Caching image thumbnails 8.0c

Former user wrote on 1/9/2010, 5:37 PM
I'm using 8.0c and started a photo only project today with about 300 jpeg photos (I have pre-sized them all down to around 1200 x 800). I'm using the thumbnail mode in the media Project Media tab to allow easy selection of images. But, every time I scroll the media window every image thumbnail has to be regenerated. I don't remember this on previous projects -- or is my memory failing me?

I would assume that like the audio peaks, the thumbnail images for the photos would be temporarily stored after viewing them, without the need to redraw each thumbnail every time I scroll the display window.

Or is there some sort of setting that I'm missing?

BTW - I did find in the help documentation that Media Manager does support thumbnail caching, but I don't use it (in fact, I have never used it). Maybe when Vegas added the Media Manager they disabled thumbnail caching in the Project Media tab?

I have found that if I divide the photos up into multiple bins that contain few enough images to avoid scrolling it will speed things up, but jeez, this sure is a productivity toe stubber...

Thanks for any info...

Jim

Comments

erikd wrote on 1/10/2010, 5:26 AM
I don't think your missing anything. Vegas, unlike other NLE's, doesn't create and store image thumbnails of the media but instead reloads them each and every time. I agree very tedious and I would love to see this simple request handled in a future release.

Erik
Chienworks wrote on 1/10/2010, 5:32 AM
Let's see ...

Vegas displays thumbs as needed to fill the timeline depending on the first frame visible on the left, the last visible on the right, and how many it can fit in between depending on the zoom level and track height. So this means that ...

- If you scroll it may show different thumbs.
- If you trim or split it may show different thumbs.
- If you zoom it may show different thumbs.
- If you change the track height it may show different thumbs.

The end result is that at some time or other Vegas is likely to show every single frame as a thumb. In order to cache them it would end up creating a cache of every frame. This would be a duplicate of the source video file. So ...

If it's gonna that, why not just use the original file? Why waste the time and disk space duplicating every frame as a cache image that may or may not be shown again when it can simply look up that frame in the source whenever it's needed?
Tim L wrote on 1/10/2010, 6:52 AM
Kelly -- I think the original poster is talking about thumbnails in the Project Media window, not on the timeline.
Former user wrote on 1/10/2010, 6:56 AM
Chienworks, thanks for the reply, but please re-read my post -- I not referring to the timeline thumbnails. I'm talking about the Project Media browser. Also, these are all static photos, not video clips.

But, as an update, I have discovered what is a decent enough workaround (at least for static photos). I have a two monitor setup and I normally have the Project Media window using the entire second monitor. So, I just closed the Vegas Project Media window and opened a Windows Explorer window in it's place. I just navigate to the folder(s) that contain my photos, which Windows has already created thumbnails for, and I just drag the the photo(s) as needed to my timeline. If the photo isn't already in my Project Media bin, then it will be added when it's dropped on the timeline.

Simple, but effective, and no workflow interruption while Vegas redraws all of the thumbnails ;-)

Jim