upgrade from MEP 2021

@Scott-Maas

In truth I'm really not sure of the answer to this one but if you are having to run in comparability mode it's possible you don't have full function as a lot of the graphic needs are strongly dependant on the use of GPUs and Direct X 12.

Maybe someone else knows for sure but that would be my guess..

Ray.

@Scott-Maas

Hi Scott.

I've just been reading through the pdf manual for the minimum specs and it does state that the machine should support Direct X 11. (page 15)

So I'm guessing that not being able to use the direct X drivers is the problem.

Ray.

I see... I have a gtx 1650s on the way, hopefully that cures it...

(the gpu and cpu load seem heavier than with MEP. 85% load at idle...)

@Scott-Maas

Hi

Can you post the full specification of your PC please including model numbers of you CPU and GPU.

(the gpu and cpu load seem heavier than with MEP. 85% load at idle...)

This does not seem right - what does "at idle" mean and is this with the GTX1650 installed?

Peter

My gpu is under spec. I ordered a 1650s, which should help. Either way, VPX works fine, just can't use the histogram/RGB/etc.

"85%" is seen in bottom left corner wile "paused"

@Scott-Maas

As @CubeAce writes, we really do need you to post the full specifications of your computer.

From what you write it would seem that its current hardware/software may be rather close to the absolute minimum that VPX needs, so please read this post and give us ALL the details requested there. You can put them in your Signature - seem mine below as an example - then they are always available for others to view.

Jeff
Forum Moderator

@Scott-Maas

. . . .My gpu is under spec. I ordered a 1650s, . . . .just can't use the histogram/RGB/etc. . . .

One of the reasons we ask for your computer specification to give the correct advice.

From the above, this would suggest that you have an AMD processor or an Intel processor with no suitable integrated iGPU or the iGPU is disabled in the BIOS.

If the processor is an Intel with integrated GPU then you may need to enable it in the BIOS.

John EB
Forum Moderator

@Scott-Maas

Compatibility Mode will disable the the scopes / waveform etc.as they rely on Direct X acceleration. They also need DX11 minimum to display. From the Magix specification for VPX / MEP:-

Graphics card: Onboard, min. resolution 1280 x 1024, 512 MB VRAM and DirectX 11 support

Read more: https://www.magix.com/us/video-editor/video-pro-x/specifications/

It surprising that VPX12 has a problem showing picture whereas MEP2021 does not, as they use the same engine for video preview, so you may be just wasting your money buying a new card.

Better to give us all the info about your PC and the material you are trying to edit and we may be able to suggest what is causing the problem.

Peter

@johnebaker @Scott-Maas @Scenestealer @emmrecs

Hi Peter.

The 1650 Super will work with Direct X 12.1. At least the Gigabyte version does so no reason to suppose other manufactured versions wouldn't. I checked before I got mine.

In MEP 2021 pre-rendering the timeline without the nvidia card is much slower as is exporting with little help in 3D rendering from the nvidia. We know from past experience that Magix does not always update all the required details in the past and I can't see any differences in the VPX11 to 12 manuals so it is possible that full direct X 12 support is now needed as Microsoft have done a lot of changes as to what goes on with Direct X 12 and it's use of pixel shaders and Windows 10 only uses Direct X 12. I have not tried disabling my Intel GPU to test out whether or not you can then use the Direct X option within MEP with only an nvidia card but my guess would be yes as it should show up in the Video mode section of Display options where the choice doe Standard mode (Direct3D hardware acceleration) appears. .

Ray.

Again, everything essentially works except the scopes and such... Here's the system spec:

i5-2500 (gen2) 3.3GHz quad-core, Nvidia FX 580 (512mb/400mHz), 8Gb ram, Dx11... And, ahem, win7u(64).

(I know the OS is not "supported" however, I wouldn't notice a thing wrong if I hadn't watched a VPX 12 advertisement. )😬

@Scott-Maas

Hi Scott.

So the Intel GPU will not work regardless of operating system and VPX needs at least Direct X 11 to work so I'm surprised it is running at all under Windows 7. I think even if your nvidia card integrates successfully you will still not get the use of the vector scope or any of the other measuring instruments unless you also upgrade Windows to at least 8.1.

