Very bad preview - what is wrong?

Arne79 wrote on 2/28/2015, 11:21 AM

Hello,

I've read several threads on optimizing previews, but nothing makes much difference to the extremely bad preview quality I get on a very powerful PC. I suspect something might be very wrong somewhere, and would appreciate all recommendations.

PC and settings described below. Set at Preview Auto, or even Draft Quarter, preview is almost like a slideshow, skipping lots of frames, and completely out of sync with audio.

My PC:
Processor: Intel Core i7-5820K (6-Core,3.3GHz,15MB,Haswell-E)
Motherboard: ASUS X99-A
Graphics card: ASUS GeForce STRIX GTX 970 4GB PhysX
RAM: 16GB DDR4 2400MHz
Harddisk: Crucial M550 512GB SSD
(PC delivers very good performance in fx games, so nothing wrong with the hardware)

Software: Sony Vegas Pro 13.0 (build 428) 64 bit.

Videos I'm trying to edit: GoPro shot at 1920x1080x50fps. Matching project video settings to media at start.

Video settings:
Dynamic RAM: 200 (tried higher)
Max render threads: 16
GPU accelleration: GeForce GTX 970 (tried none)
I've tried all right-click settings, "adjust for optimal playback" results in slideshow, still skipping frames and out of sync with audio.

Any advice highly appreciated!

Comments

Rv6tc wrote on 2/28/2015, 11:49 AM

GoPro footage is tough. You may have to run it through the GoPro (Cineform) app first and convert it to avi.

Right now, I can play un-converted GoPro footage at 30 fps, with my new R9 290x card., but at the start of each clip is chokes a little and slows down.

john_dennis wrote on 2/28/2015, 11:56 AM

There is a lot of related information in this thread.

Arne79 wrote on 2/28/2015, 1:26 PM

Thanks both, I had not at all expected that software of Vegas' caliber would completely choke on GoPro files on such a powerful PC.

But this was indeed the culprit. I used GoPro's free Studio software to convert to AVI with same spec (1920x1080x50fps), and then high quality large window preview is smooth as silk in Vegas.

NickHope wrote on 2/28/2015, 11:13 PM

Don't miss OldSmoke's comment of 4/4/2014 6:16:33 AM in the thread john dennis linked to. You might not need to convert to AVI.

Geoff_Wood wrote on 3/1/2015, 6:36 PM

That GoPro provide free software for that purpose might point to it being a GoPro thing rather than a Vegas thing ! ( I don't know that - just surmising).

geoff

Arne79 wrote on 3/3/2015, 4:32 PM

GoPro is using H.264 .mp4, it is really disappointing that Vegas can't handle it (anymore, it seems previous Versions could)

ushere wrote on 3/3/2015, 5:10 PM

h264 .mp4 is more a distribution codec than a capture one.

without flaming anyone - i'd be happy enough if scs supported sony camera codecs first rather than any others that happen to be around.

the expectation of ANY nle to support ALL codecs is wishful thinking. whilst they might work they're certainly not going to perform as well as native codecs.

since the early days of nle i have always converted 'non native' codecs to whatever the current nle favoured. the only time i've ever had timeline problems is when i've ignored my own advice and tried to use things such as .mov and some variants of mp4 (usually supplied by clients).