Dell G5 Desktop with Intel i7-10700F (10th gen) 8 core 16M Cache 2.7- 4.8 GHz 16GB Ram GPU NVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super w/ 6GB VRAM All Drivers up-to-date
Rendering to MP4 1080p 29.97 is slow. Rendering window always shows "no hardware encoding" I suspect main CPU is still being used for processing video. How can I activate hardware encoding to utilise the GPU correctly??
That's a pretty impressive CPU but it doesn't include an on-chip GPU so Hardware Encoding, which requires an Intel iGPU, isn't available, sorry.
Jeff
Hi
. . . . . How can I activate hardware encoding to utilise the GPU correctly? . . . .
To add to @emmrecs comment:
For MP4/AVCHD encoded h.264/AVC you can't for the reason Jeff stated.
Currently the only export format available in VPX that supports Hardware Acceleration using NVENC on the GTX 1660 is HEVC/h.265.
John EB
Thx for the input. It appears that Magix advertising is misleading, as it implies that the Infusion Engine 2 will benefit form graphic cards by NVIDIA, Intel or AMD?????????????????:
"INFUSION Engine 2 The new engine that powers Movie Edit Pro 2021 now offers hardware support for graphics cards by Intel, NVIDIA and AMD. The result is a seamless project preview without the need for time-consuming rendering or creating proxy files. Discover the INFUSION Engine 2
Read more: https://www.magix.com/ca/sem/movie-edit-pro/" Please explain.
Greetings Jonboy,
Welcome to the world of not being able to use hardware encoding with MEP.
The operative word in your quotes is "preview". Apparently it's not misleading but it's marketing and it does not refer to encoding. It has been mooted that encoding to file is not actually editing, something I wholly disagree with.
If you search the forum there are many people slightly miffed by the lack of HW encoding with any card other than Intel. For every one person that's commented here there must be hundreds that suffer in silence.
There's not a lot we can do, other than question anything that Magix's marketing write about MEP. What they say is absolutely correct, what they don't say is the problem.
That's marketing for you.
Just my two pen'th.
AndyW
Hi
Andy beat me to it, however to add to Andy's comment:
When reading specs and advertising it is important to note what is not said as much as what is said - nowhere in the advertising blurb or the system specifications does it say that Nvidia and AMD GPUs can be used for export acceleration.
John EB
I think we need a sticky on this forum explaining exactly what MEP uses and when. The current sales blurb is downright confusing/vague/misleading, especially now that Intel is producing high-end CPUs without integrated graphics. Sure, if you're an expert, you can, after reading the sales text a few times, work out what is what, but the average Joe could not reasonably be expected to pick up on the info that's in this thread from the Magix literature.
AAProds - I absolutely agree. Magix is not stupid - but their Marketing blurbs are misleading - especially for "average Joe's" - as you suggest. I have sent a complaint to US, Canadian and Berlin Sales re this nonsense, and also on their Facebook page, where my note was promptly removed. More honesty is needed.
Hi
. . . . but their Marketing blurbs are misleading . . . .
It is typical marketing speak which always points out the advantages - the legal requirement is that advertising must not make any false claims.
As I said above it is important to note what is not said as much as what is said - this goes for any product you see advertised.
John EB
@jonboy834 Now that we've got that off our chests 😂 I'm interested in how fast your CPU-only encoding is. If you don't mind me asking, how long does it take you to encode say one minute of moving video into MPEG-4 at 1920x1080 25FPS with an average bitrate of 10,000kbps?
Thanks, Al
From Magix Berlin: "Thank you for your message. The forum user has answered your question correctly. Your CPU does not have an IntelHD Graphics chip and this is needed to use hardware encoding with h.264 material. The quote from the advertisement refers to hardware decoding (playback) but Intel also means an Intel graphics chip. Hardware acceleration always uses a graphics card, which is missing in your processor. I understand that this is annoying but it is not misleading. Your Nvidia card can only be used for NVENC in Video Pro X via HEVC (h.265) encoding."
Now compare that with the Magix adverts: "INFUSION Engine 2 The new engine that powers Movie Edit Pro 2021 now offers hardware support for graphics cards by Intel, NVIDIA and AMD. The result is a seamless project preview without the need for time-consuming rendering or creating proxy files. Discover the INFUSION Engine 2"
Very clever wording - Magix is not to be trusted.
. . . . Very clever wording - Magix is not to be trusted. . . . .
No - it is your interpretation that is amiss.
