Vegas - 64 bit vs. 32 bit

Jayster wrote on 8/29/2009, 10:33 PM

Somewhat old topic, but maybe some new insights with 9.0b just released.. What do folks see as the main tradeoffs between the two versions of Vegas? I'm using a quad-core laptop with 2 drives, 6 GB RAM, and Vista 64 (soon to become Windows 7).

Back when I was using Vegas 5 I had a project with lots of memory-sucking stills that caused "out of memory" crashes. When Vegas 6 came out, memory management improved but this particular project still crashed. Moving to XP64 gave it just enough additional memory space to let the project succeed. (Yes I know that running 32 bit apps in a 64 bit OS doesn't let you exceed the memory limitations of a 32 bit address space, but it does make some of that same address space available that the 32 bit OS would have taken).

I haven't had any more projects with this kind of problem since then, but I am still running on a 64 bit OS. I'm curious what people are seeing as the tradeoffs. Is it a good idea to have both versions installed (32 and 64) on the same computer?

Comments

srode wrote on 8/30/2009, 3:05 AM

I've only found the 2 of my applications won't work on 64 bit XP - my Epson scanner interface (required so the scanner doesn't work) and the Nikon Raw Image Viewer. For those 2 applications I have a 32bit OS as on my machine as well. Other than that I haven't recognized any disadvantage to 64 bit XP so for me it's a good idea to have a dual boot machine.

As for Vegas 9.0b, I haven't seen anything missing for Vegas 64 bit vs 32 bit - but haven't used it that much yet - only a few renders. It seems to have the same render templates at least for the codecs I use.

Tech Diver wrote on 8/30/2009, 6:51 AM

Steve, I don't know if this will help you but I had an issue with getting my Minolta ScanDual III to work under Vista 64. The problem was finding the right driver. After searching, I came across a tool called VueScan at www.hamrick.com that claims to support over 1200 scanners. I loaded the trial software, selcected my scanner (which loaded the appropriate driver that comes with Vista) and then uninstalled it. All my old scanning software then worked.

Some people prefer to use the VueScan tool instead of their original application, but I chose not to. However, it does look like a nice solution.

Peter

srode wrote on 8/30/2009, 11:44 AM

Thanks for the tip Peter - I tried it but the driver didn't work with the Epson software - there is a Vista 64 bit TWAIN driver for Epson but I'm on XP64 - hopefully Windows 7 will have a driver for it - I have a copy ordered of Win7 so will try it out when it arrives - hopefully the Nikon Raw image viewer will work on the XP mode or Win7 directly too and I won't need to have a dual boot any more - but for now it works for me.

Wolfgang S. wrote on 8/30/2009, 1:08 PM

Well, at least for Canon HF100 1920x1080 AVCHD footage I see a significant better preview using Vista 64, compared with XP SP2. That is true for Vegas 9a/b 32 bit.

The difference between Vegas 9b 32bit and Vegas 9b 64bit seems to be minor on my PC (Q6600 overclocked to 3 Ghz, 4 GB ram). No significant improvement here. Maybe I need more additional ram to see a difference.

LReavis wrote on 8/31/2009, 12:48 PM

I soon will upgrade to Win7 64-bit, and plan to use VMware virtual machine running within the 64-bit machine to run WinXP or Win7 32-bit for those apps that won't install in 64-bits. Has anyone tried this? Bagside has a free Win7-32bit appliance already built for VMware that seems to work fine in my WinXP and is said to work just as well in 64-bit installations (but that particular app is so big that he's asking for a donation):

http://bagside.com/

TeetimeNC wrote on 8/31/2009, 5:07 PM

Steve, I have an Epson Perfection 3200 that I run on an XP computer because I couldn't find a Vista 64 bit driver. Where did you find the Vista 64 bit TWAIN driver?

Jerry

Thanks for the tip Peter - I tried it but the driver didn't work with the Epson software - there is a Vista 64 bit TWAIN driver for Epson

srode wrote on 8/31/2009, 6:30 PM

Jerry, Epson website is where I found the 64 bit Vista Driver for my photo 3170 - googled Epson 3170 Twain Driver

[Link=http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?oid=25021&infoType=Downloads]

I tried the same for your scanner and it only shows 32 bit vista as a driver available unfortunately.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/support/supDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=20882&infoType=Downloads

srode wrote on 8/31/2009, 6:35 PM

Larry, Win7 comes with an XP mode VM that I think will allow XP32 and so running apps on it that won't work on Win764 shouldn't be an issue from what I have read.

othersteve wrote on 8/31/2009, 7:14 PM

Win 7 64-bit is quite a bit better than XP 64-bit by default anyhow thanks primarily to how smoothly it is able to run even most 32-bit applications (thanks to improvements to WoW64?). As for specifically 64-bit apps like 9.0b 64-bit, it runs as smooth as can be on my Win7 RTM.

Steve

Jayster wrote on 9/1/2009, 2:18 PM

Is there any reason to run both (9.0b 32 and 64 bit) on the same 64 bit Windows instance (or not to)? Like I'm wondering if installing 3rd party add-ons will work in the 64 bit Vegas.

Laurence wrote on 9/1/2009, 4:03 PM

The only problem with the 64 bit version of Vegas is that some codecs and plugins don't work. 64bit Vegas can make use of more memory and will be what I use exclusively once the plugins catch up. In the mean time, Vegas 32 and 64 bit versions can coexist nicely.

Jayster wrote on 9/1/2009, 4:20 PM

That apparently includes Sony's Noise Reduction plugin (doesn't work in 64 bit). I haven't installed Cinescore yet.

Laurence wrote on 9/1/2009, 5:48 PM

No Cinescore doesn't work in 64bits. Nor do many other plugins that I use regularly. :-(

srode wrote on 9/1/2009, 6:14 PM

I like to use 64 bit for editting because is has more ram available for preview - some formats render find and others seem a bit more quirky - Mpeg4 output for instance doesn't render as easily on 64 bit as 32 bit so I use 32 bit for it. If I need a plug in only available as 32 bit I will do all the editting I can on 64 bit then finish on 32bit with that plug in.

CorTed wrote on 9/1/2009, 6:24 PM

I have really been enjoying the 64 bit experience.
Over the past couple of years since VP8.0 came out I was running on 32 bit, and having one crash after another, using SD & HDV materials. All of this was using Vista 32 bit with 4 gigs of ram.
I recently added 4 more gigs for a total of 8, along with Vista 64 bit (ultimate) and VP9.0b -64 bit. Things are running just great. Fortunately I do not use many external plug-ins that for some won't play in the 64 bit environment, but the editing experience for me (at least lately) has been wonderfull.
I used to watch the memory usage as I was editing, and noticed that when the mem usage was around 54% or more, the program would defenitely crash, either during the edit, or a subsequent render.
Now using Vista 64 bit and V9.0b I watch the mem usage, and I do not get over more than 40% ever!. This is with 36 tracks, lots of HDV, many jpegs all in a 45 minute timeline. For me right now...no more crashes.
I am a happy camper. If you can, switch to the 64 bit version with at least 8 gigs and enjoy.

Ted