Editing video in virtualdub taking so long!

[admirer]

Hi All

I am kinda novice with vdub. I use virtualdubmod 1.5.10. recently i bought a sony laptop with intel T6600 core2duo processor and 4 gb RAM. when i edit a video and then do compression and save as avi, it takes very long to get done. for a 20 sec video it takes me more than 10 min. i was using the DivX 6.9.2 codec (2 logical CPU) option for compression. recently i had downloaded the divx codec and player pack from their website. the time taken is actually longer than my old pentium 4 dell laptop. why so? moreover CPU usage is shown at 100% when the virtualdub is running. am i doing something wrong in the settings? why its so slow with a dual core processor?

oh and its a windows7 machine.

please help !

[redwudz]

What Divx settings are you using? Try Xvid and see if it's faster. Use a Quantizer setting of 2 if you want about the same quality as the original. If you want to control size, use a two pass encode. I have never managed to get Divx or Xvid to use 100% CPU and both seem to encode fairly fast.

[jagabo]

It sounds like something is wrong. What's the frame size of the video you're encoding? And the frame rate? Are you using any slow filters like Neat Video? If you are using a very large frame size (1920x1080?) or high frame rate (1000 fps?) you might get slow compression like that. But for standard definition (720x480, 24 fps) you should be getting better than realtime. For example, a 90 second 24 fps DVD VOB file just took me 55 seconds to compress with Xvid (roughly similar in speed to Divx at the slowest settings), single pass, target quantizer=3, with no filtering and no resizing -- on a 2.4 GHz Intel E3200 dual core Celeron.

[admirer]

hi thanks for the quick reply. i am using 1 pass, 780 bitrate, home theater profile.. thats the default that comes with the codec..

[jagabo]

If that's standard definition video something is seriously wrong. You should be running about 50 times faster than you are. Run CPUZ to verify your CPU speed. Go to the BIOS and make sure the CPU cache's aren't disabled.

[admirer]

hi jagabo, i m not an expert with these things. so please explain little more about how to check that the CPU cache's arent disabled. thanks..

[jagabo]

Turn off your computer. Turn it back on. You may see a message saying something like "Press Del for BIOS setup". If you only see a Dell (or other) logo try pressing the ESC key, or F1, or Del. One of those will probably hide the logo and display the BIOS messages. Hit the key in question to get to the BIOS setup look for Chipset or CPU configuration settings. Make sure the CPU caches (L1, L2) are not disabled.



Not all BIOS setup utilities have this option. But it's about the only thing I know of that can cause a 50 fold change in processing speed.

[admirer]

Hi Jagabo.. i tried to check the BIOS thing, but the list that I see in my laptop doesnt mention anything like CPU internal cache, external cache etc.. it has very less items in the list. anyhow, may be we will see that later, for now I downloaded CPUZ but it has lot of things , dont know what to look for.. please inform what things should i see after i run it, i can put a screnshot for u if that may help u.. thanks..

when i was trying to edit then save a 20 sec video in avi using the divx code this is what looks like, also there are pics from CPUZ below:

[mgh]

check with task manager-processes tab, whether vdub mod is in fact using 100% cpu. have a feeling your laptop is infected.

[poisondeathray]

Also make sure your laptop isn't in a low power, low performace , power saving mode (right click the desktop, check in power management options)

Also make sure you aren't overheating and throttling during encoding (check temps, e.g. use coretemp, or realtemp, and make sure vents are clean & free of dust)

[admirer]

hi mgh

vdub takes about 98% of CPU activity. its a very new laptop. dont think i have virus, i have norton 360 installed and not getting any annoyance , pop up or anything. net surfing is ok. startup takes about 1.5 min or less.

poisondeathray: my laptop is on balanced mode, not power saving mode.

regarding ur suggection about: "make sure you aren't overheating and throttling during encoding (check temps, e.g. use coretemp, or realtemp, and make sure vents are clean & free of dust"
i dont know how to check about overheating and throttling. so please let me know in detail..
my vents are clean , its only a 4 months old laptop.

[jagabo]

Have you tried using a different output codec? Just to rule out a Divx problem. Also try a different source file to rule out a problem with that particular source.

[admirer]

i downloaded xvid and it works like a charm. the 20 sec vid got done in 15 sec or so.. thank God something atleast worked. does that mean my CPU looks fine?

[jagabo]

Yes, your CPU is fine. You might try uninstalling and reinstalling Divx -- if you want to use it. I prefer Xvid. It does a slightly better job.

[admirer]

thanks Jagabo for your help.. thanks to other members who cared to reply too..
i think i will stick with xVid from now on..