Slower encoding with VSO than it used to be

[Brainstorming]

Hi everybody, I am a new-comer and I hope I'll find answer here.
I am facing this problem lately (maybe a week or a bit longer) and it is very annoying. I have I7-920 CPU and encoding time used to be around 12 minutes for DVD5, simple avi file around 100 minutes duration. Now, it's around 90-100 minutes! I cleaned HD, got free a lot of space, defragmented HD, optimized memory, tried different VSO settings, even uninstallled VSO and installed again couple of times with complete registry clean up but problem persist. What should I do to make it work old way? VSO version is 4.0.6.316. Please help

[redwudz]

Do any other similar programs share the same problem? If not, you can probably rule out hardware. I'm assuming you are asking about ConvertXtoDVD. The latest version is 4.1.7.343, so you appear to have an older version. I would try the latest version.

A few other possibilities: Do a memory check. Bad or failing RAM causes all sorts of odd problems. Memtest 86 is fairly good. http://www.memtest86.com/ I more often just pull all RAM modules except one, then substitute a known good one.

Check your video card driver and settings. I don't know if Converts uses the GPU processor, but it may have an affect.

Check your Task Manager and see if some other process is stealing CPU cycles. With encoding the CPU is the most important factor, more than RAM or HDDs. Look at the CPU usage and the RAM usage when running the program.

Make sure your HDD has enough free space. If you only have one HDD, add a second one. I use three HDDs in most of my PCs.

Other members may also have some ideas. Does ConvertX create a log file? If so check that and post it here if you don't understand it.

And welcome to our forums.

[Brainstorming]

No, not a bit better!

I've done memory check, I defragmented HD again, I installed new version of VSO and it was even worse so I got back to old one. Yes, I have one HD and there is enough space for the process (I think 30-40 GB is enough). Task manager shows around 20-25% of memory usage after the boot which is pretty much, I think. There are near 80 processes and some of them I shut down but that wasn't so helpful. CPU usage is around 1 or 2% and it jumps high when VSO starts (to 35-45%). I really don't have a clue what else to do and I'm pretty sure there is something that will help to push this horse faster. Here is the log file of my last conversion if someone can see something that I don't.


