Slow Performance in the Project Timeline

[dlaundre]

I purchased VideoStudio 11Plus a few months back, and I tried to run it on my 2.0Ghz Machine with 1.5GB RAM. The preview video would not play smoothly and was impossible to "edit" a scene by viewing and marking.

I read the system requirements and realized for HD editing that the minimum processor was a Duo Core. I went out and bought a new PC which has a 2.6Ghz Quad Core 6700 Processor, 4 GB of RAM, 720GB Sata HD, and a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300.

I imported some recorded HD video from my camcorder (Sony HDR-12) and I was able to view the video to edit it and mark it. I began creating a story board of several clips all from the same 5 min video (which played fine on a clip level) to make a 3 min video. When I tried to play the "Project" of the 3 min video, it would not play smoothly... it was all jittery and jumpy.

I tried to do a Full Screen Preview and received the same results. I do not understand how a 5 min import can play fine, but the 3 min project can not?

What settings can I change to help the project play smoothly? What hardware changes do I need to make to help allow the project to play smoothly? Would a new graphics card help? If so what kind, do you recommend?

Thank you,
David

[Ken Berry]

Hi David -- and welcome to the forum. I will just repeat Black Lab's comment in the other thread about not double posting. In point of fact, your problem has quite different reasons from the guy in the other thread who was the original poster. He is using standard definition video.

You, however, have a high definition camera, and what is 'worse' in this case is that it uses the fairly new AVCHD format which is just about the most demanding of all video formats on the face of the planet. It gives excellent quality in a small size -- and that's what the camera manufacturers emphasise. But what they don't tell you is that it very difficult to edit smoothly, even on a computer such as yours...

I too have a Core 2 Quad one step down from your processor (mine is a 6600), but I -- and just about all AVCHD users who use this Board -- have difficulty with getting smooth playback in Project mode. Clip mode is always fine as that is just playing the original clip straight from the camera. But in Project mode, Video Studio is trying to throw together in real time a view of what that video is like when editing has been done to it. When actually rendering a video, this is a process that takes a long time with AVCHD, so doing it in real time, quickly, for a project preview, is something which just seems to be beyond most computers for the moment...

I understand Sony has a program on disc with the camera which can handle AVCHD from their cameras. However, most people say while it works fine, the editing you can do with it is very basic.

Now you say you have VS11+... But you need to apply the 6 November 2007 update patch and 8 November Power Pack to convert it to VS11.5+ which can handle AVCHD much better than VS11+ -- though still not perfectly from the point of view of Project playback. Those updates are on the Ulead.com website.

Once you have updated, you should also look at the Manual or Help files for SmartProxy. This is a VS feature which creates temporary 'proxy' files of your high definition originals. You edit and preview them (smoothly) in real time, then when satisfied, you apply the edits to the original high definition files. Note that the creation of the proxy files and the application of the final edits, are both processes which can take considerable time, particularly with AVCHD.

One of our high definition gurus, etech, has his own way of doing this:

I first convert my avchd videos to standard definition mpeg2 dvd compliant videos.

I then use those dvd compliant videos for editing.

Making sure the "Re-Link" feature is turned on after I save the project, I then either move the original mpeg2 dvd compliant videos or replace them with the original avchd videos.

After you¡¦re done editing the standard mpeg2 and save the project, then rename their folder so when you reload the project VS asks you to relink the videos. That's where you then select the original avchd videos. This is my own method using the dvd compliant videos as proxy files (plus I have them to make a standard dvd).

When I render the file or burn an avchd disk I turn off smartrender and the avchd vidoes look fine. I prefer using this proxy method compared to VS method of working with proxy files. Plus I also have them all in DVD compliant format.

[dlaundre]

Thanks Ken!

I appreciate the reply! So I will get no benefit in project playback by upgrading my video card?

I really like etech's idea about creating sd mpeg's from avchd, editing, and then switching them out before encoding esp for std dvd compilation.

One question for this beginner is, how do I convert the avchd videos to standard definition mpeg2 dvd compliant videos in VS11? Or do i import them thru VS11, and then there is some other program that converts the avchd files? If so, what is this program?

BTW, I definitely have the Power Pack installed, but I assumed that the 6 November 2007 update patch fixes were in the Power Pack. Is this not the case?

Thank you!
David

[Ken Berry]

Re the Power Pack, no the 6 November updates were NOT rolled into it. So you have to apply it.

And when you have the full version of 11.5+, you have your AVCHD in the timeline, and simply choose Share > Create Video File, and then personally I would choose Custom as the default DVD/mpeg-2 setting will probably be set to Lower Field First instead of Upper Field First, which is what is required. To get high quality mpeg-2 (if you intend to use them, like etech, for separate standard def DVDs later), you would need to use a VBR of at least 8000 kbps., 16:9, and leave the audio as it is (5:1 Dolby?)

[plop]

http://www.avchd-info.org/

I thought you may find this usefull

David