Please Sony fix memory handling in Vegas
 

I know this has been discussed endlessly, but it bears repeating, since we seem on the verge of the release of a new version of Vegas:

Please, Sony Creative Software Team, before you add any feature or fix any other bug, great or small, fix one thing. Memory handling.

As it stands, every time I try to render our feature film, a 90-minute piece in 720P, the memory builds until the render fails and an error message comes up. We've managed workarounds, rendering the feature to 9 sections and bringing it into Final Cut Pro as Quicktime JPEG2000 reels for final renders, but I want to stay in Vegas every step of the way. And for people without access to separate systems, I don't know what people are doing.

But kudos to SCS for an otherwise exceptional effort maintaining and upgrading what I consider the most forward-thinking and creatively satisfying NLE out there.

Mark Holmes
San Diego, California
Ready? Ok! - Official Website of the Feature Film

Mark, I've not noticed that in 2 hour projects here. What's your source? What's your destination? Are you using lots of photos? What's your dynamic RAM setting (small numbers are good for rendering if there's any memory issues)?

I would almost bet his issue happens when using 32bit settings. I've not experienced the issue of renders stopping except then, and that is only sometimes. Also, MB effects seems to crash some folks, expecially with 32 bit settings.

At any rate, with 8 bit settings I have never in several years had an issue with memory handling, and most all of the well over 150 - 200 projects I've had were over 2 hours in length.

Edward, that's the frustrating thing about my problem, which has gone on for over a year. You are not the only one who insists there is no problem. To answer your question, the source was an HVX-200 shooting DVCProHD at 24P, 720. The project is a feature film with limited color correction using Vegas' built-in filters. We've used Raylight to handle the MXF issues. My most recent attempt (I've tried many times to render this and other projects) was being sent to an external USB-connected hard drive, but the vast majority of renders were sent to an internal SATA II hard drive. There are no photos on the timeline until a small section about 60 minutes in, which no render has ever reached. My dynamic RAM preview is set at 512, but I've tried changing it multiple times to no avail. I think it's possible that the problems I and others have experienced is based on some kind of hardware conflict, but I haven't been able to track it down. I've even gone so far as to flash the BIOS on my ASUS motherboard trying to fix this. The reason I tried a render yesterday was that I just switched and expanded the amount of the RAM in the system, so it doesn't seem to be memory... God only knows.

Have you had luck recently rendering large projects like this in 8.0c? If so, what is your source and what hardware are you having good luck with. My next "fix" is going to be building a new system, using a Core i7, and I want to build a system based on specs from people who have NOT had problems with long renders...


Jeff, I've only used 8-bit since an initial frustrating attempt using 32-bit, so that's not the problem. Since you have had success with long projects with 8.0c, do you mind if I ask what your hardware setup is?

And Edward and Jeff, both, thanks for the input.

Mark

Mark, I do understand the frustration. For example with my setup 8.1 doesn't work properly, and that is with three differenct pcs. Go figure. I don't care that much about 8.1, so it is no biggie for me though.

But anyway, I've not had your issues on any of four or five PCs, so I don't know if my particular setup would help much.

I do know that I switched to using non-Nvidia video cards and it took care of some small issues I had, but that has been over a year ago and I can't remember the details.

You could try for kicks switching out your video card. How could it be the source of the memory issue? I don't have any idea, but at this point it seems you've eliminated a lot of other things. I've read about changing video cards helping others with Vegas in strange ways, maybe it would help you!

Mark, I wonder if the problem could be related to Raylight? It is possibly another piece in the puzzle that others are not encountering if they are using straight HDV or XDCAM.

Just on that note, how was your experience with Vegas and Raylight on long-form projects? You satisfied with how they worked together (apart from this possible issue)?

More generally, did you encounter any significant workflow/logistical issues in Vegas handling the large volume of media that goes with a feature? Did you used MediaManager for clip management?

Curious to hear your experiences.

Hope you sort out your render crash.

marks

Mark, have you tried disabling your page file and giving it a go?

The vast majority of my projects have been DV. The last project I did was multi-cam AVCHD HD from a Panasonic camera. So Raylight is something I've never used.