Rendering problems

webmasterteen wrote on 9/15/2011, 1:37 PM
Sometimes I'll have a 5-30 minute long video and will try to render the entire thing and it crashes. So I'd split the video into smaller parts, but even then it sometimes crashes. Other times it does sort of a mix of a freeze and crash.

The normal crash is basically, at any random moment while rendering, a pop up window saying "Vegas Movie Studios has crashed" and "OK" is the only thing to click. Once, it even decided to not display the error and just 'closed' by itself.

The freeze crash mix is weird. Basically, I have it set so I can see each frame as it renders in the preview window. If the render time estimate is, say 5 minutes, then sometimes the rendering will take longer than the estimated time, and by this I mean, it will reach 5 minutes and then the 'total time' will keep going, but the rendering will stop. I cannot do anything though since the render pop up is still up. I may try to hit cancel and it will freeze sometimes.

I notice that when rendering on the laptop (Windows 7 64 bit) it has 4 cores displayed on a gadget in the sidebar, and when rendering all four will be at max. When the above freeze crash problem happens, I'll notice that the cores will stop and go to their normal length of just an idle program and stuff.

Is there anything I can do to make it stop crashing and freezing? Is it just that i'm using an outdated program? Or is the laptop not the best choice? Or is it something in the project itself?

Thanks in advanced.

Comments

Bob Decker wrote on 9/15/2011, 3:56 PM
Which version of Movie Studio are you running? What type of processor do you have and how much RAM? What sort of source files are you working with? AVCHD?MPG? Do you have any other apps running when you render?
webmasterteen wrote on 9/15/2011, 4:49 PM
Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M270 @2.40GHz 2.40 GHz

4 GB, 3.68 usable (ram)

AVCHD is what I usually have (Sony HD Handycam). I notice that with the digital camera it is able to not only render but even if I play the timeline, it plays through great with no lag at the preview, yet it lags with the avchd files.

Usually I close out of my browser Firefox, however sometimes I'll leave Firefox up with one tab. It usually takes around 200-300 MB.
Bob Decker wrote on 9/15/2011, 10:58 PM
A Core i-7 is recommended for rendering AVCHD. You can work with AVCHD by converting it. There are different methods of doing this. One of our forum members purchased a converter for 40.00 and said that it solved all their problems.
http://www.xilisoft.com/hd-video-converter.html
You can also try Cineform Studio. I've never used it myself but it's free and it's supposed to load just fine in VMS.
We have a member who posts frequently and excellently to this forum who was kind enough to make a video tutorial on a method of encoding that invoves a free codec download and the installation of Handrbrake, a free converter that a lot of people like to use. Please go to the thread below to check this out
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=766699&Replies=50
Another option is to download the free trial of VMS 11. It's on sale now and has greatly enhanced capacity at previewing and rendering AVCHD. It won't overwrite your current install.
AVCHD is very CPU intensive. I use a Sony Handycam myself and found working with the AVCHD footage in VMS 10 was kind of choppy. Upgrading to 11 solved most of that, though I never had the types of crashes you are describing.
If you type "Proxy Editing" into the search box for this forum or the Vegas Pro video forum you'll have plenty to research and read over. Keep us posted as to how you make out. If you need anytning, please ask.
musicvid10 wrote on 9/16/2011, 9:26 AM
Download the trial version of VMS 11 and see if it handles your footage better.
webmasterteen wrote on 9/17/2011, 10:17 AM
Ah well that does explain a lot then. I want my videos in the highest quality possible... does this mean that converting them will lower the quality in the end?

Unfortunately, I have already downloaded the free trials of all the vegas movie software back in April/May. If there is any new software since then, I'd be glad to test it and this time look specifically for any difference in the video playback.
Bob Decker wrote on 9/17/2011, 11:41 AM
The newest version of VMS came out after you downloaded those trials. If you're willing to pay for an upgrade,it's probably the best solution. I saw a definite improvement in playback of AVCHD files when I upgraded. Run the trial and see what you think.

Just so you know, the conversion process wouldn't necessarily hurt the quality of your output. You're converting from AVCHD to something that's easier for the computer to edit. You'd render that to the high quality output that you want. It tends to create much bigger files when you do that, so you want to make sure you either delete converted files when you're finished or have enough storage available if you decide to go that route.

Let us know what you think of VMS 11.
webmasterteen wrote on 9/19/2011, 8:52 AM
I'm sorry, but which one is the latest?

Vegas Movie Studio HD
Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum
Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum Production Suite
Vegas Pro
Bob Decker wrote on 9/19/2011, 8:05 PM
You'll want the Platinum. The Production Suite has some nice goodies like NewBlueFx included and if you need a sound editor,it includes Sound Forge Audio Studio. Both of these are the latest version 11.
webmasterteen wrote on 9/22/2011, 2:01 PM
Well I have the trial version and already I noticed an improvement with the video playback. I opened one of my projects and it played though a lot quicker. There is still some lag at times, though. It did render the entire video at the highest resolution possible with no problem, unlike my registered program.

I'll take it that Vegas Pro 11 or whatever version is the latest would play my video back at great speed with no lag?
Bob Decker wrote on 9/22/2011, 6:58 PM
The latest version of Vegas Pro is 10e. There will be a version 11 sometime in October from what I have been able to gather. Videoguys.com is offering the current version of Pro for only 299.00 and that includes a free upgrade to 11 when it comes out. I use Pro 10e 64 bit for everything and I am very happy with it. Again, run the trial of Pro and see what you think. Whether it will lag will depend on what transitions, effects, or bit-rate of the footage you're working with. I find it very fast on my Core i-7 laptop with 6GB of RAM.
webmasterteen wrote on 9/29/2011, 6:38 PM
Well I am very satisfied so far with the trial version. I have been able to preview my videos with almost no lag, I've been able to render huge 5 minute projects in FULL hd, no crashes... it's amazing.

Will I be able to install the trial of 11 when it comes out?
Bob Decker wrote on 9/29/2011, 9:19 PM
Yes, you should have no problem running the trial version of Pro 11 when it comes out. If you're serious about picking up Vegas Pro, I would suggest going ahead and buying Pro 10e from Videoguys.com fairly soon for the 299.00. I think the offer is good unitl Oct 15th If I recall correctly, and that will include a free upgrade to Pro 11. I'll be running the trial version of Pro 11 before going the full install. It won't overwrite what you already have, you can have several versions of VMS or Pro on you computer without any problem, which is something I really appreciate about Sony software. Glad you like Pro.
DocSatori wrote on 9/30/2011, 10:08 AM
For me the VideoGuys' offer expires today, September 30, 2011:

http://www.videoguys.com/VideoguysSpecials/Specials.aspx
Bob Decker wrote on 9/30/2011, 8:14 PM
Thanks for for correcting me, Doc. And I'm the one who originally posted the videosguys offer on this forum with the correct date of 9/30 expiration.. Doh!