rendering times & Slow computer

studioLord wrote on 2/10/2009, 8:01 AM
I use Movie Studio Platinum w/ Xp Home Pak 3 Amd 2600 (1.6GHz) and 2 G Ram.
I don't think I am optimized for performance. When I am playng back video it seems to drag and i havre to line up the audio w/ video on a 2 cam shoot w/ added audio from a lapel mic.

I use a lot of jumpbacks behind the still shots and under neath the video as I am running. when it slows down I check my Ram (RAMrocket) and it says that I still have 1058 in Ram available.

I know there must be some "tricks" or settings to use to get this puppy running faster. It takes 3.5 hours to render a 15 to 20 minute video.

Wasss Up?

Thanx for your help guys

John

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 2/10/2009, 9:14 AM
The preview and rendering use the CPU, not RAM or GPU.
For a better preview, you can use Preview Quality, uncheck Simulate Device Aspect, uncheck Fit Preview to Window, and use a 1/2 scale preview.
As far as rendering time, there is not much you can do besides shut down background applications and stay off the computer while you are rendering.
If you are looking for a new computer, I found that my $500 dual core notebook outrenders my old 1.7 Ghz desktop by almost 3 to 1. So you don't need to spend a lot of money to get faster rendering times.
studioLord wrote on 2/10/2009, 11:00 AM
hELLO AGAIN. i WAS READING AN OLDER TOPIC LINE WHERE YOU RECOMMENDED CERTAIN COMPONENTS AND i AM VERY INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU SAID. i SHOULD HAVE WRITTEN IT DOWN, BUT i REMEMBERED YOOUR NAME AND THAT'S AS GOOD i SUPPOSE.

pLEASE "ENLIGHTEN" ME ABOUT DUAL & QUAD CORE PROCESSORS. i AM A RECORDING ENGINEER AND SOUND MAN DFROM WAY BACK AND THE VIDEO IS NEW AS WELL AS THE COMPUTER REALM, SO...

pLEASE LIST WHAT YOU THINK IS A GOOD SYSTEM FOR AROUND THE $500 PRICE ARERA YOU SPOKE OF IN PREVIOUS POSTINGS.

tHANX
jOHN
studioLord wrote on 2/10/2009, 11:09 AM
"For a better preview, you can use Preview Quality, uncheck Simulate Device Aspect, uncheck Fit Preview to Window, and use a 1/2 scale preview."

Where do I go to change these settings?

John
musicvid10 wrote on 2/10/2009, 11:39 AM
Hi again,
1) Any dual-core or quad will run rings around what you have now. In the other thread I stayed away from naming specific systems because I am uncomfortable making those kind of recommendations. They were just examples of price points that have come down quite a bit in the last twelve months.

My little Sony notebook, that I often hook up a firewire drive to do rendering, is a VGN-NR430 that I bought for $500 on closeout and is now discontinued. It is similar to the Vaio VGN-NS205N/S that I saw on sale this week for $650. It runs the rendertest-hd.veg at 6 minutes compared to 26 minutes on my older desktop that is nearly identical to yours in speed. You can also find name-brand quad desktop systems in the $550-$600 range at larger retailers and online.

Before someone starts a side discussion on the best / cheapest notebook, I chose the Sony because you get a lot of processing power per $, and I vastly prefer the screen quality for NLE. Your mileage may vary.

2) All of the preview options are available either by the buttons at the top of the preview screen or by right-clicking on the preview window itself. Your transitions, effects, pan motion, etc. will not preview at full frame rate because it need to be rendered on the fly. The workaround is to pre-render those portions of the video.
studioLord wrote on 2/10/2009, 7:55 PM
I wasn't asking for brand names. I am asking about quad versus dual core and I don't know anything about either one.

I was off line for awhile with the tornados coming through OKC. Sorry for getting back to you so late.

Anyway, I want to dedicate a computer to video. I have one dedicated to audio w/ ProTools and Waves plugins, so I need to do the same with video.

I do my writing , my email, my Photoshop (CD/ DVD covers and labels) and my Quick Books invoicing on this computer..... so you see.... I need to seperate and just do video on one computer... eh?

Any advice you give is deeply appreciated.
John