@joshua-noesser After trying the other software over the yrs, I had Adobe for a couple of yrs & I have free DR but I decided to stick with Vegas, I like the timeline & in general how the timeline works. VP22 is very stable for me, it does have some lag issues tho which are promised to be fixed in future releases but I have tested VP23, read the comments & decided not to upgrade from VP22.

Try VP22 on your new PC, test other software, most do Trials & see for yourself, maybe like me you get a more stable version of VP22 & can live with it's flaws.

Through my testing of other software I found they don't work better on initial play, but almost all have an auto prerender system, change something, add an fx etc & the prerender auto updates, often only after this will the timeline work fluidly. Vegas has a prerender option but it's a manual operation, after doing the prerender in VP the timeline is 100% fluid, why they can't make that an auto feature I've no idea... 🤷‍♂️ It would make such a difference.

PS, when I bought my PC I installed 256GB of RAM just for Adobe's prerender which uses the RAM for this purpose,, (I think, it's been a while) so having this amount of RAM comes in useful with VP where i can prerender long sections but like I say it would be good if it was an auto feature.

I've thought many times about ditching Vegas due to having huge problems over the years. It was always the same problem, handling H.264 files. I never found the reason. It seemed camera specific, always Nikon, but then when I took a Nikon H.264 file and upscaled to 4k in Topaz but still writing in H.264, I'd have the same issues. However, H.264 from a DJI Drone, with or without running through Topaz has never had any issues. So I tried something, I wrote to H.265 in the Topaz convert and all the problems disappeared. It seems a strange bug that Vegas can't handle H.264 very well, but is fine with H.265. However, I then changed to write out in ProRes as the H.265 files seemed a bit week when colouring, downside is the huge storage I now need, although I just archive the original recordings and only keep the ProRes for a few months. I've not tried H.264 with V23 yet, so it would be an interesting experiment to see if that problem still exists.

Just to clarify, the H.264 problems were stuttered playback and constant crashes. It would be fine for 20 minutes, and then crash every 3 minutes, usually when working with simple default fade transitions.

I think the problem with h.264 is that camera makers tend to disregard the 8bit 4:2:0 standard and extend it in proprietary ways not supported by any gpu hardware. If you're workstation can handle it, you're better off with hevc if you want to use 10bit or 422 which are covered by standards for editing and supported by specific gpus.

The other bugaboo has to do with mp4 whose standard does not include wav/pcm which some camera makers also extend with impunity... to capture pcm audio with a camera, which I do not recommend, I would use cameras that offer recording to mov in addition to mp4. Because the mov standard includes wav/pcm and thus avoids the issue. I think Vegas valiantly tries to accommodate these and other proprietary deviations but it's sometimes turns into a game of wack-a-mole.

@joshua-noesser

I think you should wait until the next update of Vegas Pro. My guess is that several bugs are resolved.

Well, head over to the Davinci Resolve forums and experience the issues users have there. Plenty of problems as expected with video editing programs, they all have issues. I have found V22 to be the best Vegas of all, fast and virtually no crashes. Keep in mind I am using the Vegas friendly Sony XAVCS MP4 codec. Don't get me wrong I like V23, nice colourful interface but just not ready yet.

@joshua-noesser So which other editing software/tools would you rather invest in if leaving Vegas Pro?

For what it's worth the past few years haven't had so much in the way of new features as the focus was on the process of rebuilding the program's video engine, which is all about addressing long-standing problems with an architecture never built for modern GPUs and high bit rate, high data rate media. Every build since 208 of VP 21 is in this new path with the promise of better stability and performance.

You likely saw MxCompound replace so4compound as the decoder for AVC and HEVC, and checking legacy now generally worsens performance. If you're an NVIDIA user the decoding speeds are way up. As of 23 there's no longer any pauses during the renders with NV Encoding.

That process isn't complete however and while the most common media is working well for most users certain media and Fx are still problematic from a performance and stability standpoint. VEGAS only deemed the engine complete enough to call it version 1.0 with the release of 23.

