Serato Video General Discussion

Talk about Serato Video and Video-SL.

PC's that run Video (NO MAC INPUT NEEDED)

Funkytownstopsix 3:14 PM - 22 August, 2012
Simply put if you have a PC that runs VSL really well post the specs and who makes it. If you are running it in Windows 7 especially I need to know.

Macbook people please stay out of the convo. I have a macbook pro and had an HP (2005) until late that died that ran VSL with no issue no lag. I want a pc because I can do so much more with them they are more powerful than mac's and cheaper,,,,,,, just sucks finding one to run vsl or video.

Currently I am looking at this specs wise.

Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3612QM processor (6M Cache, up to 3.1 GHz)
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
AMD Radeon™ HD 7730M 2GB

Cost $1000
DJ'Que 3:30 PM - 22 August, 2012
If you had a 2005 PC that ran it well then why not look for the same laptop on line. I'm sure you could find one
Funkytownstopsix 3:35 PM - 22 August, 2012
I like to move with he times. Not only that more power to edit videos in adobe.
DJ'Que 3:51 PM - 22 August, 2012
Ok I was just saying that cause you seemed to got a lucky one good luck on thehunt cause 99.9% use Mac.
the SOUNDINSURGENT 6:59 PM - 22 August, 2012
I use an ASUS G Series running Vista, core2duo, 4 gigs of ram, with an 8600 GT Nvidia card with 1 gig of ram. My equipment is 2 1200's, an Ecler NUO4 (MIDI Mixer), an SL3 and that little Vestax effect unit. I get mid to high 80's with my fps running 1 video and when playing 2 it usually drops down to 65/70 and that's with an effect running on each deck. It Also depends on how the videos are encoded cause anything I ever got from 8th Wonder seems to play shitty. Also the drivers for your video card are important. I tried like 3 or 4 different drivers before things started playing smoothly. But with all that said I use VDJ cause Serato Video doesn't have many features. You can't map out individual effects, no text to screen, no twitter integration , etc,etc....the list goes on. In my own opinion, if your gonna use a PC ditch Serato for the time being and use VDJ. It's very stable and has a lot of Nice features. I'm sure no one will admit it but it is a great program. I just troll around here cause these guys have great info when it comes to converters and encoding....... I'm sure it's not what you want to hear but that's my opinion.
DJ Soup 8:32 PM - 22 August, 2012
I just bought a new HP Envy 15 to replace my old first gen HP Envy and I love it. Works really well with Itch and Serato Video. The build is better than the first gen Envys that came out 2 years ago.

Here's the specs:
• Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• 3rd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M Processor (2.5 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz)
• 1GB Radeon(TM) HD 7750M GDDR5 Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 6GB 1600DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 750GB 7200 rpm Hard Drive
• 15.6-inch diagonal Radiance Full HD Infinity LED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• Full-size Radiance backlit keyboard

I work on 3D models in 3DS Max during the day so that's why I still go the Windows route so this laptop is perfect for me.
DouggyFresh 5:00 AM - 23 August, 2012
Really the secret to the whole thing is the video card. In my desktop PC experimentation, using video cards from NVidia, ATI, etc. The #1 thing to quality, lag free output is the OpenGL implementation. I had an updated driver on my Asus G72GX that had a poor OpenGL implementation in it compared to the older driver, when I downgraded the driver version by version, I found one that was close to the original version that came on it, and all of a sudden VSL went from 13 frames per second, to 70-80. I found this out by looking up OpenGL problems on that driver series, and found that the newer drivers "broke" the openGL. Most PC games are DirectX, so video card manufacturers sideline OpenGL support. Mac OS uses OpenGL exclusively, so all Mac OS drivers are fully compliant.

The laptop's video card is a NVidia GTX260M, 1GB DDR3 dedicated RAM.

In my desktop experimentation, I've used an AMD Quad core with a NVidia 9800GT Extreme card on Windows XP, which ran VSL insanely fast, I could stack effects. transitions, leave the video playlist on auto play, 24+ hours without any problems.

I ran a newer ATI video card in a similar but different CPU (still AMD Quad Core) build, didn't run right. Turns out again, is the OpenGL was not fully supported. A friend of mine has an older 2008 ATI FireGL card, I'm curious to plug that into one of my towers and try it with VSL, I bet it would be great, because it's fully OpenGL compliant in hardware.

So whatever laptop you are considering, always check OpenGL support. Make sure there's no complains running programs that use it.

Just a quick check on that video card (the Ati Radeon HD 7730M), if its combined with an Intel Graphics HD4000, make sure you can set the OpenGL acceleration to be used from the ATI driver, not the Intel driver, as the Intel drivers have crippled OpenGL support... (and of course Serato Video may somehow detect your video as Intel graphics, and not install).
DouggyFresh 5:07 AM - 23 August, 2012
Oh and for the guy who mentioned VDJ - yes, I've tried that on my setup as well. Way more efficient in playing videos. Seems like mid grade laptop could easily do video on VDJ - my G72GX running at 85-95% CPU in VSL, runs 10-20% CPU on VDJ playing 2 videos. I used my SL1 as the sound card, and used Serato Vinyl (not recommended, imo, its kinda glitchy on pitch control, but I didn't want to buy VDJ vinyl just to try it out)...

I had even made a SSL keymap for VDJ (all the internal mode keyboard controls, loops, cue points, shift-left shift right to load songs...). But I'm all for SSL, didn't like the VDJ interface enough to switch...
Funkytownstopsix 2:41 PM - 23 August, 2012
Dj soup thanks... Hp has a good track record with me... running on 64bit as well... That 3d max is crazy.....I checked it out and I think I will have to look at that a little closer..
Funkytownstopsix 3:28 PM - 23 August, 2012
Hey soup how hot does it get!!!!
DJ Soup 7:33 PM - 23 August, 2012
It doesn't get as hot as my first gen i7 that was in my old HP Envy but then again I'm using an i5 in this laptop. They fixed the cooling issues by putting the battery up front and pushing the processor and graphics card to the back. The whole redesign for cooling is better with big vents on top and on the back.

3DS Max is my shit! I first got into using it in college and the game company I'm trying to get in at only uses 3DS Max so I've being using it everyday lately. I like it better than any of the other 3D packages out there because I can work faster with it. I also like Blender too because it's free but it doesn't fit my workflow for games like Max does.
Funkytownstopsix 7:54 PM - 23 August, 2012
I think I might buy this HP on Monday I will ponders as they say if I do by I will upgrade it to the quad core and add a hybrid drive found a coupon that got me $510 off... As far as the 3d stuff I have never touched it but I would love to make a short 2 min animation, is the learning curve on 3ds max large? Kinda off the subject but hell I wanna know!!!!!!
DJ Soup 8:15 PM - 23 August, 2012
Yeah I bought mine a month back with a coupon too that saved me lots of money that I don't have. I miss having a quad core but I don't miss having my laptop feel like it's on fire. This i5 that I have may only have dual core but it's faster than my old i7 so I'm happy. The quad core was nice for analyzing in Itch and rendering videos in Adobe Media Encoder but I didn't have the extra money for that i7.

I'd say the learning curve on any 3D package is huge if you haven't done 3D before. I went to school for animation so I learned how to use 3DS Max and Maya but there is still a lot that I don't know. Online tutorials are the way to go if you wanna learn 3d. cg.tutsplus.com has some good free video tutorials.
DJ Sergio B 8:36 PM - 24 August, 2012
Banging out - used both VDJ and SV - with no issues. I go PC for the all the reasons most people do - I need to do more with it than just DJ. I also use it for production when I'm on the go:

Sony VPCF221FX
2nd Gen Core i7 i7-2630QM / 2.0 GHz
750 GB Western Digital HD (5400 rpm)
8 GB DDR3 Ram
1920 x 1080 Screen Res.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M (512 MB)

No issues with SV since I switched over from VDJ - it was kind of a leap of hope that paid off. VDJ handled video on my machine with much more room for encoding different sources and playing straight from them - including VOB - with ease but SV don't play that.

Handbrake seems to cause issues with re-encoding sometimes as well - I'm not sure why?

but no issues here! SV doesn't need a gig of RAM for the video card - altho I suspect my i7 is doing the rest of the lifting - keep things to a 10% (for just video and music playing on both sides ) -40% (at max - like during a load) tax on my system

(backlit keyboard has been CLUTCH during sets. Will find it hard press to deal without one now)
Funkytownstopsix 12:44 PM - 31 August, 2012
Quote:
Banging out - used both VDJ and SV - with no issues. I go PC for the all the reasons most people do - I need to do more with it than just DJ. I also use it for production when I'm on the go:

Sony VPCF221FX
2nd Gen Core i7 i7-2630QM / 2.0 GHz
750 GB Western Digital HD (5400 rpm)
8 GB DDR3 Ram
1920 x 1080 Screen Res.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M (512 MB)

No issues with SV since I switched over from VDJ - it was kind of a leap of hope that paid off. VDJ handled video on my machine with much more room for encoding different sources and playing straight from them - including VOB - with ease but SV don't play that.

Handbrake seems to cause issues with re-encoding sometimes as well - I'm not sure why?

but no issues here! SV doesn't need a gig of RAM for the video card - altho I suspect my i7 is doing the rest of the lifting - keep things to a 10% (for just video and music playing on both sides ) -40% (at max - like during a load) tax on my system

(backlit keyboard has been CLUTCH during sets. Will find it hard press to deal without one now)

So is that with windows 7
mfshva7 2:13 PM - 1 September, 2012
Lenovo Ideapad U410 with Core i5 1,7GHZ , Geforce 610M , 4GB RAM , Win7 64Bit is running well with SD-Videos and Medium Quality , have buyed this because its in Germany for around 750€ for Sale and the new Macbooks (Air or 13") have disappointed me because no more CUDA GPU´s only Intel Onboard-Sh.. i work much with Premiere and a Geforce is here much much better for rendering than the Intel Cards so i sell my Macbook (late 2008)
DJ Sergio B 4:08 PM - 1 September, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
Banging out - used both VDJ and SV - with no issues. I go PC for the all the reasons most people do - I need to do more with it than just DJ. I also use it for production when I'm on the go:

Sony VPCF221FX
2nd Gen Core i7 i7-2630QM / 2.0 GHz
750 GB Western Digital HD (5400 rpm)
8 GB DDR3 Ram
1920 x 1080 Screen Res.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M (512 MB)

No issues with SV since I switched over from VDJ - it was kind of a leap of hope that paid off. VDJ handled video on my machine with much more room for encoding different sources and playing straight from them - including VOB - with ease but SV don't play that.

Handbrake seems to cause issues with re-encoding sometimes as well - I'm not sure why?

but no issues here! SV doesn't need a gig of RAM for the video card - altho I suspect my i7 is doing the rest of the lifting - keep things to a 10% (for just video and music playing on both sides ) -40% (at max - like during a load) tax on my system

(backlit keyboard has been CLUTCH during sets. Will find it hard press to deal without one now)

So is that with windows 7


yeah it is. Forgot to state that - my bad!
mfshva7 8:40 AM - 21 September, 2012
yestrerday there was a Nvidia Driver Update on my Lenovo U410 M , now SV runs with 55-60fps also when playing 2 Decks with Effects , so i can recommend the Lenovo U410 Ultrabook for Serato-Video without any problems
djnak 6:34 PM - 22 September, 2012
Quote:
so i can recommend the Lenovo U410 Ultrabook for Serato-Video without any problems

still running on medium quality with sd video?
mfshva7 2:13 PM - 26 September, 2012
yes Medium Quality with 720x576
phatbob 4:58 PM - 26 September, 2012
Mmmmm lovely medium quality.

