Premiere Essentials 10 versus the Vegas Equivalent

[braindeadsoftwareguy]

Here ya' go - http://muvipix.com/cpg/albums/userpics/21167/DxDiag.zip

In retrospect, you could have just attached the file to your post

How does one go directly to the post without the link, and also it asked for a destination and I chose userpics, was that the right thing to do?

[Dave McElderry]

That's really great! The dog seemed to like it too. An interesting effect where the frame is shrinking but suddenly takes a jump in size. Never saw anyone do that before (that I can recall).

[braindeadsoftwareguy]

That's really great! The dog seemed to like it too. An interesting effect where the frame is shrinking but suddenly takes a jump in size. Never saw anyone do that before (that I can recall).

Well it's all a fluke I had it smooth with Photo Story 3 on my pc, but uploading it made it jumpy. Maybe something gets messed up going to their flash format.
I have some other odds and ends videos there too on "harveyclips" my favorite is my Roadstar motorcycle ride one. Just a little point and shoot camera with video and Movie Maker to edit.

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Brain,
You are running a Dell Dimension 3000, that is a pretty old machine with a P4 3.0 GHZ processor and 2GB of RAM. Your video card is pretty up to date but the processor is very slow compared to today's standards. If you are trying to edit high definition video, 720p or above, you will have many issues using that workstation sorry to say.

For editing standard definition video that workstation will do just fine.

[braindeadsoftwareguy]

Hi Brain,
You are running a Dell Dimension 3000, that is a pretty old machine with a P4 3.0 GHZ processor and 2GB of RAM. Your video card is pretty up to date but the processor is very slow compared to today's standards. If you are trying to edit high definition video, 720p or above, you will have many issues using that workstation sorry to say.

For editing standard definition video that workstation will do just fine.

Did you look at someone else's info? Mine is even worse. It is a Medion computer and it is 2.8GHz and only 1.5 Ram. I had stuck in a newer graphics card later on as my wife couldn't get newer video games to function well.
I would be described by psychologists as a "Slow Processor". A term used widely now. For me to have a computer with a slow processor, is probably quite appropriate It is this trait in me that makes me slow at learning this kind of stuff.
When I watch tutorials online, the presenters are usually flapping theirs lips and the cursor is a flyin'. I cannot keep up at all. My learning style is hands on. I need to be sitting in front of the screen, and someone with patience, needs to explain, while I do the motions. Then it works for me.

[Chuck Engels]

That's what I got from the text file from DXDiag in the post above.
Even so, if those are your specs above and you are trying to edit High Definition video it won't work very well at all.

As far as tutorials go, dual monitors come in really handy that way. You can open the application on one monitor and run the tutorial on a second monitor, pause as you need to and actually duplicate whatever the instructor is doing at the same time. Might be worth thinking about if you don't have local classes available.

[Bob]

Hi Pete! It is Pete, isn't it?

Yeah, at some point you are probably going to want to get a new computer. There are a couple of issues.

The processor is one issue. Video is very processor intensive. If you have a slower processor, it will take longer to edit and output your videos. Too slow, and it can affect playback in the editor. Newer technology processors have a higher throughput than the older ones even at the same clock speed. What you have should be ok for standard definition video and dvds, but it's definitely underpowered for high definition.

Memory is another issue. You only have 1.5 GB of RAM. That's plenty for web browsing, email, and your typical light use of office apps. Video editors need to keep more data in memory. How much memory will depend on the amount and type of video you are editing, the number of effects and transistions being used, the number of tracks used, and other factors such as how many still photos you included and how big they are. Applications don't use RAM directly, they use what is called virtual memory and the operating system will store that on your hard drive when not needed and bring it into RAM when it is. The problem is that if you don't have enough RAM, the constant saving and reading from the hard drive may slow down your system considerably. I don't have enough information to say whether your current amount of RAM is sufficient or whether getting more RAM will help.

Your hard drives are another issue. You have two hard drives, both small by today's standards. Your C: drive has the most available space and has an NTFS file system. Your D: drive is much smaller, has less free space, and has a FAT file system. Your D: drive is probably not going to be usable for anything other than very small video projects. FAT has a limit to how large your final video file can be, and video editing uses lots of temporary files. You'll likely run into fragmentation and space shortages on that drive. NTFS on the C: drive doesn't have the FAT limitations, but you'll be competing with the hard drive access from the operating system and that can possibly slow down the entire computer. When you get around to replacing your computer, look for one with a second drive that you can place your video projects on and keep them off of the system drive (C:).

You probably have programs running in the background that you don't even know about. The operating system itself runs some processes to perform needed functions. But, commercially produced computers ususally come with "extras" that may have components that start up automatically when you start your computer. Those take up memory and cpu power and it would be a good idea to periodically review and cleanup. The less running, the more power available for what you do want to run.

The problem you were describing in another thread where the desktop/background was showing in your timeline is an indication that your system is severly overtaxed. It's not putting the desktop/background into the video, it just can't refresh and paint the proper images on the screen because the system can't process them fast enough. I suspect it's more to do with low ram and background programs than other things. Try defragging the C: drive and clean up your system. See what happens.

[braindeadsoftwareguy]

Thank you Bob for the run-down on my computer specs. At this juncture, the best I could do is max out the RAM with more cards, as we are not prepared for a new unit. I would be ok with low-def at this time as it is more home movie type stuff I'd be doing. If I felt I had climbed up the curve one day, then maybe by then, I could buy new, or when this computer buys the farm.

I am pretty deligent about cleaning up the computer. I have Window Washer and Norton Utilities. I am frequently de-fragging, cleaning out the start-up, de-fragging the registry, and compacting it also. After my one and only feeble attempt the other day with instant movie, I checked my de-frag and the before graph was more red than I'd seen before. (I like that about XP, you can see what's happening) Some styles of video games my wife plays, also fragment the computer. She has moved more to game consols now for the most part.

Even though I clean up the start up and rid myself of unwanted processes, I did figure to turn off programs that I do have on start-up when I did my attempt. Things like Skype, MSN messenger, etc.

[braindeadsoftwareguy]

Bob, I was looking on line for specs for an editing computer, and it showed various levels, depending one's needs. If I don't plan on professional production, but just some quality home project, or YouTube uploads, then where do you think I should start? I noticed Fire-Wire mentioned as well.