Hey Dries,

Gearshift is Great for working with proxies of your HD files, and then shifting to either the original files, or a full HD file. Now Rendering from the Full rez files would be faster but, there are some requirements, like larger amounts of storage needed etc... Depending on the full rez choice that you select, but the rendering should be faster.

Don't take our word for it though, just go to vasst.com and log in, and download the trail from the product page.

It's got a fully functional trial for 15 days or so.

Thanks, I did that in the mean time, but all it seems to do is creating avi files.

Right, it's a proxy generator, and (if you want it to be) a Full Rez alternative generator as well. SD avi files are faster for editing and can allow you to apply more FX with a better preview rate, and then you just simply shift gears and go (either) to your original files or to a less CPU intensive Full Rez HD file, and then render.

Faster render times are going to be accomplished by 3 different areas:

CPU Speed
Disk I/O
Source ( somewhat related to CPU speed ) Processor intensive formats, or a lot of filters on what you're rendering, and it's going to take a while.

But it doesn't come with instructions or a manual, which makes it difficult to understand what it does exactly and how/where to use it.

Thanks, Dries.

Check the folder where it was installed, there should be a simple help file.

Nope, installation guide only.

Ah, I see now. In the Programs Folder.
Thanks for the tip.

Not that I've ever used Gearshift however if you want to improve render times I think you're looking in the wrong direction. As was hinted above a faster CPU is what you need.
If you want an easier editing experience with HDV then GS would sure help. Then again with a faster CPU both editing and rendering gets improved.

Bob.

Yeah, another CPU seems to be the royal way. But my AMD 6400+ system is dedicated for Video production only so it doesn't really get in the way.

On the other hand, if I could speed up things by spending $ 50,- instead of a new CPU with all the license hassles to be expected, I might go for that.

If you are happy editing with a proxy, then GearShift is a great tool. Also, if you're working with impossibly large AVI files (i.e. uncompressed 1080p - like I'm about to use for an animated short), then it works quite well with the Cineform intermediate also. Actually, I've found a way to use the Cineform codec as if it were one of the standard proxy formats. So I'm able to edit a 720p Cineform "proxy", then render from my original 1080p uncompressed AVI. That not only saves time, but makes this kind of full-res source editing POSSIBLE. [Try dropping some uncompressed 1080p on your timeline and editing it directly...]

So I like GearShift.

here is a link to a review I wrote over at dvxuser.com on Gearshift. I love the program- its not perfect, but such a huge help for squirrely HD footage like AVCHD- or any other HD footage your PC cant handle natively.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=152079