Advice needed on prefs setup for AVCHD

jeffagwm wrote on 12/1/2009, 9:53 PM

I am using Vegas Pro 9.0c on a Dell xps m1530 laptop (4GB Ram 2.6 Core2 processor, Vista Ultimate 32) My main camera is a Sony EX3. I can bring .mxf files from the EX3 into Vegas and have them play at full frame rate on the timeline without any problems.

I needed a small 'non professional looking' camera for some particular shots and so have just purchased a Panasonic TM300 but can't get the files to play smoothly on the timeline. Any ideas as to what I need to change? Does altering the amount of RAM reserved for the Dynamic RAM preview in the prefs affect playback on the timeline?

When I connect the camera via USB and just look at the files, I can see .mts files. I can drag those files to my hard drive and bring them into Vegas and play them on the time line but only get about 23-25 fps (working in NTSC). If I use the software that came with the camera and 'import into PC' I end up with .m2ts files. I can also bring these into Vegas and they play the same as the .mts files. Is there any difference between the .mts and .m2ts other than the extension name? Should one or the other play back better in Vegas?

As I said, currently the best I can get is 23-25 fps is the shot is fairly static, but once there is much movement, ie a slow pan, zoom or significant movement of the subject within the frame, the frame rate drops dramatically. Hard to edit.

I would appreciate any suggestions people might have.

Thanks

Jeff Gregory

Comments

xberk wrote on 12/1/2009, 10:11 PM

This is a subject that continues to be discussed. No single easy answer except using a faster CPU. I'd say a Quad core of some kind is mininum for smooth AVCHD editing with Vegas without using proxy files. I'm using an i5-750 CPU (no proxy files) with great success. Check this discussion. Has some good ideas.

AVCHD discussion

Jeff9329 wrote on 12/2/2009, 8:14 AM

I agree with Xberk.

Your laptop is pretty slow for dealing with mpg4 files. The EX3 is mpg2 and not CPU intensive. You are not going to get around the CPU loading with any settings in Vegas.

However, except for poor playback and slow rendering, Vegas will handle it well and render your project. You will need patience.

logiquem wrote on 12/2/2009, 10:38 AM

I have a small vostro 1220 ( Core™ 2 Duo T6670 w/VT (2.1GHz) myself and it plays my AVCHD (720 or 1080) well. Windows Media Player is the best player, but Vegas can definitely play them.

Project settings in Vegas make a *big* difference for AVCHD playback. Try to stick with the exact AVCHD files size, field order and frame rate for editing and set the project back to your original setting once it's done.

johnmeyer wrote on 12/2/2009, 11:47 AM

I have no problem playing back native AVCHD files at full speed, although once you add fX, compositing, etc., AVCHD playback will slow down more than native HDV, which in turn slows down more than Cineform HD, which slows down more than good "old fashioned" SD DV.

The settings you choose make a huge difference. Here is what I recommend.

1. Make sure the project settings match EXACTLY the source video. You can use the Match Media Settings button (it looks like a folder) in the Project Properties dialog (you'll find it in the upper right corner).

2. In the preview window, right click and un-check "Scale Video to Fit Preview Window."

3. For fastest playback, but still reasonably decent quality, change the Preview Quality setting (at the top of the preview window) to Preview Auto.

4. Make the preview window smaller. The smaller the preview window (with the settings listed above) the faster the playback.

5. Make sure project is set to 8-bit, not 32-bit.

You can, at least with earlier (8.0c) versions of Vegas, convert the AVCHD files to Cineform, and edit with those. That generally makes timeline performance less of an issue.

Finally, there is a "hidden" switch in the "Internal" preferences section that enables multi-core for playback. Changing this has, in my experience, been a mixed bag. Sometimes it provides significant improvement, but in other situations, I have had the playback performance get significantly slower. If you are using 9.x, I think this multi-core switch is turned on, and the playback code has clearly been altered significantly. However, I think most of my suggestions above would still apply to this newest version of Vegas (which I do not yet use).

ingvarai wrote on 12/2/2009, 4:43 PM

Jeff,
render your footages to the MXF format (a template in Vegas).
The point is - you use the the MXF files when editing in Vegas. For many purposes, the MXF files will be good enough (there are two quality templates to choose from) for your master. Or you can finally replace the footages with the originals again, when you do your master, after editing.

The MXF files will play back just fine in Vegas when you are editing. All in all - I find the MXF format a godsend in Vegas when working with AVCHD. I have written my own Vegas Extension which does all the work with these proxyfiles.
Ingvar

xberk wrote on 12/2/2009, 5:06 PM

If you are using 9.x, I think this multi-core switch is turned on,

Hey John. I didn't know there was a multi-core playback switch. The rest of your list is great too. All those things help.
I'm running 9.0c again. I checked the internal options and Multi-core playback is set to TRUE. I didn't set it, so must be the default.
AVCHD plays at full frame rate for me on Good Quality preview but I'm running an i5-750. Transitions, track motion etc are problematic and hick-up, but run smoothly when I switch to Preview Auto. I keep the preview screen fairly large too on my new 23" Acer. Mostly I'm doing alright without any proxy files.

warriorking wrote on 12/3/2009, 11:27 AM

Another choice would be to buy Neoscene and convert your AVCHD footage, you will notice much smoother framerates when editing in Vegas on you current specs...Its $99.00 well spent.....

jeffagwm wrote on 12/3/2009, 3:50 PM

Thanks to all for your input and advice. Unfortunately, I am stuck with my laptop for the moment since I don't have the funds to upgrade. Fortunately I do have a desktop that is a core i7 and able to handle the files when I am back in the office. I was hoping to be able to do some meaningful work while still traveling but just can't get decent playback with the AVCHD files on the laptop. I was hoping there was some hidden trick to make editing easier.

Thanks again for the advice.

Jeff