACPI and then have to worry about reinstalling all of the proper driver hardware for your PC. Say it isn't so - this is probably a deal-breaker for me. I cannot understand why VV3 would require such a major system config change just to ensure proper performance. Comments?

Thanks,

-Adam

Comments

jyarb wrote on 12/23/2001, 2:48 PM

I use WinXP. I have tried with ACPI and without, both ways seem to work just fine.

adamonebox wrote on 12/23/2001, 2:55 PM

Thanks. At $199 it's definitely a steal, so I just ordered it regardless of the ACPI issues, which I am glad to hear may be a non-issue.

Any comments on the performance I can expect on my hardware config, given the issues with rendering speed I've read on this site (single-processor Athlon XP 1900+, 1 Gig DDR-RAM (PC2100), 120G ATA 7200RPM system drive, 120G ATA 7200 media drive, Windows XP Home - HP Pavilion 9995 with integrated IEEE 1394 I/O and DVD+RW).

Also, do you have a recommendation for a DVD mastering/authorware package that works well with VV3 MPEG-2 output? - how about Sonic's DVDit, or Pinnacle Impression Pro?

-Adam

FadeToBlack wrote on 12/23/2001, 2:57 PM

Twone wrote on 12/23/2001, 3:36 PM

$199? Me too? Where? How?

adamonebox wrote on 12/23/2001, 6:38 PM

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/promo.asp?keycode=6860

It looks like the regular info page, but when you go to BUY it adds the promo code for the 199 offer - which apparently ends today or tomorrow.

-Adam

Caruso wrote on 12/23/2001, 9:53 PM

I did a re-install of Win XP and pressed F5 as the installation routine searched my system. That brought up a choice screen where I specified "Standard" type PC which is the choice I read about on this board to disable ACPI. At the SECOND opportunity the insallation gives you to elect to repair rather than install fresh, select repair and, I believe, you have yourself a non ACPI setup.

Windows did all the assigning, and, if I checked correctly, it does not appear that everything on my machine is bunched up on IRQ9.

Did it help the performance of my VV3 installation? Don't know, but, I can tell you, I just spent the entire day in this program, and was able to finish a 30-minute production incorporating video from three cams, lots of special FX, etc. Project was finished according to my layout, no hiccups, no crashes, and the entire 30 minutes printed to my DV Cam from the timeline the first time, perfectly.

I can't remember ever working a project through from beginning to end without trashing it at least one time or having the print-to-tape function give me at least one or two burps.

I am very pleased with the way my setup is functioning right now, and I am extremely pleased with VV30, all of it, capture, editing, print-to-tape, and, I even made a CD from the master audio track from within VV30. Very nice.

Thanks, SF.

Caruso

billybk wrote on 12/24/2001, 8:55 AM

If you are very sure all of your hardware is ACPI compliant, which many are not, ACPI is not a problem.
From my experience, this relates more to the audio side of things. Most audio cards, especially the higher quality 24bit/96k, multi-channel, semi-pro/pro
(M-Audio, Echo, MOTU type PCI cards) do not like to share IRQ's. Many times this will result in pops and crackling in the audio when in ACPI mode and all hardware assigned to the same IRQ. That is why I have my WinXP set to "Standard Mode" instead of "ACPI". My M-Audio Delta 66 PCI card needs to be on its own IRQ to avoid those notorious "pops and crackles". For most audiophiles, "Standard PC" is the choice for W2K/XP.

Billy Buck