9.0a random frame rate drop at DVinfo.net

Yang Wen · September 8th, 2009, 11:07 PM

I'm editing a DV project right now and recently i've started to notice a strange behavior with 9.0a where the playback fps would drop, even though the FPS indicator underneath the preview screen doesn't indicate any dropped playback rate. The only solution is to restart Vegas and it would playback normally until the issue randomly occurs again. This only affects playback from the timeline. Playback from the trim is unaffected. Any ideas what's causing this?

Peter Wright · September 9th, 2009, 03:08 AM

Don't know the cause, but 9.0a was a "problem" version - try updating to 9.0b.

Edward Troxel · September 9th, 2009, 06:24 AM

While I agree you should upgrade to 9.0b, there were changes made in 9.0 concerning playback. You can read about them all in the help file but, basically, if playback cannot keep up, in order to keep playback rates as high as possible, the quality settings will be changed automatically. However, this can all be turned off. Right-click the preview screen and turn off "Adjust Size and Quality for Optimal Playback".

Yang Wen · September 9th, 2009, 08:51 PM

Didn't realize there's a "b" already.. Will give it a try.

Edward - This is not due to the optimal playback setting. Like I said I'm playing back NTSC DV.. the playback rate does not show dropped frame but the playback stutters at a consistent speed. When this occurs, restarting Vegas would fix it.. until 10 minutes later or so when the problem develops again.

Jeff Harper · September 9th, 2009, 11:42 PM

I somehow missed 9.0b...just downloaded it, unfortunately I'm getting the same issues of poor performance. when I click on an area of the timeline to move the cursor during playback there is still that infernal hesitation, sometimes a lockup. This update didn't promise too many major changes, so I didn't expect improvement in this instance, but I had hoped. I have to stop playback, then click where I want the cursor, then restart. Since I move around very quickly during some types of edits, especially highlight videos, this is a major problem for me and is why I cannot use this version. It is too slow in this regard. Same with both versions. I wonder if it could be incompatability with my chipset or the i7 processor, since I find rendering faster in Vegas 8 as well, which is the opposite of other users.

Edward Troxel · September 10th, 2009, 07:24 AM

1. How hard is the hard drive hitting and/or are you using the same drive for video as you are for your system files (i.e. everything on drive c:)?

2. What is your ram preview memory setting set to? and how much RAM do you have?

3. How does the same clip play/work in the trimmer?

Jeff Harper · September 10th, 2009, 08:08 AM

Hi Edward,

1. The video is on a dedicated Raid 0 drive with nothing else on it, just the video for the project...drives are 10k drives, they are pretty fast even without the raid. This problem doesn't show up in Vegas 8, never has. Problem occurs even when using other HDs.

2. 12GB of triple channel memory

3. Believe it or not, I've NEVER used the trimmer once in the years I've been using Vegas. So to answer your question I did re-enable the "View Trimmer" and tried it...works great. Maybe I'll use it to preview clips...playback is awesome, much better than using timeline.

4. Default setting for preview except I have the variable thing turned off. I have tried with set to different settings...might try it changing again...but again overall playback is fine, it's just during playing the timeline then when click on another portion of the timeline to jump to a different section.

5. Problem also occurs using Ultimate S Quad cam feature, same thing kind of...when I change cameras there is a holdup, sometimes a lock up...also another thing I forgot is when I do an "undo" while playing the timeline everything freezes up as well. Again, doesn't happen in version 8. It's ironic I have this pretty decent workstation and that 9 is so troublesome...

It's only on the timeline the above occurs. It feels like it would feel if it were a hard drive issue, but since the same projects play fine in 8, that wouldn't make sense, would it? Boy if the timeline could playback like the trimmer window, wow, that would be awesome! I understand, however there is a different process going on, isn't there?

Edward Troxel · September 10th, 2009, 08:29 AM

Jeff, I expected that answer for #3.

Unfortunately, I don't have a solution for you. When switching cameras, it sort of sounds like thinks are having to stop until the script finishes. How hard is the cpu hitting during playback?

Jeff Harper · September 10th, 2009, 08:51 AM

cpu is hitting at between 1% and 3% during playback, 50% during rendering, fwiw.

Edward Troxel · September 10th, 2009, 01:54 PM

Somehow, that answer doesn't surprise me either. I just don't happen to have a solution for you.

Yang Wen · September 10th, 2009, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Troxel

1. How hard is the hard drive hitting and/or are you using the same drive for video as you are for your system files (i.e. everything on drive c:)?

2. What is your ram preview memory setting set to? and how much RAM do you have?

3. How does the same clip play/work in the trimmer?

To answer all of these questions.. the system is more than adequate to handle DV stream. Vegas 8.0 did not exhibit any of the symptoms described. Same clip in the trimmer have always played fine. Never a problem.

An interesting fact I've found - Once the stutter starts, I can move my cursor to an earlier part of the timeline, hit play and then stop it and then move the play cursor to the originally problematic part of the timeline and then play again, this would usually resolve the issue.. Almost as if playing at another part of the timeline somehow "reset" something within Vegas.

Jeff Harper · September 10th, 2009, 03:51 PM

I just installed the RTM version of Windows 7. While I'm sure it wont' make a diff, I'll keep you posted. Should have Vegas installed later.

Jeff Harper · September 11th, 2009, 07:50 AM

I've got Windows 7 RTM installed and it runs beautifully. Can't say the same for Vegas 9.0b. Same issues. It has actually improved a bit, but another issue I didn't mention earlier is still there.

