Faster Conversions?

[Sakuya]

My computer is really slow and it takes me 9 hours at 46 minutes in TMPGEnc to convert a 45-minute AVI to MPEG! Is there a way to speed up the process? How about getting rid of useless programs and maybe Scandisk/Defragmentation? Does that help? I'm desperate.

[ZippyP.]

Set motion search to estimate and don't use any filters.

[Sakuya]

Would motion search precision set at lowest quality (really fast) really have bad quality? What does "lowest quality" refer to anyway? Your tip does help a bit. It was originally set a normal. Thanks!

Are there any more little stuff to set to make it slightly faster?

[lordsmurf]

Would motion search precision set at lowest quality (really fast) really have bad quality? What does "lowest quality" refer to anyway? Your tip does help a bit. It was originally set a normal. Thanks!

Are there any more little stuff to set to make it slightly faster?

Read a guide. I've got one at lordsmurf.com

[housepig]

My computer is really slow

this could be your problem.

if you fill out your computer details, we'd all be able to see how slow your computer is, and know how big a part your hardware is playing in your problem.

what speed processor are you using?

[ZippyP.]

Would motion search precision set at lowest quality (really fast) really have bad quality? What does "lowest quality" refer to anyway?

Motion search thread.

[Sakuya]

It is a AMD-K6(tm) 3D Processor and it has 294,436KB of RAM. How many MB is that?

By the way, thanks for those threads. It seems my other computer has 64.0MB of RAM but it seems to run slower than this computer.

[johns0]

To speed up your encode your going to seriously think about doing a major upgrade to at least 1 ghz and higher,the price of cpu and boards are cheap nowadays and this will cut your encode time drastically.With cinema craft encoder i can encode a 45 avi in about 12-15 minutes.

[Sakuya]

What is 1 Ghz? Is 64.0MB of RAM enough?

[wulf109]

TMPEG like all encoders is CPU dependant. The faster the CPU the faster you encode. Use TMPEG's default motion search and turn off all filters,you need a faster CPU.
Defragging and other tweaks are meaningless you will not notice any speed up.

[johns0]

1 ghz is 1000 mhz and you will need 256mb of ram to encode with some comfort,64mb is way too little and 128mb is stretching it.

[Sakuya]

You guys are so lucky! Are there some recommendations to cheap yet good CPU? How much ghz and RAM?

How much ghz does my current processor have? I'm new at computer hardware.

[johns0]

1 ghz cpu minimum and 256 mb of ddram.Type dxdiag in your run bar and it will give you your cpu speed.

[wulf109]

Duron 1.6GHz at Newegg.com for $42.00 but you'll need a new motherboard. 128MB's is adaquete but more wouldn't hurt.

[Sakuya]

It says the memory is 288MB RAM!? I am using 176MB and 617MB is available. I don't get it...

[johns0]

You should do some reading up about computers and how they operate,getting an understanding about computers will help you a lot when getting into video editing and encoding.Look on www.google.com for more info on computer basics.

[Sakuya]

Thanks. Then maybe I should wait until I buy a new computer.

[Sakuya]

About the motion search precision, usually, I set it at normal when converting this certain series. It usually takes me 4 and a half hours (slow computer) to complete it. When I set it at "motion estimate search (fast)", it took 7 hours. The video is the same length. I also have source range on. So which option would be recommended if I want faster speed, normal or motion estimate search? I know it says it's faster, but still...it took me 2 extra hours..

I'm pretty sure I didn't do anything different except for changing the search precision from normal to estimate search...so I wonder why the conversion time got extended?

[Ripper2860]

Since you said

The video is the same length.

and did not say it was the same video file referred to earlier, I am assuming it was a different file of similar length.

The length of the video has much less to do with the time required to encode as the COMPLEXITY of the video and the format or original codec that it is being converted from (i.e. type of AVI -- DivX3,4,5, XviD, MJPEG, HUFFYUV, etc). Movies with identical lengths do not necessarily require identical time to encode or convert -- there are many variables.[/quote]

[Sakuya]

Yes, it was a different file. Since it is encoded by the same group of people and the file is from the same series, everything is similar from the file length to the file size. Yesterday, I converted 2 episodes to MPEG. Each took around 4 hours. But today, I converted the 3rd episode which took me 7 hours.

[Ripper2860]

The COMPLEXITY of the video in addition to the other factors do impact encode times. By complexity, I mean the amount of motion, special effects, etc. It may be that the 3rd epsisode was a more visually and audibly complex video due to the amount of action, etc.

I do not want to pretend to have the answer, but do want to offer possibilities. The true test would be to take 1 of the files that you've already determined only takes 4 hours and re-encode with changes recommended to see the impact APPLES-to-APPLES.

[Sakuya]

Thanks. This forum is a big help!

[Sakuya]

Since searching motion for a longer period of time do not have any difference in quality, which option takes the least amount of time? Is it "Normal" or "Motion Estimate Search"?

[fmctm1sw]

Since searching motion for a longer period of time do not have any difference in quality, which option takes the least amount of time? Is it "Normal" or "Motion Estimate Search"?

Read this: http://www.lordsmurf.com/convert/tmpgenc/tmpgencplus.htm

[Sakuya]

I have read that but I am making an XVCD. And what does "streaming MPEG or downloads" mean? I don't get it.

[Ripper2860]

Here's my take on it ...

XVCD should be a MPEG-1 file and is a variation on the VCD standard. Therefore, I would use "NORMAL" as recommended by LordSmurf for VCD's.

XSVCD should be a MPEG-2 files and is a variation on the SVCD standard. Therefore, I would use "MOTION ESTIMATE SEARCH (FAST)", as once again recommended by LordSmurf for SVCD's.

=============================================

"Streaming MPEG" refers to a MPG file that will be accessed via a web page and played without 1st downloading the file. Kind of like RealAudio or QTime where they buffer a percentage of the file and then play without your having to download the file.

"Downloads" would refer to a file of a suitable size for downloading.

I can only assume that the intent to classify the file as "STREAMING MPEG or DOWNLOAD" calibre file would indicate that 1) it will be small and 2) reduced bitrate. Therefore Ideal for either Streaming or D/L application.

This would be as opposed to a larger, higher bitrate file more suitable to playing from a CD/DVD or HDD, but impratical for D/L or Streaming use due to bandwidth requirements.

[Sakuya]

Thanks. I guess I would use "normal" then. Would it be wrong if I used Motion Search Precision?

[Ripper2860]

Do you mean "MOTION SEARCH ESTIMATE"? If so, you certinly can at the expense of some quality. If the source is not of very high quality and the intended viewing device is a TV, I don't see why not. However, to get the best combo of quality and speed, I'd go with Normal -- otherwise you'd be sacrificing one for the other.

Better yet -- try encoding a small portion of the file (SOURCE RANGE in TMPGenc) each way and see if you can tell a difference. If not -- go with the fastest.

[Sakuya]

Yes, that's what I meant. Thanks.