Suddenly slow rendering in Vegas Pro 13

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 7:08 PM

Hi all, I'm wondering if someone might be able to help me figure this out...

I thought I had finally had rendering sorted out because for the longest time, my render times were very good in my opinion. I had watched so many videos and read discussion boards on the topic, in order to find the best settings for the fastest render. But now as of just this week, my render times have shot up no matter what I do! I keep scouring forums for answers but nothing is really helping me understand it.

My progam is Sony Vegas Pro 13 Edit, and I own the purchased version.

Here are some of my device specs:
Processor    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7500 CPU @ 3.40GHz   3.40 GHz
Installed RAM    8.00 GB
System type    64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

My graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

I always enable GPU Acceleration whenever I render.

For some additional info, I am a fanvidder and edit videos for YouTube. I use a good amount of color correction and effects, transitions, etc. Even with all this though, my render times have pretty much been (if I recall correctly) around 12-15 minutes for a 3-5 minute video. Now though, my render times are averaging 35-40 minutes. I don't know what it is I've done, as I don't think I've made any significant changes that should have affected my render times.

Here is a photo of my render settings:

If I've left out any other info please let me know! I'm just quite frustrated because I want my render times to go back to how they were, lol.

Something else worth noting is when I pull up Task Manager while rendering, it appears my GPU is pretty much idling at 4% even though I have GPU Acceleration turned on...and my CPU is at a very high percentage, averaging 90%. Also it seems that now, whether I have GPU Acceleration turned on or not (testing CPU vs GPU render) there doesn't seem to be a significant difference between CPU and turning on GPU, even though up till recent days GPU Acceleration seemed to make a drastic change in speeding up the render.

It really seems to me as though my GPU is showing as available but just not actually "working"...very odd.

If anyone has any insight for me I'd appreciate it lots! Thanks~


 

Comments

Musicvid wrote on 2/16/2021, 7:13 PM

I use a good amount of color correction and effects, transitions, etc.

Certain video fx and filters are very slow. In order to know what to look for, we need your properties as well as all timeline fx and generators, start here:

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/important-information-required-to-help-you--110457/

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 7:34 PM

Oh okay, sorry, I don't post on this forum very often, so I'm a bit unfamiliar with sharing all the technical aspects.

Here are my project properties:

Color correction on clips:

Footage properties:

General
  Name: Tangled.mp4
  Folder: F:\Vidding\Films & Shows
  Type: AVC
  Size: 1.58 GB (1,617,908,952 bytes)
  Created: Monday, February 17, 2020, 3:53:38 PM
  Modified: Monday, February 17, 2020, 3:48:03 PM
  Accessed: Tuesday, February 16, 2021, 7:49:45 PM
  Attributes: Archive

Streams
  Video: 01:40:16.302, 23.976 fps progressive, 1920x1080x12, AVC
  Audio: 01:40:16.555, 24,000 Hz, 5.1 Surround, AAC

ACID information
  ACID chunk: no
  Stretch chunk: no
  Stretch list: no
  Stretch info2: no
  Beat markers: no
  Detected beats: no

Other metadata
  Regions/markers: no
  Command markers: no

Media manager
  Media tags: no

Plug-In
  Name: compoundplug.dll
  Folder: C:\Program Files\VEGAS\VEGAS Pro 13.0\FileIO Plug-Ins\compoundplug
  Format: AVC
  Version: Version 13.0 (Build 545) 64-bit
  Company: MAGIX Computer Products Intl. Co.

---

Is that all that you meant by timeline fx and generators?

RogerS wrote on 2/16/2021, 7:42 PM

Two instances of sharpening seem excessive and will slow down the render greatly. Unless I mess up focus I don't use any. Otherwise just do unsharp mask and increase amount a bit to replace the second sharpen Fx.

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 7:46 PM

The thing is though, I actually tend to use even more color correction than this and the rendering for me has still always been fast! If it's just the normal rendering time it takes to render these effects then I would be happy with that answer. But I know that usually for me it can and DOES render faster, I just don't know why all of a sudden it's taking twice as long. I'm wondering if maybe something is wrong with my GPU, because my GPU doesn't seem to be functioning (like when I open Task Manager). I actually never thought to look at Task Manager in the past when my rendering was fast, so unfortunately I can't compare it. But I wondered if it was an indicator that it isn't being utilized.

RogerS wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:01 PM

I do more color correcting than that, but never that much sharpening, which is way slower than say, curves, levels or secondary color corrector. Try disabling both sharpening Fx and render again while watching GPU/CPU utilization.

It's also possible CUDA isn't working for rendering due to a driver update or other system change. It's also possible the GPU is idling while waiting on the CPU to complete sharpening. I don't know about CUDA as I only use GPU rendering with newer versions of Vegas that support NVENC or VCE.