This thread could be used by Apple as a commercial.
mfshva7 8:41 PM - 26 September, 2012
it run also without any jerks on high but the difference is not worth the nearly 10-20% more needed cpu power, you should not forget my U410 cost around 750€ a macook with specs like that is around 1100€
DJ Soup 9:56 PM - 26 September, 2012
I think you should run on high quality if you can. It makes a difference and more cpu power shouldn't matter as long as your not having problems. We all know that PC laptops cost less but your not gunna change people's minds about them here.
DJ Tecniq 8:07 AM - 27 September, 2012
Quote:
I want a pc because I can do so much more with them they are more powerful than mac's
First time I've ever heard this... Someone must of forgot to tell you that Mac's are tha shit!
CJ DJ 2:49 AM - 28 September, 2012
I run Itch + video and use both the V7s and NS6 depending on the situation and I use a Dell XPS L501X I7 with 6 gb. It runs flawless although there was an issue I found when I bought the laptop but since then I found the solution for it and its perfect. I can run anything on this machine, so I am very happy with it.
Funkytownstopsix 12:40 PM - 1 October, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
I want a pc because I can do so much more with them they are more powerful than mac's
First time I've ever heard this... Someone must of forgot to tell you that Mac's are tha shit!

There is always somebody that does not read and comprehend had you comprehended what was wrtitten, you would have not said a word as it said no MAC input needed. Search the forums or start your own thread. Mac's are redistricted when it comes to software it's just that simple, and your a fool to think any other way.
DjFuentes82 4:09 PM - 1 October, 2012
If you're set on buying a PC and have some knowledge in computers, just visit the manufacturers website and create your custom build laptop. Every brand has a "Performance Series" which is usually more expensive but they're built with better parts.
I use a HP DV7 about 3 or 4 years old and it still works great with Serato Video, SSL, and Itch.
DJ Tecniq 5:59 PM - 1 October, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I want a pc because I can do so much more with them they are more powerful than mac's
First time I've ever heard this... Someone must of forgot to tell you that Mac's are tha shit!

There is always somebody that does not read and comprehend had you comprehended what was wrtitten, you would have not said a word as it said no MAC input needed. Search the forums or start your own thread. Mac's are redistricted when it comes to software it's just that simple, and your a fool to think any other way.
i knew it said no mac input needed..why the hell do you think I said it Einstein :P
Funkytownstopsix 6:17 PM - 1 October, 2012
Eat a Dick :)
djnak 8:25 PM - 1 October, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
so i can recommend the Lenovo U410 Ultrabook for Serato-Video without any problems

still running on medium quality with sd video?


Quote:
yes Medium Quality with 720x576


why would you recommend it then if you can not play over medium quality without stressing your system ....#Smh
DJ Tecniq 12:54 AM - 2 October, 2012
Quote:
Eat a Dick :)
broke ass go get a mac and you wouldn't need to start this thread.
Funkytownstopsix 3:34 PM - 2 October, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
Eat a Dick :)
broke ass go get a mac and you wouldn't need to start this thread.

Dude really.... like I said I have a Mac Book Pro as a Matter of fact I have two. If you could comprehend then you would have understood that when you read the initial post at the top. BROKE LOL...... Mac is not paying you. Nothing personal with you just go post where you can help someone because if your not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Like I said eat a dick and go start your own thread. If ever in the Dallas/Fort Worth area give me a call, we can hang out and really talk.

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
so i can recommend the Lenovo U410 Ultrabook for Serato-Video without any problems

still running on medium quality with sd video?



Quote:
yes Medium Quality with 720x576


why would you recommend it then if you can not play over medium quality without stressing your system ....#Smh

I wouldn't want a PC that ran it and medium either. For those who have it working I am wondering one thing are you using direct show or quicktime. If you are running it on medium using quicktime then try directshow and see what you get.
Funkytownstopsix 3:38 PM - 2 October, 2012
Not that I need to confirm that I do have a mac but fudge why not... a quickmix I done the other day to post on facebook.... www.vdjbig.com
JDTheDJ 2:27 AM - 14 October, 2012
Knowledge of computers - I highly recommend building a shuttle - I mix a lot of video and have a lot of music. I switched to shuttles so i could build it to my specs and have an amazing graphics card not counting enough hard drive space - got tired of plugging in externals. I have 6 tbs now, an awesome video card with dual hdmi outs and everything i need, oh yes about $600 total.
DouggyFresh 5:50 AM - 14 October, 2012
Quote:
Knowledge of computers - I highly recommend building a shuttle - I mix a lot of video and have a lot of music. I switched to shuttles so i could build it to my specs and have an amazing graphics card not counting enough hard drive space - got tired of plugging in externals. I have 6 tbs now, an awesome video card with dual hdmi outs and everything i need, oh yes about $600 total.


I totally agree with this - I did that for a while when i first did Serato w/ VSL (Quad Core AMD Black Edition, 9800GTX Video card). I have a laptop for convienience now but the frame rate and speed of the desktop platform blows away laptops in general.

I've been looking into refurbised Xeon servers a lot lately, and the performance of a dual quad core Xeon plus a video card would be outstanding, and these servers can be had for less than $400. Plus you pick one up with a 4 - 8 bay SATA RAID, you can literally fill it with 3TB hard drives, 24GB of space on deck... My dad just picked up a server with DUAL motherboards, 16GB of RAM, 2 pairs of Quad Core Xeons for like $300. You have to make sure the board is PCI-E x16 or you won't be able to run high end video cards.

Of course you might want to mount it in a rolling 19-inch rack lol But of course that means you can put your keyboard, mouse, monitor(s), etc in there too.. Really not a big deal considering you could roll that rack in with your turntable cases, mixer case stacked on it
mfshva7 11:20 AM - 14 October, 2012
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Eat a Dick :)
broke ass go get a mac and you wouldn't need to start this thread.

Dude really.... like I said I have a Mac Book Pro as a Matter of fact I have two. If you could comprehend then you would have understood that when you read the initial post at the top. BROKE LOL...... Mac is not paying you. Nothing personal with you just go post where you can help someone because if your not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Like I said eat a dick and go start your own thread. If ever in the Dallas/Fort Worth area give me a call, we can hang out and really talk.

Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
so i can recommend the Lenovo U410 Ultrabook for Serato-Video without any problems

still running on medium quality with sd video?



Quote:
yes Medium Quality with 720x576


why would you recommend it then if you can not play over medium quality without stressing your system ....#Smh

I wouldn't want a PC that ran it and medium either. For those who have it working I am wondering one thing are you using direct show or quicktime. If you are running it on medium using quicktime then try directshow and see what you get.


i can play also in high quality with smooth framerates but i have read it makes not much difference on SD-Video ? Directshow makes a badder Videoquality on my System and has not so good framerates or do i need to install something special for directshow? i have only used the script
mfshva7 8:08 AM - 15 October, 2012
So , yesterday i played around a bit with my Ideapad and Itch + Serato Video

Windows8 runs itch + Serato Video without any problems in Quicktime Decoder Mode performance is a little better as on Windows7 , testet it around 4-5 hours no problems

I cleaned the complete Book and installed fresh Windows7 Home 64Bit after installing all drivers i installed only the 2 recommened Codecs and Itch + Serato Video , now i use Directshow as decoder and runs perfect 2 Decks loaded with Effects Quality Setting Good Frameblending "On" around 57-62fps

Thanks for your Hint to use Directshow as Decoder it performs around 50% faster than Quicktime as Decoder and Image-Quality is very very nice
DouggyFresh 6:08 AM - 16 October, 2012
Quote:
Ideapad


What model?
mfshva7 10:41 AM - 17 October, 2012
U410 Core i5 , 8GB RAM , SSD+HD Hybrid , Win7 64Bit , Geforce M610
Funkytownstopsix 3:43 PM - 17 October, 2012
Directshow :) I am glad it helped someone. I tried just about everything on cpu side. I have tried to stay away from shuttles because they are not as convenient as laptops. YET IT IS A VERY GOOD OPTION.
Funkytownstopsix 6:41 PM - 3 January, 2013
UPDATE:::

I purchased for $800 an HP Envy 17 " 2.3 i7 quad core that over clocks to 3.6,Windows 7,1 Tb hardive, 6gig or ram. beats sound system that has a subwoofer,switchable display Intel to ATI 1 gig graphis card to save on battery power :), that even came with Adobe Photoshop 10 and Adobe Permire 10.

First thing that I want to make clear is that serato did not work at first, I had to tell the software to use the ATI card not the Intel card for Serato. Once I did this it worked like a champ with no issues, no need to install codecs, go into the bios,,,,, nothing!!!!!! 65-67 frames per second on highest settings best settings over 70.
mfshva7 6:31 AM - 4 January, 2013
sounds nice for this money
pdidy 6:29 AM - 6 January, 2013
Quote:
UPDATE:::

I purchased for $800 an HP Envy 17 " 2.3 i7 quad core that over clocks to 3.6,Windows 7,1 Tb hardive, 6gig or ram. beats sound system that has a subwoofer,switchable display Intel to ATI 1 gig graphis card to save on battery power :), that even came with Adobe Photoshop 10 and Adobe Permire 10.

First thing that I want to make clear is that serato did not work at first, I had to tell the software to use the ATI card not the Intel card for Serato. Once I did this it worked like a champ with no issues, no need to install codecs, go into the bios,,,,, nothing!!!!!! 65-67 frames per second on highest settings best settings over 70.
there appears to be a reported overheating issue with that laptop. I dont believe hp has admitted fault at this time.
Funkytownstopsix 6:56 AM - 6 January, 2013
I read that as well but it was a spotty issue like the ddj-sx mic. I have ran the hell out this doing all kinds of stuff mostly in Premier which will make anything heat up. I did have an issue but not heat related. I played vids for a while less than an hour then it would crash. I ended up having to install codecs after which I have had no issues and that's running it everything maxed out. Hell I ran it for 5 hours today using serato video just to see if I could gig with this bad boy.... I am rather impressed with this laptop. The touch pad is not as responsive as I would like but other than that it's a real solid laptop. I can also upgrade to windows 8 for $14 so I am considering that. I have only read one person using windows 8 on PC with serato. My Mac is a little lonely these days.... Man if pc had Mix Emergency I would be hard pressed to go back to mac... Well at least it gets some rest... Anyone know of a recording program for PC that is really good.
the SOUNDINSURGENT 7:24 AM - 6 January, 2013
Try www.bandicam.com or www.fraps.com
I'd go with Bandicam as it has more options. Also I've been using Windows 8 for a few weeks and haven't had any problems running SSL with SV. Hope it helps....
Funkytownstopsix 2:39 AM - 7 January, 2013
Thanks is windows 8 faster....
the SOUNDINSURGENT 3:37 AM - 7 January, 2013
I think the speed part is really just gonna come down to your equipment. I came from Vista and I always had my SL3 set 3 for latency. Havent changed anything and I haven't had any drop out.
Funkytownstopsix 3:06 PM - 8 January, 2013
You should have told me :) It took some time to get some software/drivers reinstalled as it would not work during the upgrade, I will be testing it tonight to see if video still runs the same. Like with all new stuff I hate change but I kinda like windwos 8 and since you can run apps I like it a little more. Boots up slower that win7 but does run really smooth and has some nice features...
djemdub 7:37 AM - 15 January, 2013
Quote:
You should have told me :) It took some time to get some software/drivers reinstalled as it would not work during the upgrade, I will be testing it tonight to see if video still runs the same. Like with all new stuff I hate change but I kinda like windwos 8 and since you can run apps I like it a little more. Boots up slower that win7 but does run really smooth and has some nice features...

