Red screens, mem errors, crashing - frustration

Brandenburg wrote on 10/14/2010, 7:15 PM
Rather than just contribute to other threads regarding similar problems, I thought I'd log my own thread here to my specific issues. I'm getting frustrated as I've tried pretty much everything I could think of (including lots of advice I've found here and from other sources such as youtube).

I've been using Vegas for a few years now and love it. I've used it with a variety of cameras with no difficulty until recently while trying to edit some simple vacation videos. Normally my source videos consist of only one or two long files. This time, however, my source files consist of 20-30 small files (each 20-60 secs in length on average).

I *was* using Vegas 9 64bit and suddenly started getting some errors. I immediately upgraded to VMS 10. I still got the same errors (red screens, out of memory, etc.), so I upgraded my power supply and got an awesome CUDA compatible vid card ( nVidia GeForce GTS 450).....and still getting the same issues.



Here's everything in a nutshell with my current system.

Errors:
- after loading in a higher-than-normal number of source videos (maybe 10-20), I often am getting red screened in the preview window, though I still hear the audio
- sometimes when I try to render (wmv, mov, mpg1, mpg2, avi, etc.) I usually get the low on memory errors telling me to close down some programs and try again
- sometimes when I try to render, Vegas simply crashes...and sometimes it gives me the pop-up to send my error directly to Sony (which I've done a bunch of times).


Some of the many things I've tried:
- adding nearly $400 in upgrades for my computer
- going into task manager and killing off a zillion processes which aren't needed
- Running Advanced System Care Pro which has the ability to reduce Windows processes, services, etc to maximize memory
- Reducing the number of source files and trying again and again and again until everything actually works -- which leads me to believe that Vegas might have some type of source file number critical mass issue (i.e., I can edit and render with 5 source files easily, but not 20 source files....regardless of the length).
- Changing my project settings to something significantly smaller (like 640x480 rather than 1280x720 at 60fps)
- Changing my dynamic preview memory to different settings (0, 320mb, 500mb, 1024mb, etc.)
- Changing the Rendering threads setting from 4 to 1 and back again
- Adding all my source videos at once....and trying also to simply add them one at a time.
- Opening two Vegas windows and doing a copy-paste of my project to the new window and trying to render there (someone suggested this somewhere...don't remember where).
- Trying a similar project with totally different source files (to make sure it's not an error with one of my original source files)
- defragging my HD multiple times
- trying with and without Windows ReadyBoost
- trying to set my temp directory to a 16gb thumbdrive
- tried using 30fps vs 60fps in both project settings and render settings
- source videos are .mov files, but I have also tried renaming them to .mp4 files (this worked in Vegas 9 since Vegas 9 didn't seem to like .mov files)
- countless other trials and errors based on suggestions I've read or ideas I've considered


My current system:
- HP Pavilion Elite HPE-112y quad core 2.8ghz
- Windows 7 64bit
- 8gb RAM
- about 600gb free hard drive
- GeForce GTS 450 vid card with 1gb RAM ( http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gts-450-us.html )
- DirectX 11
- 2 monitors at 1920x1200 resolution

Current Camera:
ContourHD 1080p (www.contour.com)



Speculation:
- Maybe Vegas 10 isn't recognizing 64bit and isn't using more than 4gb RAM??
- Maybe Vegas 10 has a critical mass issue with the number of source videos (if true, then it's a surprisingly low number of videos causing the problem)???


I have uploaded one sample of the source videos at http://www.illuminatus.net/vid (it's about 22mb). All the other videos I'm working with were shot with the same camera and are all relatively short in length.



Soooo....I'm lost. I think I've tried everything (at least the simple things). I've spent hundreds of bucks and countless hours to put together a stupid 10min video hah. This particular video isn't that important, but if I can't get this video to work, I won't be able to get other vids to work in the future.


BTW, as I'm relatively new to these forums, I was wondering if Sony techs answer these questions or if the answers come only from other average guys like myself....just wondering.


