Extremely slow to render video VS 14

[Juddster]

User of Video Studio since version 6

Currently running VS Pro 14.3.0.5

I am trying to render a 60 min project to DVD and it is running incredibly slowly. Usual render time for these types of projects on this PC is under 2 hours, projected time for this project is around 10+ hours.

I recently upgraded to latest service pack but I don't think this is the issue, because my previous projects still render at normal speed.

The difference with my new project is that the video was imported from a new video camera.

These are the properties of the AVI files imported from my old and new cameras.

Old New
Camera Camera
Frame Width 720 1280
Frame Height 576 720
Data rate kbps 28794 9968
Total bitrate kbps 29818 10353
Frame rate 25 29

Audio Bitrate 1024 385
Channels 2 2
Audio Sample rate 32 48

Is this the reason for the 5 fold increase in render time? Anything I can do\should have done to bring it back down nearer the normal 2 hours?

Many thanks

[Ken Berry]

Well, apart from wondering about whether both types of video use the .avi extension, your way of presenting the properties gets a little confusing. For instance, I suspect you have gotten things around the wrong way in data rate and total bitrate, and then I wonder which way the Frame Rate should go. I suspect your new camera films in high definition 1280 x 720 using a data rate of 28794 kbps with a total bitrate (with audio) of 29818 kbps, while your older camera films standard definition 720 x 576 with the data rate being 9968 and total data rate of 10353 kbps. But does the standard definition use 25 fps or is it the new camera?

And I also wonder exactly what format the video from the old camera is. Do you know if the camcorder uses a mini DV tape? If so, a further complication would be that such video uses Lower Field First, while the new camera clearly uses Upper Field First. Problem number 1 regarding your long render time is that you should never mix Upper and Lower Field First video in the same project. At best, one type will look pretty bad in the final product -- though you could probably use Frame Based as one of the properties for the DVD.

Another problem is the different frame rate -- one is PAL and the other NTSC. If, say, you use 25 fps for the DVD, then the high def footage will have in effect 4.97 frames thrown away per second. Or if you use 29.97 fps for the DVD, then 4.97 new frames have to be invented for the 25 fps video, and this is done by repeating existing frames. Either way, the end video will look a bit jerky.

Your other main problem, though, is that you are combining standard and high definition video. Nothing wrong with that, especially since you are down-converting the high def footage to standard def for burning to a DVD (at least I assume it is a standard def DVD and not a hybrid AVCHD disc which burns in Blu-Ray format but on a DVD blank disc rather than a Blu-Ray disc.) But I am suspecting that you are going straight from editing in the timeline to burning the disc i.e. that when you finished editing, you chose Share > Create Disc > DVD, and when the burning module opened, you had your project file appearing in the burning timeline.

The problem with that workflow is that you are asking the program to carry out two complicated processes -- converting the project into DVD-compatible mpeg-2 and also then burning it to disc, and do all this on the fly. This conversion is made more complicated by the combination of high and standard def footage and also potentially by the combination of Upper and Lower Field First footage and different frame rates.

So it could be better, after you finish editing, to first convert the project to DVD-compatible mpeg-2 but do so in the editing module by choosing Share > Create Video File > DVD. Then when the conversion is finished, you open a new project. Don't both about a name -- the objective is just to clear the editing timeline. Then go to Share > Create Disc > DVD. The burning module opens and its timeline should be empty. You then manually Add Media with the button in the top left of the burning screen, build your menu and burn.

[Juddster]

Ken,

Thank you very much for your comprehensive reply. The 2 projects are quite separate, the old project only contains footage from the old camera, the new project only contains footage from the new camera. Both sets of files are in AVI format.

However, the "new" camera is in fact a new HD Hitachi SD card style of camera belonging to my Dad, whereas the "old" camera is my own Panasonic Mini DV style camcorder.

So I assume the lengthy extension in render time is down to the fact that the footage from the new camera has been pulled down in HD format and like you say VS is having to convert it to DVD format and also burn it to disc? Actually mis information on my part, I was actually creating an iso file on my HDD for later burning.

I have started doing what you suggest and creating a MPEG file but early indications are that this is still going to take in the region of 6 hours.

As this is a favour for my Dad, I am not too concerned, however, I create 3 x 1 hour long DVD's of my own family stuff each year (from my Mini-DV tapes), and, up until tonight have been tempted to upgrade my own camcorder to a HD model. I assume I will have the same issue?

If I was to buy a blue ray recorder for my PC, is it safe to assume, the rendering process speed would vastly increase with downloaded HD footage?

Thanks,

Chris

[Juddster]

In fact I rendered 3 x 1 hour projects from my old non HD camera to ISO files and they rendered in about 45 minutes each on my PC.

Anyone know if the 10+ hours to render an hour long HD project will be vastly reduced if I burn it straight to a Blue Ray Disc instead of ISO? (I don't have a Blue Ray burner yet).

Thanks

[Ken Berry]

"Burning" an ISO file would in effect be exactly the same as burning to an actual disc, but unfortunately, in the case of Blu-Ray, Video Studio cannot produce a Blu-Ray ISO. It can "only" produce a Blu-Ray "folder". However, such a folder, like an ISO, is in fact a mirror image of a completed disc, only needing to be transferred to disc. When you look at its structure, it will contain the BDMV/Certificate main folders you will find on an actual Blu-Ray disc, with a number of sub-folders in the BDMV folder, including the all important STREAM sub-folder which contains the actual video itself.

To produce such a folder, the program still has to convert any non-Blu-Ray compliant video to BD format; then it has to convert any menu; then it has to multiplex the video and audio. And then it constructs the Blu-Ray folder. This overall process, moreover, should only be shorter by a few minutes, rather than a few hours -- in other words, the minutes taken to burn an actual disc in third party software (such as Nero, Roxio or the freeware ImgBurn).

So you are down to exactly the same *rendering* (as opposed to actual burning) times whether for burning an actual disc (DVD or Blu-Ray), an ISO file (for DVD) or folder (for DVD or Blu-Ray).

And rendering times in turn depend to a large degree on computer power. Blu-Ray formats -- and particularly the AVCHD mpeg-4 version -- are much more demanding of computer resources than their standard definition DVD-compliant mpeg-2 equivalents. I am guessing here, but judging from the fact that your computer has only a 200 GB hard drive, I am assuming that it is an older model. If so, and despite its having a a CPU which was undoubtedly powerful in its time, it might just require more time to process more demanding formats.