Windows 8 boots up a lot faster than Windows 7 on my laptop
Rick Hodgkins 9:17 AM - 15 January, 2013
This might help anybody running a pc for our purposes.

The biggest problem is available resources and cpu load.
Most of us from the XP days expected huge improvements with 7 after the nonsense with Vista.

There are several things you can do without adding speed software or massive disabling processes.
The first thing is system optimization, if you follow this pdf blow by blow most of the setting priorities are going to help.
Another problem is backside load with the bullshit these companies put on their machines along with trials for this and that and antivirus.

The best way to deal with this is one of two things.
Spend $130 on an OEM Windows 7 Pro install and run a dual boot without antivirus on the Pro side. Getting this monkey off Windows back makes a hell of a difference alone along with a clean basic install with out all of the crapware.
A friend of mine told me that you can actually get a free W7 Home install from MS that will accept your serial number so its legit and clean also.

The dual boot method will do two things, give you a clean install with all of the machines power available. And 2, will allow you to keep your original OS for internet work protected by antivirus and yet allow the sharing of files between them.
Its kind of like Bootcamp for Mac, which I used for years as a PC for djing and the Mac for internet without fear of viruses or the load that antivirus puts on the machine.

Its an easy thing to do also, just load the OS disc and shut down. Boot again and immediately Windows scan will see the new OS and ask if you want to partician and install this new OS. Future boots will offer the path option of either and with an arrow and enter will allow you to chose.

Most machines these have the power to dj, the variable is the load and condition of the registry and number of processes which if you compare the two will find one running 70+ and the OEM running 45, a no brainer.

Hope this helps, and the $130 is the best investment you can make to maximize performance rather than some spec'd out over priced machine that still chokes.
Rick Hodgkins 1:17 PM - 15 January, 2013
It was a long night...the link for optimization is here.
ts.hercules.com
Funkytownstopsix 2:51 PM - 15 January, 2013
My Envy didn't come with all the bloatware I was happy with that. Even if it did I would disable them in the start up by using the msconfig command. I have to say this has been the best laptop that I have ever owned.. I will look at this optminzation link though thanks for the info Rick.
Rick Hodgkins 2:59 PM - 15 January, 2013
Thats what I meant by disabling processes, something is always running if its been installed.
Be interested to see how many processes are running in TM knowing what the bare 7 puts up.
That optimization process fixes much of the nonsense.
Even running Windows basic on your desktop saves resources.

Kind of got my mind blown seeing how well Mac runs Windows because the hardware isn't dogged with the crapware.
Funkytownstopsix 4:13 PM - 15 January, 2013
Windows 8 runs programs like apps and shuts them down or should I say stops them until needed. All resources are used for the program that you are working on and if you need more it takes from any app/program that is open in the back ground. Pretty smart concept for them since windows is always behind the times.
the SOUNDINSURGENT 5:13 PM - 15 January, 2013
I've got it down to 36 things running in the background, still experimenting on what can be shut off yet the laptop remains stable. I'm running W8 as Well.
Rick Hodgkins 6:06 PM - 15 January, 2013
If you see one named search indexer...google it and kill it
Rick Hodgkins 10:11 PM - 15 January, 2013
Rick Hodgkins 11:08 AM - 16 January, 2013
More interesting crapola from our friends at MS
support.microsoft.com
Rick Hodgkins 11:10 AM - 16 January, 2013
And note # 2 which I figured out myself by hearing my drives seeking like a bastard and dug into TM to see what the hell was going on.

www.blackviper.com
Funkytownstopsix 5:54 PM - 16 January, 2013
Dude you got to much time,,,,,, DJ more tweek less... :)
Funkytownstopsix 5:57 PM - 16 January, 2013
I posted this in some other threads but not my own.... This is my laptop running serato in windows 8. this after I installed codecs. I have ran it for five hours with no issues at least 7 times.

www.vdjbig.com
Rick Hodgkins 6:17 PM - 16 January, 2013
Dude, I'm on a Mac
I don't tweak a damned thing except the fans.
I used to do support but MS gave me migraines.
But thanks for helping me out with my questions.

out
Funkytownstopsix 8:13 PM - 16 January, 2013
Your welcome!!!! MS support team with a MAC you would killed in some spots :)
For those running windows 8 and want tweek it check this out. tweaks.com
Funkytownstopsix 8:14 PM - 16 January, 2013
MS support team with a MAC you could get killed in some spots :)
i type way to fast and not good at it...
djvariety 1:58 AM - 24 January, 2013
have any thing came out yet about windows 8 if not i guess i will have to buy the full version and put it on my new HP computer so i can run videosl. I can play 2.4.3 on my acer windows 8 but i get a gray beat line once i got a full color beat line then it went back to the gray but it will play serato 2.4.3 but only on mp3 just cant set cue because of the gray line well i hope they get something soon or i may have to convert to getting windowns 7 full version.
DJMark 12:31 PM - 24 January, 2013
Are there any non-Apple laptops with at least equivalent mechanical design/build-quality?

Or is this whole thread just about keeping it cheap?
DouggyFresh 6:15 AM - 25 January, 2013
Quote:
Are there any non-Apple laptops with at least equivalent mechanical design/build-quality?

Or is this whole thread just about keeping it cheap?


I have a $1400 Asus Laptop that came with more memory & a faster dedicated 1GB video card in 2010 that just recently got surpassed in video card performance by the newest 2012 Mac models, plus being 17", 4 USB ports, Firewire, eSATA, HDMI, VGA out, lighted keyboard. Room inside for dual 2.5" drives AND keep the DVD-RW drive.

In fact, that laptop fell from 5 feet to the ground during the middle of a gig, landed face down, broke a bit of plastic from the edge of the laptop, never stopped playing music. I was just coming back from the bar and someone was like "your computer fell on the floor!!!".

Still using the original power back & battery. Battery life was the only drawback, running about 45 minutes to an hour. Never replaced a single component or ever had to send it in for repairs. I got that on clearance for $999, never had a regret to this day buying it.
Funkytownstopsix 4:21 PM - 28 January, 2013
Quote:
Are there any non-Apple laptops with at least equivalent mechanical design/build-quality?

Or is this whole thread just about keeping it cheap?


I started this for those that would work no matter what the cost.

PC would be cheap compared to Mac no matter how you put it. My HP ENVY is an Mac clone if you ask me aluminum case even comes with crazy finger gestures on the mouse pad. Two finger and Three Finger Scrolling.. I paid 800 for this quad core and I must admit I like it better than I do my mac why you may ask it's because I can do more with more programs. My only issue is using windows 8 not that it's bad it just that it has changed dramatically and takes some time getting use to. Only draw back that takes me back to my Mac is Mix Emergency, if not for that I really would not have a need for my Mac and that is real talk. Hp Envy 3200 series. 2.3 I7 quad core Turbo boost to 3.3 I think 6 gig of memory,1 gig ATI graphics and 1 TB hardive beats auido (blahhhh) but also has a subwoofer one of the best sound systems on a laptop that I have heard. Ran in windows 7 and now in 8. Beast of a laptop and to be frank it could replace desktop.

A picture does it look like a mac?
www.bing.com
DJ Quartz 5:08 PM - 30 January, 2013
I ran across this company by accident last week,

raincomputers.com

I was searching for a replacement for my Dell which will be in a few months.

I have already contacted them and I asked about backlit keyboard options, they are going to be releasing a new model in the near future with this option.

I'm thinking this will be my next laptop.
phatbob 8:15 PM - 30 January, 2013
Those are MacBook Pro money, so what's the point?
DJ Quartz 9:11 PM - 30 January, 2013
No changing my OS and all my applications, etc, etc....

It's not about the price, it's about the platform and I have more options.
phatbob 9:21 PM - 30 January, 2013
A MacBook Pro is also one of the finest Windows machines money can buy.

If people are trying to save money by going Windows, I can dig that. But those Rain machines offer less value than a MacBook Pro for a video DJ, for the same money.
Code:E 10:29 PM - 30 January, 2013
Quote:
A MacBook Pro is also one of the finest Windows machines money can buy.

+100000

I run windows on mine all of the time. It runs better than any other PC i have ever owned.
Quote:
If people are trying to save money by going Windows, I can dig that.

Makes sense
Quote:
But those Rain machines offer less value than a MacBook Pro for a video DJ, for the same money.

Phatbob Speaks the true! All hail! BOB
phatbob 11:16 PM - 30 January, 2013
LOL
Code:E 11:19 PM - 30 January, 2013
Seriously though, the only reason someone might have no choice but to run video on a PC is cost. If cost is not the issue than theres no reason to not get a Mac. ME makes that point very painfully obvious.
pdidy 11:41 PM - 30 January, 2013
Quote:
No changing my OS and all my applications, etc, etc....

Im a heavy windows user and disregarded Mac for the reasons you stated untill I educated myself and realized Macs are designed to run both windows and Mac. As stated previously, My Macs are also the greatest windows machines ive ever used.....Weird but true....lol
Quote:
It's not about the price, it's about the platform and I have more options.

So you say you want options then Mac is the way to go...... Basically, there are two ways to run Windows on your Mac:

1. Boot into Windows at startup. This dedicates 100% of the processor power to Windows and Windows applications.

2. Use virtualization software, which lets you run Mac OS X and Windows side by side. You can switch between them as easily as you’d switch between Mac applications.

Now that 2 platforms, more options.....all at the same dam time.

As if that wasn't enough, Its no secret Mac's maintain a higher resell value. I run windows on my Mac's 90% of the time and even I would NEVER switch back to a windows pc.
DJMark 11:56 PM - 30 January, 2013
I've seen those "Envy" laptops (and a bunch of other supposedly high-end Windows laptops, some of which cost much more than a typical MacBook Pro), and, while there may be some superficial resemblances to Apple's design, the actual build quality in all cases has been laughably inferior. Plus some of them just look plain disgusting and weigh twice as much as a 17 inch MacBook Pro, and have other issues like enormous power adapters and half-hour battery life.

Yes, there are things Apple could do to make their laptops more suited for "our" use (probably two more hard drives could be squeezed into a 15 or 17 inch MBP case if the optical wasn't there by design, for example).
DJ Quartz 2:56 AM - 31 January, 2013
Ok whoever wants a Mac, go hard buy a Mac. I don't want a Mac or else I would have got one a long time ago obviously.

I'm not bootcamping or running emulation or doing any of that.

