Is VSP X4 really multi-core and GPU/CUDA enabled?

[pennstat]

I'm experiencing a lot of stuttering when I try to preview any project, and it makes it impossible to verify that audio is syncing up properly without generating a separate file every time. I never had this problem with Media Studio Pro 8, but in fairness it didn't have to handle AVCHD files either. Still, Corel claims that VSP X4 is multi-core and GPU enabled, but I almost never see more than one core being used and my video card isn't a slacker (not top of the line, but not archaic either). My specs are as follows:

• AMD Phenom II X4 945 @ 3.0 GHz
• 4 GB RAM
• NVidia GTS 250 w/ 1 GB RAM (CUDA)
• Newest Nvidia drivers (v270.61)
• Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, all patches installed, yadda, yadda

The video files are from a Panasonic SDT-750 in the default HG recording mode (AVCHD 1920x1080 at 1.63 Mb/sec)

Now, I'm not looking to start some childish AMD vs Intel, NVidia vs ATI flamewar. So, please keep any fanboi statements to yourselves. It just seems really suspicious that a product that supposedly supports multiple cores and is "designed for Nvidia CUDA" is only using one core and doesn't appear to be using the GPU.

If I need to upgrade the hardware for a more fluid editing experience, then so be it. But obviously I'd prefer to see if I'm perhaps missing a configuration setting somewhere before I end up spending several hundred dollars to buy a new rig. Thoughts?

[Ken Berry]

I can't answer your question in the title of your post since I simply don't know. I am way behind the technological eight-ball in my own equipment, so I cannot comment.

However, I am wondering whether your question should be, instead, what is causing the stuttering? And I think the answer to that could be simple. Your camera is not only in the vanguard of those capable of filming in 3D, but also -- in 2D mode -- filming in full progressive mode, which is what I think your reference to HG is about. In other words, when not filming 3D, it films at 50 (PAL) or 60 (NTSC) full frames per second at 1920 x 1080. Now that is great in a technological sense, but unfortunately VS cannot yet handle proper progressive AVCHD video except in 1280 x 720p format. I have raised the matter with Corel on more than one occasion, but the answer I get is that the international AVCHD standard has not yet been changed to include 1920 x 1080p at 50/60 fps. And despite the fact that more and more camcorders are appearing which film in full progressive mode, I get the impression that Corel are unlikely to update their program until such time as the international standard is changed...

In effect, VS would be treating such video as though it were interleaved, and thus throwing away one full frame per second. That would certainly account for the stuttering, and is of course unrelated to whether you are using a multi-core computer with a CUDA capacity in the GPU...

So I am afraid your options are limited. There may be editing packages out there capable of dealing properly with full progressive mode, though I don't know which ones they might be. With VS, though, you would need either to film in a lower quality mode than HG which uses interleaved 25/30 fps; or else edit and output in 1280 x 720p in AVCHD format. I realise, of course, that this would be rather silly when you have a camera which is capable of so much more. To do this by the way, you choose Share > Create Video File > Custom and then choose "MPEG Transport Stream Files" as the format.

The only other alternative would be to output in AVI format, and customise one of the existing codecs, such as DivX or XVid if you have them, or Microsoft Video 1, to output in 1920 x 1080 50/60 fps format. But of course you cannot then burn such files as Blu-Ray or AVCHD hybrid discs. You could, however, probably play them as they are via an external HDD or USB stick drive connected to your Blu-Ray player.

[pennstat]

Actually, HG mode is either 1080/60i or 1080/30p. 1080/60p is a separate function that even has its own button to be enabled. If I did 1080/60p I would have needed to spend as much on SDHC cards as I did on the camcorder itself for this particular project. As silly as it sounds I reduced the window size for the preview window and it's quite a bit smoother, but that would indicate that it's using *software* overlay for the preview window. Even MSP8 used hardware overlay for previews!

I'll keep poking around and doing additional tweaks as I can find them, but things like this really, really make me miss MSP8.

[Ken Berry]

FWIW, as you will see from my profile, I have an older Quad core computer and GPU nowhere near as good as yours, and I too get stuttering with AVCHD previews. But I have just learned to either ignore that or else use SmartProxy, which I suggest you also try out if you haven't already. That creates a low quality copy of your AVCHD, which you then edit, and then at the end, apply the edits to the AVCHD original. Playbacks in preview are of course much smoother too. But it takes time for the proxy files to be generated, so be patient if you use it.

[pennstat]

Cool, thanks. It's at least worth a shot. I've noticed that it's at its worst whenever I have multiple elements involved. (Not even any kind of special effects, just multiple video/audio clips playing simultaneously.) Maybe the proxy setup will take care of that.

[pennstat]

Wow. Yeah, there is no way in Hades that VSP X4 is coded to take advantage of multi-core CPUs. No way. My CPU utilization for VSP stays constant at ~25%. VSP is practically useless while it sets up files for proxy in the background. I'm going to have to struggle with this dog for this project. I don't have time to learn new software right now. But make no mistake that if Corel doesn't implement better multi-core support, I'm moving on to Vegas or Premiere. This is just insane.

