Vegas got slow at DVinfo.net

Josh Bass · October 29th, 2007, 01:59 AM

Just a few weeks ago, it seems, Vegas' playback performance has dropped dramatically. I was used to not being able to watch things at a full framerate once FX were added, except in draft mode, but now the audio is doing it too. Unless there's just a few audio tracks, the audio plays real slowly, and stutters and crackles and pops. Doesn't even matter if there's stuff on the audio tracks at the time, just having more than 2 or so in the project, and unmuted, causes it to do this. It never used to do this. It's done it on two different projects with the media on two different drives, so it's not one of my media drives the problem.

Anyone else experienced this?

Edward Troxel · October 29th, 2007, 07:25 AM

No. Mine is running the same speed as always. Anything changed on your system? Something hogging the CPU time?

Jack Zhang · October 29th, 2007, 07:34 AM

If your whole system's being slow, reset the DMA detection since It might've gone back to PIO mode (For laptops, haven't tried out on Desktops).

Also, you could free up disk space and use the 0MB Dynamic Ram and 1 rendering thread method.

I experience this regularly when I edit with highly compressed formats (AVC .mp4 for instance.) Try making intermediates out of the highly compressed files.

Michael Wisniewski · October 29th, 2007, 11:52 AM

You might also test these settings (General tab under Preferences)

- Build 8-bit peak files
- Build peaks for visible events only

Michael Wisniewski · October 29th, 2007, 11:58 AM

Other things I've tried to speed up Vegas in general.

- Turn off the Media Manager, at the very least it's a faster startup.
- Change the Temporary files folder to a different drive (General Tab under Preferences)

Josh Bass · October 29th, 2007, 12:09 PM

I'll try the suggestions. Haven't made any PC changes I can recall recently. The thing is, on a project that just a few weeks ago ran smoothly, without making changes to it, NOW runs all sloooooooooooooow.

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2007, 12:29 PM

Is the machine connected to the net?
If so, have you run a virus/malware scan recently?
Have you installed any Windows updates recently?

Simon Denny · October 29th, 2007, 01:19 PM

I think the new Windows update has something to do with this.
My Vegas version was running fine untill the latest Windows Update.

No matter what i do the performance of Vegas has droped and at this point I WONT even edit as it's so bad to work with.

If i cant resolve this problem, could be goodbye Vegas & what a shame as I love this software and have invested all my energies into learning the thing over the last couple of years.

I think the latest Windows Update has something to do with this?

Cheers
Simon

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2007, 01:37 PM

Simon, you probably don't want to hear this but, quite often, the easiest solution is a fresh install of Windows and start all over again.
This gives you a chance to thoroughly clean out any and all junk that you've allowed to accumulate on your system since you began.
If you want to keep what's currently on drive C, buy a new drive and do a fresh install to it, keeping your old drive until you can get everything off of it.
Once you get it up and running, use an app like True Image from Acronis to do a full backup. That way, if your system gets messed up again, re-install from this archive and you're good to go.

BTW, I don't have my system set to Auto Update anything.
Once A week, I'll have it tell what the updates are and then decide if I really need them.
For example, I use Firefox and Thunderbird exclusively so I don't bother with any Outlook or IE updates - ever!!

Simon Denny · October 29th, 2007, 01:50 PM

You are so right Mike about a fresh install. I will be getting a new drive and doing this ASAP. I have done this before and it feels so good having a clean system.

Cheers
Simon

Mike Kujbida · October 29th, 2007, 01:55 PM

Simon, glad to hear that doing this isn't something that scares you.
I know that, on a clean install for me, Vegas ran so much faster I thought I had upgraded my CPU :-)

Josh Bass · October 29th, 2007, 04:09 PM

Okay, how do you reset the DMA/PIO thingy?

Can the temp files folder be the same folder/drive on which a project's media resides? I think mine's defaulted to the C drive somewhere (temp files, that is).

Could my sound/volume settings on windows have something to do with it? I'd screwed around with them a lot trying to get cleaning recording into the PC, for music recording (see my other thread), and I first noticed this issue while mixing a song in Vegas.

Doing spyware/etc. tests now, haven't installed recent updates that I know of, but can't Windows sometimes just do that stuff on its own if the computer happens to be on/internet capable?

I want to reiterate that Vegas runs the same as always when I have 2 or three audio tracks enabled. More, and it starts to have problems.