I already looked at Macbooks and decided I'm not going that route.
Code:E 3:02 AM - 31 January, 2013
Quote:
Ok whoever wants a Mac, go hard buy a Mac. I don't want a Mac or else I would have got one a long time ago obviously.

I'm not bootcamping or running emulation or doing any of that.

I already looked at Macbooks and decided I'm not going that route.

Well if you want to spend lots go get an alineware.
dj point 3:09 AM - 31 January, 2013
Quote:
I use an ASUS G Series running Vista, core2duo, 4 gigs of ram, with an 8600 GT Nvidia card with 1 gig of ram. My equipment is 2 1200's, an Ecler NUO4 (MIDI Mixer), an SL3 and that little Vestax effect unit. I get mid to high 80's with my fps running 1 video and when playing 2 it usually drops down to 65/70 and that's with an effect running on each deck. It Also depends on how the videos are encoded cause anything I ever got from 8th Wonder seems to play shitty. Also the drivers for your video card are important. I tried like 3 or 4 different drivers before things started playing smoothly. But with all that said I use VDJ cause Serato Video doesn't have many features. You can't map out individual effects, no text to screen, no twitter integration , etc,etc....the list goes on. In my own opinion, if your gonna use a PC ditch Serato for the time being and use VDJ. It's very stable and has a lot of Nice features. I'm sure no one will admit it but it is a great program. I just troll around here cause these guys have great info when it comes to converters and encoding....... I'm sure it's not what you want to hear but that's my opinion.
Your right on with VDJ AS FOR VIDEO PLAYING.
DJ Quartz 3:25 AM - 31 January, 2013
I found a dealer 5hrs away from my province in Canada. When I have more info on the AV3 model I will post.
pdidy 3:30 AM - 31 January, 2013
Quote:
Ok whoever wants a Mac, go hard buy a Mac. I don't want a Mac or else I would have got one a long time ago obviously.

I'm not bootcamping or running emulation or doing any of that.

I already looked at Macbooks and decided I'm not going that route.

Let us no how it works out when you get it.
DJ Quartz 4:00 AM - 31 January, 2013
For sure!
Funkytownstopsix 12:07 AM - 1 February, 2013
Remember no need to be on this thread saying how great mac is. I own one I know exactly what it can do. Just wanting to gain knowledge of working PC's. FYI Just because you want a PC does not mean you are trying to save money or don't have money. It is a preference just like a Kawasaki ZX14 or a 1300 Hayabusa. People will say the good and the bad but it will always boil down to personal preference. I buy anything I want I have a regular job that pays well, the money I make from DJing I use all of it to buy toys...
phatbob 12:15 AM - 1 February, 2013
Except when it comes to Serato Video, buying a high priced Windows machine is more like buying a Harley and trying to ride it in a Supercross race.

It'll probably get round the course after a lot of tweaking, but you'd get round a lot faster on a Supercross bike that costs the same and works out of the box.

Serato Video works better on Macs. Fact. Whether that ought to be the case is another question altogether, but that's the situation.
Code:E 12:33 AM - 1 February, 2013
Quote:
It is a preference just like a Kawasaki ZX14 or a 1300 Hayabusa.

No it more like a toyota vs. Bentley. But thats ok.
DJ Quartz 12:35 AM - 1 February, 2013
You know what I find funny, you can game with 3D fps out the ying yang but SV suffers on Windows....

Hmmm, what does that point towards?
the SOUNDINSURGENT 12:53 AM - 1 February, 2013
Quote:
You know what I find funny, you can game with 3D fps out the ying yang but SV suffers on Windows....
Hmmm, what does that point towards?


That Serato did just enough to get it work on a PC so they could get that PC money as well. They really just need to man up and just state
"That Serato Video is a MAC program and PC's aren't supported, yes there are some who have it working but we will not offer support for the PC user."
I mean its not like they really help out much now.............Its quite sad in my opinion.
DJ Quartz 1:18 AM - 1 February, 2013
Well the thing it runs, I just need GPU acceleration and it would be a non issue.
DouggyFresh 6:20 AM - 1 February, 2013
After getting some of the PC problems worked out, many users are running 60 fps in Serato Video on high with effects or Best.

My friend's 13" i5 Macbook Pro runs 24 fps (can't remember if that's medium or high). A 13" MBP Core2Duo runs 24fps on medium (also personally verified).

Obviously that's without real GPU acceleration, but everyone says how great Macs are until you realize you're not SAYING ALL MACS run well either. Everyone says "Buy a MAC" but then that's adjusted to "Buy a 15" Macbook Pro with dedicated GPU" and that turns into $1700+ vs $1200...

Then you look at a $1200 PC that has better GPU video, more ports, more memory and a bigger screen and then you ask yourself, IS THE MAC really better?

The latest fixes and forum help has made a good PC laptop run well.
skinnyguy 6:31 PM - 1 February, 2013
then buy last year's model. sv worked great last year on it. it'll still work great this year. and for the years to come.

2008 pre-unibody still rockin....well, mostly ME....but it can run sv too.
skinnyguy 6:32 PM - 1 February, 2013
oh, shoot. sorry. contributed to the mac side. forgot this was the pc only thread. i got caught by the last statement.
DouggyFresh 7:02 PM - 1 February, 2013
Ok then you can buy last year's top of the line PC for less than that Mac...
Funkytownstopsix 9:05 PM - 1 February, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
You know what I find funny, you can game with 3D fps out the ying yang but SV suffers on Windows....
Hmmm, what does that point towards?


That Serato did just enough to get it work on a PC so they could get that PC money as well. They really just need to man up and just state
"That Serato Video is a MAC program and PC's aren't supported, yes there are some who have it working but we will not offer support for the PC user."
I mean its not like they really help out much now.............Its quite sad in my opinion.

^^^ What he said...

That is fact...... Then we would not be talking about this in any fourms.
Quote:
Quote:
It is a preference just like a Kawasaki ZX14 or a 1300 Hayabusa.

No it more like a toyota vs. Bentley. But thats ok.

Cute but not accurate. I have deminstarted before that I can do a mix on a PC and one on a Mac and you could not tell the diffrence between the two. The only way you could tell is if I was using MIX EMERGENCY other than that you would not be able to tell. Real talk. A PC Laptop for $800 is not a high end laptop by any means
Code:E 10:34 PM - 1 February, 2013
Quote:
A PC Laptop for $800 is not a high end laptop by any means

Agreed, It just sucks that most PC users having issues who and complain have $800 pc's and wonder why we tell them to buy a mac. Because they where not smart enough to know that they need to spend considerable amounts more. I bought a $1800 pc and still couldn't get VSL to work right, So i moved to a $2500 mac and its amazing.
Quote:
The only way you could tell is if I was using MIX EMERGENCY other than that you would not be able to tell

Agreed 100000% until shit fails half way though a set. Which i will admit even on a pc once everything is running unless your doing things that you shouldn't be doesn't happen that often.

but you are also for getting other things that can be done on a Mac that cannot be on a PC. Syphon comes to mind, mapping visuals, running to 3rd party video software resolume for example. Again for a basic video DJ PC's can and would be fine. if you can get it to work. But todo anything more advanced you need a mac. Its the same argument as controller vs DVS vs. Both. All big visuals guys do things the complicated route. It is not for everyone and maybe its the jaded short sighted view professionals have that they dont understand not everyone wants to put out a show to the same level of quality. Its just hard for us to except that when we are sick and tired of being undercut but amateurs saying they can do the same thing as us but really can't.
DJ Quartz 3:19 AM - 2 February, 2013
OMG, thank goodness for this thread, serato.com

I just doubled my framerate on my Dell Studio 1737.

I don't think I need to replace my laptop now for SV.

Awesome post!
DouggyFresh 6:25 AM - 2 February, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
A PC Laptop for $800 is not a high end laptop by any means

Agreed, It just sucks that most PC users having issues who and complain have $800 pc's and wonder why we tell them to buy a mac. Because they where not smart enough to know that they need to spend considerable amounts more. I bought a $1800 pc and still couldn't get VSL to work right, So i moved to a $2500 mac and its amazing.
Quote:
The only way you could tell is if I was using MIX EMERGENCY other than that you would not be able to tell

Agreed 100000% until shit fails half way though a set. Which i will admit even on a pc once everything is running unless your doing things that you shouldn't be doesn't happen that often.

but you are also for getting other things that can be done on a Mac that cannot be on a PC. Syphon comes to mind, mapping visuals, running to 3rd party video software resolume for example. Again for a basic video DJ PC's can and would be fine. if you can get it to work. But todo anything more advanced you need a mac. Its the same argument as controller vs DVS vs. Both. All big visuals guys do things the complicated route. It is not for everyone and maybe its the jaded short sighted view professionals have that they dont understand not everyone wants to put out a show to the same level of quality. Its just hard for us to except that when we are sick and tired of being undercut but amateurs saying they can do the same thing as us but really can't.


A true video professional would not run a laptop at all, and would instead bring a rack of hardware to do the job right. I know video guys (actual "VJ's") who run projection mapping systems with 4 video cards, 8 core CPU's, 32 gigs of ram.....

I know everyone thinks that "VJ" today means "bring a Macbook Pro" but in real life, in live PA, there's far more equipment to bring, and rolling a half rack of computer equipment is no problem compared to mounting projectors, running screens, etc.

Personally, if the money was right I'd run a rolling rack-mount dual CPU quad core Xeon, 16 GB of RAM, Nvidia GTX top of the line video card, 4 3TB hard drives internally mounted, a 20" main Serato monitor and a second 20" video preview monitor... (and thats not as expensive as you think with the parts sourced properly).
Code:E 7:42 AM - 2 February, 2013
Quote:
I know video guys (actual "VJ's") who run projection mapping systems with 4 video cards, 8 core CPU's, 32 gigs of ram....

I have said this in outher threads. you are confusing the term VJ with Visual Artist. I will find the thread later and you can read the difference.
Quote:
Personally, if the money was right I'd run a rolling rack-mount dual CPU quad core Xeon, 16 GB of RAM, Nvidia GTX top of the line video card, 4 3TB hard drives internally mounted, a 20" main Serato monitor and a second 20" video preview monitor... (and thats not as expensive as you think with the parts sourced properly).

I'm building a computer for when i do shows as a Visual Artist. And I'm going to install OSX. Why because macs are better for doing visuals.
DouggyFresh 12:37 PM - 2 February, 2013
Quote:
Artist. And I'm going to install OSX. Why because macs are better for doing visuals.


I am aware of the phenomenon, is that a "hardware official" OSX or an OSX86? How can you "build a computer" and run OS X officially? :)
DJ Quartz 3:18 PM - 2 February, 2013
I'm getting better frame rates since doing the tweaks in the thread. I'm honestly thinking of grabbing a spare drive and installing Hackintosh just to see how it performs.
DJ Quartz 3:28 PM - 2 February, 2013
Yep that's what I'm going to do today. Frig it....
DJ Quartz 5:15 PM - 2 February, 2013
Scratch that, going to have issues with acceleration not worth the wasted time.
Code:E 7:05 PM - 2 February, 2013
Quote:
I am aware of the phenomenon, is that a "hardware official" OSX or an OSX86? How can you "build a computer" and run OS X officially? :)

Thats a really big grey area. Do some reading www.tonymacx86.com
DouggyFresh 8:48 PM - 2 February, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
I am aware of the phenomenon, is that a "hardware official" OSX or an OSX86? How can you "build a computer" and run OS X officially? :)

Thats a really big grey area. Do some reading www.tonymacx86.com


I know all about it. Dual boot my Asus laptop with Snow Leopard :)
Funkytownstopsix 8:36 PM - 4 February, 2013
I must say I have am learning a few on this thread.

