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Another question about jerky playback

Feb 18, 2010 7:15 AM

Hi, I'm using a brand new 64-bit Windows laptop with Quad Core i7-720QM processor (1.6 GHz—up to 2.8 with turbo boost). I have 6 GB ddr3 and an nVidia GeForce GT 230M video card with 1 GB dedicated graphics memory. I'm using an AVCHD camcorder (Canon VIXIA HF20). I'm getting jerky playback. It improved dramatically when I changed my screen resolution to what PE 8 recommends, but the playback is still not quite there. All my AVCHD clips play back fine with Windows Media Player. First off, my computer should be able to handle this, right? If yes, then what exactly do I need to do to get the turbo boost to kick in for that extra processing power? Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

-Patrick

885 Views   14 Replies   Latest reply: peebes555, Feb 20, 2010 10:22 AM
 
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  • Kodebuster
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    1. Kodebuster,
    Feb 18, 2010 7:33 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    AVCHD is a highly compressed video format, that is a CPU resource hog to process within PE.

     

    I'm not familiar with your laptop CPU model, but I'm inclined to guess it may be shy of what's recommended for this format.

     

    That said, you should Render the clip for improved viewing (with the clip on the Timeline, highlight it, then press Enter to Render).

     

    If that does not clear it up, you may want to look at converting the video to reduce the stress placed on your system.

     

    View this FAQ for details:

     

    http://forums.adobe.com/thread/390605?tstart=0

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    2. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 18, 2010 8:39 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    I have no idea how this might apply to PrE, but here's a TIP for optimizing PrPro CS4 for AVCHD footage.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    3. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 18, 2010 8:41 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    Here is an ARTICLE on setting up one's computer for an editing session. Maybe some of the tips in it will help.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • John T Smith
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    4. John T Smith,
    Feb 18, 2010 8:46 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    >a brand new 64-bit Windows laptop

     

    How about posting the exact brand/model and ALL hardware details... such as how many hard drives and their speeds???

     

    Many (most?) laptops use 5400rpm drives to save power and generate less heat

     

    Video editing, especially AVCHD files, requires AT LEAST two 7200rpm drives... that is two PHYSICAL drives, not one drive with partitions... and many people use 3 drives for stratch and data files, or a RAID system for the files

     

    Trying to edit AVCHD on a laptop that is not specifically designed for video editing is going to be problematic

     
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  • peebes555
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    5. peebes555,
    Feb 18, 2010 8:46 AM   in reply to Kodebuster
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    With that in mind, how long would you think would be an acceptable time to wait for a 20-minute bit of AVCHD footage to render? Mine's showing that it'll take 3+ hours.

     
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  • peebes555
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    6. peebes555,
    Feb 18, 2010 9:06 AM   in reply to John T Smith
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    a brand new 64-bit Windows laptop

    How about posting the exact brand/model and ALL hardware details... such as how many hard drives and their speeds???

     

    Thanks for your honest answer. I have no problems admitting I'm a novice and please, spare no bluntness. I'd like to figure out how to get this done.

     

    With that in mind, here are the specs, copied straight from HP.com:

     

    Product Namedv7-3085dx
    Product NumberVM188UA#ABA
    Microprocessor1.60 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor
    Microprocessor Cache6MB L2 Cache
    Memory6144MB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
    Memory Max8192MB
    Video GraphicsNvidia GeForce GT 230M ( NB10P GE) discrete 1024MB up to 2815MB total graphics memory
    Video Memoryith 1024MB dedicated
    Hard Drive500GB (7200RPM)
    Multimedia DriveLightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with Double Layer Support
    Display17.3” Diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
    Fax/ModemHigh speed 56k modem
    Network CardIntegrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
    Wireless Connectivity
    • Intel WiFi Link 5100AGN
    Sound
    • Altec Lansing with SRS Premium Sound and Sub-Woofer
    Keyboard101-key compatible with full size keyboard with integrated numeric keypad
    Pointing DeviceTouch Pad with On/Off button and dedicated vertical scroll Up/Down pad
    PC Card Slots1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
    External Ports
    • 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for Secure Digital cards, MultiMedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
    • 4 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0, 4th port shared with eSATA
    • 2 Headphone out
    • 1 microphone-in
    • HDMI
    • 1 VGA (15-pin)
    • eSATA + USB 2.0
    • 1 RJ-11 (modem)
    • 1 RJ -45 (LAN)
    • 1 notebook expansion port 3
    • 1 IEEE 1394
    • irewire (4-pin)
    • 1 Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)
    Other Devices
    • HP Webcam with integrated digital microphone
    Dimensions16.2" (W) x 10.9" (D) x 1.37" (min H)/1.70" (max H)
    Weight7.74 lbs
    Security
    • Kensington MicroSaver lock slot
    • Power-on password
    • Accepts 3rd party security lock devices
    Power
    • 120W AC Adapter
    • 8-Cell Lithium-Ion battery
    What's In The BoxHP Mobile Remote Control

     

    Thanks in advance.

