How long does it take to prepare files?

Flight13 wrote on 2/16/2005, 4:47 PM

I'm just curious how long it should take to prepare files to burn to DVD for a one hour movie. I'm only preparing through Architect and not Prepare and Burn. It's taking about 5 1/2 hours...is this normal? What can I do to speed it up? Thanks.

Comments

ScottW wrote on 2/16/2005, 6:53 PM

Get a faster processor. Faster disk (such as a raid set) may also help, but not anywhere near as much as a faster processor will. Make sure you aren't running any other processor intensive tasks while you are rendering/preparing.

I've got a fairly fast system (well, it was a year ago, not so fast now - P4 2.4Ghz, dual channel RAM and 800Mhz FSB) with a 4 disk Raid 0 set, and I usually get very near real-time on the encoding to MPEG-2 phase. So a 1 hour movie would take about 1 hour to encode, then some additional time to actually build the DVD structure.

--Scott

Flight13 wrote on 2/16/2005, 7:35 PM

Wow...must be nice!
I have no other processes running so it must be my system. I'm running a Dell 1.6ghz with 384mb ram.
I'd be interested to know what others are experiencing.

gogiants wrote on 2/17/2005, 2:08 PM

If by "preparing" you mean both what DVD Arch Studio calls "preparing" and also "rendering" then the time you're seeing isn't a big surprise. Is it safe to assume you're rendering from something other than MPEG-2? If so, then it will definitely take time.

The thing that will make the rendering part faster is CPU speed, plain and simple.

mccudden wrote on 2/17/2005, 6:28 PM

I have found that my venerable old P-III 800 MHz, 372 MB ram, lots of disk space, renders DV to MPEG2 at around a 4:1 ratio - on a good day. That's without any real effects. Just cuts, titles, and fades. Adding in effects (HSL, rotation, chroma-key) adds roughly another 2-3x multiplier per effect.
Needless to say, I employ a minimalist approach with the home movies.

To work around the long render times, I edit and render in DV format using Studio, then allow DVD studio to render overnight. Rendering to DV format, since untouched footage doesn't need anything, ends being as close to real-time as I'll get until I upgrade my system.

James

Flight13 wrote on 2/17/2005, 6:49 PM

I believe they're rendering from .avi. I'm really new at all this. I capture the video into MS via firewire and then edit my footage. I then "Make Movie" and save it to my hard drive. I then go into Architect and "Make DVD" and "Prepare DVD". The Prepare DVD is what is taking forever.
I just ordered a new Dell 3ghz HT w/800 FSB and 512mb Dual Channel so hopefully that will give me better results. I know this new system still leaves a lot to be desired but it's the best I could do on my budget so hopefully I see some improved results with it.

gogiants wrote on 2/17/2005, 8:12 PM

The "Prepare DVD" step is most likely spending all of its time doing rendering, which is the process of converting your footage into MPEG-2. This process is highly CPU-intensive, so increasing the speed of your CPU will definitely increase the speed of your "prepare" step.