1. I learned that there are PC's that work.
2. I learned Codecs matters ( I already new this) I didn't know about the google codecs though.
3. I learned that DouggyFresh and Code: E no more about professional Video than I do.
4. I learned that Hack a Mac is a phenomenon. I did that years ago and it ran my video smoother.
5. I learned that no matter if you say no Mac imput needed Mac will be imputed somehow some way.
6. I leaned that Mac users love thier macs

I admit I love my mac too but this is about PC's. I love my PC Laptop that runs Serato Video like a champ. So if you have a good working PC laptop put the spec's on the thread and be proud....
Joshua Carl 9:02 PM - 4 February, 2013
Watchwww.youtube.com

i live a double life constantly switching between the 2
Code:E 11:09 PM - 4 February, 2013
Quote:
3. I learned that DouggyFresh and Code: E no more about professional Video than I do.

I'm assuming you ment to say know and not no.
That being said I had to re read everything i wrote in this thread to make sure that wasn't sarcasm. I don't really know how much my opinions help people with issues. I find I'm just talking (typing a lot) on this forum putting out info i wish people would have told me when i started hoping somebody is helped out by it.
Quote:
6. I leaned that Mac users love thier macs

And half of them still own PC's also.

Oh HP pavilion DV7 18.4 inch i7 laptop with gt230 video card does NOT work with Serato Video.
Code:E 11:09 PM - 4 February, 2013
*17.4 inch
DJMark 11:45 PM - 4 February, 2013
Quote:
I leaned that Mac users love thier macs


It's a tool, nothing more nothing less.

It just happens to be the best available tool for DJ-ing music videos with vinyl control.

Not about "love" or "loyalty", strictly logic.
skinnyguy 1:03 AM - 5 February, 2013
i still use my xp lappy from about 5 years ago to do audio only gigs (most of my gigs). gotta make the most of my investment, right?
pdidy 2:13 AM - 5 February, 2013
Quote:
6. I leaned that Mac users love their macs

Quote:
And half of them still own PC's also.

Yep, you would think by most of my mac vs pc comments that I was a Mac fan but the truth is I use windows pc 99% of the time. I tend to ONLY use mac when serato is involved. I do alot of testing on windows with serato but I would never preform live with it.
DouggyFresh 6:55 AM - 5 February, 2013
Quote:
Oh HP pavilion DV7 18.4 inch i7 laptop with gt230 video card does NOT work with Serato Video.


A GT230 (or GT230M being a laptop), is a medium to low performance video card.

Depending on the driver version (YES this makes a huge difference in good OpenGL support), you might find a 300% increase in OpenGL performance by installing an older driver. I know on my GTX260M, I found a 2 year old driver had better performance than the latest on Serato Video. I went in the NVidia archives, picked the date the card was first supported and installed one driver after another until I found one that worked best. Sometimes you can read the release notes and see OpenGL mentioned in it.

I'm talking from 8 frames per second to 60 frames per second different! I'll bet that 60% of the PC laptops on the market are OpenGL crippled with the stock drivers.

Unfortunately, DirectX drives the PC market and OpenGL is secondary on any gaming platform. I remember running Serato Video 1.1 on a AMD Quad Core desktop, with a 9800GTX 1GB video card, 2 years ago, maybe 3, and it was just sick, smooth as glass, high frame rate on Best quality.

Benchmark ratings:

GT230M 343
GTX260M 597 (my laptop)
9800GTX 1058 (ran VSL on this in 2009 or around then)
GTX460 2655 (my current desktop video card)

Mac Video comparisons:
Intel HD 3000 318 (2011- 13")
Intel HD 4000 470 (2012 13")
NVidia 9400M 128 (2008-2011 13")
Nvidia 9600M 287 (2008-2011 15/17")
Nvidia 320M 280 (2010 13")
Nvidia 330M 492 (2010 15/17")
Radeon 6750M 1614 (2011- 15"/17")
Nvidia GT650M 1274 (Mid 2012 Retina)

Nvidia 8600M GT - 189 (2007-2008 15"/17" models)

The big difference in even the oldest slowest Mac video cards delivering video smoother than a PC with a video card twice the speed is the fact that Mac OS relies on OpenGL for its 3D rendering. So every Mac video driver and hardware part is DESIGNED to run OpenGL perfectly.

It just goes to show you too, that model numbers don't mean anything. You would think a GTX 460 would be worse than a GTX 650, but in reality, the GTX 460 is actually faster.
DJ Quartz 2:08 PM - 5 February, 2013
One thing I'm curious about is SSL running on a Surface Pro? Ha ha
Funkytownstopsix 2:40 PM - 5 February, 2013
Quote:
I learned that DouggyFresh and Code: E no more about professional Video than I do.

It wasn't sarcasm at all, you would not have to guess if so from me. It was a typo since I don't proof read... Honestly everyone that has posted has been helpful in one way or another. I really never considered the Professional side as I am only a mobile vdj. I knew it was there but it didn't apply to me. Also I look at some of the mixes posted on this site and I see the time and effort that people put into that type of production. Man it must take 45 days to render some of the stuff I have seen as of late. No matter what I think it's cool that professional video poeple reside on the fourms and are DJ's and can supply us with the knowledge that they have. I think I will one day in the next few years build a small rack mount system myself and get away from laptops period.. of course it will be a PC.... :)

Quote:
One thing I'm curious about is SSL running on a Surface Pro? Ha ha

Dream on...
Code:E 8:05 PM - 5 February, 2013
Quote:
e. I think I will one day in the next few years build a small rack mount system myself and get away from laptops period.. of course it will be a PC.... :)

Advice.

Been there done that. I HATE laptops of all kinds. fully and equally (mac and PC). They are the devil.
Ask my local sound tech friends. I got so much flak for moving to laptops because i was such a vocal appoint for a long time.

Reasons for a tower in a rack mount case:
Redundant RAID's for both OS and Music. (came in handly once had a HD fail before a gig but i didnt know until after because the other HD booted up and i didnt even notice.
Its Fixable and upgradeable
It is so much more powerful
Its Cheaper (if you want it to be)
You can get a real video card (or 2)
you can add extra things likes backup sound cards (i have an PCI maya44), (i was using VDJ at the time, in HID with my CDJ2000's)
I had a video input card also.

So i bought a rolling gator case (8 Unit high) Computer used 4 units. It also have a 10until slant top that i never got around to using. I did use the space though I builts some foam sides and put my monitor in there.
The other 4 units in the rack where used by drawers. these housed all of my cables, sound card's and midi controllers.
I also custom created a snake that came out the back and ran all needed cables for hooked in general setups to the top of the dj table. Including Keyboard and mouse hookups, monitor VGA's, back up audio to the secondary soundcard, and USB's (4) for midi devices and Esata for my backup external HD.

I loved this rig, it was amazing! Problems; Setup time. Though my current setup is complicated, this was crazy. Finding space for things like keyboard and mouse and monitors, big pain in the ass especially when playing in nightclubs. mobiles it ment i need to have larger cluttered looking tables that in the end made it look less professional. Updating the computer; i would update my esata and then copy it to my gig computer at each gig before it started.

And lastly why i got rid of it.

I have a jeep cherokee, it was very easy to fit the unit inside. the trunk area was about waist hight. I don't lift. But i'm no lazy fat ass, I'm fit and fully capable doing physical labour.
But this gator case was so heavy i couldn't lift it in and out of my jeep by myself. I also couldn't carry it up the stair ladder to get into the DJ booth where i had a res at the time.

I would fully think your idea though before you go ahead and build something like this.
DouggyFresh 8:39 AM - 6 February, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
e. I think I will one day in the next few years build a small rack mount system myself and get away from laptops period.. of course it will be a PC.... :)

Advice.

Been there done that. I HATE laptops of all kinds. fully and equally (mac and PC). They are the devil.
Ask my local sound tech friends. I got so much flak for moving to laptops because i was such a vocal appoint for a long time.

Reasons for a tower in a rack mount case:
Redundant RAID's for both OS and Music. (came in handly once had a HD fail before a gig but i didnt know until after because the other HD booted up and i didnt even notice.
Its Fixable and upgradeable
It is so much more powerful
Its Cheaper (if you want it to be)
You can get a real video card (or 2)
you can add extra things likes backup sound cards (i have an PCI maya44), (i was using VDJ at the time, in HID with my CDJ2000's)
I had a video input card also.

So i bought a rolling gator case (8 Unit high) Computer used 4 units. It also have a 10until slant top that i never got around to using. I did use the space though I builts some foam sides and put my monitor in there.
The other 4 units in the rack where used by drawers. these housed all of my cables, sound card's and midi controllers.
I also custom created a snake that came out the back and ran all needed cables for hooked in general setups to the top of the dj table. Including Keyboard and mouse hookups, monitor VGA's, back up audio to the secondary soundcard, and USB's (4) for midi devices and Esata for my backup external HD.

I loved this rig, it was amazing! Problems; Setup time. Though my current setup is complicated, this was crazy. Finding space for things like keyboard and mouse and monitors, big pain in the ass especially when playing in nightclubs. mobiles it ment i need to have larger cluttered looking tables that in the end made it look less professional. Updating the computer; i would update my esata and then copy it to my gig computer at each gig before it started.

And lastly why i got rid of it.

I have a jeep cherokee, it was very easy to fit the unit inside. the trunk area was about waist hight. I don't lift. But i'm no lazy fat ass, I'm fit and fully capable doing physical labour.
But this gator case was so heavy i couldn't lift it in and out of my jeep by myself. I also couldn't carry it up the stair ladder to get into the DJ booth where i had a res at the time.

I would fully think your idea though before you go ahead and build something like this.


In the pure world of "bring your laptop and DJ", thats true. But how many guys are already bringing a truck full of gear to do a gig already? Some bring video projectors, cables, etc. I took over a gig for a friend of mine who promptly gave me 2 EAW speakers (75+ lbs each), a set of stands, 20 lbs of cables, an amp, etc to do the gig. That's non video, if I had to bring a couple projectors, wire them up, screens, etc there's another truck full of gear.

And as far as "where" to put a monitor, keyboard and mouse (which you can buy keyboards with built in trackpads), that takes less space than a laptop. 15 feet of audio, video, keyboard, mouse cords to allow you to keep your rolling rack around the corner is a minimal expense.

Put to the extremes, you could fit enough computer hardware in a backpack (custom built ITX computer system) plus a monitor, keyboard & mouse to blow away almost any "laptop backpack". Obviously a full height video card may not work, but almost any decent half height card > most stock laptop cards.
Code:E 8:54 AM - 6 February, 2013
My experience with a tower was 65% club and 35% mobile. In a purely mobile setting it would be more feasible. As long as you can add the extra setup time or do some sore of awesome backpack DouggyFresh suggested it can be more than worth it.