As an alternative you could try the Voukoder plugin for rendering within Vegas which has more modern GPU support than VP 13. Install both the connector and program and then select it as a render template.

Musicvid wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:10 PM

@RogerS is entirely correct.

You have both Sharpen (high pass) and Unsharp (low cut) filters in the chain. These act at the slowest processing level and are undoubtedly the biggest bottlenecks in your processing chain. Removing one of them will help, but it will still be slow.

Also, stacking three color correction filters is wrecking your realized bit depth through redundancies -- suggest you start simple and avoid radical filtering until you understand the dependencies. Lots of good places to start here, and best of luck.

Neither your 1050 nor your Vegas 13 are optimized for GPU rendering; may be best to do without until you get an updated system.

https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/got-questions-consult-the-tutorials-first-please--120282/

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:10 PM

For the heck of it I just went ahead and took away all the fx from the clips replacing it with just the default Border effect (I have the fx applied to each individual clip so I had to replace it with something), and the render time is still unacceptable in my view (just keeps climbing up past 30 minutes). So something else has got to be going on.

In Task Manager CPU is at 100% and GPU is at 5%, which is pretty much same as it has been.

I have wondered if it was due to an update of some kind, because my drivers are up to date.

I'm contemplating uninstalling and reinstalling my NVIDIA driver, to see if it might make my computer "re-register" the GPU or something.

I've heard other posts of people talking about that Voukoder plugin, I'm quite intrigued by it...I might just give it a go.

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:18 PM

Side note: If you look at my channel in my signature, you'll see that use of color correction is a big part of what I do, and it always has been. I've been using these same types of color correcting practices for quite a while with no issue whatsoever, up until recently.

Musicvid wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:21 PM

Hope you find a solution that benefits your unique workflow!

StardustCreations wrote on 2/16/2021, 8:42 PM

Thank you both for your insights on all of it!

@RogerS, I've just downloaded Voukoder and I've just begun a test render...Wow, it appears to have given me back my previously-known render speeds, probably even better! Thank you for recommending this plug-in. I wonder if you have a particular setting for it that you personally think is the best that produces the most desirable quality as well as speed?

RogerS wrote on 2/16/2021, 9:05 PM

Hi Sarah, glad Voukoder is working for you. It is fully compatible with your GPU, whereas aging VP 13 may not be.

For settings the NVIDIA one with the recommended setting (select and hit apply) works okay.
Personally, for final renders I prioritize quality and use the x264 versions (CPU only) starting from the general/recommended setting. There are tutorials out there for the different settings of x264- I'm no expert.

I see you are doing a lot with levels and curves and color adjustments. While not free, you may appreciate the power of Graide Color Curves over the ones that come with Vegas. I use it extensively now. It isn't just color curves but is also a way to selectively change the hue, saturation and lightness of any colors you choose.

Musicvid wrote on 2/16/2021, 10:39 PM

Personally, for final renders I prioritize quality and use the x264 versions (CPU only) starting from the general/recommended setting.

+1

3POINT wrote on 2/17/2021, 12:02 AM

Personally, for final renders I prioritize quality and use the x264 versions (CPU only) starting from the general/recommended setting.

+1

+1

StardustCreations wrote on 2/17/2021, 12:06 AM

I have heard before that using CPU only does produce better quality but wasn't sure about it. Hearing you say that makes me realize maybe I should go with that for final renders as well.

Thank you so much for all the info, I appreciate it so much! I really want to keep Vegas 13 and not deal with all the nuances of a new version as I quite like 13 and it's what I'm used to, so having this option of using Voukoder to render with is invaluable! You very well may have just changed the game for me. Thanks again, and hope you guys have a great day!

RogerS wrote on 2/17/2021, 12:30 AM

Glad it worked out for you.

At some point if you want an editor that makes somewhat better use of modern hardware (GPU decoding, some GPU accelerated FX, HDR support, etc.) give the latest demo of Vegas Pro a try. I went from 12-15 and it's really the same basic program with a lot of quality of life enhancements. There is next to no learning curve.

walter-i. wrote on 2/17/2021, 2:03 AM

@StardustCreations

Please delete your Device ID and Product ID from your first entry!
This is personal information that you shouldn't easily reveal - this is a user forum.

StardustCreations wrote on 2/17/2021, 2:44 AM

@StardustCreations

Please delete your Device ID and Product ID from your first entry!
This is personal information that you shouldn't easily reveal - this is a user forum.

Oops, my bad! Thank you for telling me...I just copy-pasted it, didn't know that ^^'

walter-i. wrote on 2/17/2021, 7:19 AM

@StardustCreations
👍