[UncleBoo]

Hi pennstat,

If I understand the situation correctly, VS editing uses a single core only. It's the rendering portion that is multi-core. I agree that it would be valuable if the editing portion were multi-core, but in Corel's defense I believe that multi-threading that code would be much more problematic than the non-real time rendering code.

[pennstat]

Hi pennstat,

If I understand the situation correctly, VS editing uses a single core only. It's the rendering portion that is multi-core. I agree that it would be valuable if the editing portion were multi-core, but in Corel's defense I believe that multi-threading that code would be much more problematic than the non-real time rendering code.

Maybe, but even something like handling video and audio in separate cores during editing would at least be something.

Background rendering like the proxy function should be fired off in a separate core, but it's apparently not - either that or it's in desperate need of optimization. Every time I import a new video clip, I might as well go off and do something for 20 minutes while it generates a proxy file because editing is practically useless.

[Dan-cz]

Hello. I apologize for my english.

I bought new computer and Video Studio X4 Pro yesterday.
PC:
intel core i 5 2500k
asus p8p67
8 gb ddr3 1600 mhz

and i have two graphics card to try.
ASUS GeForce GT 430 1 GB DDR3 with CUDA support
and
ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1 GB with CUDA support


I tried set "Use Hardware Decoder acceleration", "Use Hardware Encoder acceleration" and "Perform SmartRender" on ON and OFF - every options.

With every of these GPU and any of these options is rendering time the same!

I create video file - AVCHD 1920x1080.
I think CUDA doesn't work. Or I selected wrong file format?

Thanks for help.
Dan

[joneisele]

New to the board here and perhaps this post isn't the right spot for these questions ... so forgive if so. I have been using VS since version 4.0 back in 2000. I recently upgraded to X4 and have a new Sony camcorder that stores HD video in AVCHD format. Like others here, the video play is jerky and out of sync (yes I will use smartrender). But even little things like selecting a different clip on the timeline can take 2-3 seconds. Several questions:

1) I have a desktop with an AMD Athlon X2 (dual core), 8GB, video on separate internal HDD, but using the built in NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 graphics. Would purchasing an external graphics card make a difference in the sluggish behavior of editing projects with AVCHD files?

2) Is the computer specification described above adequate for editing HD?

3) Do the Corel support personnel read these forums? At a glance I didn't see responses from folks that look like support, but apologize if I missed it.

4) Can we talk about competitor's products on this forum? Over the years I have used VS the feature set and UI has improved, but I still get quality glitches now and then. The Ulead technical support was more accessible and did a better job. The last few incidents I reported I got typical "reinstall" or "can't reproduce" responses. I tried Powerdirector, but unfortunately that product does not allow editing video clips in a library first (everything must be done on a timeline). I'm curious if anyone has tried using Premier Elements given that it is based on a professional package. I would prefer not to take on the learning curve of new software, but curious if other packages work better for HD editing.

Thanks,
Jon

[DVDDoug]

New to the board here and perhaps this post isn't the right spot for these questions ...

Well... It might have been better to start a new topic, since this isn't exactly a continuation of the discussion.

Like others here, the video play is jerky and out of sync (yes I will use smartrender).
But even little things like selecting a different clip on the timeline can take 2-3 seconds.

If your final output is "corrupted", CUDA is (probably) not going to fix that. If it's only happening during editing, it might speed-up decoding and make things smoother. Are you using "proxy editing"? With proxy editing you are "seeing" a standard defintion copy as you're editing and this means less load on your CPU. (Sorry, I don't do HD yet and someone else will have to help you set that up, if it's not setup automatically already...)

AVCHD does seem to cause a lot of trouble, and it seems to depend on the particular format variations from different cameras. Again, I'll let others jump-in on your HD questions.

3) Do the Corel support personnel read these forums?

There are a couple of Corel employees that participate. But, the combined experience of many-many users is what makes the forum really useful.

4) Can we talk about competitor's products on this forum?

Sure. As long as the discussion is somehow related to the Corel product. I use several different Audio/Video tools, and if a Video Studio user is having trouble with a particular task, I sometimes suggest using another program along with Video Studio, sor something to use instead of Video Studio. There's also a Video & DVD Forum for discussions that don't relate to a particular corel product.

[joneisele]

Let me know if I should repost separate. The thread here seemed to imply GPU/CUDA cards would speed up editing AVCHD video if X4 indeed takes advantage of the hardware.

Yes, I'm using proxy editing (sorry, I said smart render, I meant' smart proxy) and understand it's mechanism. You may be onto something here. I just tried selecting the same three clips a number of times in a row and it eventually acted responsive / normal. Note I'm not talking about playback, just selecting a clip on the timeline or library. Similarly, when I load a project, VS loads the clips / thumbnails onto the timeline very slowly.

I have a Sony camcorder, which I would think is mainstream.

Thanks,
Jon