@Richard-N Thanks for the sample, for the record on my PC - Legacy HEVC Off playback is a fraction of a fps 0.33-ish, Legacy HEVC On playback averages after several loop plays 25-45fps, adding proxy let it play back full fps @ Preview (Full), I added different BCC filters, they all varied playback fps 20-40fps-ish, Continuum filters play back better than Sapphire ones do, & as has been stated, this file played back flawlessly first time play in MEP 2022.

@Reyfox Had not realised DvR18 Studio was no longer beta. Installed & rolling. Thanks for heads up.

That was also news to me, so I tried the same file in Studio18, it played fine, but ofcourse it did with GPU decoding, a better comparison is to turn GPU decoder Off as currently no GPU decode for this file with my Nvidia GPU on Vegas. A comparison of CPU decode and playback

Result is very slight instability during playback, but to the eye looked stable. It used less CPU, playback is BEST/FULL

@Former user why hobble the software by turning off GPU decoding?

@Reyfox by default Vegas doesn't use GPU decoder for HEVC playback, so was interested in an apples to apples playback benchmark using CPU decoder only. Legacy HEVC decoder is good in that it uses all the CPU, mulithreaded workload but I wanted to test efficiency . Studio still plays very close to 50fps without GPU decoder with mostly a lot of CPU to spare. I"m not sure it shows in that graph but there were CPU spikes in 70's and 90's .

Vegas 19b643 on the other hand was unplayable on BEST/FULL, and was using 100% CPU. It came as a surprise to me that @Former user could not play it smoothly in HEVC LEGACY decode, I thought with enough CPU it should play great.

No point in watching Studio playback this file with a GPU decoder as it was never going to have a problem. I think all comparisons with other software should be 'good faith' , not kicking a dead horse

@Former user I do agree with trying to compare apples to apples to see how the hardware is used. In the end, how does the software handle the playback. As I wrote, MEP2022 had zero problems playing it. Must be something in the Infusion Engine 3 that allows smooth playback. Maybe the people at VEGAS and Magix can get together to add it to Vegas.

I opened a technical support ticket for this issue over a week ago following many crashes where I submitted detailed crash reports Do MAGIX actually reply to requests for support from paying customers?

@Former user @Reyfox @Former user

I am looking for a path ahead here to work with HEVC but the options are not encouraging. When I look at the poor results that @gid's $$$$$ high-octane setup is producing I am discouraged from ever bothering to upgrade again.

- MAGIX have now eventually answered my technical query with two requests for further information which I have supplied. No word from them since.

- I have upgraded to VP20 which at first look seems OK. If I repeat the multiple HEVC clip loading process.... it crashes so no change there.

- My CPU Intel i9900 Skylake X is Intel® Graphics 630 capable. HEVC performance with iGPUs seems superior all round and may be the future for video work. Sadly the processor is good but the motherboard does not support it. Upgrading the motherboard with existing components is a serious PITA and more expensive than a decent graphics card update. If users with seriously spec'd hardware are struggling, what's the point?

- For now I may use HEVC for the final product but am not shooting in HEVC again. My AVC playback still struggles a little with VP20 but is useable. I am pondering an upgrade of the graphics card from the NVIDIA GeForce 1050 TI to maybe the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB to boost 4k AVC performance. (it may also involve changing my poor HD (DVI) input monitor - but that's already past time!

Any suggestions?

Any suggestions?

Can you show screenshots of Help/ Check for Driver Updates and Options/ Preferences/File I/O?

@Richard-N, @j-v mentions checking your iGPU drivers to make sure they are up to date.

To have an idea of what different computer setups do with the Vegas Benchmark that @RichardS so wonderfully maintains, you can read about it and download and see where your computer fits in with the rest of those that have done the benchmark. Here is the LINK.

One of the main reasons for me going with the Ryzen platform was future upgrading. My motherboard that I bought with a Ryzen 7 1700X in early 2017 can run todays 5950X 16core/32thread CPU. Amazing longevity.

But I passed that computer on to my wife, and updated a couple of years ago to the 3900X and X570 motherboard, knowing that I can still drop in a 5950X CPU, which I plan to do. This should hold me for a long time. Time enough for the next gen hardware to mature before I think about upgrading.

I am looking for a path ahead here to work with HEVC but the options are not encouraging.

I think your problem with hevc, besides having a weak gpu for that, is the long-gop format you're shooting. I've been shooting 4k 4:2:0 10-bit hevc Intra exclusively since vp16 was out and have no problem editing on my desktop setups. Even a little Intel Nuc brick is fine with it. I normally shoot with 10-minute splits, typically 2-hours concerts. But xmas and new years ones can go on for 5 or 6. Sometimes with two 4k hevc cameras plus typically 2 to 3 hd avc cameras. Have never had a crash from too many hevc clips on the timeline. If that's happening to you, might be too many thumbnails. I keep clip thumbnails turned off.

