How can I convert video faster ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter come_mon_come_mon!
  • Start date Start date
C

come_mon_come_mon!

Hi,

My PC has below configuration:-

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2400 MHz
Bus speed: 133MHz
Motherboard: GA-8S655FX-L
Memory: 512MB DDR-400
DVD drive: LG4167B
HDD: 1 UDMA-33 HD (80GB), 1 SATAII HD (320GB, operates in 1.5Gbps mode
because it's the highest data rate supported by the gigabyte
motherboard)

I use TSUNAMI MPEG DVD EasyPack Suite to convert DVD video to mpeg (VCD
format) files. I found that a 20-25 minutes recorded TV programme
(cartoons only) need over 30 minutes to convert .

I'm satisfied with quality of conversion but not with the time taken.
How can I shorten the time of conversion with above H/W configuration ?
What H/W do I need to upgrade if it's unavoidable ? Any other
conversion S/W give comparable output quality as TSUNAMI but can
complete the process faster ?

:(
 
Hi,

My PC has below configuration:-

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2400 MHz
Bus speed: 133MHz
Motherboard: GA-8S655FX-L
Memory: 512MB DDR-400
DVD drive: LG4167B
HDD: 1 UDMA-33 HD (80GB), 1 SATAII HD (320GB, operates in 1.5Gbps mode
because it's the highest data rate supported by the gigabyte
motherboard)

I use TSUNAMI MPEG DVD EasyPack Suite to convert DVD video to mpeg (VCD
format) files. I found that a 20-25 minutes recorded TV programme
(cartoons only) need over 30 minutes to convert .

I'm satisfied with quality of conversion but not with the time taken.
How can I shorten the time of conversion with above H/W configuration ?
What H/W do I need to upgrade if it's unavoidable ? Any other
conversion S/W give comparable output quality as TSUNAMI but can
complete the process faster ?
Click to expand...

Get the latest codecs.

Get faster conversion applications.

Lower the resolution requirements.

Get more computers and divide the tasks.

Up the priority of the conversion applications.

Defrag your hard disk.

Optimize your pagefile.

Shut off all background applications you do not need.

Dedicate the computer to conversions only and disconnect the network.

Make sure you have ample spare hard disk space.

I have pretty much the same computer you do and the fastest I have
ever been able to get conversions to run is converting an AVI to a DVD
(MPEG-4 to MPEG-2) with ConvertXtoDVD. A 350 MB AVI (42 minutes
content) converts in 25 minutes at a decent resolution for viewing on
a 19" screen. Going the other way with Auto Gordian Knot and 1 pass
conversion to medium resolution XviD (suitable for 19" viewscreen) is
45 minutes.

My son has a 3.2GHz P4 Prescott CPU and 1GB RAM. His conversions take
about the same amount of time as mine. So it isn't all hardware. The
codecs make a huge difference - and they are improving literally every
day, so you have to keep on top of getting the latest versions.


--

"Yet the legislative being only a fiduciary power to act for certain
ends, there remains still in the people a supreme power to remove or
alter the legislative, when they find the legislative act contrary to
the trust reposed in them....And thus the community perpetually retains
a supreme power of saving themselves from the attempts and designs of
any body, even of their legislators, whenever they shall be so foolish
or so wicked as to lay and carry on designs against the liberties and
properties of the subject."
--John Locke
 
come_mon_come_mon! said:
Hi,

My PC has below configuration:-

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2400 MHz
Bus speed: 133MHz
Motherboard: GA-8S655FX-L
Memory: 512MB DDR-400
DVD drive: LG4167B
HDD: 1 UDMA-33 HD (80GB), 1 SATAII HD (320GB, operates in 1.5Gbps mode
because it's the highest data rate supported by the gigabyte
motherboard)

I use TSUNAMI MPEG DVD EasyPack Suite to convert DVD video to mpeg (VCD
format) files. I found that a 20-25 minutes recorded TV programme
(cartoons only) need over 30 minutes to convert .

I'm satisfied with quality of conversion but not with the time taken.
How can I shorten the time of conversion with above H/W configuration ?
What H/W do I need to upgrade if it's unavoidable ? Any other
conversion S/W give comparable output quality as TSUNAMI but can
complete the process faster ?

:(
Click to expand...

Rendering is mostly dependent on the processor. There are variations on
the theme in add-in cards, higer end software and such, but that
involves significant investment as well.

On the upgrade path, the Intel Core Duo's seem be the getting alot of
attention from video people.
 
Citizen Bob ¼g¹D¡G
On 4 Dec 2006 07:16:13 -0800, "come_mon_come_mon!"


Get the latest codecs.

Get faster conversion applications.

Lower the resolution requirements.
Click to expand...

Already done because VCD resolution must be lower than that of DVD
Get more computers and divide the tasks.
Click to expand...

Not a feasible solution
Up the priority of the conversion applications.
Click to expand...

