I don't know what others feel, and I am a long-time supporter of MEP, but this isn't right. An update to a program should not perform worse than a previous version on the same job. A 640x480 MP4 is hardly a new format or require a Saturn 5 encoder to render; why on earth would a brand new, supposedly vastly improved, version end up taking 3 times as long to render?

It seems to me there is either a major defect with 2021, or the designers have said "blow them, we're going to put it out like this (new requirements for on-board (??) and external GPUs) and the users can like it or lump it". Not all of us are processing 8k, 360°, MTS projects. The basic stuff should be at the very least the same to do, not harder, just because the total capability has increased.

I also think the mods should post a Sticky with a detailed explanation of what the new requirements are and experience is going to be like for upgraders. I've said it before and I'll say it again; to the $100-$150 layman (MEP's target market), the graphics requirements as detailed by Magix are just gobbledygook.

Thank you @AAProds

Well said. If I could think of anything more to add I would, but you seem to have covered all the layman's salient points.

AndyW

@AAProds

@CubeAce

@me_again

@georgereimer

I share Alwyn's view. A very disappointing trend over the last few years.

@terrypin @me_again @georgereimer @AAProds

While I don't disagree with anyone, to some extent the developers hands are tied on this. The base code on which these types of programs are based around is changing over time. We now have a developing operating system to cope with the demands of new components and as such it is only a matter of time before such programs will not work as well if at all. Video editing by it's nature is one of the most dependant on such changes happening to take into account of new developments and as such will be one of the types of programs to suffer first.

At present it seems that if your system can't cope with all of the benefits of Direct X 12 that you suffer.

What will happen when Direct X 13 eventually comes out?

Ray.

@georgereimer

In addition to what all the other posters have written (views with which I have considerable sympathy) I think it would be very useful if you were to tell us the exact specifications of your computer. Then information in this post will show you what level of detail is really helpful in trying to diagnose why you are experiencing the problems you are seeing.

As @CubeAce states above, there have been considerable developments in the actual hardware that computers contain and the developers are clearly seeking to make maximum use of at least some of those developments. It is an unfortunate side-effect of such "developments" that older hardware may then perform rather "less than optimally".

Jeff
Forum Moderator

@emmrecs

It is an unfortunate side-effect of such "developments" that older hardware may then perform rather "less than optimally".

I would call that an understatement of the extreme 😂😉.

I have lost count of the amount of sound cards, graphics cards, printers for both paper and discs (CD and Direct DVD printing) as well as motherboards processors hard drives and ram I have had to upgrade over the years due to operating system requirements or the lack of updated driver support.

To be frank I'm impressed and thankful that the oldest video codecs are still being supported or that we can still buy DVD players / recorders. That jpeg is still widely supported. Who knows how long support for anything will continue? The hardware now for video capture (cameras) is up to 16K for those that can afford it and also afford to process it. Some phones do 8K video capture. I can't see this trend ending any time soon.

I've always tried to work to the rule of get what I need, not what I want.

So my copy of Cubase is still six versions behind what the current version is. It works well (at present) and does what I need. Until it ceases to work I'm content.

MEP is slightly different. At present my system supports the software but at the point it doesn't I won't update the program again until I have a new system that can.

When I first encountered MEP at version 2018 my system was woefully inadequate but it worked. It sometimes took 16 hours to render 10 minutes of video and I still had to upgrade the CPU heat sink to cope.

Some of you may remember my early posts here when I was in a similar position.

The end of support for Win 7 forced me to eventually upgrade my hardware to cope with Win 10 and thankfully allowed me to update to the current version of MEP but how long that will last could be anyone's guess.

Just these last few weeks a whole new generation of CPUs, motherboards and graphics cards have been released that is a very large leap in technology. So my one year old medium range system (at the time of purchase) is already being outclassed performance wise and I may find myself in the same boat and having to stop updating MEP at some point in the future. It may not be that far away.

At least until I can afford to upgrade my components again if I need to.

Ray.

I understand the need for context but the test conditions say it all. Its the very same hardware with both Movie Maker 2017 and 2021 installed side by side. The very same project is being opened. Export settings are both the same. (640x480 mp4, balanced compression settings)

This has been a very frustrating experience.
Magix 2021 has hung at least 1/2 dozen times over the 2 days I've used it. Mostly when apply Simple 3D text effects. Sometimes I can get as far as changing the title, but often not and the application hangs. I either have to kill it with task manager or if it freezes my machine completely (happens often) and I have to do a hard reset. Small annoyance is that the Installation Manger pops up every time I start the program even though I've accepted all the installations it offered. I've resintalled Magix 2010 twice. No change.

Magix 2017 just keeps working fine, with the same text effects. I've had no problems like this during the last couple of years I've used it. Its simply faster and more robust.

