Choppy video and video capture

[jasonturner]

I have a dell Inspiron 5100 with Windows XP installed on it and use Adobe Premiere 6.5 for video capture. The first few months everything worked fine. Now as the computer age progressed the videos that are already on my computer are slow and choppy and the sound and video sometimes become un-coordinated. I am having the same problem capturing video from my digital video camera. If someone can help me out by telling me some way to speed it up I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

[homer15]

is it all videos on your pc? not just ones you capture yourself, but if you were to download one from the internet, is that choppy too?

[ljCharlie]

Have you tried defragment your video hard drive? One more thing, have you check to see if your hard drive transfer mode is set to "DMA if available". If it is not, it will make a huge difference. I know my does.

ljCharlie

[jasonturner]

It is all the videos on my computer not just the ones i captured myself. I have tried to defrag and that didnt help. Where do I change the DMA option? Thanks. Jason

[not important]

Originally posted by jasonturner It is all the videos on my computer not just the ones i captured myself. I have tried to defrag and that didnt help. Where do I change the DMA option? Thanks. Jason

Start-Right clik "My Computer"-Properties-Hardware-Decvice Manager- Clik on the "plus" by "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
Double clik "Secondary IDE Channel-Advanced Settings.

[jasonturner]

DMA if avaialble was already selected. Any more suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[homer15]

if it's all your videos, i would think maybe a driver problem with the video card... or maybe even a codec problem for video playback. there are codec packs you can download from microsofts site. get those, and also try getting the latest drivers for your video card.

[psyteam]

Adobe Systems Technical Document 319867
Title: Optimizing a Windows System for Video Editing with Premiere 6.x

Optimizing the system can eliminate compatibility problems that can
interfere with video editing. To optimize a Windows system for Adobe
Premiere 6.x, work through the tasks in this document. To further eliminate
problems, simplify the system to include only those components necessary
for editing video.

1. Make sure that the system meets the minimum requirements.
The system requirements for Premiere vary depending upon the type of
media with which you work. For example, if you work with low resolution
media--that is, still images or audio files from your computer that
you're outputting to CD-ROM or to the Web--you need less processing
speed and memory than if you work with DV. If you use a third-party
analog only or analog/DV capture card, make sure that the system also
meets the requirements specified by the capture card manufacturer.

Premiere 6.5
Minimum requirements for Premiere 6.5:
-- Intel Pentium III 500 MHz or faster Pentium processor
-- Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, 2000 with Service Pack 2, or
XP
-- 128 MB RAM (256 MB or more recommended)
-- 600 MB of available hard-disk space for installation
-- 256-color video display adapter
-- CD-ROM drive
-- Apple QuickTime 5.0 (recommended)

Additional requirements for DV:
-- Microsoft DirectX-certified IEEE 1394 interface
-- Dedicated large-capacity 7200rpm UDMA 66 IDE or SCSI hard disk or
disk array
-- Microsoft DirectX-compatible video display adapter

Additional requirements for third-party capture cards:
-- Adobe-certified capture card (For a list of certified capture cards,
visit Adobe's Web site at www.adobe.com/products/premiere/6cards.html
.) Refer to the capture card manufacturer's Web site for additional
system requirements.

Additional requirements for real-time preview:
-- Pentium III 800 MHz or faster Pentium processor

Premiere 6.0x
Minimum requirements for Premiere 6.0x:
-- Intel Pentium II processor (300 MHz or faster)
-- Microsoft Windows 98, 98 Second Edition, 2000, Me, NT 4.0 with
Service Pack 6, or XP*
-- 64 MB of RAM (128 MB or more recommended)
-- 85 MB of available hard-disk space for installation (40 MB for
application)
-- 256-color video display adapter
-- Large-capacity hard disk or disk array
-- CD-ROM drive

* Visit Adobe's Web site at www.adobe.com/products/XPinstallnotes.html
for the recommended XP upgrade procedure.

Additional requirements for DV:
-- Intel Pentium III processor (500 MHz or faster, Pentium III 700 MHz
recommended)
-- Windows 98 Second Edition, Millennium Edition, 2000, or XP
-- 128 MB of RAM (256 MB or more recommended)
-- Dedicated large-capacity 7200 rpm UDMA 66 IDE or SCSI hard disk or
disk array
-- Microsoft-certified OHCI IEEE 1394 interface
-- Microsoft DirectX-compatible video display adapter

Additional requirements for third-party capture cards:
-- Adobe-certified capture card (For a list of certified capture cards,
visit Adobe's Web site at www.adobe.com/products/premiere/6cards.html
.) Refer to the capture card manufacturer's Web site for additional
system requirements.

Note: Premiere 6.0x doesn't support FireWire disk drives.

2. Install the latest version of Premiere.
The latest version of Premiere is 6.5, which may be more compatible with
the operating system and hardware drivers. For upgrade information,
visit Adobe's Web site at
http://www.adobe.com/store/products/...d=catPremiere.