I was just giving my experience with the idea and I suggest you bounce you ideas off of friends and co workers doing the same sort of gigs you will be doing. or if your not a one man op the other guys who work with you would be a great to bounce ideas off of.
DouggyFresh 9:16 AM - 6 February, 2013
Quote:
My experience with a tower was 65% club and 35% mobile. In a purely mobile setting it would be more feasible. As long as you can add the extra setup time or do some sore of awesome backpack DouggyFresh suggested it can be more than worth it.

I was just giving my experience with the idea and I suggest you bounce you ideas off of friends and co workers doing the same sort of gigs you will be doing. or if your not a one man op the other guys who work with you would be a great to bounce ideas off of.


I see guys who come into a club with 2 CDJ's, mixer all in flight cases. With a customized "computer" flight case, you could easily fit a monitor, keyboard, mouse and computer in that case. Hell if a "case" was no object, there's no reason you couldn't put a ATX motherboard, full height video card, hard drives, keyboard, mouse & monitor in the case itself... A little bit of customization you could have a "fold out" keyboard + monitor with just a cable snake to hook it all up, just leave the rest on the ground under the DJ booth, maybe even mount your audio card (SL1, SL3, etc) right inside your case with an audio jack adapter that all the RCA's plug into.

Before I got my laptop to work well, (back then on Hackintosh, now running as a full PC setup) i was really close to collaborating with a friend of mine to build a computer + monitor flight case setup.
Rick Hodgkins 10:27 AM - 6 February, 2013
@ Code:e, thats so funny I had nearly the same machine and case.
A 3u cpu in a 10x6 gator case, and it nearly killed me, oh and a jeep cherokee also...lol
The center of gravity was so far away from your body, it was dangerous to carry alone.
That cpu is still running today in a Philly club.

My next one was a small form factor Shuttle built right into a smaller Odyssey 18x18 wood case that worked well for years.
Carried a 19" monitor in a second laptop bag, and when I built this I had a scale running and had it down to 75 pounds.

Now running 2 set ups, one full sized one compact with controller, have dropped some serious weight in both. Just dropping the Denon 3700's to the CDJ's saved 28 lbs.
Funkytownstopsix 2:06 PM - 6 February, 2013
I really was thinking of building a setup and putting in a flight case. Acutally it would be pretty easy to do. I would add a board in the base so I could mount Mother Board and hardirives fans and have my boy build me a pop up monitor and key board rack to put in it. Done deal.... But I must admitt after carring turntables and cdjs going to a DDJ-SX and a laptop I feel like I am cheating. I still carry speakers but I still feel like I am cheating. If a club dj and you could live with out the TT's it has to be the best setup other than just using an x-1 or x-2 (no scratching)
Funkytownstopsix 2:07 PM - 6 February, 2013
moble wise
DJ Quartz 2:13 PM - 6 February, 2013
Wow this takes me back to the days of Final Scratch with my Shuttle XPC, LCD Monitor and wireless keyboard with built-in track pad.
phatbob 2:44 PM - 6 February, 2013
Quote:
Wow this takes me back to the days of Final Scratch with my Shuttle XPC, LCD Monitor and wireless keyboard with built-in track pad.


I used a Shuttle when I first started using software for DJing. At the time it seemed like a good idea (I like multiple points of failure in my kit) but I look back now and wonder what the fuck I was thinking...
DJ Quartz 2:53 PM - 6 February, 2013
Ha ha ha, I know but I didn't trust laptops all that much back in '03.
Rick Hodgkins 3:12 PM - 6 February, 2013
That shuttle was retired to my internet music slave and is working perfectly after all these years. (smart fans a must)
Like Dj Quartz said, back then laptops didn't hack it for video.
Funkytownstopsix 10:14 AM - 15 February, 2013
Messing around with adobe that came with this laptop, a video of one of my favorite party songs The Showboys Triggerman... Video supplied by the movie Raid.
www.vdjbig.com
tk_marley 10:08 PM - 29 March, 2013
Hey can't afford a MAC at the moment was wondering will this PC work with these specs
Graphics: AMD Radeon™ HD 7500G Discrete-Class graphics and up to 3060MB total graphics memory
DJ Quartz 10:15 PM - 29 March, 2013
The only thing you can do is try it. Are you buying or do you have access to test it first?
tk_marley 10:31 PM - 29 March, 2013
Was thinking about purchasing at best buy they where going to see me the display at a reasonable price it's an HP ENVY 15.4
DJ Quartz 10:35 PM - 29 March, 2013
Test it first, I tried the newest HP's and no go. Hence why I switched platforms.
skinnyguy 12:12 AM - 30 March, 2013
try it out at the store first.

then save up and get a mac.
Holden Caulfield 7:30 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
You know what I find funny, you can game with 3D fps out the ying yang but SV suffers on Windows....

Hmmm, what does that point towards?


3D graphics and video rendering are nowhere near the same thing.

You really don't need much more than 128 MB of dedicated video ram to run HD video. mixing, compositing and overlay require a bit more horsepower, but not not gigs worth.

All the beefing up video cards are doing over the years are to do faster 3d rendering...

I can run VDJ or SV on some of my oldest laptops, but can't run video games.

The issue is Quicktime, which is one of the reasons we can't run VOB video. Quicktime is Mac-centric. It runs perfectly on Mac, so-so on PC.

It's like VDJ.. it smokes on PC, bites on Mac. because of direct-x.
Holden Caulfield 7:35 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
Wow this takes me back to the days of Final Scratch with my Shuttle XPC, LCD Monitor and wireless keyboard with built-in track pad.


I remember buying that from the guy with the Dreads at the Atlantic City DJ expo back in like 96 or 97.

Never could get it run worth a crap, but was amazed at the concept.

I was carrying a full tower and a CRT monitor to DJ back them.. lol

Boy how times have changed
Milkcraate 8:27 PM - 31 March, 2013
I kinda lost where the direction of this thread went......

BUT....
I bought a new laptop after putting my old toshiba TABLET PC (2005) RIP to rest. I used to mix with it in tablet mode and drag songs with a stylus.

I'm a bit of a tech guy (i love playing video games) and decided to up my game with Serato Video... so i did research on what the best laptops on the market were with the best video cards. (these video cards blow top spec mac laptops out of the water)

So i ordered my 2.7 ghz 16 gb ram and nvidia 680M card with 2gb ddr and figured that if only integrated intel cards weren't compatible than my beast of a card would have no problem.

I get my laptop, get my video license, start to load my videos that i had compiled awaiting the new laptop.

Its been almost 4 months now; my serato video still crashes on a regular basis. I made the horrible decision to try it at a show and probably lost some people because of that. I've spent 100+ hours troubleshooting... i feel like i'm at square one.

The worst part about it is i've lost my love for scratch live as a result of these headaches... i was a loyal serato user for over 6 years.


IS ANYONE RUNNING A PC GETTING THIS PROGRAM TO WORK CONSISTANTLY
DJ DisGrace 8:33 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
these video cards blow top spec mac laptops out of the water

If I had a dollar for every time someone said this....
Milkcraate 8:36 PM - 31 March, 2013
well the highest end apple you can buy today (4 months after i bought mine) is the 650M and i have the 680M.... big difference.
Milkcraate 8:36 PM - 31 March, 2013
graphic card that is
DJ DisGrace 8:41 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
well the highest end apple you can buy today (4 months after i bought mine) is the 650M and i have the 680M.... big difference.

And how well does it run Serato Video again?

My 5-yr old GeForce 9400M 256MB still runs video flawlessly....



There is a thread around here with some driver info for Windows machines. That is probably your only hope if you insist on staying with Windows.
DJ DisGrace 8:43 PM - 31 March, 2013
This thread: serato.com
Milkcraate 8:44 PM - 31 March, 2013
all i'm saying is the specs blow macs out of the water... not my fault it seems serato is a bit biased towards macs. My pc will have relevant specs for years to come and i paid a fraction of the cost of an apple.... with more room for software customization.

I've used both but as a gamer you just cant compare the selection between PC and Mac
Milkcraate 8:48 PM - 31 March, 2013
thanks for link BTW.... investigating
DJ DisGrace 8:52 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
thanks for link BTW.... investigating

no worries, I figured I should try to help a bit instead of just "Buy a Mac" lol

But seriously, it's just and OS/hardware integration thing, on top of the fact that Serato Video uses Quicktime. Very few people have had success with WIndows, while 100% of Mac users have success on the first go. My graphics card is ancient, but I still get 50fps+ all day every day. Graphics card specs are deceiving for this particular application...
Milkcraate 8:56 PM - 31 March, 2013
Its just frustrating because it'll work flawlessly at best settings with no latency and then just cop out.... its like; SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR
DJ DisGrace 9:19 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
Its just frustrating because it'll work flawlessly at best settings with no latency and then just cop out.... its like; SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR

SV is pretty picky about video format and encoding as well.

Can you narrow it down to a particular video file or source?
Where are your videos from?

Run some videos through this serato.com and post up the results.
Milkcraate 9:38 PM - 31 March, 2013
These two crash it constantly
....................................

***********************************************************
rcut.mp4
Length(s) 285.50 (Samples: 171300, Timescale: 600)
Size 124.82 MB
Movie Tracks:
VideoType: avc1, 1920x1080
Component 1) lppa, H.264 Decoder v.40004, Decompresses images stored in the H.264 format.
Audio Tracks:
AudioType: mp4a (44100kHz, 16bit)
Frame rate: 24.00 per second
Datarate: 17.20 kbytes per frame (min: 67, max: 183553)
Keyframes: 166 (min: 5, max: 49,avg: 41.1)
This file supports internal metadata
***********************************************************

***********************************************************
92.mp4
Length(s) 163.26 (Samples: 14693356, Timescale: 90000)
Size 90.52 MB
Movie Tracks:
VideoType: avc1, (JVT/AVC Coding) 1604x962
Component 1) lppa, H.264 Decoder v.40004, Decompresses images stored in the H.264 format.
Audio Tracks:
AudioType: mp4a (44100kHz, 16bit)
Frame rate: 25.00 per second
Datarate: 21.37 kbytes per frame (min: 53, max: 85109)
Keyframes: 66 (min: 25, max: 163,avg: 60.7)
This file supports internal metadata
DJMark 9:43 PM - 31 March, 2013
Keyframes in both files looks a little off (especially the second one) and where exactly are you getting these videos?

1604x962?
Milkcraate 9:49 PM - 31 March, 2013
that one was converted using handbreak...
DJ DisGrace 9:59 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
Keyframes in both files looks a little off

Keyframes are definitely important.

Quote:
that one was converted using handbreak...

I'd say start off with the Serato preset and then you can modify size and bitrate settings from there. serato.com

I'd assume sticking to "standard" pixel sizes wouldn't hurt either....
Milkcraate 10:15 PM - 31 March, 2013
i'm getting the videos from various sources..... i did run that through the serato preset
Milkcraate 10:22 PM - 31 March, 2013
UPDATE: i tried running problem vids through vdj and they work fine..... only prob is i sold my SL 1 when i bought my rane 62 and the rane 62 doesn't work with VDJ (i cant figure out how to not hear the control vinyl on the mix)

pretty furious
DJ DisGrace 10:29 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
UPDATE: i tried running problem vids through vdj and they work fine..... only prob is i sold my SL 1 when i bought my rane 62 and the rane 62 doesn't work with VDJ (i cant figure out how to not hear the control vinyl on the mix)

pretty furious

This is nothing new.... You need to make sure all your videos are encoded properly.
Milkcraate 10:32 PM - 31 March, 2013
but why would all vids work 100% with vdj and like 30% with serato? and i did encode every vid with the serato presets...

dont get it
DJ DisGrace 10:33 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
i'm getting the videos from various sources.....