Have had good luck with amd gpus like the VegaM, Vega64, Radeon 7, 5700xt, and 6900xt. And use Nvidia 1660 as a decoder on a Xeon. 1660ti also works better for me doing hevc decoding than the Intel uhd750 igpu in my 11900k system. I get good hevc decoding performance with Intel uhd630 igpus in the Nuc and 9900k machines.

I am pondering an upgrade of the graphics card from the NVIDIA GeForce 1050 TI to maybe the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB to boost 4k AVC performance. (it may also involve changing my poor HD (DVI) input monitor - but that's already past time!

Any suggestions?

 

@Richard-N If was to buy a new GPU for use in Vegas i would prob get an RX6000 series rather than an RTX,, i've even considered swapping mine, but for now I'm hoping Vegas+RTX will get a better relationship or in a yr or two there'll be other GPU's to choose from.. @Former user can prob tell you more about that.

@Howard-Vigorita  Sadly 50p the shhoting options are confined to 420LongGop 150M or HEVC LongGOP 200M

@Reyfox  The Processor may be iGPU capable but the motherboard is not so how would I update the drivers ???

@j-v  .... as requested

I believe all the setting I have are VP20.0 defaults

@Richard-N Hi, Right click on the start button bottom left on your screen - Device Manager, it should be in Display Adapters, right click update driver, (There might be a better way, i'm sure you'll be told 🙃😂 )

It would be here but i don't have Intel

@Howard-Vigorita  Sadly 50p the shhoting options are confined to 420LongGop 150M or HEVC LongGOP 200M

@Reyfox  The Processor may be iGPU capable but the motherboard is not so how would I update the drivers ???

@Richard-N Vegas isn't that great with double-rate clips anyway. I usually shoot 30p but for short stuff with allot of motion, like splashing water, doubling it looks great; I've done that a few times and found a single rate transcode used like a proxy but with media substitution worked really well. Tried it with someone's 8k clip the other day and that worked well too.

I think the Asus x299 motherboards only support Intel X-series and those cpus have no igpu. Only way to get independent decoding in there is with a 2nd gpu. I did that with an older Asus x99 motherboard adding an Nvidia 1660 to an Amd gpu already installed. Have not tried doing that with 2 Nvidias.

@Richard-N
Thanks for the screenshots.
I cannot give you a total solution for your problem but maybe apart of my solution helps you to overcome the crashes.
I saw the same problems on my laptop since the latest versions, while all went fine at f.i. VMS 17 Pl.
My solution for VP19 and 20 is to deactivate the legacy HEVC decoder, which task become overtaken by the SO4 compoundplug, that works good for me without proxies because my Intel GPU helps there a lot for decoding.
That one you don't have and therefore the program uses also for that your older NVidia, for which it is too much alltogether.
So in that case you have to use proxies with low previewsettings.
You can try it.

@Richard-N Have you tried batch processing through Shutter Encoder ? It might well buy time whilst you resolve your problem with existing your media.

https://www.shutterencoder.com/documentation.html

@diverG Shutter Encoder saved my first outing shot in HEVC by batch transcoding to AVC.

I have found a surefire way of avoiding HEVC crashes..... Shoot in AVC. It seems likes the only reliable solution. At 50p and the high bitrates there is very little to choose between the quality of the two so there is no loss apart from the hollow claim that Vegas can handle it.

In considering upgrades I thought about going for a GTX 3060 12Gb. I suspect I would be spending $$$ to only gain an incremental performance improvement. In any case the GTX consumes 66% more power (500w vs 300w on a 500w supply) than the GeForce 1050 so a new PSU would also be required. I would just end up chasing my tail.

A lot of thought needs to go into the next workstation!

4K HEVC video is large in file size and CPU-intensive. When importing, choppy playback, no video, out of sync, etc. error may happen. So, I often convert HEVC to H.264 to import to edit. The video converter I use is WinX Video Converter

@wood-a  All the file sizes are large at 4k definition. HEVC is designed to produce significantly lower file sizes to reduce bandwidth. Thus identical videos coded in HEVC will be smaller than their AVC version.

Transcoding reduces quality, if you are smart you can reduce that quality loss to a minimum but it is still there. Why transcode when you can shoot in AVC in the first place? Unless I am shooting with one of my cheap action cams I now avoid HEVC wherever I have a choice.

The latest update V19 648 notes fixed HEVC decoding crash, so maybe this may improve the situation.