The information you are selectively not highlighting is in the next sentence:
. . . . The new engine that powers Movie Edit Pro 2021 now offers hardware support for graphics cards by Intel, NVIDIA and AMD. The result is a seamless project preview without the need for time-consuming rendering or creating proxy files. . . . . .
Any further discussion on this is pointless.
John EB
Forum Moderator
John EB - I do appreciate the Forum for the honest input by Users. Let's just agree that Magix advert is very appealing - but open to mis-interpretation. I read it differently than you. Based on the foregoing Forum comments, it seems that some other gullible users of Magix have fallen into the same trap and would welcome more precise language from Magix.
eg " If you search the forum there are many people slightly miffed by the lack of HW encoding with any card other than Intel. For every one person that's commented here there must be hundreds that suffer in silence. There's not a lot we can do, other than question anything that Magix's marketing write about MEP. What they say is absolutely correct, what they don't say is the problem."
and also "I think we need a sticky on this forum explaining exactly what MEP uses and when. The current sales blurb is downright confusing/vague/misleading, especially now that Intel is producing high-end CPUs without integrated graphics. Sure, if you're an expert, you can, after reading the sales text a few times, work out what is what, but the average Joe could not reasonably be expected to pick up on the info that's in this thread from the Magix literature."
Based on these perceptions, John EB, I think maybe you should follow up with Magix. Thx again.
AAProds wrote on 1/28/2021, 3:23 AM @jonboy834 Now that we've got that off our chests 😂 I'm interested in how fast your CPU-only encoding is. If you don't mind me asking, how long does it take you to encode say one minute of moving video into MPEG-4 at 1920x1080 25FPS with an average bitrate of 10,000kbps?
I just test-rendered a 1 minute movie (no contrast, brightness, sharpness etc no transitions,no titles etc) to MP4 at 29.97fps 1920x 1080 etc With no hardare encoding, it took 1 min 40 secs approx. Based on Magix comments re h.265 advantages, I then downloaded the patch for HEVC and rendered the same movie (no effects, no transitions,no titles etc). It took approx 1 min 53 secs.
Greetings,
I agree that we're just going round in circles.
We don't like Magix's (possibly) questionable marketing speak and i can't see Magix changing it.
Back in October 2020, after falling into the snare of buying MEP2021 only to find my Nvidia 2060 was inadequate for HW encoding, I resolved to email Magix sales and ask the question "is hardware encoding available on GPU's other than Intel?" whenever I start a new service contract.
Obviously this is a bit of a faff, but I can ask if its "on the cards" and, depending on the answer, wait until it is.
Or just buy a different editor. Or buy a new computer / processor. Or put up with being a second class user unloved by the megalith that is Magix.
AndyW
ps - Alwyn. re MP4 encoding (no Intel) I average 2:1 - twice the video time for encoding. How does that compare?
pps - I don't think megalith is the word I want, but it's late here and it will do.
Hi Andy.
Your question to Alwyn is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string? as the answer is 'It depends'.
I have a fully compliant system for MEP and VPX although I'm sure there are even better system configurations out there.
A lot depends on the effects used and amount of tracks in use as well as the resolution and bit rate of the material used and the export quality / resolution settings. I exported a project today that was 4.06GBs in size at 3840 x 2160 resolution 50fps and involved around sixteen tracks of video with a separate music audio track. It took two hours and sixteen minutes but was loaded with effects. I could do a similar project but with less tracks and effects and it could be done in just over ten minutes.
Projects only using HD material are much faster as are projects that use less frames per second in their source material and export settings.
For project rendering, MEP and VPX are not the fastest video editors out there for a given machine specification but possibly one of the easiest to get along with and learn quickly. It is also relatively stable and flexible, if the machine can cope, despite some of the threads you may see here suggesting otherwise or I would have abandoned it long ago.
Ray.
Ray: You make a good point - more processing requires longer time etc
PS What is VPX? Is it this: https://connecttech.com/product-category/form-factors/vpx/
I just test-rendered a 1 minute movie (no contrast, brightness, sharpness etc no transitions,no titles etc) to MP4 at 29.97fps 1920x 1080 etc With no hardare encoding, it took 1 min 40 secs approx. Based on Magix comments re h.265 advantages, I then downloaded the patch for HEVC and rendered the same movie (no effects, no transitions,no titles etc). It took approx 1 min 53 secs.
Jon, thanks for that. About 6 times faster than my i5-750 for the MP4 and about 20 times faster for the HEVC!
I exported a project today that was 4.06GBs in size at 3840 x 2160 resolution 50fps and involved around sixteen tracks of video with a separate music audio track. It took two hours and sixteen minutes but was loaded with effects.
