movie edit pro 17 pc requirements for smooth operation of 1920x1080 video footage

kbphoto wrote on 7/19/2011, 12:34 PM

I am trying to edit a 5 minute interview shot with two camera angles on a Canon 5D MII and 60D at 1920x1080 24fps. I am using Win 7Pro, 64bit dual core processor, 8GB Ram and a 4GB Cheater (readyboost). I have synched the footage up and deleted one audio track. These are the only items in the project at this time and it will not play smoothly from start to finish. Audio plays continuously most times while video footage lags. Sometimes even the audio runs choppy.

Am I doing something in a less than efficient manner or is this the nature of working with 1920x1080P HD video.

Many Thanks For any Advice!

Comments

john-auvil wrote on 7/19/2011, 12:44 PM

This is the nature, but you can help it out some.

Remember, Movie Edit Pro is not a playback software, it is an editor that must read, store the information for each and every pixel of a imported video, where as a player such as Windows Media Player is just playing the file, not reading for edit.

What is your graphics card?

All the memory is a good thing, but the weakest link could be the graphics card. The demand of AVCHD is huge on the system, but in all the works I have done (hour long productions of 1920x1080 29.97fps have turned out great. I just cannot do much playback for editing purpose because the system I have which is less (much less) than yours struggles with that video type playback in Movie Edit Pro.

My exported results though, seem to be flawless. Burned Blu-rays are excellent. I am pleased with the results.

kbphoto wrote on 7/19/2011, 1:38 PM

Thanks John!

I am using an Nvidia GeForce GT220 video card 4057 MB and have wondered if it is the cause. My need for playback is to edit between angles choosing where to cut back and forth. And totally agree the exports are flawless. Its just so hard to be exact on transitions when it runs choppy.

david wrote on 7/19/2011, 2:09 PM

kbphoto,

In File > Settings you might try changing the resolution to 1/2. has helped me.

David

johnebaker wrote on 7/19/2011, 4:27 PM

For HD editing I would recommend a Quad core processor, a second internal hard drive to store the data to be edited - reason being HD requires a lot of processor power, the second hard drive will ensure your system drive has a longer lifespan - video editing is very punishing on hard drives. I would not even contemplate HD editing using an external USB HDD, only for backup - see below for reason.

Also could you explain how you are using the Cheater (readyboost) for Win 7 64bit (I presume you meant the 64 bit OS)

I would not expect any significant improvement in performance as USB memory card/stick is not as fast as RAM or HDD. My opinion only and I stand to be corrected

Just for information the theoretical maximum data rate in USB 2.0 is 480 Mbit/s approx 48 MB/s (there are control bits transmitted as well as the data) per controller and is shared amongst all attached devices.

kbphoto wrote on 7/19/2011, 4:50 PM

Thanks David - did help but did not completely fix - it is better though! :)

John B - Thanks! The techs at Magix agree with you - seems A Quad 2.8Ghz is a min requirement for HD Video. I have a 775 Socket and did find a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 2.83GHz Processor - BX80580Q9505 for $235. I expect it to be a plug and play change with my current Intel duo core with no bios or win 7 pro issues to deal with - AM I A FOOL TO THINK THIS????

We are using E-Sata Docking stations as we are a commercial studio and fill up a TB every two months. This makes it easier to hit the archives. Would you attempt to edit video off an Esata to PCI connection? What about USB 3.0. I really appreciate the info on ware and tare of system drive. I never would have guessed and can easily toss a 2TB Video processing drive into my system - I gots 5 HD bays and 10 SATA Sockets

On the memory stick - I guess I was hoping additional anything plugged in would benefit.

MANY THANKS FOLKS!

Scenestealer wrote on 7/19/2011, 6:48 PM

Hi kbphoto

I presume you are using the Multicam feature of MEP17 which I have never used but I notice there are a couple of settings in the "program settings > playback tab" that have some effect on this feature. While you are there make sure "wave driver" is selected as "direct sound" makes my playback choppier. I have a Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83Ghz in my machine overclocked to 3.6Ghz but I still get choppy playback from time to time depending what effects / transitions I have on the timeline, even with MPEGHD.

Esata should have exactly the same throughput as an internal Sata drive as it is normally connected to the same ports/controller inside the computer and I use an external Esata enclosure myself. It sounds like you are connecting through a Sata PCI card/controller though and I am not sure if there is any bottle neck there but I do not think so.

As for the ready boost - I am running 4GB ram and 4GB ready boost without a swap file on my hard drives and find this gives me marginally better performance but as John has pointed out, this is theoretically "slow". Bear in mind though that there are faster and slower types of USB sticks out there. I use an 8GB Toshiba "Trans memory" stick.

kbphoto wrote on 7/20/2011, 8:59 AM

Thanks SS - good info. I ended up abandoning the multicam feature due to a loss of synch issue it created with perfectly synched footage. Wasted a few hours and nerves - maybe your on to something not using that feature?

kbphoto wrote on 7/25/2011, 8:41 PM

Thanks to all who replied. I decided the best solution was building a new computer - 6 core processor 3.4Ghz, 16GB Ram etc. A dual core was not fast enough to handle 1920x1080P without video lag