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Strategies to speed up rendering in compressor

Hi Gang,

Background:


I'm using an old 2008-era Quad Core (intel) mac pro with 5gb RAM and 2.67ghz processor. I have a lot of drive space spread amongst thee external and one internal drive, but my boot drive is getting rather full. I use FCS 3. I have OS 10.6.8.



I have a large number of projects to work on which are basically 90 minute long lectures with an inset of a screen. The video I am using generally consists of two AVC files in HD, with one of them shrunk down as an "inset" in my FCP sequence. It's a very simple sequence with very few filters applied. At most I use a few cross fades and maybe a color-3-way applied to both clips.


The problem:


Despite this rather simple setup, when I send the project to compressor, it takes a VERY long time to render.




Here's what strategies I've employed so far to help speed things up:


- Told Qmaster (in System Preferences) to use multiple instances of compressor for my mulitple core machine (I use 2 of the four I have).
- Exported the project using "make quicktime movie", (which itself takes a few hours) and then importing that into compressor- i.e. NOT using "send to compressor" from FCP.

- Turning off Frame Controls in Compressor (under "inspector")

- Rendering out to a disk that has plenty of room on it.

- Turning off as many other applications as I can



Despite this, my rendering time in Compressor is very, very slow. For a single 90 minute project, being exported out to H.264 (8mb/s roughly), the process takes about 15 hours or so, which is rather prohibitive. To go to an SD DVD format (mpeg-2 usually) takes about the same amount of time if not longer (It's hard to tell sometimes, since I'm usually not at the computer or asleep when it finally finishes.)


What, if any, additional strategies can I employ to speed things up? Would converting the files I use to a certain codec in MPEG Streamclip help? Would it reduce the total time for my beginning-end workflow? IS FCS X a better option? Would breaking up the long file into smaller "chunks" and then rendering the whole mess as a "batch" help?


Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Power Mac, Mac OS X (10.6), 4 core intel

Posted on Feb 26, 2013 8:02 AM

Reply
10 replies

Feb 26, 2013 10:20 AM in response to Michael Grenadier

Michael, thanks.


Indeed, that is what I'm doing. My issue is that, even when this is done, the rendering still takes quite a while.


Another thing, however, is that the actual "export to quicktime movie" usually takes couple of times the length of the actual video. Any way to speed that up? I'm willing to recompress the original video into another format using MPEG Streamclip or some other such program, if it cuts time out of my total workflow. I'm consdering getting another computer when I have the money, but that's not an option right now. More RAM? Is 5GB enough?

Feb 26, 2013 11:18 AM in response to hoehneb

Make sure everythiing is fully rendered in FCP before you export. Sorry, the only thing that speeds up renders is faster processors.


Then export a self contained file.


Then, if you are compressing to H.264, CompressHD from Matrox.com will speed things up. But ONLY H.264 encodes. Turbo.264 from Elgato will too. Again, only H.264s


How are you expecting MPEG STREAMCLIP to help by encoding to something first? Is the footage you are editing NOT an FCP codec, like ProRes? You mention AVC files in HD. Are we talking AVCIntra (P2) or AVCHD? And did you convert that media to ProRes for editing? Or are you trying to edit those native?

Feb 26, 2013 11:55 AM in response to Shane Ross

Shane, thanks. I was worried that I'd need to get a faster processor someday. I suppose I'll wait for the next generation of Mac Pros, which rumoured to be more than just an incremental leap in speed like recent generations.


I might try out the Turbo.264 product. Looks inexpensive.


What I'm thinking of using MPEG Streamclip for is rendering into a more FCP friendly codec like Apple Intermediate when its not and/or rendering clips with different codecs to match. Like many folks, I have a whole suite of different codecs to work with (I've got six different types of cameras in my department). I usually don't mix and match, but sometimes that's necessary.


The files that come off my DSLR are H.264. The files that come off my Canon H1a are HDV 1080i60. I have a few small cameras that come off AVC. And, finally, there's a few that pull off the camera as Apple Intermediate.

Given this, whatever strategy with MPEG Streamclip (or the software that you suggested) to make things run the most efficiently is what I'm looking for. For instance, if I have two different resolutions, for instance, should I re-encode one of the two to match, or would that just be a waste of time? Or If I have two different codecs, should I re-encode to match? Or, which codec should I chose to make things run most smoothly? Would proRes be best? This sort of thing.

Feb 26, 2013 11:54 AM in response to hoehneb

So you are telling us that you currently have NOT converted those files in your project to ProRes? You are editing H.264 mixed with HDV (HDV is fine in FCP...it has a codec for that)...mixed with AVC (unconverted) and then some as AIC (which is also fine...that's an Apple codec)??


Yeah...THAT is your problem. The workflow you are currently using is what you'd do if you were using Adobe Premiere. Edit native, then encode to your final format. FCP doesn't work that way. You MUST...must must must must MUST...convert ALL of your footage to an edit friendly codec before editing. That means convert to ProRes. All those H.264 files, all the AVC files. If the DSLR is a Canon 7D or 5D...you can use Log and Transfer if you install the EOS Log and Transfer plugin. I have a tutorial for that process here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhDnyWFAM10


This also works with AVCHD...most tapeless formats actually.


>For instance, if I have two different resolutions, for instance, should I re-encode one of the two to match, or would that just be a waste of time?


Not a waste of time...good practice. Unless you are mixing 720p with 1080p...you dont' need to. But if you are mixing SD and HD...good to convert the SD to HD. Mixing frame rates? Yeah, you must convert that...Compressor does a good job.


>Or If I have two different codecs, should I re-encode to match?


Yes....uniformity is good. But, if you capture HDV native via firewire, using that on a ProRes sequence with other ProRes footage...fine. It'll work in real time without rendering, and you can just render when you are done editing and it will be fine. But yeah, all those tapeless formats need to be ONE format....one codec.


>which codec should I chose to make things run most smoothly? Would proRes be best?


Yes...ProRes.

Feb 26, 2013 12:39 PM in response to hoehneb

Knowledge about getting footage into an editing application should be HIGH on an editor's list. Editors are no longer just people who come in and edit footage already converted, captured and imported. More often than not it is now up to us to capture and import the footage. So this is something you need to learn and know. That "deep level" stuff is no longer deep. It is part of the normal knowledge editors must have. The nuts and bolts are part of our job.


Compressor has presets you can drag and drop...althought it renames the clips to add the setting to the name, but you can customize it so it doesn't do that. Or you can use MPEG STREAMCLIP to convert to ProRes....as mentioned.

Strategies to speed up rendering in compressor

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