Ray, you missed the most important detail: how long was the video?
I agree that we're just going round in circles.
Andy, I am trying to stop this by suggesting that a detailed, written-in-English, guide be put here so people understand MEP will be like for them re iGPUs and external GPUs.
Hi Alwyn.
It was seven minutes twenty three seconds. I don't know if that is the most important detail though. Does which Intel GPU version used make a difference or the use of a second GPU and which one? Does ram speed make a difference or the number of cores or clock speeds of the CPU? We know different effects have a big impact on export times and possibly makes the most difference in time taken to render when exporting.
Personally I have no idea based on system variations alone..
Maybe a straight cut, no effects, single track export may be a better guide for a given resolution, fps, and known bit rate set of files would be a better comparison guide for a given export setting. That would leave the result variation in peoples answers down to a given system performance but I think that is doubtful as well.
How would that compare to a real life project that most people would experience anyway?
We do know the higher end the system is when taking in the programs technical requirements, the faster the export time seems to be for a given project. How far that goes or is relevant I'm not sure.
If you are working at 25 frames per second at 1080 x 1920 the result is going to be many times faster than working at 50fps at 3840 x 2160 for certain. At least, until you add effects.
Ray.
Hi All
If you guys are testing encoding times without the benefit of HW Accel. then try comparing the Intel encoder to the Main Concept Mpeg4 encoder. I have always found the MC (Software Only) 3 or more times faster than the Intel (without HWA).
Peter
Hi
. . . . I just test-rendered a 1 minute movie (no contrast, brightness, sharpness etc no transitions,no titles etc) to MP4 at 29.97fps 1920x 1080 etc With no hardare encoding, it took 1 min 40 secs approx. Based on Magix comments re h.265 advantages, I then downloaded the patch for HEVC and rendered the same movie (no effects, no transitions,no titles etc). It took approx 1 min 53 secs. . . . .
When testing like this please include details of the source video format frame rate and encoding, the preset used for export and any changes you made to it .
For example using the same - 5 video clips only to make a 1 min movie my source videos are 1920 x 1080, 25 fps, AVC encoded 5.1, Surround Sound, no effects transitions etc used:
My computer spec is in my signature - however do note that source video types and hardware setup can influence the results eg in my case I am using 3 drives
OS and programs (7200 rpm, 2TB, 256 MB cache)
Source data disk and Output data disk - both 4TB 5200 RPM drive with 256 MB cache - these have turned out to be much faster then the previous 7200 rpm drives with a 64MB cache I had.
I also have to agree with @Scenestealer comment re using the MC codec - however there is a personal choice in using this - I prefer the Intel encoded video to the MC encoded - Peter, I believe holds the opposite view(?)
John EB
Hi all,
May I suggest that as a starting point, everyone use the Demo project that comes with MEP/VPX?
Perhaps the Moderators could ask Magix to start distributing a 4K version.
John CB
Hi
. . . . . Perhaps the Moderators could ask Magix to start distributing a 4K version. . . . .
Done.
John EB
@Scenestealer @AAProds @jonboy834 @johnebaker @emmrecs @me_again
Hi Alwyn.
I exported the same project I mentioned above again with the exact same settings as before but with all hardware acceleration turned off and using the video for windows option rather than Direct X. Rebooted the program before starting as needed for the alterations to take effect. The export time this time around was three hours fifty nine minutes but despite me turning off all hardware acceleration the nvidia GPU was used on sections that had the 3D distortion effect in them. It was the highest performance hit I have ever witnessed of my nvidia card, often peaking at 99% usage although next to no vram was registered as being used. I assume without the nvidia card kicking in the export time would have been even longer.
Short of taking the GPU out or disabling it in the PC I have no idea how to prevent that from happening.
I also agree with John EB that the types of drives and how many in use also make a difference. Program was on the C: NVMe Samsung 980 Pro drive. The project files on a WD black 7,200rpm drive and the export was being written to a second WD black 7,200rpm drive. All internal drives but with less inboard cache than John's slower drives. Average clock speed for all CPU cores was around 4.71 GHz.
I was using MEPs own MP4 codec rather than the MC one.
As I said in my original comments, How long is a piece of string? Even my motherboard and choice of CPU here would make a difference. Even though I have found I do have DDR4 3200 memory modules, my choice of CPU and motherboard has limited the use to 2666 MHz. Does the faster DDR6 memory in my nvidia card sometimes make a difference as well when in use? I have simply no idea.
Ray.