Poor Preview Speed at DVinfo.net

James Campbell · September 25th, 2007, 02:41 PM

I must need to change something, because my preview speed using Cineform avi's in Vegas 8 is still jumpy. System: Dual core 2.13, 2 Gig RAM, nVidia 7800 GTX video card. The only way I'm getting real-time preview without being jumpy is to change to Draft preview, but then it's difficult to edit due to low clarity of preview. Changing the Dynamic RAM setting within Vegas 8 hasn't helped. When I let the higher preview settings play for a 5-10 seconds and then loop it again, it isn't jumpy, but I don't care to stop every 5 seconds.

Would it make a difference that my two Cineform avi sources files are about 45 Gig each (1 hour long at Filmscan1 setting)?

Chris Mallam · September 25th, 2007, 02:56 PM

Me, too. i get preview with Cineform NEO of 8 to 10 fps in both Vegas 7 & 8. This is best/full. With Vegas 8, i took the opportunity to do a full re-install of XP, since i hadn't refreshed it since the initial install several years, and several CPU upgrades ago. When i had a RAID hiccup and had to re-capture several projects, i capured the M2Ts directly in Vegas and didn't bother with Cineform. Now i get 23.976 fps, which as a professional editor, i find essential for judging the rhythm and flow of the scene.

This may be a Video for Windows issue, and not Cineform's fault, but the show must go on.

Marc Salvatore · September 25th, 2007, 03:43 PM

James,

I've got a Dual (dual core Zeon), 4 gigs ram, 8800 GTS and I'm not getting realtime either unless I'm in in Preview (half) mode. This works ok for firewire preview but when previewing to my secondary display I need to use Preview (full) or it looks blurry. Then I only get 15fps.

I'm using NEO (high) with V8. I chose to use NEO on my current (first HDV) project for fear of the black frame bug and for a better color space 4:2:2.

Marc

James Campbell · September 28th, 2007, 06:20 PM

I MUST have some setting either in Windows, Vegas that is WAY off for working with Cineform. I tried all the recommendations listed above (and from a similar posting on the Vegas forum) that relate to my system, and nothing changed.

I tried several things that may pinpoint where I'm going wrong: I created a new veg in Vegas, only imported ONE file at a time in several different file HD formats (wmv, mpeg, and Cineform avi). The wmv and mpg were each at about 800 MB, while the Cineform was about 670 MB. The wmv and mpg came right up to 23.976 fps. The Cineform stayed between 8-10 fps with no other changes to the system. When I played that same Cineform avi file OUTSIDE of Vegas, it played at regular speed with no jumpiness.

I made sure I matched the project settings to media, I shut off all programs not related to Vegas, no effects/track effects, CPU usage around 35-45%, size of preview at 384 x 216, tried Dynamic Preview RAM at 0, default of 128, 1024 with minimal effect. I set the Cineform, Tools, Desktop Playback to Fast. I'm ONLY having problems with the preview speed with the Cineform files, which I was under the impression would actually SPEED things up.

Am I missing something? Is there any info anyone can think of that I could give you that would help identify any problem?

David Newman · September 28th, 2007, 06:29 PM

I not a Vegas setting export, yet I get much better performance on a P4 with the default settings. I typically run preview half, but with that I see real-time. Nothing has changed on our end, has Sony been able to advise anything?

James Campbell · September 28th, 2007, 07:26 PM

David,
Thanks for the response. I'm certain it's something in my Vegas settings. I just re-opened the file and tried a few things. I set the preview to Half. Still poor fps. I tried clicking off various tracks. Here's the kicker: I have 5 tracks (2 video, 2 correlating audio tracks, one Hi-MD audio track). I tried various combinations of muting tracks. When I leave both video tracks on, the audio to the first track, MUTE the 2nd audio track, and leave on the Hi-MD audio track, I get almost 23.976 fps. I leave on all audio tracks with the video, back to 7-12 fps. Both video tracks on and JUST the Hi-MD audio tracks, I get full 23.976 even with 636 x 358 preview. So clearly it's not a Cineform issue (I'm guessing it's not an issue with the Cineform audio import affecting fps), so I'll run this past the Vegas crew.

David Newman · September 28th, 2007, 07:35 PM

That is an interesting find. I hope Sony can help you get to the bottom of this.