I use the up and down arrow keys a lot to change perspective on the timeline and move around, and it locks up, hesitates, etc., while I wait for things to resize.

Quad cam in Ultimate S is better in 32 bit but about as poorly performing in 64 bit.

September 8th, 2009, 11:07 PM	#1
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	9.0a random frame rate drop I'm editing a DV project right now and recently i've started to notice a strange behavior with 9.0a where the playback fps would drop, even though the FPS indicator underneath the preview screen doesn't indicate any dropped playback rate. The only solution is to restart Vegas and it would playback normally until the issue randomly occurs again. This only affects playback from the timeline. Playback from the trim is unaffected. Any ideas what's causing this?

September 10th, 2009, 07:24 AM	#6
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	1. How hard is the hard drive hitting and/or are you using the same drive for video as you are for your system files (i.e. everything on drive c:)? 2. What is your ram preview memory setting set to? and how much RAM do you have? 3. How does the same clip play/work in the trimmer? __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 10th, 2009, 08:29 AM	#8
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Jeff, I expected that answer for #3. Unfortunately, I don't have a solution for you. When switching cameras, it sort of sounds like thinks are having to stop until the script finishes. How hard is the cpu hitting during playback? __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 10th, 2009, 01:54 PM	#10
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	Somehow, that answer doesn't surprise me either. I just don't happen to have a solution for you. __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 9th, 2009, 03:08 AM	#2
Peter Wright Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 193	Don't know the cause, but 9.0a was a "problem" version - try updating to 9.0b.

September 9th, 2009, 06:24 AM	#3
Edward Troxel Sponsor: JET DV Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 7,953	While I agree you should upgrade to 9.0b, there were changes made in 9.0 concerning playback. You can read about them all in the help file but, basically, if playback cannot keep up, in order to keep playback rates as high as possible, the quality settings will be changed automatically. However, this can all be turned off. Right-click the preview screen and turn off "Adjust Size and Quality for Optimal Playback". __________________ Edward Troxel [SCVU] JETDV Scripts/Scripting Tutorials/Excalibur/Montage Magic/Newsletters

September 9th, 2009, 08:51 PM	#4
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	Didn't realize there's a "b" already.. Will give it a try. Edward - This is not due to the optimal playback setting. Like I said I'm playing back NTSC DV.. the playback rate does not show dropped frame but the playback stutters at a consistent speed. When this occurs, restarting Vegas would fix it.. until 10 minutes later or so when the problem develops again.

September 9th, 2009, 11:42 PM	#5
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	I somehow missed 9.0b...just downloaded it, unfortunately I'm getting the same issues of poor performance. when I click on an area of the timeline to move the cursor during playback there is still that infernal hesitation, sometimes a lockup. This update didn't promise too many major changes, so I didn't expect improvement in this instance, but I had hoped. I have to stop playback, then click where I want the cursor, then restart. Since I move around very quickly during some types of edits, especially highlight videos, this is a major problem for me and is why I cannot use this version. It is too slow in this regard. Same with both versions. I wonder if it could be incompatability with my chipset or the i7 processor, since I find rendering faster in Vegas 8 as well, which is the opposite of other users.

September 10th, 2009, 08:08 AM	#7
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Hi Edward, 1. The video is on a dedicated Raid 0 drive with nothing else on it, just the video for the project...drives are 10k drives, they are pretty fast even without the raid. This problem doesn't show up in Vegas 8, never has. Problem occurs even when using other HDs. 2. 12GB of triple channel memory 3. Believe it or not, I've NEVER used the trimmer once in the years I've been using Vegas. So to answer your question I did re-enable the "View Trimmer" and tried it...works great. Maybe I'll use it to preview clips...playback is awesome, much better than using timeline. 4. Default setting for preview except I have the variable thing turned off. I have tried with set to different settings...might try it changing again...but again overall playback is fine, it's just during playing the timeline then when click on another portion of the timeline to jump to a different section. 5. Problem also occurs using Ultimate S Quad cam feature, same thing kind of...when I change cameras there is a holdup, sometimes a lock up...also another thing I forgot is when I do an "undo" while playing the timeline everything freezes up as well. Again, doesn't happen in version 8. It's ironic I have this pretty decent workstation and that 9 is so troublesome... It's only on the timeline the above occurs. It feels like it would feel if it were a hard drive issue, but since the same projects play fine in 8, that wouldn't make sense, would it? Boy if the timeline could playback like the trimmer window, wow, that would be awesome! I understand, however there is a different process going on, isn't there?

September 10th, 2009, 08:51 AM	#9
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	cpu is hitting at between 1% and 3% during playback, 50% during rendering, fwiw.

September 10th, 2009, 03:51 PM	#12
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	I just installed the RTM version of Windows 7. While I'm sure it wont' make a diff, I'll keep you posted. Should have Vegas installed later.

September 11th, 2009, 07:50 AM	#13
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	I've got Windows 7 RTM installed and it runs beautifully. Can't say the same for Vegas 9.0b. Same issues. It has actually improved a bit, but another issue I didn't mention earlier is still there. I use the up and down arrow keys a lot to change perspective on the timeline and move around, and it locks up, hesitates, etc., while I wait for things to resize. Quad cam in Ultimate S is better in 32 bit but about as poorly performing in 64 bit.