Around here that means Youtube rips and .mkv files... good luck
Quote:
i did run that through the serato preset

something went wrong, because the keyframes should be around 24 with that preset.
Milkcraate 10:34 PM - 31 March, 2013
i guess i'll try a new round of encoding... i'll let ya know if the internals change
DJ DisGrace 10:35 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
but why would all vids work 100% with vdj and like 30% with serato? and i did encode every vid with the serato presets...

dont get it

It's got to do with how each program decodes the videos. SV uses Quicktime, and VDJ uses Div-X (maybe? or something WIndows-based at the very least).

VDJ works best on PCs, and SVC works best on Macs. If you are really serious, you should look into Mix Emergency for Mac.
DJ DisGrace 10:36 PM - 31 March, 2013
Quote:
i guess i'll try a new round of encoding... i'll let ya know if the internals change

Look into MPGEStream clip also.

x264, keyframes @ 24, choose the pixel size and bitrate for yourself
Milkcraate 11:18 PM - 31 March, 2013
i'm using PC so i cant use mix emergency
Milkcraate 12:05 AM - 1 April, 2013
Not to jinx it.... but i think i might have fixed my issues!!!

Cleaned up registry with k-lite codec mega pack... and used a different converter than handbrake... seems to not be crashing...

I will leave updated info in a bit!
DJMark 12:11 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
i'm using PC


That's problem number one.

Easy enough to fix.

Bonus Question: what is the monetary value of "100+ hours troubleshooting"?

If it is LESS than the price differential between a generic PC laptop and a MacBook Pro, the lesson should be extremely clear.

Bonus Advice: "specs" is a distraction that many people before you have gotten hung up on.
Milkcraate 12:14 AM - 1 April, 2013
well jokes on you if this fix works
Milkcraate 12:15 AM - 1 April, 2013
price difference between mac and PC is immense...
DJ DisGrace 12:15 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:

Cleaned up registry with k-lite codec mega pack...

yup, the only PC people that get it to work properly know their way around the corrct drivers and codec configuration

Quote:

and used a different converter than handbrake... seems to not be crashing...

You'll find that Handbrake isn't used my most of the advanced video guys on this board. Popular free choices include MPEGStreamclip, AviSynth/MeGUI, among others....
Milkcraate 12:15 AM - 1 April, 2013
and sorry for the spam... but i didn't see anywhere in the serato video info that PC wasn't suppolrted
DJ DisGrace 12:15 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
performance difference between mac and PC is immense...

Quote:
performance difference between SV and ME is immense...

fixed
Milkcraate 12:16 AM - 1 April, 2013
thanks DJ disgrace for the imput! its just been an uphill battle i really hope its working now
DJ DisGrace 12:17 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
well jokes on you if this fix works

you do realize that is a very big IF =P


best of luck.... make sure you post what worked so others have half a chance in hell of getting it to work
Milkcraate 12:17 AM - 1 April, 2013
i've never tried ME but i do hear it is superior to SV.. wish i could try it!
Milkcraate 12:18 AM - 1 April, 2013
once i figure this out i'll be able to leave a nice guide to the 4 month battle i had vs serato video....
DJ DisGrace 12:19 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
once i figure this out i'll be able to leave a nice guide to the 4 month battle i had vs serato video....

haha, no doubt. 4 months? madness....

gotta agree with DJMark on this one
Quote:
Bonus Question: what is the monetary value of "100+ hours troubleshooting"?

If it is LESS than the price differential between a generic PC laptop and a MacBook Pro, the lesson should be extremely clear.
Milkcraate 12:20 AM - 1 April, 2013
hahah its so true but i keep feeling like i'm 10 minutes from a fix... cant walk away from all those hairs i've pulled out
DJ DisGrace 12:23 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
hahah its so true but i keep feeling like i'm 10 minutes from a fix... cant walk away from all those hairs i've pulled out

Well, sounds like you figured out the worst of it. Now keep your nose clean with some legit video encoding and you should be good to go.
DJMark 12:24 AM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
i keep feeling like i'm 10 minutes from a fix


And who has time for that?

Not me...
Milkcraate 12:26 AM - 1 April, 2013
so far 6 for 6 with newly converted problem videos..... 1080p at best quality... FPS 65-85 consistant
Milkcraate 12:27 AM - 1 April, 2013
fps basically just sitting at 80-85
DJMark 12:27 AM - 1 April, 2013
Leave the computer running for 24 hours in autoplay mode, both decks loaded and pitched to 100%, and see what happens.

Part of my standard testing...
Milkcraate 12:28 AM - 1 April, 2013
more importantly... no crash!
Funkytownstopsix 5:24 AM - 1 April, 2013
milkcraate have you forced your pc to use directshow instead of quicktime?
Funkytownstopsix 12:46 PM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:

Bonus Question: what is the monetary value of "100+ hours troubleshooting"?

Quote:
If it is LESS than the price differential between a generic PC laptop and a MacBook Pro, the lesson should be extremely clear.

Bonus Advice: "specs" is a distraction that many people before you have gotten hung up on.


How can we have a PC discussion without talking about Mac... Even if it is requested not to : ) The purpose of this thread was to find known working PC's not buy them and test them. It was to save trouble and time as well as give you someone to help you with your PC when you got it.

For the record and really listen to what I am about to say. For me as a DJ I would only use my PC as a back up. Although I have one that is working and working well I might add, I have never had a crash on my Macbook Pro so I will go with the odds. I can't say the same for windows. There are way to many variables with PC's and since this program was designed solely to work with Quicktime in my opinion what do you expect it to work best on.

If you don't know your way around PC's meaning if you don't know how to find modified video drivers or find the correct codecs then testing a PC is not for you. Now if your doing audio you should have no problems with using any of the PC's but video is a different story. Some people have dual graphics and it was recommended that we stay away from those,,,my laptop has it and it works for me. As a matter of fact my PC runs just as well as my mac and I am using window 8. Yet none of that matters if you want it to work right out the box you know what to do.
Milkcraate 3:18 PM - 1 April, 2013
Its such an awkward situation because i am so many steps in that i am not 100% sure which one i'm using (quicktime, directshow) i'd say i'm 90% sure i have it on directshow now. I'm just scared to change any more of my settings because its working now.

Just an update, got a little tired yesterday and didn't do a full stress test. I did however have the best results so far.

going through my newly converted vids i only had 1 non fatal crash (i was able to continue to mix untill i quit the program about 30 min later) over an hour and a half.

So what proved to work for me... k-lite mega codec pack (has every single codec pack/settings you could ever want). K-lite mega also attempts to get a grip on all the codec mixup you might have been doing before (will search registry and fix problem threads.... i had to fix over 30 threads my first time running)

finally, rather than use handbreak encoding 1 at a time... i used xilisoft and converted to 1080p HD with max audio and video settings.

So far so good, now i hope to work problem vids out one at a time rather than have aprox 40% of my videos crash my comp.
DJ DisGrace 3:30 PM - 1 April, 2013
Quote:
i used xilisoft and converted to 1080p HD with max audio and video settings.

Why not a free, superior program like MPEGStreamclip or MeGUI? All those spamware programs are junk for the most part.

Are the videos originally HD to begin with? Or are you upconverting to 1080 from a smaller resolution?
Milkcraate 3:42 PM - 1 April, 2013
was just the setting i picked... seems to work though...

i ran over 400 vids through it one pass... had it just set for best mp4 settings..

and i had the full version of xilisoft anyway so figured i'd try it
Funkytownstopsix 3:42 PM - 1 April, 2013
So this is a video issue....? Where in the fudge did you get your videos.

FYI if you force your pc to use directshow you would have to do so in the registry so I am sure you would have know because it would tell you that changes are being made to your registry and would ask you that scary message "are you sure this could harm you computer"...

I use meidacoder to do my conversions but since I get almost all my videos from pools I don't have that issue because I don't have to convert anything except videos for videos that have not been made.
Milkcraate 3:43 PM - 1 April, 2013
and yeah... only like a third of those vids were 1080p hd..
Milkcraate 3:43 PM - 1 April, 2013
ya it was a registry change... i just dont like clicking those edit scripts too much
Funkytownstopsix 6:30 PM - 1 April, 2013
I bet your issue normally happens when you have to hd videos load and playing at the same time. Even some older mac's can't handle that.
Milkcraate 6:53 PM - 1 April, 2013
it was happening like that but since i've reencoded those vids i haven't had probs
tk_marley 7:22 PM - 1 April, 2013
Not trying to change settings just need a PC that will run SV does anybody know of one
Milkcraate 7:34 PM - 1 April, 2013
it all depends on what kinda vids you are planning on playing... you need a dedicated video card though just to run it
Funkytownstopsix 7:45 PM - 1 April, 2013
@tk_marley did you read this post...
skinnyguy 6:27 AM - 2 April, 2013
Quote:
Not trying to change settings just need a PC that will run SV does anybody know of one


straight out of the box with no tweaks? good luck...
DJ Quartz 10:03 PM - 24 April, 2013
I got this is my email today since I inquired a few months ago,

raincomputers.com

I was going to wait before I got the macbook pro but didn't feel like waiting and taking a chance.

Could be a very viable solution. I advised them if SV did work out the box they could do very well.
Joshua Carl 10:15 PM - 24 April, 2013
Oooooh. Very nice for Sony Vegas
Maxed out model: $7099.00

Whoooooooooah!
Code:E 11:35 PM - 24 April, 2013
I maxed one out for $8169.00

Cool idea and if i was a travelling VA (visuals Artist), and needed that kind of video power for massive stadium visuals Sure I would get one, but I rather spend $3000 on a the most expensive MacBook Pro money can buy and benefit from syphon.
DJMark 1:50 AM - 25 April, 2013
Quote:
I maxed one out for $8169.00


And still it's made from cheap plastic with parts that don't fit together well, even in their pictures (you have to assume those are best-case).
DJ DisGrace 2:03 AM - 25 April, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
I maxed one out for $8169.00


And still it's made from cheap plastic with parts that don't fit together well, even in their pictures (you have to assume those are best-case).

+1
It's gonna be tough for anyone (including Apple) to top the Unibody design
Code:E 2:33 AM - 25 April, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I maxed one out for $8169.00


And still it's made from cheap plastic with parts that don't fit together well, even in their pictures (you have to assume those are best-case).

