Choppy playing

bob-hansen wrote on 2/17/2017, 8:05 AM

Hi, I'm using MEP 2017. I have very choppy playback. I used 2016 for a year and it worked fine. The playhead appears to be moving smoothly, but the preview is moving in a series of jerks. Sometimes, the playhead freezes for a couple of seconds and then jumps forward. Sometimes the playhead freezes and cant be moved for a few seconds later jumps forward. I've spent considerable time looking at solutions here and elsewhere. I'm only using average size clips, less than 500 mb in most cases. I have better than average resources: Core i7, 16 GB ram, 2 GB radeon 7820, W10. The program is unusable. Appreciate your help.

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 2/17/2017, 10:38 AM

See this answer for settings to check.

Also be aware that some collages, transitions and effects are very processor intensive and even with a good spec computer like your playback will be choppy.

HTH

John EB

bob-hansen wrote on 2/17/2017, 10:53 AM

Thanks John, This problem is happening before I apply effects or transitions. In fact I have "deactivate effects" checked. At that point I am just cutting the clips down to what I want from them. Is there any kind of a cache or buffer on my system I can clear? Bob

johnebaker wrote on 2/17/2017, 10:50 PM

Hi Bob

. . . . This problem is happening before I apply effects or transitions . . . .

What is the version number under Help, About . . . . the latest is 16.0.3.64.

Check in Task Manager to see if there is any unusual activity such as another program is using a lot of CPU time or memory or there is a lot of disk activity.

Which antivirus program/suite are you using?

Is the jerky playback present if you start a new project, add video and start editing?

In the Program settings, Import/Export tab are the options Hardware acceleration for playback if possible and Hardware acceleration for export if possible checked if not turn them on.

HTH

John EB

bob-hansen wrote on 2/19/2017, 7:02 AM

Hi John

Yes, I do have the current version.

I use the windows Defender of W 10. I also run Malware Bytes.

Both of the "Acceleration" items are checked.

Let's say I'm putting together a bunch of video clips of pets doing crazy things. I usually edit a 5 minute clip down to 10 seconds or so each. When I hit the "L" key to go forward, there is a lag of 2-3 seconds and then then the playhead jumps to that spot. The problem varies quite a bit, worse at some times than others. I apply effects and transitions last.

When I have MEP open with a clip playing, MEP is using 700-800 MB. Chrome using 300 MB and Malwarebytes using 400. Everything else less than 100. At that moment, I'm using 4.6 GB of ram with 11 GB available.

Thanks, Bob

emmrecs wrote on 2/19/2017, 7:44 AM

I think there is one detail that we don't currently have: what format are the clips that you are using, and, are they all the same format?

As to the lag you mention with the "L" key: if you are cutting a 5 minute clip down to 10 seconds, you are obviously removing over 90% of the original. But that "removal" applies only to the instructions held in the MVP project file: the original video file is untouched. It may be your computer is struggling to "find" and move playback to the next clip boundary because of the amount of material to be ignored. I agree it should not do this but it is a possibility.

Jeff

johnebaker wrote on 2/19/2017, 1:37 PM

. . . . I usually edit a 5 minute clip down to 10 seconds or so each. When I hit the "L" key to go forward, there is a lag of 2-3 seconds and then then the playhead jumps to that spot. . . . .

I cannot replicate this using a combination of different video formats i.e. mp4, mov, wmv, mpg, mxv, with different resolutions, file length ( 2 - 15 mins) and proxy files on or off, on the timeline.

Playback starts almost immediately, including when starting from a change of format.

However I do not use Windows Defender or have Malwarebytes running all the time.

@ Bob - try turnng off Malwarebytes to see if this has any effect.

John EB