MEP 2013 Preloading - slow? ineffective?

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terrypin wrote on 11/20/2012, 2:38 AM

Hi Peter,

I haven't yet been able to study John's folder structure thoroughly. Even when I have, experience tells me I'm going to find it hard going without seeing the CONTENTS of each folder and subfolder, because that's ultimately the only way I can make a meaningful comparison to my own structure. But I will find time to do that soon.

Meanwhile a few notes on my own current file organsation.

All primarily video stuff is in C:\Docs\My Videos (112 folders, 122 GB). (As discussed earlier, perhaps it should be on my second, identical internal HD, for better performance. Whether that's potentially significant enough to justify the conversion effort at this late stage is another matter.)

So all projects are in C:\Docs\My Videos\PROJECTS (117 top level folders, 70 GB). Most of those are almost empty, as I delete all but a few key files like DVD covers, notes, list of music tracks used, etc, when the project is finished. (Sometimes just before I spot a mistake! I'm considering making backups of everything from now on, and storing on my 2 TB external HD.) Exceptions, with significant content, are those projects for which I've been making an MP4 as well as a DVD, something I've been doing for the last year or two. For those I keep the MP4 too in the project folder. That's where I play it from using my WDTV unit to watch it in HD on my TV downstairs. The other obvious exceptions are the one or two projects I'm currently working on. Those grow very large, of course, as I add all extra files I need (maps, web downloads, Google Earth captures, temporary renders, etc, etc). Plus MEP's MV_ files every 10 mins!

The basic media I use (before all those supplementary files, which are usually the majority) is from my Canon Ixus 220 HS digicam. So for example both images (JPG) and movie clips (MOV) for my current small project are in C:\Docs\My Pictures\PHOTOS\BrightonOct2012. Arguably I should put all the digicam's movies into My Videos, but I find the present combined location convenient for fast access, even though PHOTOS is a misnomer.

When I start a project I make a new folder in C:\Docs\My Videos\PROJECTS. I then paste its path into Program Settings > Playback > Folders, both the Projects and Exports boxes. A one-click macro does this automatically once the Explorer folder is chosen. It also identifies that temporarily as 'Current Project Folder'. So I can paste that with a KB hotkey into any File Open or File Save As browser etc, which in practice saves a lot of time. Another macro immediately displays that current project folder in a fixed position on my desktop. Also, the menu offered when right-clicking an image on a web page in Firefox includes the option to save it in that folder, which again can save much navigation time.

The rest of the folder settings are seen here:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4019461/MEP2013-FolderSettings.jpg

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Last changed by terrypin on 11/20/2012, 3:16 AM, changed a total of 3 times.

Terry, East Grinstead, UK. PC: i7 6700K, 4.0 GHz, 32GB with Win 10 pro. Used many earlier versions of MEPP, currently mainly MEPP 2016 & 2017 (Using scores of macro scripts to add functionality, tailored to these versions.)