The free Premiere 6.02 update is available from Adobe's Web site at
www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html.

Before you install an upgrade or update, make sure that the system meets
the requirements.

3.
Check hard disk speed.
If you work with analog video, contact the manufacturer of the video
capture card for hard disk speed requirements. If you work with DV video
(IEEE 1394), Premiere requires hard disks that can sustain a minimum
data rate of 5 MB/second for smooth playback.

In addition, disks should have a rotational speed of 7200 rpms or
greater. As you save more content to the disk, access and transfer times
to the disk increase to slow performance. If you work with disks at
near-capacity, use a faster disk (for example, one with a speed of
10,000 rpms) to compensate for the decrease in performance.

If you use external drives, make sure that the cables can handle the
drives' data rates and rotational speeds. Adobe recommends that you use
large capacity UDMA 66 IDE or SCSI drives dedicated to video only. If
you use an IDE disk drive for capturing video, see task 4, "Optimize IDE
disks," in this document. Premiere doesn't support multiple devices on a
FireWire chain or multiple devices on a FireWire card.

4. Optimize IDE disks.
Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA) to improve the transfer rate of IDE
disks and prevent dropped frames and jerky video during capture and
playback in Windows 2000, XP, Me, or 98SE. Windows XP enables DMA by
default on most IDE devices. For more information, visit Microsoft's Web
site at http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev/tech/...e/IDE-DMA.asp.

Note: Don't enable DMA for IDE disks in Windows NT. For more
information, visit Microsoft's Web site at www.microsoft.com.

To enable DMA in Windows 2000 and XP:
1. Log in to Windows with administrator access.
2. Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
3. Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
4. Click the plus sign (+) beside "IDE controllers."
5. Right-click the IDE disk, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
6. Click the Advanced Settings tab, and select DMA If Available For
Transfer Mode.
7. Click OK to the alert about enabling DMA.
8. Click the plus sign beside CD-ROM Drives.
8. Right-click the CD-ROM drive, and choose Properties from the pop-up
menu.
10. Click the Settings tab, and select Enable DMA. (This option
won't appear if the CD-ROM drive isn't connected to the IDE chain.

To enable DMA in Windows Me and 98SE:
1. Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
2. Click the Device Manager tab, and then click Device Manager.
3. Click the plus sign (+) beside Hardware Controllers.
4. Right-click the IDE disk, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
5. Click the Settings tab, and select Enable DMA.
6. Click OK to the alert about enabling DMA.
7. Click the plus sign beside CD-ROM.
8. Right-click the CD-ROM drive, and choose Properties from the pop-up
menu.
9. Click the Settings tab, and select Enable DMA. (This option won't
appear if the CD-ROM drive is not connected to the IDE chain.)

5. Verify that device drivers are compatible with Windows.
Verify that all device drivers are compatible with Windows. Device
drivers are files that allow Windows to communicate with devices such as
capture cards, video display adapters, SCSI cards, and disk drives.
Contact the device manufacturer to make sure that you have the latest
driver for it.

To verify that device drivers are compatible with Windows NT, contact
the device manufacturer.

To verify that device drivers are compatible with Windows XP, 2000, Me
or 98SE:
1. Open the System Control Panel:
-- In Windows XP, choose Start > Control Panel, click Performance and
Maintenance, and click System.
-- In Windows 2000, Me, and 98SE, choose Start > Settings > Control
Panel, and double-click System.
2. Open Device Manager:
-- In Windows XP and 2000, click the Hardware tab, and then click
Device Manager.
-- In Windows Me and 98SE, click the Device Manager tab.
3. Click the plus sign (+) to the left of each device type.
4. If a device appears with a black exclamation mark (!) in a yellow
circle, do the following:
-- In Windows XP, right-click the device, and choose Properties from
the pop-up menu.
-- In Windows 2000, Me, or 98SE, double-click the device, and then
click the General tab.
5. Note the properties for the device:
-- Check the Device Status field: If the device isn't working
properly, information in this field can help you troubleshoot the
problem.
-- If the Properties dialog box has a Driver tab, click it. If the
Driver tab doesn't indicate the driver provider, click Driver
Details. If Microsoft is the provider, a generic driver is
probably installed; contact the device manufacturer to obtain the
most recent driver they provide.

6. Disable background applications and TSR programs. (Windows Me and
Windows 98SE only)
Background applications and terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) programs
compete with Premiere for system resources and can interrupt the flow of
data.