Ray.

I'm in need of the gpu upgrade anyway... My OS will forever be Win7u64 since it's much more stable for Pro Tools HD (main focus). I'm still thrilled with the extra bells and whistles that I CAN access in VPX over MEP.

@Scott-Maas

Hi Scott.

Understandable as Pro Tools would not be a cheap upgrade if it's still working well. The only downside is running Win7 on the net and VPX will need to connect to the net from time to time to keep it active as it is part of its security authentication process. You may also find you can't get the best performance out of new components designed to work with newer drivers. If in fact they will work with older drivers as the internal architecture of such components change to keep pace with newer motherboards ad processors. Eventually older stock will eventually run out or be unreliable in use just down to the age of the capacitors and resisters that will degrade physically over time.

Ray.

Definitely... This is my second build. I get a kick out of Microsoft's reaction every time I call for a new Win7 key. I've been doing audio for 15 years and have found my workflow to be very systematic. With audio, my system can do anything that could possibly be needed. Video I notice, after only a year or so in this industry, is always changing, fast. The spec difference between GPUs from 2015 to 2020 is +2,000%.

@Scott-Maas

I think that comes down to the the fact digital audio in a sense is a more mature format and the frequencies and playback equipment is nearing its peak from the point of view of how much difference we can perceive with our hearing. Sampling rates, noise floors, maximum comfortable loudness, and ability to shape sound is about as good as it can get. Any improvement in sound quality comes now primarily from the source hardware. Codecs don't really have to be refined more as smaller files are not really needed. They are miniscule compared to the requirements of video.

Video on the other hand requires more data as we are nowhere near our visual limits when you talk about dynamic range or sizes of screens. That means more processing power and better codecs at higher and higher bit rates so lots of room for improvement in every department, from data storage size to accurately being able to apply effects in real time.

Unfortunately this means new gear to keep up with processing demands and newer operating systems to control the resources. That in turn effects the audio codec changes used in the encoding and that requires new hardware as well. Keeping older legacy formats in that environment is not productive or cost effective to developers so support is often dropped. Eventually I think ASIO will change to a point it will no longer support older software or hardware. That I think will be the tipping point for keeping older software alive.

Sad but there you are.

Ray.

Well put.

@Scott-Maas

Hi Scott.

I completely sympathise. I am still running Cubase 4 as it does everything I need and thankfully with a bit of jiggery pokery I have manage to get it to run well under Windows compatibility mode in Win10 and the new internal inboard ADCs of my motherboard are actually higher specced than my old sound card and I still have full channel compatibility. At the time when Cubase 5 came out and v6 I saw no real improvement from the sound demos I was hearing, so now if I upgraded I may as well pay full price.

That cost is but loose change to something like Pro Tools or Nuendo though, so I do sympathise as it's not just that fact it still works but the workflow would be second nature and the peripherals may also not work with newer versions running on a new operating system. The odd thing for me was Cubase 4 was for Win98 and ran well. On Win7 I always had MIDI timing issues and latency issues. On win 10 in compatibility mode it runs better than ever. For how long though I've no idea.

Good luck with the video editing side of things.

Ray.

@CubeAce @Scott-Maas

Hi Ray

The 1650 Super will work with Direct X 12.1.

I wasn't suggesting that card would not be adequate. I was saying that as we did not know the spec of his current card, it might have been adequate and maybe he should be looking for other causes of his lack of preview, leading to his disabling of Direct 3D HWA, that lead to the disabling of the scopes.

The VPX spec states the Infusion engine 2 requires a card with 1GB of VRAM or higher for HWA playback, so the fact neither of his graphics systems meets that may well be why there is no preview and the subsequent need to turn off HWA, which in turn disables the scopes.

Just thinking about it - maybe the difference between MEP displaying a preview image and VPX not displaying the image may be down to the extra load on the graphics subsystem required to display the scopes in VPX.

Now that we can see the PC's specs we can say there is every chance the GTX1650 may improve things - but that still leaves the shortcomings of the integrated Intel GPU, so no guarantees.

Peter