No other applications running besides video conversion (of course
except antivirus & personal firewall applications but it shouldn't
cause diffference)
Defrag your hard disk.

Optimize your pagefile.
Click to expand...

Does it help significantly with XP ?
Shut off all background applications you do not need.
Click to expand...

Not much unnecessary background applications as above describe
Dedicate the computer to conversions only and disconnect the network.
Click to expand...

Already done
Make sure you have ample spare hard disk space.
Click to expand...

GBs of disk space available for less than 250MB output file size (that
for 20-25 mins video)
I have pretty much the same computer you do and the fastest I have
ever been able to get conversions to run is converting an AVI to a DVD
(MPEG-4 to MPEG-2) with ConvertXtoDVD. A 350 MB AVI (42 minutes
content) converts in 25 minutes at a decent resolution for viewing on
Click to expand...

decent resolution ? even lower than mine (TSUNAMI said it uses standard
VCD spec: 352x288 image resolution, 25fps framerate in MPEG-1)
a 19" screen. Going the other way with Auto Gordian Knot and 1 pass
conversion to medium resolution XviD (suitable for 19" viewscreen) is
45 minutes.

My son has a 3.2GHz P4 Prescott CPU and 1GB RAM. His conversions take
about the same amount of time as mine. So it isn't all hardware. The
codecs make a huge difference - and they are improving literally every
day, so you have to keep on top of getting the latest versions.
Click to expand...

Actually, I did tried increase the RAM size to 1GB (1 DDR400 + 1 DDR333
RAM module, effectively 2 DDR333 RAM modules). I didn't see the
difference (strictly speaking, the PC even render longer !!!)

I've tried get latest codec via google but found no relevant link yet
:(
 
come_mon_come_mon! said:
Citizen Bob ¼g¹D¡G


Already done because VCD resolution must be lower than that of DVD


Not a feasible solution


No other applications running besides video conversion (of course
except antivirus & personal firewall applications but it shouldn't
cause diffference)


Does it help significantly with XP ?


Not much unnecessary background applications as above describe


Already done


GBs of disk space available for less than 250MB output file size (that
for 20-25 mins video)


decent resolution ? even lower than mine (TSUNAMI said it uses standard
VCD spec: 352x288 image resolution, 25fps framerate in MPEG-1)


Actually, I did tried increase the RAM size to 1GB (1 DDR400 + 1 DDR333
RAM module, effectively 2 DDR333 RAM modules). I didn't see the
difference (strictly speaking, the PC even render longer !!!)

I've tried get latest codec via google but found no relevant link yet
:(
Click to expand...

You can try the Procoder or Mainconcept mpg codecs. My understanding is
that the Tmpgenc codec is one of the slower ones.

Still, your not going to really slice lots of time off unless you up the
horsepower.
 
come_mon_come_mon! said:
snip <
No other applications running besides video conversion (of course
except antivirus & personal firewall applications but it shouldn't
cause diffference)
Click to expand...

It sure will. These are two applications (especially if it's anything by
Norton) that can slow things down substantailly.

Mike
 
Ray S said:
You can try the Procoder or Mainconcept mpg codecs. My understanding is
that the Tmpgenc codec is one of the slower ones.

Still, your not going to really slice lots of time off unless you up the
horsepower.
Click to expand...
Will your computer/software output real-time video to firewire?

Some ( if not all) stand alone DVD recorders have firewire inputs.
If you dump to your camcorder, then put that into the DVD recorder
you can make decent looking video in a little over 2X.

If you can go directly from the computer to the DVD recorder,
then you could do it in real-time. I don't know if this will work.

David
 
come_mon_come_mon! said:
Hi,

My PC has below configuration:-

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2400 MHz
Bus speed: 133MHz
Motherboard: GA-8S655FX-L
Memory: 512MB DDR-400
DVD drive: LG4167B
HDD: 1 UDMA-33 HD (80GB), 1 SATAII HD (320GB, operates in 1.5Gbps mode
because it's the highest data rate supported by the gigabyte
motherboard)

I use TSUNAMI MPEG DVD EasyPack Suite to convert DVD video to mpeg (VCD
format) files. I found that a 20-25 minutes recorded TV programme
(cartoons only) need over 30 minutes to convert .

I'm satisfied with quality of conversion but not with the time taken.
How can I shorten the time of conversion with above H/W configuration ?
What H/W do I need to upgrade if it's unavoidable ? Any other
conversion S/W give comparable output quality as TSUNAMI but can
complete the process faster ?

:(
Click to expand...

Your conversion time would be very good for the default 2-pass
encryption of the TMPGEnc encoders. There are slightly faster
encoders, like the http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/index.html
encoders, but quality takes time.

For real speed you can use GraphEdit and the hacked ATI
AvivoXCode 1.12 filters, if you can find them. One site
http://rapidshare.de/files/9479567/Avivo.rar seems to still
have it up, but ATI has been very aggressive about getting it
removed from most sites.