To disable background applications and TSR programs:
1. Turn off the display for the system clock: Choose Start > Settings >
Taskbar, deselect Show Clock, and then click OK.
2. Disable Auto Insert Notification for the CD-ROM device:
a. Choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, and double-click System.
b. Click the Device Manager tab, click the plus sign (+) next to
CDROM, and then double-click the CD-ROM device.
c. Click the Settings tab, deselect Auto Insert Notification, and
then click OK.
3. Determine if TSR programs are running:
a. Exit from all applications.
b. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete. The Close Program dialog box lists Windows
Explorer and all currently-running applications.
4. Open the Win.ini file in the System folder and look for programs
listed in the "load=" and "run=" lines
-- If nothing is listed after "load=" or "run=" in the Win.ini file,
no TSR programs are running. Skip step 5.
-- If programs are listed after "load=" or "run=" in the Win.ini
file, proceed to step 5.
5. Prevent TSR programs from loading automatically during Windows
startup:
a. Choose Start > Settings > Taskbar.
b. In the Taskbar Properties dialog box, click the Start Menu
Programs tab, and then click remove.
c. In the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box, click the plus sign
(+) next to StartUp.
d. Select a TSR program in the Startup folder, and click Remove.
Repeat this step for each TSR program listed.
e. Make a backup copy of the Win.ini file in the Windows folder.
f. Open the original Win.ini file in a text editor that can save in
text-only format (e.g., Notepad).
g. Locate the "load=" and "run=" lines In the [Windows] section. If
either the "load=" and "run=" lines list any applications, insert
a semicolon at the beginning of the line as follows:

;load=
;run=

h. Save the Win.ini file in text-only format, and then restart
Windows.

7. Optimize the video display.
Video display options and acceleration can conflict with capture card
drivers, resulting in a system error, and screen savers can interrupt
the flow of data when you capture video, causing dropped frames. In
addition, display options use system resources, decreasing resources
available to Premiere.

-- To disable video display acceleration in Windows XP, 2000, Me, or 98:

Important: If you have a Sony VAIO with DVGate Motion, don't disable
video display acceleration; doing so may affect the overlay capabilities
of the video display adapter.

In Windows XP and 2000:
1. Open the Display Properties window:
-- In Windows XP, choose Start > Control Panel, click Appearance
and Themes, and then click Display.
-- In Windows 2000, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel, and
double-click Display.
2. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3. Click the Troubleshooting tab.
4. Move the Hardware acceleration slider to None.
5. Click OK to accept the new setting, and then click OK to close
the Display Properties window.
6. Restart Windows.

In Windows Me or 98:
1. Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties.
2. Click the Performance tab, and then click Graphics.
3. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to None or one notch above
None, and then click OK.
4. Restart Windows.

-- To optimize display options:
1. Open the Display Properties window:
-- In Windows XP, choose Start > Control Panel, click Appearance
and Themes, and then click Display.
-- In Windows 2000, Me, 98, or NT, choose Start > Settings >
Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
2. Change the desktop pattern:
-- In Windows XP, click the Desktop tab, and select None for the
Background.
-- In Windows 2000, Me, 98, or NT, click the Background tab, set
the Wallpaper and Pattern options to None, and then click OK.
4. Click the Screen Saver tab, select None from the Screen Saver
scroll box, and deselect the Energy Saving options.
5. Click the Settings tab, choose High Color (16 bit) or True Color
(32 bit) from the Color Palette pop-up menu, and then click OK.
6. Click Yes to restart the computer.

8. Reinstall and test Premiere and digital video hardware.
Test each digital video hardware device to ensure that they perform as
expected with Premiere:
1. One at a time, install each digital video hardware device (including
the driver for it), and restart the computer after each installation.
2. Reinstall Premiere, restart the computer, and then test Premiere. As
a guideline for testing, use the overview (Premiere 6.x) or tour
(Premiere 5.x) in chapter 1 of the Premiere user guide. If an error
occurs when testing, restart the computer and then re-create the
Premiere preferences file:
a. Exit from Premiere.
b. Start Premiere while holding down Ctrl+Shift.
c. When the Premiere splash screen appears, release the keys.
d. Respecify any custom preference settings.
3. Install the SCSI adapter and disk drive according to the
manufacturer's instructions. Make sure that the disk drive appears in
Windows Explorer.
4. Install the capture card according to the manufacturer's
instructions, and then test the card by capturing video and
outputting it to tape.

Note: Never install two PCI plug-and-play cards on the same computer.

9. Check the Interrupt Request (IRQ) value for the capture card.
Make sure that the capture card has a unique IRQ value, preferably IRQ
9,10, or 11, and that it doesn't share an IRQ value with other devices
on the system. If the capture card shares an IRQ value, fewer system
resources will be available to it for tasks such as capturing video and
it may drop frames. If you need to reassign an IRQ value, move the PCI
card to another slot. (See the Windows documentation for more
information.)

To view IRQ values in Windows XP and 2000:
1. Choose Start > [All] Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System
Information.
2. Click the plus sign (+) beside Hardware Resources.
3. Double-click IRQs.

To view IRQ values in Windows Me and Windows 98SE:
1. Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.
2. Click the Device Manager tab.
3. Double-click the computer icon at the top of the device list.
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psyteam

[jasonturner]

Thanks so much for all of your help everyone, especially psyteam. I did everything in your post and that solved my problem. I appreciate it so much. Thanks.