I'd suggest waiting until the next patch of 23 is released and doing a trial to see for yourself. For me I have VP 16-23 and currently use VP 23 and as a backup VP 21.208. You can see my hardware in my signature as well as benchmarks.

For support make sure it's to VEGAS vs Magix as the latter seems less responsive. It still exists.

Roger, your assistance is very appreciated. You have helped me a ton over the years. And I want to say, thank you.

Although I feel like you might be connected to the company in some ways, do you really feel 23 will be better? I'm only hesitant because of how many times I was told that over the years. I am not saying I don't like the software, but I use some of the most common hardware out there to record with. So to me, i feel like this should be in the narrow focus of correction.

@joshua-noesser After trying the other software over the yrs, I had Adobe for a couple of yrs & I have free DR but I decided to stick with Vegas, I like the timeline & in general how the timeline works. VP22 is very stable for me, it does have some lag issues tho which are promised to be fixed in future releases but I have tested VP23, read the comments & decided not to upgrade from VP22.

Try VP22 on your new PC, test other software, most do Trials & see for yourself, maybe like me you get a more stable version of VP22 & can live with it's flaws.

Through my testing of other software I found they don't work better on initial play, but almost all have an auto prerender system, change something, add an fx etc & the prerender auto updates, often only after this will the timeline work fluidly. Vegas has a prerender option but it's a manual operation, after doing the prerender in VP the timeline is 100% fluid, why they can't make that an auto feature I've no idea... 🤷‍♂️ It would make such a difference.

PS, when I bought my PC I installed 256GB of RAM just for Adobe's prerender which uses the RAM for this purpose,, (I think, it's been a while) so having this amount of RAM comes in useful with VP where i can prerender long sections but like I say it would be good if it was an auto feature.

Thanks for the insight. I haven't tested any other software yet, and this is good to know. Even with all that memory, do you have issues with the occasional memory leak in Vegas?

I am not a VEGAS employee or financially connected to the company. I have tested most builds of VEGAS on my systems over the years and already think 23 is an improvement over 22 save for some specific media issues.

What hardware do you record with?

I mainly use Sony XAVC S and screen captures.

I've thought many times about ditching Vegas due to having huge problems over the years. It was always the same problem, handling H.264 files. I never found the reason. It seemed camera specific, always Nikon, but then when I took a Nikon H.264 file and upscaled to 4k in Topaz but still writing in H.264, I'd have the same issues. However, H.264 from a DJI Drone, with or without running through Topaz has never had any issues. So I tried something, I wrote to H.265 in the Topaz convert and all the problems disappeared. It seems a strange bug that Vegas can't handle H.264 very well, but is fine with H.265. However, I then changed to write out in ProRes as the H.265 files seemed a bit week when colouring, downside is the huge storage I now need, although I just archive the original recordings and only keep the ProRes for a few months. I've not tried H.264 with V23 yet, so it would be an interesting experiment to see if that problem still exists.

 

Just to clarify, the H.264 problems were stuttered playback and constant crashes. It would be fine for 20 minutes, and then crash every 3 minutes, usually when working with simple default fade transitions.

I have noticed this too

Well, head over to the Davinci Resolve forums and experience the issues users have there. Plenty of problems as expected with video editing programs, they all have issues. I have found V22 to be the best Vegas of all, fast and virtually no crashes. Keep in mind I am using the Vegas friendly Sony XAVCS MP4 codec. Don't get me wrong I like V23, nice colourful interface but just not ready yet.

I used to have a Sony camera and noticed it worked a ton better with the software. This was back when Sony owned Vegas. Over the years, the Sony cameras just couldn't hold up to what i am doing, so I switched to a GH6 as they are overwhelmingly popular in my area. Hopefully what Roger says is true and they are finially working on it. I guess I will wait and see. I just wish there was a place i could get a better idea on how it is coming along.