You can get the official version from ATI's site by downloading
the parental controls update for the X1800 card. You would
then register the filters used in conversion.

Your 25min would be done in seconds.

Luck;
Ken
 
Ken said:
Your conversion time would be very good for the default 2-pass
encryption of the TMPGEnc encoders. There are slightly faster
encoders, like the http://www.cinemacraft.com/eng/index.html
encoders, but quality takes time.

For real speed you can use GraphEdit and the hacked ATI
AvivoXCode 1.12 filters, if you can find them. One site
http://rapidshare.de/files/9479567/Avivo.rar seems to still
have it up, but ATI has been very aggressive about getting it
removed from most sites.

You can get the official version from ATI's site by downloading
the parental controls update for the X1800 card. You would
then register the filters used in conversion.

Your 25min would be done in seconds.

Luck;
Ken
Click to expand...

Intriguing, what makes this so fast?
 
Ray S said:
Intriguing, what makes this so fast?
Click to expand...

I don't really know, it has been very hard to get any
technical data about the Cobra Encoder. It is apparent
that it is highly optimized for speed, and not for quality;
that's not to say the quality is very bad, just not what you
can get with many other encoders like the TMPGEnc
products.

For a number of encoding schemes, there are extra features
that add to the quality of the encoded images, I think such
features are disabled by default with this implementation.
You can add them back, in the property pages, when using
GraphEdit, to arrive at your own speed : quality compromise.

Luck;
Ken
 
"Mike Kujbida" wrote ...
It sure will. These are two applications (especially if it's anything by
Norton) that can slow things down substantailly.
Click to expand...

INDEED! Listen to the man!

Furthermore, if you have the network disconnected (as you claim)
then you don't need either antivirus or firewall processes running
(or the network processes themselves, for that matter).

Also not mentioned is that the new-generation Core 2 Duo
microprocessors are significantly faster (and cooler, BTW)
than previous generations of Intel or AMD chips.
 
You gotta sleep sometime.

Schedule your transcoding jobs to run while
you're in bed.

Wake up, they're done.

Why is it necessary to get them done so fast, anyway?

NOTHING on TV is worth the effort...
 
Mike Kujbida ¼g¹D¡G
It sure will. These are two applications (especially if it's anything by
Norton) that can slow things down substantailly.

Mike
Click to expand...

But I couldn't just disable all antivirus or personal firewall
application just because I need to run conversion program. Besides, my
preception is McAfee drag down PC speed much serious than Norton
product.
 
...
But I couldn't just disable all antivirus or personal firewall
application just because I need to run conversion program.
Click to expand...

Its up to you. YOU are the one complaining about speed.
Antivirus and firewall software does NOTHING but reduce
your speed of conversion. It is a tradeoff decsion only you
can make for yourself.

Many of us do video work on a separate computer that is
NEVER EVER connected to the internet, and frequently
not even connected to a local network, either. No network
overhead, no need for useless antivirus or firewall stuff
sucking up precious CPU cycles. Depends on how serious
you are.
 
No other applications running besides video conversion (of course
except antivirus & personal firewall applications but it shouldn't
cause diffference)
Click to expand...

Antivirus can be a resource hog - check the process table for usage
while converting.
Does it help significantly with XP ?
Click to expand...

I would expect so, but I use Win2K so I can't speak from experience.
decent resolution ? even lower than mine (TSUNAMI said it uses standard
VCD spec: 352x288 image resolution, 25fps framerate in MPEG-1)
Click to expand...

Framerate is not the same as bit rate. You should use 1,000 kbits/sec
for medium quality resolution.
I've tried get latest codec via google but found no relevant link yet
Click to expand...

http://www.divxmovies.com/codec/
http://www.xvidmovies.com/codec/
http://www.free-codecs.com/
http://www.codecguide.com/


--

"Yet the legislative being only a fiduciary power to act for certain
ends, there remains still in the people a supreme power to remove or
alter the legislative, when they find the legislative act contrary to
the trust reposed in them....And thus the community perpetually retains
a supreme power of saving themselves from the attempts and designs of
any body, even of their legislators, whenever they shall be so foolish
or so wicked as to lay and carry on designs against the liberties and
properties of the subject."
--John Locke
 
But I couldn't just disable all antivirus or personal firewall
application just because I need to run conversion program.
Click to expand...

Why not?
Besides, my
preception is McAfee drag down PC speed much serious than Norton
product.
Click to expand...

Those are dinosaurs. Get a modern anti-virus package like Avast.



--

"Yet the legislative being only a fiduciary power to act for certain
ends, there remains still in the people a supreme power to remove or
alter the legislative, when they find the legislative act contrary to
the trust reposed in them....And thus the community perpetually retains
a supreme power of saving themselves from the attempts and designs of
any body, even of their legislators, whenever they shall be so foolish
or so wicked as to lay and carry on designs against the liberties and
properties of the subject."
--John Locke
 
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