2010-11-30 19:49:49 Info Folder C:\ConvertXToDVD\The Italian Job\ has been removed
2010-11-30 19:49:49 Info BURN: WRITE SUCCESS: Disc written
2010-11-30 19:49:49 Info BURN: Finalization Time 00:00:22 - Total completion time 00:07:14
2010-11-30 19:49:26 Info BURN: Write finished in 00:06:52 - Finalization start here. Avg. burn rate 4,11
2010-11-30 19:43:02 Info BURN: Lead-in burning time (mS) 28674
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Write started 1042736 sectors to write
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Init success: DVD-R SAO
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Writing speed requested x4.0, effective x4.0
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Available write speed: 24x ,20x ,16x ,12x ,8x ,4x
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Media ID: MCC 03RG20
2010-11-30 19:42:34 Info BURN: Media type: DVD-R
2010-11-30 19:42:33 Info BURN: Not Applicable to this bus type
2010-11-30 19:42:33 Info BURN: Scanned files #8, folder #2 - total size 2134401024 b. (1,99 Gb.)
2010-11-30 19:42:33 Info BURN: Inserted media type : DVD-R
2010-11-30 19:42:33 Info BURN: Write started
2010-11-30 19:42:32 ---- ***************** Encoding end **********************
2010-11-30 19:42:32 Info Disc name: "Italian Job"
2010-11-30 19:42:31 Info BURN: Writable disc DVD-R inserted. Ready to write
2010-11-30 19:42:15 Info BURN: Parsing disc ...
2010-11-30 19:36:53 Info BURN: No disc in drive.
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info BURN: Compatible media types : DVD-R, DVD-RW Seq., DVD-RW RO, DVDRAM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DL DVD+R, DL DVD-R
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info BURN: Drive has Serial ATA physical interface
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info BURN: New Drive selected : 2:0:0 - TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C SB00 [F] (Ide)
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info Burned folder: "C:\ConvertXToDVD\The Italian Job\", Min. media size 1,99 Gb.
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info Total size 2035 Mb., Target size DVD5 4300 Mb., Occupation 47,34%
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info Conversion completed in 00:43:14
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info Rendering rate: 2,49 x Realtime
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info DVD duration (incl. menus) 01:47:45 (~ 6465 sec.) - rendering time 00:43:14
2010-11-30 19:36:51 Info Generated duration 6465,60 sec., expected 6457,97 sec.
2010-11-30 19:35:36 Info 779 subtitles frames encoded in subtitle stream #1
2010-11-30 19:35:36 Info P-SDT buffer Underflow 1 times, 285 bytes peak
2010-11-30 19:35:03 Info Chapter #22 start at 105:0.320
2010-11-30 19:33:19 Info Chapter #21 start at 100:0.280
2010-11-30 19:31:21 Info Chapter #20 start at 95:0.240
2010-11-30 19:29:11 Info Chapter #19 start at 90:0.200
2010-11-30 19:27:14 Info Chapter #18 start at 85:0.160
2010-11-30 19:25:08 Info Chapter #17 start at 80:0.120
2010-11-30 19:23:14 Info Chapter #16 start at 75:0.080
2010-11-30 19:21:28 Info Chapter #15 start at 70:0.040
2010-11-30 19:19:35 Info Chapter #14 start at 65:0.000
2010-11-30 19:17:42 Info Chapter #13 start at 60:0.480
2010-11-30 19:15:42 Info Chapter #12 start at 55:0.440
2010-11-30 19:13:40 Info Chapter #11 start at 50:0.400
2010-11-30 19:11:46 Info Chapter #10 start at 45:0.360
2010-11-30 19:09:54 Info Chapter #9 start at 40:0.320
2010-11-30 19:08:01 Info Chapter #8 start at 35:0.280
2010-11-30 19:06:01 Info Chapter #7 start at 30:0.240
2010-11-30 19:04:06 Info Chapter #6 start at 25:0.200
2010-11-30 19:02:05 Info Chapter #5 start at 20:0.160
2010-11-30 19:00:10 Info Chapter #4 start at 15:0.120
2010-11-30 18:58:01 Info Chapter #3 start at 10:0.080
2010-11-30 18:55:49 Info Chapter #2 start at 5:0.040
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Output Stream #3 (SUBTITLE) - dvdsub, 64 kb/s
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Audio settings: Automatic With DTS -> AC-3 conversion
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Output Stream #2 (AUDIO) - ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Output Stream #1 (VIDEO) - mpeg2video, yuv420p, 720x576 [PAR 64:45 DAR 16:9], q=2-31, 5178 kb/s, frame compensation: 25,000 -> 25,00 Fps
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Video processing: Pad (Left:0 - Top:58 - Right:0 - Bottom:58)
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Video processing: Linear (VSO) resampler (640*288)->(720*460) 8 threads
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Chapter sequences require 363 Mb. temp space
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- ************ Source file #2 END DETAILS ************
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info SUBTITLE Stream #1 [RAW COPY]: српски, srpski
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Subtitle file with 1 stream(s) - Playback order:1 - Queue:1
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Logical file: C:\Users\User\Desktop\The Italian Job.srt - 1 file(s) 62,4 Kb.
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- *********** Source file #2 BEGIN DETAILS ***********
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- ************ Source file #1 END DETAILS ************
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info AUDIO Stream #2 : Audio: mp3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 128 kb/s
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info VIDEO Stream #1 : Video: mpeg4, yuv420p, 640x288 [PAR 1:1 DAR 20:9], 25,00 FPS
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Audio/Video file with 2 stream(s) - Playback order:1 - Queue:0
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Logical file: C:\Users\User\Desktop\The Italian Job.avi - 1 file(s) 700 Mb.