September 25th, 2007, 02:41 PM	#1
James Campbell Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cheshire, CT Posts: 110	Poor Preview Speed I must need to change something, because my preview speed using Cineform avi's in Vegas 8 is still jumpy. System: Dual core 2.13, 2 Gig RAM, nVidia 7800 GTX video card. The only way I'm getting real-time preview without being jumpy is to change to Draft preview, but then it's difficult to edit due to low clarity of preview. Changing the Dynamic RAM setting within Vegas 8 hasn't helped. When I let the higher preview settings play for a 5-10 seconds and then loop it again, it isn't jumpy, but I don't care to stop every 5 seconds. Would it make a difference that my two Cineform avi sources files are about 45 Gig each (1 hour long at Filmscan1 setting)?

September 25th, 2007, 02:56 PM	#2
Chris Mallam Tourist Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ottawa CANADA Posts: 2	Poor Preview Speed Me, too. i get preview with Cineform NEO of 8 to 10 fps in both Vegas 7 & 8. This is best/full. With Vegas 8, i took the opportunity to do a full re-install of XP, since i hadn't refreshed it since the initial install several years, and several CPU upgrades ago. When i had a RAID hiccup and had to re-capture several projects, i capured the M2Ts directly in Vegas and didn't bother with Cineform. Now i get 23.976 fps, which as a professional editor, i find essential for judging the rhythm and flow of the scene. This may be a Video for Windows issue, and not Cineform's fault, but the show must go on.

September 28th, 2007, 06:29 PM	#5
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	I not a Vegas setting export, yet I get much better performance on a P4 with the default settings. I typically run preview half, but with that I see real-time. Nothing has changed on our end, has Sony been able to advise anything? __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

September 28th, 2007, 07:35 PM	#7
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	That is an interesting find. I hope Sony can help you get to the bottom of this. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

September 25th, 2007, 03:43 PM	#3
Marc Salvatore Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Medford, OR Posts: 351	James, I've got a Dual (dual core Zeon), 4 gigs ram, 8800 GTS and I'm not getting realtime either unless I'm in in Preview (half) mode. This works ok for firewire preview but when previewing to my secondary display I need to use Preview (full) or it looks blurry. Then I only get 15fps. I'm using NEO (high) with V8. I chose to use NEO on my current (first HDV) project for fear of the black frame bug and for a better color space 4:2:2. Marc

September 28th, 2007, 06:20 PM	#4
James Campbell Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cheshire, CT Posts: 110	I MUST have some setting either in Windows, Vegas that is WAY off for working with Cineform. I tried all the recommendations listed above (and from a similar posting on the Vegas forum) that relate to my system, and nothing changed. I tried several things that may pinpoint where I'm going wrong: I created a new veg in Vegas, only imported ONE file at a time in several different file HD formats (wmv, mpeg, and Cineform avi). The wmv and mpg were each at about 800 MB, while the Cineform was about 670 MB. The wmv and mpg came right up to 23.976 fps. The Cineform stayed between 8-10 fps with no other changes to the system. When I played that same Cineform avi file OUTSIDE of Vegas, it played at regular speed with no jumpiness. I made sure I matched the project settings to media, I shut off all programs not related to Vegas, no effects/track effects, CPU usage around 35-45%, size of preview at 384 x 216, tried Dynamic Preview RAM at 0, default of 128, 1024 with minimal effect. I set the Cineform, Tools, Desktop Playback to Fast. I'm ONLY having problems with the preview speed with the Cineform files, which I was under the impression would actually SPEED things up. Am I missing something? Is there any info anyone can think of that I could give you that would help identify any problem?

September 28th, 2007, 07:26 PM	#6
James Campbell Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cheshire, CT Posts: 110	David, Thanks for the response. I'm certain it's something in my Vegas settings. I just re-opened the file and tried a few things. I set the preview to Half. Still poor fps. I tried clicking off various tracks. Here's the kicker: I have 5 tracks (2 video, 2 correlating audio tracks, one Hi-MD audio track). I tried various combinations of muting tracks. When I leave both video tracks on, the audio to the first track, MUTE the 2nd audio track, and leave on the Hi-MD audio track, I get almost 23.976 fps. I leave on all audio tracks with the video, back to 7-12 fps. Both video tracks on and JUST the Hi-MD audio tracks, I get full 23.976 even with 636 x 358 preview. So clearly it's not a Cineform issue (I'm guessing it's not an issue with the Cineform audio import affecting fps), so I'll run this past the Vegas crew.