We have three 2+ GHz computers, all obviously recent, and we are

unable to export video through the OCHI FireWire port on two of

these (yes, we have been through the BIOS, Windows nooks and

crannies, and all of Premiere's nested menus - we used to build

editing computers for ourselves and others...). With all, the computer

monitor frame rate is an absurd 1fps while trying to output simultaneous

video. This is with a FAST CPU! With my old Win '98 800MHz

machine with Premiere 5.1 and Raptor, I could get trouble-free

FireWire output and full frame-rate full-resolution computer display

of the video - and render times not much different from those of my

2.66GHz Win XP Premiere 6.01 machine using MS codec and the

OCHI card with P-6.01. It is tempting to go back to the old machine

and sell the new, but unless someone has a good *quick* and correct

idea of what is causing the OCHI output problem on these computers,

we will be cannibalizing three computers today to make one fast one

that actually performs well. It will probably use the Intel MB (the SIS

chip-set is incompatible with the Raptor card) with the 2.2 GHz

CPU, the Raptor card, and Premiere 5.1 (6 offers little of interest to

me other than the excellent key-framing, and it is slower than 5.1).

I was willing to convert to MS codec and OHCI (losing some of

Raptor's advantages) to get long-file convenience and file

compatibility with my favored DVD software, but the hit in

performance (speed, reliability, and ease of use for editing) has been

too great. I will use the Canopus file-converter program for critical

DVD material, and the Canopus MPEG2 encoder for slightly lower

encoding quality (visible in only the most difficult to encode footage).

That "new" is not necessarily "better" is a lesson I have repeatedly

"learned" the hard way, alas...

For those interested in comparison numbers, here they are

(3-minute original clip, rendered back to the same drive, with a

+3 brightness filter added in Premiere): emiere 5.01 --- 7:51

- 2.66GHz Win XP with OHCI and Premiere 6.01 --- 6:18

- 2.66GHz Win XP with Raptor and Premiere 6.01 --- 5:25

(The sound is garbled due to an incompatibility between the

SIS chipset and the Raptor card.)

- 2.2GHz Win XP with OCHI and Premiere 6.01 ---10:05

- 2.2GHz Win XP with Raptor and Premiere 5.1 --- 3:47

Add that OCHI output from both fast machines was impossible,

that the Raptor offers faster (and possibly higher-quality) rendering

than the MS codec, a MUCH better computer display while also

viewing a TV image, and, combined with Premiere 5.1, noticeably

faster rendering, there is no contest - I will continue to use the

Raptor card and Premiere 5.1 for editing, and deal with file

incompatibility problems when writing DVDs as a separate issue...

--

David Ruether

d_ruether@hotmail.com

http://www.David-Ruether-Photography.com

Hey, take a gander at www.visitithaca.com, too...!