Simple way to set process priority?

riredale wrote on 10/12/2002, 12:50 PM
Is there a simple way to set (or preset) the rendering process priority? In my case, I would like to REDUCE the priority, so that one instance of VV3 can be chugging away on a render in the background while the rest of my PC use goes on as usual. I can manually set the priority by using a utility such as "TaskInfo" to set the rendering thread of VV3 to "Idle," but the setting won't stick after shutdown and restart.

Comments

SonyDennis wrote on 10/12/2002, 3:17 PM
Under Windows XP, I've tried to use the Task Manager "processes" tab to change priorities (it's on a right-click context menu), but frankly, I haven't seen a ton of difference in PC response when changing process priorities. It might be enough to make your PC usable during render, though.
///d@
briand wrote on 10/12/2002, 5:56 PM
Setting 1:

In XP (and win2k I think) look at:

My Computer->Properties->Advanced Tab->Performance Button->Advanced Tab

Make sure "Adjust for best performance of:" is set to "Programs". I think in Windows 2000 this option is more clearly defined, saying something like "best performance for foreground application or background ones".

Basically, this just means the Windows scheduler will provide more timeslices to the program you have active, instead of the ones in the background and the unseen services.


Setting 2:

Make a file on your desktop (or wherever) called "vegas low.cmd" (or whatever) and put in the line:

start "vegas" /low "C:\Program Files\Sonic Foundry\Vegas 3.0\vegas30.exe"
(edit with your vegas path)

This file will start Vegas in low priority mode, so use it when you're starting a copy just to do a large rendering, and then use the normal shortcut for your other sessions.
riredale wrote on 10/13/2002, 11:59 PM
Thanks, but I'm still living back in the Stone Age with W98SE. I suspect there is nothing similar that can be done under that OS, is there?

I keep telling myself that I will never upgrade to another MS operating system. I keep hoping that VV will be ported over to Linux one day...
briand wrote on 10/14/2002, 11:44 PM
Ahhh, good old win98. It's going to have pretty bad performance handling multiple high-impact processes like VV, but there are tools to alter priority level. First one I came across on a quick google search was "PrcView (Process Viewer)". The original homepage appears to be down, but I found it on PCWorld, Here
briand wrote on 10/14/2002, 11:48 PM
Oh, and although I love Linux (it's a primary part of my job and I'm an RHCE), I just can't see any SoFo app getting ported to Linux anytime soon. Cinerella is a nice demonstration that "it can be done", but I think serious video editing is still a long way off on Linux.
Control_Z wrote on 10/15/2002, 8:32 PM
When rendering mostly unprocessed DV video there isn't much difference because of the constant high-priority disk access involved.

But when I set my photo montages to rendering I always have to lower the priority a notch in XP if I want to get other things done. I imagine mpeg rendering would behave the same, but I never do it.