CPU Usage Movie Factory3 Vs Video Studio 8

KevP · Post by **KevP** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:06 pm

I'm trialling both products and was hoping someone could tell me why Studio runs at CPU usage at 90-100% while Factory runs at 40-50%.

Both are set at the same capture properties from the same capture source (obviously only one is run at a time) on the same workstation.
Namely:-
MPEG Files
24 Bits, 720 x 576, 25.00 fps
Upper Field First
(DVD-PAL)
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 8000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48.0 KHz, Stereo
Quality at 100%

Studio 8 will crash after a variable amount of time and I'm putting it down to high CPU usage. But why do I not have a problem with Factory 3, which runs at a much lower processor usage cost?

Machine specs are:
Windows XP SP2
Abit KD7-G
ATI R600XT VIO 256Mb Graphics
Athlon XP2500+
1Gb PC2700
57Gb H/D's (OS & Progs)
118Gb H/D's (Storage)
2 * 76Gb H/D's (Storage)

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:19 pm

UVS V8.0 had a memory leak bug that caused it to crash after some time -- this bug was fixed in V8.01, but the patch doesn't work with the trial version.

High CPU usage isn't necessarily an indication of a problem. UVS will use any CPU cycles not consumed by the capture and transcoding code to provide a Preview of the input source, so it is not unusual to see CPU usage pegged at 100% (depending on the system specs and capture settings). If you capture DV from a FireWire device and don't transcode on-the-fly to another format such as MPEG, then CPU usage will be quite minimal, while other settings can tax your system quite a bit.

FYI, I have captured programs over 2 1/2 hours long with UVS V8.01 without crashing.

KevP · Post by **KevP** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:10 am

When you say memory leak - what exactly do you mean by this. I monitored memory usage by viewing Task Manager and the memory used was a steady70-80Mb.

Unfortunately, I'm using composite in of the video card as I'm recording a TV program so use of firewire is out (unless there are other devices you could recommend). But for the purpose of the trial, I can't really make a decision on whether to buy, hoping that my crash symptoms are cured by the memory leak fix. Bit of a catch 22 really.

THoff · Post by **THoff** » Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:32 pm

The leak appears to have been somewhere in the MPEG encoder, since it seems to have affected transcoding prior to DVD creation. But if you capture from an analog source to DVD format (MPEG2, really), then you could conceivably run into the same issue during the capture process.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 1:29 am

To help you choose between the 2 programs:
VideoStudio is an editor so you can record your video, edit it and then
save it a a few different file formats. VideoStudio has many more
features than MovieFactory with respect to file saving, audio importing/
exporting etc. VS just has a simple dvd creation and it's very good.

MovieFactory is best for Dvd Creation or SlideShows and minor editing.
In MovieFactory one can't save the file in any format. One can only
burn a DVD/VCD/SVCD.
MovieFactory 3 is geared more for better dvd menuing etc.
MovieFactory was also created to work with the new dvd recorders so
one can import the videos from a dvd recorder in -vr mode and make
changes etc.

Hope this helps,
MD