+1
It's gonna be tough for anyone (including Apple) to top the Unibody design

+1
DJ Quartz 12:35 PM - 25 April, 2013
I have the say the unbody design is top quality. I expected the Livebook to be metal as well for that kind of money.
Culprit 10:03 AM - 2 May, 2013
I would like to also recommend that you turn cabac off before encoding your videos. PC and CABAC dont play well together. Just a recommendation.
tk_marley 3:15 AM - 27 July, 2013
Hey would these specs do
HP Envy 6-1110us 15.6-Inch Sleekbook

AMD A-Series Quad-Core A8-4555M 1.6 GHz (4 MB Cache)
8 GB DDR3 expandable to 16 GB DDR3
500 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
15.6-Inch Screen, AMD Radeon HD 7600 G
Code:E 3:24 AM - 27 July, 2013
Quote:
AMD A-Series Quad-Core A8-4555M 1.6 GHz (4 MB Cache)

to the best of my knowledge that is a netbook processor and not suitable for serato. plus the fact serato and AMD never played well together. I would suggets you only consider computers with Intel chips.
DJ Quartz 3:26 AM - 27 July, 2013
^ I tested a base install on multiple Envy configs before getting a Macbook...

NO LUCK!
CJ DJ 8:23 PM - 27 July, 2013
You were testing the wrong hp product, check here the right product:

www8.hp.com,

You will not spend more that 4000 and it is a powerhouse, unless you just want to pay for bragging rights.

There are many other brands with the right kind of hardware and dedicated video cards, just need to research.
DJMark 9:39 PM - 27 July, 2013
The way MacBook Pros are going, big Windows laptops like that one may end up as the only real option for video DJ's who want self-contained portable systems with internal expandability.

If only ME ran on Windows...
Code:E 10:26 PM - 27 July, 2013
Quote:
You were testing the wrong hp product, check here the right product:

www8.hp.com,

You will not spend more that 4000 and it is a powerhouse, unless you just want to pay for bragging rights.

There are many other brands with the right kind of hardware and dedicated video cards, just need to research.

Quote:
If only ME ran on Windows...



I'm not a windows hater And i really like big powerful machines like this. But until software like ME comes to windows its just not an option.

Not saying I dont hope widows does get it. If windows does get the software I will be the 1st one to jump back to that platform.
Joshua Carl 10:48 PM - 27 July, 2013
if macbook pros keep leaning towards less PRO and more shit like retina displays, battery life and shrinking the frame we are going to find ourself in quite a pickle.

Im 1/2 excited and 1/2 scared to death at the next release of Pros.
Code:E 12:43 AM - 28 July, 2013
Quote:
if macbook pros keep leaning towards less PRO and more shit like retina displays, battery life and shrinking the frame we are going to find ourself in quite a pickle.

Im 1/2 excited and 1/2 scared to death at the next release of Pros.


I'm in the same boat. I dont want my new more powerful video card being wasted on a screens resolution that most apps wont support and take away power for my video outputs.
DJ Quartz 1:50 AM - 29 July, 2013
I think we're still good for a bit guys.
skyy 3:27 AM - 29 July, 2013
L.O.L
CJ DJ 11:27 PM - 6 August, 2013
Quote:
until software like ME comes to windows its just not an option.



Pardon my ignorance, wtf is ME?
skyy 1:17 AM - 7 August, 2013
MixEmergency
dj kreate 1:07 AM - 21 August, 2013
i just picked up a dell N5110 that has core i5 processor and 8 gig ram. has hdmi output.

hope it works out good. Also have a older macbook but that maxes out at 4 gig ram.
BOOGIEFROMCUR 2:36 AM - 21 August, 2013
well... this forum started as "PC's that run Video (NO MAC INPUT NEEDED)" and most (funny) replies seem to come from MAC users and it also seems like the majority of us are all are pro VJ's. First of all I believe that most of us make enough money with our gigs to go buy the best machines we need, to do our show right. So we did that. Most don't give a shit about the brand but at the end we bought MAC's.
But I'm still curious to the PC users replies and the SERATO (helpdesk?) replies because myself as a strictly DESKTOP PC user (I "edit" only on PC's and also bought a dell precision specifically for bedroom "horizontal position" editing) ONLY will risk to VJ/DJ on my dedicated laptop (macbook Pro 15").
Man...I tried my share of PC machines in "live" situations and I will not try another PC until I see some kick ass wicked VeeJay duplicate the stuff 'we" (MAC VeeJays) do "live" without breaking into a sweat.
DJMark 2:58 AM - 21 August, 2013
I find it both disappointing, and very revealing, that after a whole year of this thread being started there is very little concrete, useful information about "PC's that run Video".
skyy 2:33 PM - 21 August, 2013
@ Boogiefromcur ,thanks because i'm so tired of trying to convince people to get a mac,Ok once again,here the truth,if you want just to Dj with mp3's a PC is fine,but please stop trying to Dj with Videos on a PC.you asking for problems Its called a PC (Pretty Cheap) if you wanna be a pro then buy a pro!
skyy 2:39 PM - 21 August, 2013
when you buy a lemon,just make lemonade,and stop trying to make soda
skyy 2:45 PM - 21 August, 2013
Ok, One More Thing,Once You Go Mac You Don't Go Back!
the SOUNDINSURGENT 3:16 PM - 21 August, 2013
Just use VDJ, it's a good program and there's waaay more that can be done when it comes to effects when compared to Serato Video.
skinnyguy 6:57 PM - 21 August, 2013
Quote:
I find it both disappointing, and very revealing, that after a whole year of this thread being started there is very little concrete, useful information about "PC's that run Video".



Seems like the concrete information is that you're either very lucky or very skilled if you got a pc to run serato video smoothly. Other than that, your only other option to vj on a pc would be to use vdj....or mixvibes.
pdidy 7:01 PM - 21 August, 2013
Quote:
Seems like the concrete information is that you're either very lucky or very skilled if you got a pc to run serato video smoothly.

from what ive seen, its almost always a combination of both luck an skill.
Funkytownstopsix 4:37 PM - 27 August, 2013
Then I am lucky.... :) Oh and skilled but that was not need it this case... The other day I downgraded from windows 8 back to windows 7 because my laptop is not a touch screen, windows 8 without a touch screen is useless. Restored the laptop to the original state. Installed Serato DJ 1.3, Serato Video 1.1, and drivers for SX. Worked without even forcing it to use direct show. Runs better than my mac and is maxed out on all settings runs with no problems. The only difference performance wise was that on the PC the jog wheels are not as tight scratching with the DDJ. Other than that nothing and that is real talk only thing missing is mix emergency : (

Why do people want to use PC's.. Well I know with this laptop I have 2 hard drive bays, two display ports, hdmi, and 6 usb 3.0 connections... That's WHY!!!! oh I forgot to say cheaper!!!! Like by half.

People must understand that this software was designed for MAC and could work for windows under certain circumstances/conditions. I have been lucky with HP's but trust me when I say I have tried at least 11 other laptops that did not work under windows but half of those did work using the hack a mac technique. So if you want it to work out the box yes buy a mac but if you want to save some money pay attention to these forums so you can save yourself some time and work and go with what people have tested and verified to work. I plan on making a video with me djing on a windows pc for some hours so people can know that not only can a PC do it but can do it well and lastly that I am not bullshiting anyone.
the SOUNDINSURGENT 4:52 PM - 27 August, 2013
What is the exact make and model please.
Joshua Carl 4:58 PM - 27 August, 2013
I can certainly co-sign, when i did a fresh install of windows, and installed the proper video card driver my SSL + SV ran as smooth as butter...not even a hiccup.
(truth be told my switch was for mix emergency)

then again, it was a $2500 PC.
It STILL RUNS video fine, and its from 2008.

I think alot of times the problem is a PC can range from a $150 walmart special to a
$6000 beast of a laptop.... and everything in between.
skyy 4:59 PM - 27 August, 2013
11 PC's wow thats really saving money,give me a brake.
skinnyguy 5:08 PM - 27 August, 2013
Quote:
.... I plan on making a video with me djing on a windows pc for some hours so people can know that not only can a PC do it but can do it well and lastly that I am not bullshiting anyone.



yea, josh already made the video showing us it can be done on pc.
Funkytownstopsix 5:13 PM - 27 August, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
.... I plan on making a video with me djing on a windows pc for some hours so people can know that not only can a PC do it but can do it well and lastly that I am not bullshiting anyone.



yea, josh already made the video showing us it can be done on pc.


I know that's why I said it.

@Sound

www.amazon.com

is my laptop execpt mines in to 3d.... 17t-3200 Fyi I paid 800 for mine.
Funkytownstopsix 5:20 PM - 27 August, 2013
www.buyingsale.com
My laptop with the specs. They no longer make this but the ones they make now are better.
Funkytownstopsix 7:11 PM - 27 August, 2013
Quote:
11 PC's wow thats really saving money,give me a brake.


lol yeap 11 laptops and I had to pay restock fees too, I didn't tell you how many desktops I tried it with......a hard ass makes a broke fool... Yet that was when the plugin was released. Now laptops come with 2 gig graphics cards 6 to 32gig of memeory windows 7 which is the most stalbe verision of windows to date. Like JC said don't buy the cheap wal-mart laptop and expect it to work. I also see mac not making macbook pro's in the coming years so I want to be ready on both sides of he coin.
Funkytownstopsix 7:14 PM - 27 August, 2013
What I meant to say before somebody clicked on post.
Quote:
11 PC's wow that's really saving money,give me a brake.


: ) I'm giving you a break by starting this tread which has some good information saving you the time an anguish that guys like myself, skinny guy, Joshua Carl and others had to go through back in the day :),,
DouggyFresh 6:09 PM - 28 August, 2013
Just by the fact that computer get better every year, eventually there would come a time that more decent PC's will be able to run Serato Video without problems. Mine took some tweaking too but I was able to run the factory Windows 7 64 bit without having to reformat it...
Code:E 6:12 PM - 29 August, 2013
Quote:
Just use VDJ, it's a good program and there's waaay more that can be done when it comes to effects when compared to Serato Video.

The truth. If you want to go the PC route VDJ is the way to go.
Joshua Carl 6:57 PM - 29 August, 2013
8.0 is shaping up to be pretty serious I'm told
Code:E 7:28 PM - 29 August, 2013
Quote:
8.0 is shaping up to be pretty serious I'm told

Told...... My ass..... Josh I would be very surprised if you haven't had your hands on it already but cant talk about it.

But I hear the same things. I looking forward to it very much. Hoping the upgrade fee won't be crazy.
Funkytownstopsix 7:48 PM - 29 August, 2013
I haven't looked at Vdj in years mostly because of their timecode? Also how much would it cost to do video? I seen that you can do karaoke now that is a plus... Mac and a PC why not Serato and VDJ...!!
the SOUNDINSURGENT 8:08 PM - 29 August, 2013
Quote:
8.0 is shaping up to be pretty serious I'm told


Yes it is......
DJMark 11:50 PM - 31 August, 2013
Quote:
8.0 is shaping up to be pretty serious I'm told


I'm actually tempted to familiarize myself with VDJ, as a hedge...in case Apple ends up "iPad-izing" the entire MacBook lineup, therefore discouraging me from buying one the next time I upgrade hardware.

Hope it doesn't come to that but...
Code:E 4:57 AM - 1 September, 2013
Quote:
Quote:
8.0 is shaping up to be pretty serious I'm told


I'm actually tempted to familiarize myself with VDJ, as a hedge...in case Apple ends up "iPad-izing" the entire MacBook lineup, therefore discouraging me from buying one the next time I upgrade hardware.

Hope it doesn't come to that but...

If I wasn't already familiar with VDJ and in mine or your position I would.