October 29th, 2007, 01:59 AM	#1
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Vegas got slow Just a few weeks ago, it seems, Vegas' playback performance has dropped dramatically. I was used to not being able to watch things at a full framerate once FX were added, except in draft mode, but now the audio is doing it too. Unless there's just a few audio tracks, the audio plays real slowly, and stutters and crackles and pops. Doesn't even matter if there's stuff on the audio tracks at the time, just having more than 2 or so in the project, and unmuted, causes it to do this. It never used to do this. It's done it on two different projects with the media on two different drives, so it's not one of my media drives the problem. Anyone else experienced this? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 29th, 2007, 07:25 AM	#2
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	No. Mine is running the same speed as always. Anything changed on your system? Something hogging the CPU time? __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

October 29th, 2007, 11:52 AM	#4
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	You might also test these settings (General tab under Preferences) - Build 8-bit peak files - Build peaks for visible events only __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

October 29th, 2007, 11:58 AM	#5
Michael Wisniewski Wrangler Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Makati, Metro Manila Posts: 2,706 Images: 32	Other things I've tried to speed up Vegas in general. - Turn off the Media Manager, at the very least it's a faster startup. - Change the Temporary files folder to a different drive (General Tab under Preferences) __________________ "Ultimately, the most extraordinary thing, in a frame, is a human being." - Martin Scorsese

October 29th, 2007, 12:09 PM	#6
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	I'll try the suggestions. Haven't made any PC changes I can recall recently. The thing is, on a project that just a few weeks ago ran smoothly, without making changes to it, NOW runs all sloooooooooooooow. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

October 29th, 2007, 07:34 AM	#3
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	If your whole system's being slow, reset the DMA detection since It might've gone back to PIO mode (For laptops, haven't tried out on Desktops). Also, you could free up disk space and use the 0MB Dynamic Ram and 1 rendering thread method. I experience this regularly when I edit with highly compressed formats (AVC .mp4 for instance.) Try making intermediates out of the highly compressed files.

October 29th, 2007, 12:29 PM	#7
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Is the machine connected to the net? If so, have you run a virus/malware scan recently? Have you installed any Windows updates recently?

October 29th, 2007, 01:19 PM	#8
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	I think the new Windows update has something to do with this. My Vegas version was running fine untill the latest Windows Update. No matter what i do the performance of Vegas has droped and at this point I WONT even edit as it's so bad to work with. If i cant resolve this problem, could be goodbye Vegas & what a shame as I love this software and have invested all my energies into learning the thing over the last couple of years. I think the latest Windows Update has something to do with this? Cheers Simon

October 29th, 2007, 01:37 PM	#9
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Simon, you probably don't want to hear this but, quite often, the easiest solution is a fresh install of Windows and start all over again. This gives you a chance to thoroughly clean out any and all junk that you've allowed to accumulate on your system since you began. If you want to keep what's currently on drive C, buy a new drive and do a fresh install to it, keeping your old drive until you can get everything off of it. Once you get it up and running, use an app like True Image from Acronis to do a full backup. That way, if your system gets messed up again, re-install from this archive and you're good to go. BTW, I don't have my system set to Auto Update anything. Once A week, I'll have it tell what the updates are and then decide if I really need them. For example, I use Firefox and Thunderbird exclusively so I don't bother with any Outlook or IE updates - ever!!

October 29th, 2007, 01:50 PM	#10
Simon Denny Trustee Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Australia Posts: 1,409	You are so right Mike about a fresh install. I will be getting a new drive and doing this ASAP. I have done this before and it feels so good having a clean system. Cheers Simon

October 29th, 2007, 01:55 PM	#11
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Simon, glad to hear that doing this isn't something that scares you. I know that, on a clean install for me, Vegas ran so much faster I thought I had upgraded my CPU :-)

October 29th, 2007, 04:09 PM	#12
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	Okay, how do you reset the DMA/PIO thingy? Can the temp files folder be the same folder/drive on which a project's media resides? I think mine's defaulted to the C drive somewhere (temp files, that is). Could my sound/volume settings on windows have something to do with it? I'd screwed around with them a lot trying to get cleaning recording into the PC, for music recording (see my other thread), and I first noticed this issue while mixing a song in Vegas. Doing spyware/etc. tests now, haven't installed recent updates that I know of, but can't Windows sometimes just do that stuff on its own if the computer happens to be on/internet capable? I want to reiterate that Vegas runs the same as always when I have 2 or three audio tracks enabled. More, and it starts to have problems. __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB