Thanks John!    You covered all the points very concisely.

I'm hesitant about using Proxy files.  I did that earlier this year in MEP 2015 and the audio/video sync got all messed up.   I may try it again on a test basis when I'm not crunched for time.

I did turn on Hardware acceleration earlier today but haven't checked out the difference yet.

Reduce frame rate & resolution were already checked.

I had read about the issues with various new video cards and that's why I've stuck with my older card.  I also have read about using both the Intel HD on board alongside the discrete NVidia card but haven't played with that yet.  After years of always disabling the onboard video, I didn't know that you could switch between the two.  It's been awhile since I've built a PC from the ground up.

I'm surprised you recommended adding 16gb of RAM to my existing 8gb.  I didn't realize it could utilize 24gb of RAM and that would have an impact.

Thanks again,

Rick

Hi

. . . . . I'm hesitant about using Proxy files.  I did that earlier this year in MEP 2015 and the audio/video sync got all messed up . . . . .

Loss of audio sync is not caused by using proxy files - there are several factors which can cause this:

• Using mpg files which can be notorious for sync issues
• Video files in which the audio sample rate is not the standard 48kHz.  MEP can handle other sample rates, see image below, however the project must be set up to use them and mixing different audio  may cause problems.
  
  
   
• Using variable framerate video.

Increasing memory is the oldest, and cheapest, tool in the box for speeding up computers. particularly on those with low memory 8 GB is not enough to run Windows and have MEP run well especially if working with HD video. 

. . . . I didn't realize it could utilize 24gb of RAM and that would have an impact. . . . .

So long as the memory is the same spec as the existing there will be no problems, the only caveat in your case is that your motherboard requires memory adding in pairs.  For minimum cost / max gain adding another 16GB is the way to go.  Your second option would be to replace the existing memory as well to get to the max 32GB that your motherboard will take.

Your computer spec is definitely not over the hill yet - to get a significant increase in performance with a new computer you are looking at spending £500+ ($700+) on new motherboard, processor and memory, not including a graphics card - have just been pricing up an upgrade for mine - will wait till the prices drop. 

. . . . . using both the Intel HD on board alongside the discrete NVidia card . . . .

AFAIK trying to use both together can cause issues as some members here have been experiencing with newer NVidia cards.

I use the integrated graphics chip and get good performance on my computer which has the same processor as yours and a Gigabyte Z87 based motherboard but more RAM.

HTH

John EB

John,

Tried using "create proxy automatically" this time and the files seem to have no issues with audio/video sync.  I suspect the issue I had earlier this year related to the differing input videos.  

I also adjusted my settings per your recommendations.  I had lockups with default encoder enabled just like in Mep 2015.  I enabled Main Concept decoder,  turned on all hardware acceleration,  set program to use my Nvidia GTX card,  and turned on creating proxy files.  The only issue I noticed (and maybe it's to be expected as it creates the proxy files) is how long it took to import the video onto the timeline.  I'm just amazed that it uses 100% of the CPU and status goes to "Not Responding" but it eventually finishes if your patient.

I’m dealing with just two sets of video files this time, both are 1920x1080i video files.   I’ve got camera shots of two acts of a play which I’m dragging into my timeline.  When I drag one set of video, it first has to build the frame table. Building the frame table is quick and it takes about 2 minutes and the CPU is at about 23% load. It then proceeds to create a proxy file and that takes a very long time. While creating the proxy,  the CPU's use immediately goes to 100% and stays there the entire time. It takes about 50 minutes to create a proxy for a 45 minute 1920 by 1080i video.  So,  with create proxy files turned on,  it takes about two hours just to place one camera track of 90 minutes of video on a Timeline track before I can even start editing.   With my typical 4 camera shots,  that means, I can’t even start editing until after 8 hours of loading footage.  I guess that's O.K. if it makes the editing smoother.  I was just wondering if the long proxy creation time and 100% CPU load is typical.

Rick
 

I just posted a comment - "Tried using "create proxy automatically" this time and the files seem to have no issues with audio/video sync."
I TAKE IT ALL BACK

  I just went back into MEP2016 to pick up where  I left off last night and loaded up last night's project.  The multicam video (including audio) is no longer synchronized.  It's off by many seconds!  I now recall this was the issue I had in MEP 2015 earlier this year. 
When I saved the project last night, all video tracks were perfectly aligned and I had run through about 15 minutes of footage in multicam mode selecting the best camera shots (inout footage on tracks 3 & 4 with multicam output populating on tracks 1 (video selected) & 2 (source audio).  Cameras 1 & 2 are no longer synchronized when opening up the project this morning!

Hi Rick

The CPU going up to 100% is normal - mine does the same on all four cores.

However, testing proxy files creation from 1920 x 1080i 25fps AVCHD files - for a 1 hour long clip mine takes 20 mins.

The longer time could be a result of the lower amount of memory in your computer or some other program is also taking up valuable processor time..

An alternative work flow of using In / Out points when previewing a clip in the Preview Monitor does not help either - the full length of the video is still used for the proxy creation.

. . . . it first has to build the frame table. Building the frame table is quick and it takes about 2 minutes and the CPU is at about 23% load . . . .

What format are the HD video files?

I have not seen mine creating frametables with AVCHD (m2ts) files - do you have the Automatically create frametables option checked in the program settings Video / Audio tab ? 

It is not normally required to have this option set and it only works with MPEG files, turning on for any other format of video may have undesired consequences.

HTH

John EB

Hi John,

The longer time could be a result of the lower amount of memory in your computer or some other program is also taking up valuable processor time..

16Gb more of memory is on the Christmas wish list!

. . . . it first has to build the frame table. Building the frame table is quick and it takes about 2 minutes and the CPU is at about 23% load . . . .

What format are the HD video files?

Both video sets started out as .mts (both were 1920x1080 - 29fps but they had different bit rates).  I had to use tsmuxer on both to concatenate the files since full Acts of the play ran over 4gb limitation.  The resulting files were all in a .ts container.

I have not seen mine creating frametables with AVCHD (m2ts) files - do you have the Automatically create frametables option checked in the program settings Video / Audio tab ? 

No, this option was unchecked.   Yes, it was strange that only one camera's video had to build a frame table.

If you saw my second posting, my bigger concern is why the videos and even audio tracks within a video are no longer in sync.  The two video tracks were grouped so this shouldn't have been able to happen even accidentally.  This is the same mess I dealt with earlier this year in MEP 2015only when I tried to use proxy files.  It's like the proxy file connections somehow get screwed up.

Hi Rick

. . . . I had to use tsmuxer on both to concatenate the files since full Acts of the play ran over 4gb limitation . . . .

Do you mean split up into smaller files- concatanate means joining together ?

Is it the files which have been through the tsmuxer that are also causing the sync error?

If so then this could be the cause of the sync error.

What camera(s) have these been recorded with?  MEP may be able to work direct with the smaller files 2GB files. 

John EB