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- *********** Source file #1 BEGIN DETAILS ***********
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Video bitrate 0/5178/9616 Kbps (min/avg/max)
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info OUTPUT ==> Resolution: FULL D1 [720*576], Format: PAL, Aspect ratio: 16:9
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- *
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- ======================= TITLESET #1 =======================
2010-11-30 18:53:38 ---- *
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info 2 Stream(s) found - est. duration 01:46:01.968, reference 01:46:01.968
2010-11-30 18:53:38 Info Opening file "C:\Users\User\Desktop\The Italian Job.avi"
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Multicore support in resize
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info Project size 4,17 Gb. (148 Mb. audio - 4,01 Gb. video)
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Don't fix audio gaps
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Engine Log
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] 2-pass encoding
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info Encoding preset: MP (Medium Projects)
2010-11-30 18:53:37 ---- ****************** Encoding begin *******************
2010-11-30 18:53:37 ---- **************** Menu settings end ******************
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Don't create title menu for single video
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Return to title menu after titleset playback
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Skip root menu initially
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Play titles one after the other
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Loop playback
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Auto-start playback
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info Template: Black Mirror, contains 4 page(s), 15 customizable element(s)
2010-11-30 18:53:37 ---- *************** Menu settings begin *****************
2010-11-30 18:53:37 ---- **************** Burn settings end ******************
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info Default speed selected: 4x
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info BURN: Compatible media types : DVD-R, DVD-RW Seq., DVD-RW RO, DVDRAM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DL DVD+R, DL DVD-R
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info BURN: Drive has Serial ATA physical interface
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info BURN: New Drive selected : 2:0:0 - TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C SB00 [F] (Ide)
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Delete DVD folder after burn complete
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Don't eject disc or open DVD folder in explorer, after burn complete
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info SAO setting: Automatic
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [ ] Add original files to DVD (if possible)
2010-11-30 18:53:37 Info [x] Burn result to DVD / as ISO file in working folder
2010-11-30 18:53:37 ---- **************** Burn settings begin ****************
2010-11-30 18:52:37 Info BURN: No disc in drive.
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: 1 writer(s) found.
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: Loaded DLL "C:\Program Files (x86)\VSO\ConvertX\4\vso_hwe.dll" [4.0.5.464]
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: Compatible media types : DVD-R, DVD-RW Seq., DVD-RW RO, DVDRAM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DL DVD+R, DL DVD-R
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: Drive has Serial ATA physical interface
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: New Drive selected : 2:0:0 - TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223C SB00 [F] (Ide)
2010-11-30 18:52:35 Info BURN: Using Advanced SPTI interface
2010-11-30 18:52:33 Info 36 Menu templates loaded.
2010-11-30 18:52:29 Info Supported instruction set: sse4
2010-11-30 18:52:29 Info Maximum number of threads detected: 8
2010-11-30 18:52:29 Info Tuning Performances for Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz with 8 core(s) CPU
2010-11-30 18:52:28 Info System default language : English (United States)
2010-11-30 18:52:28 Info User default language : Serbian (Latin, Serbia)
2010-11-30 18:52:28 Info Version : 4.0.6.316
2010-11-30 18:52:28 Info ExeName : C:\Program Files (x86)\VSO\ConvertX\4\ConvertXtoDVD.exe
2010-11-30 18:52:28 Info OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (Build 7600)
2010-11-30 18:52:25 ---- ******************** Log session start 2010-11-30 18:52:25.505 PID 4696********************

[davexnet]

The log shows an encoding time of 43 minutes 14 seconds. Looks like this includes the authoring stage.
Give AVStoDVD a try and set it to use HCenc. Compare the rendering times.

[Brainstorming]

Yes, encoding time is between 40 and 55 min. now but steel far away from 12-15 that's used to be. Now, I am installing AVStoDVD and I'll try with it. TNX

[Brainstorming]

No, man. It's much longer than with VSO. AVStoDVD took almost 2 hours to complete the job.

[davexnet]

Check the log. Was the time taken in the enoding, authoring stage or perhaps DGpulldown.
Something seems odd. You should use the Task Manager during the encoding step and see how much CPU
is being used. Perhaps something else is stealing your cycles ?

[Brainstorming]

I solved the problem. It was too much dust everywhere which caused overheating. Nice cleaning and everything is perfect again.

[Seeker47]

To Redwudz' checklist we should probably add one of the good heat monitor programs. That might -- in a roundabout way -- give indication of a dust problem. (I've been running SpeedFan, ever since it was recommended here some time ago.)