Thanks.... :)

Comments

Kimberly wrote on 10/15/2010, 6:45 AM
Hey Branden:

Do you have access to another camera so you can see if you get the same errors using different footage/formats? If possible, borrow an HDV camera and an AVCHD from friends, try creating a new project for each type of camera, and see what happens. Be sure to choose the "match media" setting on project properties. Also pay close attention to your video capture settings when you bring the footage over from the camera to your computer. Maybe something funky is happening there?

Ultimately you don't want to be restricted to using one particular type of camera, but if you are successful with other cameras maybe that will help identify your issue.

I wish I could tell you what the problem is. I can guess at what it isn't . . . it doesn't seem like a lack of computing power. Your computer is much more powerful than my computer. I am using a 2-year old 32-bit Dell with 4mg of RAM and I can run SVMS 9.0 and DVD-A 4.5 just fine with a zillion HDV clips. I've tested SVMS 10.0 and DVD-A 5.0 and (so far) it works fine except for a jerky preview which I have heard is a known issue.

I hope some of the Gurus will have some ideas for you. Good luck.

Kim



Brandenburg wrote on 10/15/2010, 4:19 PM
oops! I missed this fix in my searches. I'm testing even as I type and things look much, much better, but I won't know completely for 23 more minutes :)

This 2gb memory cap, especially on Win 7 64bit is a little surprising. Sony will surely offer a fix for this bug -- or maybe not since it was also present in version 9.0.

I can't believe more people haven't run into this problem.

Thanks for the link -- I'll update in 23 minutes heh.
Brandenburg wrote on 10/15/2010, 4:21 PM
Hi Kimberly, thanks for replying! I have not tested footage shot on other cams recently (though I have used them successfully in the past). Tonight I'm going to shoot some 1920xsomething with one of my other cams and see what it does. However, the fix mentioned above might actually be working for me :):):)

I'd think that this fix should be written out as a sticky in the forum.
Brandenburg wrote on 10/15/2010, 5:14 PM
wow...it seems to work :)

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joe M. wrote on 11/30/2010, 7:14 PM
Hey Kim,
Your suggestion fixed my problem too!
Thanks,
Joe
bartman wrote on 11/30/2010, 7:34 PM
What "fix" is mentioned here that worked?

If it is "match settings to source file" I tried that at the very beginning with no difference in result.

I can't get more than 30 clips in the media bin without the program crashing. Also .MOV files renamed to .MP4 in VMS 10 HD, etc..

Bart
bartman wrote on 12/1/2010, 8:24 AM
I assume the 2GB memory fix is only applicate to 32 bit machines that have more than 2GB memory installed.

I don't so still on the hunt for the fix. After almost 2 weeks of waiting for technical support from Sony they replied with an answer that had nothing to do with my question.

Very frustrating. If it can't handle more than 30 clips the software doesn't do me any good.

Bart
aquaholik wrote on 12/1/2010, 12:04 PM
The 2GB memory fix is not going to fix your problem with the Kodak Playsport .mov files. But it does make the software very stable and extremely reliable when it comes to HD editing and rendering. I applied the fix to VMS 10 even though I am not sure it will "fix" anything. But indeed it did and VMS 10 is now almost flawless, even with multiple AVCHD rendering at the same time.
Stringer wrote on 12/1/2010, 12:06 PM
"I assume the 2GB memory fix is only applicate to 32 bit machines that have more than 2GB memory installed.

It apparently applies to 64bit as well ..

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=12&MessageID=697124
bartman wrote on 12/1/2010, 1:22 PM
But either way I only have 2 GB memory so it probably doesn't fix anything for me or make anything more stable.

I am getting the impression it is an issue between the playsport and VMS10 and the only fix will be to lose quality by transcoding or buy an editor that will work.

Neither option leaves a good taste in my mouth. I hate having to buy something to fix something else.

Bart