Need Help With "Video Comparer"

[Dubinvero]

I am running "Video Comparer" (V.C.) Expert edition on a Windows 7 Ultimate desktop. I have not gotten any response from 3 e-mails to V.C.'s tech support so I was hoping to get some feedback from a V.C. user.

The program runs very slowly. I started a scan 3 hours ago on a mapped shared folder that contains approximately 800 videos spread across 5 sub-folders. The progress after 3 hours is 87 Videos Found with 17 Duplicates. The list of files shown in V.C. is probably about 400. The progress circle shows 6% complete. The Task Manager shows that V.C. is using from 25% to 50% of CPU capacity.

I am certain that V.C. is not functioning properly. I have the log enabled but could not find it in the V.C. Program Folder.

I have a number of different versions of .Net-Framework installed including the required version 4.0.

I am hoping that one of the "Video Comparer" users might have some feedback to help me resolve program's poor performance. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[lingyi]

Be patient and let it run its course. It speeds up the further it gets into the process, but it still takes time, especially with multiple short videos. I've never timed it, but I've had scans (way less than 800 videos) take over 24 hours.

You can change the settings, I have mine set to Thorough because the Quick and Standard scans missed some duplicates.

Note the description of the different modes:

Quick: This is the faster scan mode. It is efficient with most quality video files.
Standard: This is the standard scan mode. It is most efficient with most standard video files.
Through: This is a through scan mode. It may be slow with low quality videos.
Full: All video files are fully scanned. It is the slower scan mode. Each video scan takes several minutes. Not recommended.

Also note that the last update was 16th June 2016, so I don't know if still being developed or fully supported. Still, it's great program that just requires time to work properly.

[Dubinvero]

lingyi,

Thanks very much for your detailed answer. I did not know that the process took so much time. I now think that V.C. is running correctly on my machine. This morning's scan took 5 1/2 hours to complete. It found 70 duplicates.

I use an excellent directory lister named Total Directory Report ( T.D.R.) which provides a summary of the files by type in a selected folder. V.C. finds 15 video files fewer than T.D.R. I will figure out the videos that V.C. is missing.

Could I ask you a work flow question? According to T.D.R. I have just under 3,000 video files in approximately 20 folders. I was going to find the duplicates in each folder, then do a second scan of groups of folders building up to a scan of all folders. Is this a good way to get all duplicates or would you recommend a different workflow?

Lingyi, thanks again for your help.

[lingyi]

I'm at work right now, so can't check, but I think Video Comparer doesn't recognize certain video formats. It also won't search within .iso

Also, be careful when deleting files, especially if some of your files are clips from a larger one. Generally, I don't delete anything less than 90% the same.


I just checked website and it states:

"5. Modify the scan mode if necessary

By default, the scan mode is standard. It is the best efficient mode for standard video.
Some of videos can be badly encoded, and Video Comparer needs to spend more time to analyze these videos. The status is tagged ‘Required scan mode Thorough’ in Scanned Files tab.
You can change the scan mode to thorough, but the processing time by video will be several minutes.

6. The next analysis
Information used by Video Comparer are saved in a cache file. The next analysis will be faster !"


As for your workflow, if I understand you correctly, I always do the entire drive or drives at once. I think in the long run, it's actually faster than doing it piecemeal and I find this more accurate since you're comparing everything at once. If you do it piecemeal, it's easy to miss or delete files that you shouldn't have because you forgot the actual location of the file(s).

Once you've got everything cleaned up, I suggest ViceVersa for an easy side by side comparison of your folders/drives (you do have backups, right?).

[Dubinvero]

lingyi,

Thanks for your additional feedback. Its good to know that Video Converter saves the scans in a cache file. Yes I have the videos backed up to external hard drives.

Do you use a video organizer that you are pleased with?

[lingyi]

My catalog needs are very simple (director, series, documentaries, actress, etc., no thumbs or tags)*, so I just use Virtual Volumes View (VVV) to keep track of the contents of my drives offline. I posted a detailed description of it here:https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/388775-Catalog-and-print-HDD-content-offline The nice thing is that like ViceVersa, it's free!

There have been threads about video catalog programs, but I can't remember the names of the programs or find anything with a quick search. I do know that the better ones aren't free. I suggest starting a thread about it and someone will post something that meets your needs.

Edit: I noticed I didn't mention one of the best features of VVV. It allows you to search the drives offline. It's also easy to update the virtual drive contents when the drive is online.

[Dubinvero]

lingyi,

Thanks again for all your help and recommendations. I think I am all set to finally organize my home videos.