Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. at DVinfo.net

Jay Massengill · April 4th, 2013, 01:24 PM

Part of my work involves cutting up previously rendered long programs into 5 minute segments and re-rendering each segment to a smaller resolution.

The only problem I've had so far with Vegas Pro 12 and my new Sony VAIO i7 notebook is that rendering the first 5 minute segment takes about 1 minute, but rendering the second segment can take up to 20 minutes.
If I close Vegas, then reopen and render the second segment it is now very fast at 1 minute to render.
But I have to close and reopen Vegas to get this fast render time for each five minute segment. Since some of these long programs are 90 minutes and must be cut up 18 or more segments, this is very aggravating.

Anything in Preferences to change that will solve this and force the fast render time for every segment?

Thanks in advance!

Jeff Harper · April 4th, 2013, 01:48 PM

I have no idea what the issue is, but I wonder if it's a hardware related issue, not Vegas. Sounds like something is getting bogged down. Vegas itself doesn't get bogged down, so to speak, at least I don't think it does. A shot in the dark: are RAM preview settings at the default values?

Jay Massengill · April 4th, 2013, 04:50 PM

I don't remember what the default Dynamic RAM Preview value was, but I had previously lowered it to 256Mb (There are 8Gb of RAM on board this notebook).
Preview performance is really good even with AVCHD files. I can finally preview in real time with a very clear image versus my older computers.
I had also previously lowered the Max Rendering Threads to 8.
This machine has NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE graphics, but I left the GPU setting in Preferences to the default value of Intel HD Graphics 4000.
Vegas has performed for several weeks of editing with no hang ups of any kind.

I did find a better workaround for my situation. I wasn't actually "cutting" the previously rendered full-length video. I'm simply laying in markers at appropriate content spots that are roughly 5 minutes long. Saving the Vegas file. Then dragging a loop region between the markers. Then rendering the loop region. Repeating the process as I went along the full-length video. This was giving slow renders for segments after the first segment's fast render.

I found if I placed all the markers throughout the video and then saved the Vegas File before doing any renders, I could render each segment one after the other without adding any new changes to the Vegas File, and each render would be very fast. Rendering a 5 minute segment in a little over 1 minute.

Perhaps that will give some clues about how Vegas is working on my machine. Making a change (adding a marker) and then saving the Vegas File was making subsequent segment renders very slow.

One more bit of description: When the fast renders happen, the fan in the computer really cranks up and of course the internal and external hard drives have much faster activity. When the slow renders happen, the fan and hard drives run only slightly faster than when at rest. It isn't like Vegas is really cranking along and not getting anywhere, it's like it's just walking along in no hurry to render. However, it still operates and previews the timeline in real time. It doesn't appear to falter or stutter, it just doesn't go into fast mode for those subsequent renders as I was originally doing it.

I also forgot to mention this notebook is running Windows 8.

Juris Lielpeteris · April 4th, 2013, 10:52 PM

About workarround.
Try render regions using script ''Batch render''.

Jeff Harper · April 5th, 2013, 08:12 AM

You know Jay, the slowing down you describe happens to me if I'm rendering and the screensaver kicks in, the exact same symptom you describe. The fans slow down, and rendering slows to a crawl. The solution was, for me, simple. I turned off the screensaver and that was the end of the problem. I rarely turn off my computer so I have always used blank screensavers, except during burns, of course. Now I know to turn off the screensaver during renders as well.

It seemed as if the PC changed it's power state or something during a render, it makes no sense (to me) that a screensaver would do such a thing, but there you have it.

I wonder what is causing your slow down. Are you using Windows 8 like I am? Because I don't remember this issue occurring for me in Windows 7.

Maybe check your power settings to ensure they are not slowing things down after a time?

This is a strange issue for sure.

Jay Massengill · April 9th, 2013, 07:50 PM

It is running Windows 8, but I've checked all the power controls and don't see anything that could be causing it to slow down after the first render/modify/save cycle. Also, the "Stamina / Speed" switch on the keyboard of this notebook is of course set to "Speed".
The workarounds of: Doing all marker work, then saving, and then doing all renders.
Or: Batch rendering all regions for projects where I'm actually splitting into regions, seems to be working fine.

