Real Time playback

[Alan Okey]

Your assumption is incorrect. Graphics cards have nothing to do with video playback speed in Final Cut Pro.

The limiting factor in video playback is either storage speed (for uncompressed video) or CPU speed (for long-GOP codecs like h.264, HDV or XDCAM), which are processor-intensive for decoding. Graphics card speed only affects OpenGL applications like 3D modeling or gaming, or applications that leverage the GPU for image processing, like Color or certain FXPlug filters in FCP.

You’ll find that RT performance in FCP is most strongly influenced by the throughput speed of your storage. A very fast RAID (over 300MB/sec.) will provide much better playback performance and a greater number of simultaneous RT streams.

[David Bogie]

[Beau Tardy] “Therefor the Graphics Card performance should have an impact on the overall Real Time playback performance for any particular system. Is this right? “

Negative. The card just draws the pictures it gets handed from the CPU.
In Motion, the graphics card is everything. In FCP, it’s just the window to the outside world.

bogiesan

[Beau Tardy]

Thanks Alan, great answer.

I do note that you indicate that certain FXPlug filters do depend on the graphics card performance. So my experience/ instinct was right in a sense because being a motion designer I use filters often. I had noticed performance issues, which now I realize are filter related.

I do agree most performance problems are hard disk related.

Thanks again!

[Beau Tardy]

Thanks David.

My follow up question would be since the card paints the images does the card impact the way monitors behave? For example how does a progressive scan monitor display interlaced video and vice versa?

Thanks!

[Alan Okey]

Progressive scan computer monitors don’t display interlaced video properly – they display both fields simultaneously, which is why it’s recommended to deinterlace any interlaced content for web delivery. Many DVD player applications for computers have a software deinterlacing function, often which can be turned on/off or have user-selectable deinterlacing algorithms.

Consumer LCD and plasma TVs have built-in deinterlacing hardware that deinterlaces interlaced content on the fly. That’s why you don’t see interlacing artifacts when you watch the news on an LCD or plasma television.

CRTs display progressive material by displaying both fields on alternating scan lines 1/60th of a second apart from each other in time. The rate of decay of the phosphors is low enough that at 60Hz, flickering is barely noticeable, and the image appears to be one complete frame. As for 24p material, that has to be output with a 3:2 pulldown to make it appear correct when played back on an NTSC monitor (interlaced 29.97). All DVD players have circuitry that inserts 3:2 pulldown on 24p sources when outputting to NTSC equipment.

[Beau Tardy]

Thanks Alan. To an old school editor like me it seems we are asking consumer monitors to do a lot of behind the scenes work. Which is why these days what you see is never what you get. 🙂