That's the problem...how are you supposed to time your production properly when you can't view it.

You don't need to see the color correction etc. to time it, do you? Just bypass the FX (very easy if it was done at the track level) when you need to see the timing, and when you want to see the whole thing use the Building Dynamic RAM Preview feature.

The other thing to check for is that your hard drives aren't in PIO mode. They should be in DMA.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device...e/IDE-DMA.mspx

We are at version 7e so I do not think there are any critical bugs left.

It depends on your definition of critical.
Hang around the Sony Vegas forum for a few days and you'll find out that there are still a few bugs, mostly related to HDV editing :-(

I checked, and both HD's are in DMA mode. Is there a difference in performane between SATA and IDE?

I am using an IDE for file storage and the SATA for XP and Vegas

The drive connection type should make little difference.

I looked through this thread and I can't find what specific version of Vegas that Jason is running. Is this HDV with Vegas 7 and has it been patched to at least rev. D? How big is the preview window? Something as simple as a large preview window can choke performance.

I have tried preview from darft-auto to best-full with the same choppy veiwing. I am running Vegas 7e and editing HDV from an A1u

Hi Jason. Someone asked if you were editing DV or HDV? I looked through here and I didn't see where you answered (if I missed it , please accept my apology). I'm not as technically savy as the other respondents, but if you are doing native HDV, I would strongly recommend using Cineform, or something (I think VASST has a similar product - Gear Shift?). I tried raw HDV and without any CC or effects it was doable, but add any effects or transitions, and it was too slow and stuttery to work with. I'm running Vegas 6 on an AMD X2 4200. HDV edits and plays very well using Cineform. Even with lots of CC, etc. playback is mostly real time. Transitions don't play nearly as smooth as they do in the final output, but the time length is very close and easy to judge. I even have the scopes on all the time. I never knew they caused a drop in performance until I read through this thread - goes to show you learn something new everyday :) Anyways, Good Luck - PK

In Vegas 7, HDV performance via playback is actually typically better than using Cineform. I have used both on the Vegas timeline and native .m2t's actually are a little more smooth...

Jon

Eh? Not on mine -- smoother/less strain when using Cineform files...

I run an old P4-2Ghz 94yrs old now) with 2GB RAM and a Geforce with dual Dvi LCDs.. no problems with fades or effects.. (no motion blur please!).. I can preview nicely even on the secondary monitor.. even with a live video scope running for colour correction.

It is much better than in Vegas 6 when I couldnt even preview m2t properly. I had to use Gearshift then but now I can edit m2t on the fly. I find it strange why a superior setup like yours r having issues.. Oh I have to mention I render to a firewire connected external HDD.

Jason

Try increasing your audio buffering.
Options - Preferences - Audio Device

Playback Buffering (seconds) set to 1.00

tick "enable track buffering"
Track Buffering (seconds) set to 1.00

Sometimes the stuttering can be caused by the audio (sound card) trying to play catchup with the video. Increasing the buffering will, well, kind of load more audio each time, so it has to do it less often, opening more processing time for the video.

Worth a try

You may also need to hit the "Advanced" button. Midway down, change "Audio Buffers" to maybe 6. This setting depends on your audio card, the drivers it is using, etc., etc.

Thanks, I'll try that...if it doesn't work, I can always use the RAM preview just for the transitions/fades etc.

I'm completely with you in the agony of not seeing things real time.


A couple notes under Preferences/Preview Device:

You mentioned your second monitor runs off the video card. That would imply the preview device being set to Windows Secondary Display, not OHCI 1394/DV device.

Down at the bottom, it made a big difference for my setup (previewing over OHCI 1394 device) to DESELECT this: "Display frames in video preview window during playback."


Maybe it will smooth things out a bit.