Unfortunately I think will have to skip this version.

My System :  Windows 10 Pro Build 18363, AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Cores, 16GB, NVidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with driver 457.09  10/29/2020.  

@georgereimer

Hi.

I make the latest studio driver for your graphics card to be V3.20.5.70.

Try downloading it on the nvidia site.

Ray.

@georgereimer

Hi

. . . . AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6 Cores, 16GB, NVidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti . . . .

The reason for the slow down on exporting is because you have no Hardware Acceleration (HWA) capability within your computer.

Older versions of MEP could use the CUDA cores of the graphics card through a module, NVCUVENC in the drivers for the graphics card.

Nvidia dropped the NVCUVENC from the drivers about 4 years ago, and introduced a replacement 'module' NVENC for the newer graphics cards. NVENC has not been supported by MEP for encoding video since then.

MEP 2021 will support HWA for Preview playback, however as yet does not support encoding.

@CubeAce

. . . . the latest studio driver for your graphics card to be V3.20.5.70 . . . .

Where did you get that driver number from - the latest Studio driver package for the GTX 1050 is 456.71 released 20/10/2020.

John EB

@johnebaker

Hi John.

I searched the nvidia site.

Sorry, just noticed what it says. Not the driver.

Ray.

I use GeForce Experience app from Nvidia to keep my drivers up to date. It said Version 457.09.

When Movie Edit pro 17 loads on my current hardware it indicates that it is initailizing the hardware acceleration. When Movie Edit Pro 2021 Premium exports, it indicates hardware acceleration is not available.

Doesn't it then make sense that, given the performance difference, that my machine does provide hardware acceleration and that it is differences in the software?

@georgereimer Professional video encoders are very expensive. Magix doesn't develop the encoder themselves. They license it from Companies like Intel or Nvidia. If Intel or Nvidia change something then Magix will adapt to the change and won't pay a license for the old and current version of the encoder. This would make the program more expensive. So they threw old encoders out in the current version.

If Version 17 works fine for you there was no need to upgrade.

Version 21 only offers hardware encoding via Intel. You use AMD. If you want to use your Nvidia Card you need to use Video Pro X.

@georgereimer

Hi.

Unfortunately not. The base programming of the program has changed to accommodate newer codecs and peripherals that don't have the same architecture to accommodate higher video resolutions. Basically incompatible hardware.

The specs for MEP 2017 as far as I can discover were much less stringent.

Minimum system requirements: Intel Core Duo with 1.83 GHz, AMD Dual-Core with 2.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 1 GB hard disk memory for program installation, multi-channel sound card recommended for Surround sound editing.

Minimum requirements for AVCHD/HD editing: Intel Core 2 quad processor with 2.83 GHz (Intel Core i7 recommended), 4 GB RAM, DirectX 9.0c-compatible graphics card, min. 512 MB graphics card RAM and Pixelshader 2.0, ATI X300 and up, NVIDIA GeForce 6600 and up, Blu-ray burner for creating Blu-ray Discs.

The specs only mentions support for HD video. No 4K or 8K support. I'm assuming no support for H265 files either.

Even if MEP had not updated its program to not exclude lower specified electronic components it is doubtful that some of the newer third party plug-ins would work. That would cause others to complain. Some older plug-ins are seemingly already incompatible.

Older cameras will eventually break and newer ones will need more processing power when it comes to editing to to the newer codecs they use. I doubt anyone at present would by a new camcorder or camera that didn't have at least HD quality or higher. What's the point when you can no longer buy a lower resolution monitor?

The life cycle of products gets shorter as the years progress. Not really ideal for any end user including myself but that seems to be the current state of affairs.

Ray.

@georgereimer

Hi

. . . . I use GeForce Experience app from Nvidia to keep my drivers up to date. It said Version 457.09 . . . .

@CubeAce and I are referring to the Nvidia Studio drivers which are specifically for video editing, the drivers you have are the 'standard' Gaming Driver - if you are not a gamer then you can install the Studio drivers if you wish they are here.

John EB.

@georgereimer

Hi

. . . . . the test conditions say it all. Its the very same hardware with both Movie Maker 2017 and 2021 installed side by side . . . .

The hardware conditions are the same, however, and I think this what @CubeAce was referring to in his post directly above, MEP 2017 and MEP 2021's internal engines are totally different.

. . . . Movie Edit pro 17 loads on my current hardware it indicates that it is initailizing the hardware acceleration. When Movie Edit Pro 2021 Premium exports, it indicates hardware acceleration is not available. . . . .

Test conditions are not the same, you have two different conditions, initialising and exporting . HWA on loading does not mean it can be used for exporting.

What does MEP 2017 indicate on exporting?

John EB