[Guide] Using DMFS on Windows7 64bit (with Sony Vegas Pro 10 64bit)

[Luponius]

It took me several hours and generated several headaches along the way until I got it to work. This is a short guide to explain how to setup DMFS (DebugMode FrameServer) up and get using it, to enjoy the wind-fast rendering capabilities of this nifty little IO tool!

Step1: Downloading DMFS

The first step is obviously getting DMFS itself. Follow this link to download it: http://www.debugmode.com/frameserver/
To the right there's the Download section. It's 100kB, and it's worth well more than that - trust me.

Installing it shouldn't be half as hard as it was for me. Make sure to choose the Sony Vegas Plugin during installation (after Agreeing to their ToS). You'll be requested to pick two paths for your installation folder, the first option should be kept as default, this is where the DebugMode FrameServer Core Files will be installed.



The second options requires you to find the Sony Vegas installation directory. This is NOT the Shared Plugins folder. Navigate to your Sony Vegas installation path (or make sure it's correct) and select that. I installed mine on the E: partition, specifically "E:\Tools\Sony Vegas Pro 10", which means that's the path I'll provide it with.



Simply let it install at this point and you're ready to move on to the next step.

Step2: Setting the Audio correctly

Next up is to properly setup your video to the correct settings. This is required, do not skip it. DMFS can only really handle 8 and 16bit depth for the audio, and operates at a sample rate of 48kHz. Changing these settings caused me several errors, so my suggestion is to set it to the following screenshot when it comes down to it. You access the Properties Window by hitting Alt+Enter or go into File -> Properties.



At this point you want to make sure your video sounds fine and that there are no issues with anything. Feel free to edit your video as is necessary (make sure the Audio Properties stay as mentioned above) and we can move on to actually using DMFS

Step3: Rendering As... DMFS!

It's time to Render the file using our DMFS tool. Go into File -> Render As... From the Render As... window, we'll want to choose the "DebugMode FrameServer". If you don't find the option available, it's a clear indication you incorrectly installed the FrameServer. Retry the procedure and make sure you pick the Sony Vegas Installation Folder.



No configuration options are available (nor should they be necessary) so all that's left is to choose the right location to save this signpost AVI file and give it a proper name. I saved mine in the Lossless folder, which is basically what DMFS will be mimicking.

If you get a "The file has no video" error or something of the sort, use a different name to save your file with (a unique one you never used before) and it should work just fine.

Step4: DMFS Options

If everything went well you'll be prompted with a new window for the DMFS options. This is the settings I use. I recommend you simply copy these if you're getting errors with your own and moving on to the next stage. Make sure to hit Next on this window, otherwise DMFS won't serve the data!



Step5: Watch or Work (using the Signpost AVI)

DMFS will proceed to create the Signpost AVI (this is the file you want to use) and should be up and running in no time - ready to be used.



You can always view this using your favourite Media Player, but I'm going to take it a step further and use this file to encode it using MeGUI. First off, if you did everything correctly you should be able to navigate to the folder where you saved the file at and find it there, like so:



Thinks of this just like any other avi file. Nothing should be simpler. I launch MeGUI at this point launch the AVS Script Creator - Ctrl+R. I dig for the signpost AVI and load it up in the script. The preview window pops up as usual, which I close and define the output destination ("Encoded" folder). I choose a Progressive Source Type in the other tab and Save the script, closing the preview that pops up once again (I should figure out how to disable them popping up by themselves!)



I prepare the audio job just as usual (select the signpost avi, define the folder to output it to and check the other settings MeGUI offers). I queue up the audio and the video. I Start the Queue. This is where the true magic of DMFS happens. On faster computers you'll get even more neckbreaking speeds! Here's a screenshot at which I sure as hell smiled and nodded:



Hope it was useful and detailed - it's my very first attempt at giving something back to this community, which has directed me towards using this. And yes, as you can see this works flawlessly with Windows 7 64 bit and Sony Vegas Pro 10 64 bit!

Lupo,
WooF!

[racer-x]

I've been using debugmode frameserver with 64-bit Vegas ever since it first came out in Vrgas Pro version 9. The trick like you said is to put the "Frameserver.x86.fio2007-config" file int the 64-bit Vegas installed folder. In my case it's "C:\Program Files\Sony|Vegas Pro 9". I also got it working on my Laptop running Win7 64-bit and Vegas 10 64-bit. Make sure to save the project before exporting, as sometimes it crashes when you first select the frameserver.............

You can turn off preview in the MeGUI settings. This is a good Idea and I always disable it when I install MeGUI.

Also, since Vegas works in RGB32 colorspace exclusively, that is what you should always choose when exporting via Debugmode frameserver. Also no need to write PCM into signpost, I never do......

[Luponius]

The trick like you said is to put the "Frameserver.x86.fio2007-config" file int the 64-bit Vegas installed folder.

The Frameserver config is automatically installed to the Vegas folder provided you chose the proper installation paths.

You can turn off preview in the MeGUI settings. This is a good Idea and I always disable it when I install MeGUI. Also, since Vegas works in RGB32 colorspace exclusively, that is what you should always choose when exporting via Debugmode frameserver. Also no need to write PCM into signpost, I never do......

That's a pretty useful tip for MeGUI, it is fairly annoying and indeed I toggle it off, cheers.

Not writing PCM into signpost results in the audio serving returning empty data. This means I sample at 9000% realtime values but get only empty data which is obviously unusable. This might be just the way Sony Vegas Pro 10 is, or some other mysterious factor.

To be honest I'm not sure what the negative effects of writing PCM to signposts are. I'm not even sure what it does in the first place, I just know it's there as an option to be used, and using it allows me to actually make use of the audio feed as opposed to not using it and not getting a proper audio feed.

[racer-x]

It just takes a little longer to write the signpost when you enable PCM. I always export audio separately from video and never need it. It does no harm including the PCM in the signpost however.........

[curlyween]

Great guide. Well done!
Does a guide exist for using DMFS with Premiere Pro (CS4)?

[Luponius]

Great guide. Well done!
Does a guide exist for using DMFS with Premiere Pro (CS4)?

Thank you ^^

In regards to premiere pro, if you're trying to use the 264 codec, it should have the H264 and that has full support for multi threaded rendering, which makes DMFS redundant. If you still want to use it (possibly for another audio/video codec combination), the DMFS website mentions the following:

1. From timeline, choose menu "File > Export > Movie" and choose "Debugmode FrameServer" in the list of output formats.
2. Enter a valid filename for the output file. This file is called the "signpost" file.
3. Click "Save" to start FrameServing.

[RAB78]

Hey there Luponius! I registered just to say thank you so much for your guide.
I haven't been able to use DMFS since i got Win7 x64 a couple of years ago and i could never figure out how to get it working.
Thanks to your guide, i can once again frameserve my projects from vegas. You da man!

[Luponius]

You're more than welcome to it and thank you for your feedback =]

Take care,

Lupo.

[1banger]

Thanks for the guide! Works well with my Vegas Pro 10 64. On curious note, I get a "data from signpost avi is not 24 bit"
error message when DMFS starts serving the file. Does not seem to effect anything though. And yes, I do have my project audio properties set to 16 bit.

Thanks again!