April 4th, 2013, 01:24 PM	#1
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. Part of my work involves cutting up previously rendered long programs into 5 minute segments and re-rendering each segment to a smaller resolution. The only problem I've had so far with Vegas Pro 12 and my new Sony VAIO i7 notebook is that rendering the first 5 minute segment takes about 1 minute, but rendering the second segment can take up to 20 minutes. If I close Vegas, then reopen and render the second segment it is now very fast at 1 minute to render. But I have to close and reopen Vegas to get this fast render time for each five minute segment. Since some of these long programs are 90 minutes and must be cut up 18 or more segments, this is very aggravating. Anything in Preferences to change that will solve this and force the fast render time for every segment? Thanks in advance!

April 4th, 2013, 01:48 PM	#2
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. I have no idea what the issue is, but I wonder if it's a hardware related issue, not Vegas. Sounds like something is getting bogged down. Vegas itself doesn't get bogged down, so to speak, at least I don't think it does. A shot in the dark: are RAM preview settings at the default values?

April 4th, 2013, 04:50 PM	#3
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. I don't remember what the default Dynamic RAM Preview value was, but I had previously lowered it to 256Mb (There are 8Gb of RAM on board this notebook). Preview performance is really good even with AVCHD files. I can finally preview in real time with a very clear image versus my older computers. I had also previously lowered the Max Rendering Threads to 8. This machine has NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE graphics, but I left the GPU setting in Preferences to the default value of Intel HD Graphics 4000. Vegas has performed for several weeks of editing with no hang ups of any kind. I did find a better workaround for my situation. I wasn't actually "cutting" the previously rendered full-length video. I'm simply laying in markers at appropriate content spots that are roughly 5 minutes long. Saving the Vegas file. Then dragging a loop region between the markers. Then rendering the loop region. Repeating the process as I went along the full-length video. This was giving slow renders for segments after the first segment's fast render. I found if I placed all the markers throughout the video and then saved the Vegas File before doing any renders, I could render each segment one after the other without adding any new changes to the Vegas File, and each render would be very fast. Rendering a 5 minute segment in a little over 1 minute. Perhaps that will give some clues about how Vegas is working on my machine. Making a change (adding a marker) and then saving the Vegas File was making subsequent segment renders very slow. One more bit of description: When the fast renders happen, the fan in the computer really cranks up and of course the internal and external hard drives have much faster activity. When the slow renders happen, the fan and hard drives run only slightly faster than when at rest. It isn't like Vegas is really cranking along and not getting anywhere, it's like it's just walking along in no hurry to render. However, it still operates and previews the timeline in real time. It doesn't appear to falter or stutter, it just doesn't go into fast mode for those subsequent renders as I was originally doing it. I also forgot to mention this notebook is running Windows 8. Last edited by Jay Massengill; April 4th, 2013 at 06:53 PM.

April 4th, 2013, 10:52 PM	#4
Juris Lielpeteris Major Player Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Riga, Latvija, EU Posts: 292	Re: Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. About workarround. Try render regions using script ''Batch render''.

April 5th, 2013, 08:12 AM	#5
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. You know Jay, the slowing down you describe happens to me if I'm rendering and the screensaver kicks in, the exact same symptom you describe. The fans slow down, and rendering slows to a crawl. The solution was, for me, simple. I turned off the screensaver and that was the end of the problem. I rarely turn off my computer so I have always used blank screensavers, except during burns, of course. Now I know to turn off the screensaver during renders as well. It seemed as if the PC changed it's power state or something during a render, it makes no sense (to me) that a screensaver would do such a thing, but there you have it. I wonder what is causing your slow down. Are you using Windows 8 like I am? Because I don't remember this issue occurring for me in Windows 7. Maybe check your power settings to ensure they are not slowing things down after a time? This is a strange issue for sure.

April 9th, 2013, 07:50 PM	#6
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: Slow Render for 2nd and later segments. It is running Windows 8, but I've checked all the power controls and don't see anything that could be causing it to slow down after the first render/modify/save cycle. Also, the "Stamina / Speed" switch on the keyboard of this notebook is of course set to "Speed". The workarounds of: Doing all marker work, then saving, and then doing all renders. Or: Batch rendering all regions for projects where I'm actually splitting into regions, seems to be working fine.