Low FPS (how to increase fps?)

[naddyd]

hello everybody!

i have macbook pro 15'
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm
os x snow leopard 10.6

i have a pretty big composition on resolume 3.1.3:
4 layers with about 300 clips anywhere between 1 second and 10 minutes, all renderd with the dxv codec and all have hue, mirror and brightness&contrast effects.

when i play all 4 layers on my macbook pro, i get decent FPS of about 40-45.
but when i connect to a projector (either using a scan converter, or mini display port to VGA), the FPS drops down to about 20-25

- is there any way to increase the FPS?
- if i partition my harddisk and only install resolume on it, will it help?
- i heard that the software Gameboost can help increase FPS, but it's not compatibale with os x, do you know of a software that is?

any helps or tips will be appreciated,
Thanks! naddyd

[HerrNieDa]

i think it has to do with the graphic Memory (it's a new mbp or?)
maybe the mbp is using the shared memory from the 2. video card for the output which gives the performance drops? i never work on mac :p
the harddrive should'nt be the problem, but it's always better using a faster (external) Harddrive than a Notebook-HD for Videos

next suggestion, which Resolution do you use?
resolume always takes 512pixel steps to render the composition, as far as i know!
so 512x384 (512x512) should be much more faster than 640x480 (1024x512), which is much faster than PAL resolution (1024x1024) for example!

[Joris]

the FPS drops down to about 20-25

We've had similar reports from a user with the same model MacBook. We're looking into the cause, but at the moment it's looking like it is indeed the shared memory of the gpu which is causing the issue.

so 512x384 (512x512) should be much more faster than 640x480 (1024x512), which is much faster than PAL resolution (1024x1024) for example!

I'm curious to know more about what you're talking about here. I'm a bit confused about the terms you're using though: PAL for instance is not 1024x1024...

Joris

[HerrNieDa]

with PAL i mean 720 (or 768) x 576.....
but resolume has to render the same region if you set the composition to f.e. 1024x1024 or 513x513
for example
i run a composition @ 640x480 with my laptop @25 fps, @ 512x512 i get 40fps and above!

[tanya]

I'm experiencing the same issue. My frame rate is usually between 60 and 80 fps, but when I plug in my external monitor it drops down to between 7 and 15 fps. This is a huge issue! Not to mention that I'm playing a gig in a week... eek!

I realize that Joris suspects it is due to the shared memory of the gpu... but is there any way to fix this??

I'm running Resolume 3.1.3 on a MacBook Pro (2007), 17", 4 gb ram, 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo, Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with 256mb of vram.


Thanks so much for any suggestions.

[tanya]

So I just tried connecting my external display via VGA, rather than DVI, and my FPS went from between 7 and 15 to about 25, which is obviously much better. Without sending the video to an external monitor, I get between 40 and 80 fps. I'm still wondering, though, is there any way to improve this?

Thanks!

[Joris]

Hey Tanya

Strangely enough, that older model MBP does not share the memory so that can't be the cause. We are aware of the issue though, and are looking into a fix. It's a bit of a nasty one, since it seems to affect random Mac models. Another notch on the belt of PC fanboys I guess

Joris

[gpvillamil]

That is extremely interesting. I've worked on a number of large scale video installations recently, and the DVI connection has given us all sorts of problems, in terms of resolution and frame rate.

We're usually connecting a Mac to several output monitors via a TripleHead2Go unit, which has both DVI and VGA inputs. Switching to the VGA input has solved a *lot* of problems.

I suspect that the DVI connection sends monitor identification info to the computer which is a) incorrect and b) cannot be overridden, whereas the VGA connection *can* be forced into specific resolution and timing modes.

This seems to be more of a problem on Macs than on PCs (which still have VGA connectors anyway).

So I just tried connecting my external display via VGA, rather than DVI, and my FPS went from between 7 and 15 to about 25, which is obviously much better. Without sending the video to an external monitor, I get between 40 and 80 fps. I'm still wondering, though, is there any way to improve this?

Thanks!

[digital:snot]

on my asus g1s - i have the same GeForce 8600 GT 256 (with another 256 shared)
(my system): viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4641&p=21435#p21435

i have a small fps drop (not as drastic as you mention) when i go from just my pc, to plugging in the monitor output.

i just assumed that it was more of a math thing. My video card goes from pushing one monitor exclusively to pushing my monitor and also a 3072x768 monitor...

it seemed reasonable that there would be some performance hit as more demand was put on the videocard.

my drop was more like 75fps to 55fps. I assumed that some drop was typical for all video cards as resources get spread to other monitors. I am sending to vga and not through the hdmi/dvi


to squeek out more fps, have you tried the "Disable Global Effects & Blend modes" in the video section of preferences. that helps alot but at the expense of features.

[lukasvojir]

Hey guys, did anyone managed to find any solution? I am running avenue on a high spec mac with extra ram and all, and I am getting 15fps playing 640x480 videos on a second screen output, that's really bad - no way I can use this playing gigs...
(I am using DXV codec, have all my videos 640x480 as well as my composition and second screen resolution)