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    7. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 18, 2010 9:06 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    Rendering time will be highly dependent on one's system, including the I/O sub-system, i.e. the system's HDD's, their speed, the controller type, free space and how these are allocated.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    8. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 18, 2010 9:08 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    With a single HDD, even though a 72K RPM drive, everything will be fighting to gain access to it - the OS, program, Page File, media files and Render files. Things will be slow.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • John T Smith
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    9. John T Smith,
    Feb 18, 2010 10:16 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    Some comments...

     

    i7 processor is good... I don't know that particular model, so it MAY be "just barely" powerful enough for AVCHD

     

    6Gig of ram is good... I presume 3each 2Gig sticks, since DDR3 ram is in sets of 3

     

    eSATA is what may help the most, since only one physical hard drive is a definite bottleneck, as programs and data fight for access

     

    Look into getting an external 7200rpm eSATA drive, with a fan in the housing, and recreate your project with all data and scratch files on the external

     

    Once you have an eSATA drive connected and recreate your project(s) come back with a report

     

    Also... and here I have to wait for someone with more knowledge to add in... I have read of LOTS of problems with "some" nVidia drivers

     

    So... be sure you have one of the GOOD nVidia device drivers... which you may already have, if you aren't having crashing or display problems

     
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  • Kodebuster
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    10. Kodebuster,
    Feb 18, 2010 12:28 PM   in reply to peebes555
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    Interesting laptop spec's, this seems to be the latest i7-Core Mobile CPU technology.

     

    Here is a quick review on this gem from Intel:

     

    http://hothardware.com/Articles/Intel-Core-i7-Mobile-Processor-Launch- Review/

     

    So I now learned that this is Intel's Quad Core implementation for Notebooks.

     

    Once AVCHD is optimized for PE with correct Project Settings and tuning, it would be interesting for your view on how PE performs with this Laptop system.

     

    My gut tells me that your unit will continue to be on the low side of Quad recommendations for AVCHD and PE.

     

    For me personally, anything that would take 3 plus hours to Render for 20 minutes of video, would test my patience to the breaking point.

     

    Again, don't forget the possibility of a convert to HDV, which might bring your workflow back to something that's a little more reasonable...

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    11. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 18, 2010 4:47 PM   in reply to John T Smith
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    Look into getting an external 7200rpm eSATA drive, with a fan in the housing, and recreate your project with all data and scratch files on the external

    I do agree on the eSATA externals. One will also need probably an eSATA ExpressCard, unless the laptop has one built-in. I use FW-800's, though the laptop has 3x SATA II's internals, as I migrate Projects between the laptop and the workstation. Were I not so heavily invested in the FW-800's, I would definitely go with eSATA's.

     

    Now, I do not think that one will have to recreate the Project - with one caveat. When you have the eSATA hooked up, and tested, just Move the entire folder structure over to the external. You will want to make sure to get the Scratch Disks, and the Assets.

     

    The caveat - your drive letter will have changed. When you launch PrE and then Open your Project on the eSATA drive, PrE will not be able to find the Assets initially, but will help you locate them, to relink to them. Since you will know the new drive letter for the eSATA, you have a starting point. Since you have Moved the full folder structure, you will be able to navigate easily to that. When you locate the first needed Asset in a folder, PrE will look through its list of links and link to all Assets in that folder. If you do, as I do, and have sub-folders for say, Still Images, Videos, Audio, Music, you will have to navigate to each of those sub-folders, but PrE will gather up all Assets in each of those, when you point it to the first.

     

    Because PrE will locate all needed Assets in each of the folders, this does not take long. When done, I would do a Save_As and name my Project with "New," or something else, just to keep that old Project file untouched.

     

    Good luck,

     

    Hunt

     
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  • peebes555
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    12. peebes555,
    Feb 19, 2010 8:51 AM   in reply to Bill Hunt
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    Thanks to all of you for your help. This gives me some options and I think this laptop will work fine with the tweaks, additions and modifications you recommended.

     
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  • Bill Hunt
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    13. Bill Hunt,
    Feb 19, 2010 9:40 AM   in reply to peebes555
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    Good luck. Other than the tiny screen (17" and I normally use dual-21" CRT's on the workstation), I love editing on the laptop, because I can do it out by the pool!!!!

     

    Since you are not invested in other connection types, I strongly recommend eSATA, as the throughput will be very close to that of your internals. Do check that your BIOS can support SATA. If your internal is SATA, you should be good to go.

     

    Hunt

     
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  • peebes555
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    14. peebes555,
    Feb 20, 2010 10:22 AM   in reply to Kodebuster
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    Again, don't forget the possibility of a convert to HDV, which might bring your workflow back to something that's a little more reasonable...

     

    Sounds good. My camera runs mts files. What type of files do you think I should convert them to?

     

    TIA

     
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