I am not a VEGAS employee or financially connected to the company. I have tested most builds of VEGAS on my systems over the years and already think 23 is an improvement over 22 save for some specific media issues.

What hardware do you record with?

I mainly use Sony XAVC S and screen captures.

Nowadays I record with a Panasonic / Lumix GH6 and for in-the-action shots where nice cameras don't belong, it is usually GoPro's. I

Prior was a GH5 for several years and it was very stable in the software. Before that was Sony cameras. When the GH8 comes out, I am planning on getting that as my cameras have a very hard life (recreational outdoors videos)

Vegas Hub has some info on the roadmap and a poll of features to prioritize.

See some info VEGAS posted around the release of 23 about the Core Engine 1.0.

I think the best way to see if it's better for you is with the trial though I'd wait at least another patch as there are some annoying issues that ought to be fixed by then.

@joshua-noesser So which other editing software/tools would you rather invest in if leaving Vegas Pro?

I am not sure, I would hope Adobe or FinalCut would be better, but after seeing some of the comments above, i now wonder.

Thanks for the insight. I haven't tested any other software yet, and this is good to know. Even with all that memory, do you have issues with the occasional memory leak in Vegas?

@joshua-noesser RAM fills up, 'memory leak'? i dunno, I don't know enough about that to comment but it does grow, certain fxs affect the RAM more, just straight MP4 HEVC editing without fxs adds a bit to RAM 🤷‍♂️

This is my current timeline, UHD MP4 HEVC with proxies, no prerender applied, no fxs, this is just trimming/cutting the events.

My PC is powerful, it's not fast tho but it is stable because of it's server history. I can have YT playing, VP rendering, Excel & CAD open & because I have so much RAM (+32 core CPU) I never notice any detrimental affect to my PC.. Sorry not bragging, just saying I can't really comment on the 'memory leak' because it doesn't affect my work & don't see it as an affect on VP, VP performs the same on my PC regardless of how much RAM is being used, (It very rarely goes above 100GB)

@joshua-noesser I had issues for a while, but setting dynamic ram to 0% and (if you're using 23) - setting the GPU & CPU release buffer thing in internal settings to TRUE was the only thing that fixed it for me. I made some posts about this whole thing if you want to read more into it.

My videos average around 20-30 minutes with a lot of effects and compositing and the performance is beautiful for me! GPU sits at like 4/5% usage, CPU at 2/3%, no freezing or delay when moving events - just super smooth and crisp, same goes with playback.

Some of my recent timelines:

I understand your frustration as, if I had to do this with major performance issues I would probably be mad enough to switch careers LMAO!

I do, on occasion find that certain files, particularly audio and certain video codecs can cause HUGE performance issues, even with proxies - so I normally re-encode my files into a more Vegas friendly codec before building my proxies and getting to work.

Really sorry you're experiencing this and I hope you find a solution!

@joshua-noesser I had issues for a while, but setting dynamic ram to 0% and (if you're using 23) - setting the GPU & CPU release buffer thing in internal settings to TRUE was the only thing that fixed it for me. I made some posts about this whole thing if you want to read more into it.

My videos average around 20-30 minutes with a lot of effects and compositing and the performance is beautiful for me! GPU sits at like 4/5% usage, CPU at 2/3%, no freezing or delay when moving events - just super smooth and crisp, same goes with playback.

Some of my recent timelines:

I understand your frustration as, if I had to do this with major performance issues I would probably be mad enough to switch careers LMAO!

I do, on occasion find that certain files, particularly audio and certain video codecs can cause HUGE performance issues, even with proxies - so I normally re-encode my files into a more Vegas friendly codec before building my proxies and getting to work.

Really sorry you're experiencing this and I hope you find a solution!

 

I am still on 22 as I was waiting for 23 to be stable.

But I will look into what you said to see if it makes a difference.

@chell you mentioned the "release buffer thing", is it the "release inactive image buffer GPU memory" ?