Feedback / memory

1

Good morning,
feedback on my last video editing (several days of work)
for the numbers:

  • 7 recording files from OBS, MKV, 646 MB, 02:50 (1080p 30fps)
  • 6 audio tracks, worked in Audacity, M4A, 325 MB (aac / 384 kb/s)
  • 1 MLT file, 9876 KB
  • simple filters (dimension, position), (audio)
  • use of synchronization between audio and video tracks (very useful!!!)
  • png images, svg
  • Output file: mp4 (HEVC/aac) 1080p 30fps, 608 MB, 01:32

Shotcut is relatively stable. Some crashes, especially after very little time opening the mlt file.

At the end of the work, the project became cumbersome to open and crashed when opened… it was very difficult for me to open the file, so much so that I thought I would no longer be able to access the mlt file.
The memory footprint is huge and is causing a problem on my system. Shotcut does not release memory after closing the file (even after 10 minutes of closing the file)
see screenshots.
I don’t know if we are facing a bug or a problem on my system.
Shotcut: Version 23.09.29
Windows 10 up to date
i9/32GB

20231007_120233_ima001
20231007_120233_ima0013840Ă—2160 474 KB

20231007_120350_ima001
20231007_120350_ima0013840Ă—2160 253 KB

Bonjour,
un retour d’expérience sur mon dernier montage vidéo (plusieurs jours de travail)
pour les chiffres :

  • 7 fichiers d’enregistrement depuis OBS, MKV, 646 Mo, 02:50 (1080p 30fps)
  • 6 pistes audio, travaillĂ©es dans Audacity, M4A, 325 Mo (aac / 384 kb/s)
  • 1 fichier MLT, 9876 Ko
  • des filtres simples (dimmension, position), (audio)
  • utilisation de la synchronisation entre les pistes audio et vidĂ©o (très utile !!!)
  • des images png, du svg
  • Fichier de sortie : mp4 (HEVC/aac) 1080p 30fps, 608 Mo, 01:32

Shotcut est relativement stable. Quelques plantages, notamment après très peu de temps d’ouverture du fichier mlt.

En fin de travail, le projet est devenu lourd à ouvrir et plantait à l’ouverture… il m’a été très difficile d’ouvrir le fichier, si bien j’ai cru ne plus accèder au fichier mlt.
L’empreinte mémoire est énorme et pose un problème sur mon système. Shotcut ne relache pas la mémoire après la fermeture du fichier (même après 10 minutes de fermeture du fichier)
voir les captures d’écran.
Je ne sais pas si nous sommes face à un bug ou un problème sur mon système.
Shotcut : Version 23.09.29
Windows 10 Ă  jour
i9/32Go

2

I just tested on another PC, same i9/32go configuration on Win11, the memory footprint is just as important.

(to resolve the problem opening the file: restart the PC, then open shotcut…)

3

If you convert your source files into a shotcut-friendly format (which it usually suggests), will this improve the situation with RAM consumption?

4

I have never converted MKV to another format for shotcut. What is the most suitable format for video editing?
I can try.

MKV contains video in HEVC format and audio in AAC

5

Hi,

I used shotcut to convert films mkv format, which caused problems playing, pausing, restarting, etc., from the PC to the TV. Shotcut converts them to mp4 format in HEVC, saving space and easy reading.

6

“Properties” tab, “convert” button. It is better to leave all conversion settings at default, they are optimal.
After the conversion process, the video file usually takes up more space on the drive, but shortcutting with such files works much faster and more stable.

image
image774Ă—719 37.9 KB

7

thank you, I will test it on my next editing session. I will be sure to share my experience with you.

8

Still I think a memory management problem…

9

Hello;

Seems consequentially large and maybe someone else can explain how your xml file is over 9 Mb (especially given the other details you included in the OP). Maybe it’s the video/audio sync but I doubt it. I might be wrong, but at the very least that needs examined. Please attach directly here or link via a file sharing service (google drive, dropbox).

–

Cela semble conséquent et peut-être que quelqu’un d’autre peut expliquer comment votre fichier xml fait plus de 9 Mo (en particulier compte tenu des autres détails que vous avez inclus dans l’OP). Peut-être est-ce dû à la synchronisation vidéo/audio, mais j’en doute. Je peux me tromper, mais il faut au moins examiner cette question. Veuillez joindre le fichier directement ici ou le lier à un service de partage de fichiers (google drive, dropbox).

11

I used sync on about 5/6 of the video. The RAM is used by win10 and shotcut, I close the other applications as much as possible when I use Shotcut and conversely if I have to use another application for a while, I close Shotcut… We are talking about 32GB… What’s the next step? 128GB or more to run apps?
I want to apply another workflow: convert the videos upstream, use specific tools in shotcut (I tried reducing the resolution…) and also re-apply a system that I know well, a master in which are linked to MLT clips (but here, such a video takes an hour to open…)
The master system should be studied by developers to integrate tools (a specific format for the master for rapid opening, export of markers from the master, rapid import of MLT clips, etc.)

Note, the observation of the memory footprint, I had not noticed it with previous versions. I open the task manager quite regularly…

Also, Shotcut (MLT) may not be designed for as much data (length of videos, filters greater than a certain number, quantities of sources… Number of cuts). However, this same work on the videos that I have been doing for several years (and therefore versions of shotcut) did not pose as much difficulty with regard to RAM.
Since my first message in this post, I opened the MLT project on another PC (another brand, similar in configuration, Nvidia versus AMD video card, 32GB of RAM). The memory footprint is identical.
Other configuration information: I use an SSD drive for video work with a 10Gbits/s USB-C port (test transfer rate of 450MB/s). I had tried in the past to put everything on C:\ the working speed, opening speed… in Shotcut was identical.

As suggested here is the link for the MLT (without the sources) for those who know how to analyze it and understand the origin of the problem.
But maybe I use shotcut to its limits… If there is a limit!

Thank you all for your help.

J’ai utilisé la synchronisation sur environ 5/6 de la vidéo. La RAM est utilisée par win10 et shotcut, je ferme au maximum les autres applications lorsque j’utilise Shotcut et à l’inverse si je dois utiliser une autre application un certain temps, je ferme Shotcut… On parle de 32Go… C’est quoi la prochain étape ? 128Go ou plus pour faire tourner les appli ?
Je veux bien appliquer un autre workflow : convertir les vidéos en amont, utiliser des outils spécifiques dans shotcut (j’ai essayé la réduction de la résolution…) et aussi re-appliquer un système que je connais bien, un master dans lequel sont liés des clips MLT (mais là, une telle vidéo prend heure pour s’ouvrir…)
Le système de master devrait être étudié par les developpeurs pour y intégrer des outils (un format spécifique pour le master pour une ouverture rapide, export des marqueurs depuis le master, import des clips MLT rapide…)

A noter, le constat de l’empreinte mémoire, je ne l’avais pas constaté avec des versions précédentes. J’ouvre assez régulièrement le gestionnaire de tâche…

Aussi, Shotcut (MLT) n’est peut-être pas prévu pour autant de données (longueur de vidéos, filtres supérieurs à un certain nombre, quantités de sources… Nombre de coupes). Pour autant, ce même travail sur les vidéos que je méne depuis plusieurs années (et donc versions de shotcut) ne me posait pas autant de difficulté vis à vis de la RAM.
Depuis mon premier message de ce post, j’ai ouvert le projet MLT sur un autre PC (autre marque, similaire dans la configuration, carte vidéo Nvidia contre AMD, 32Go de RAM). L’empreinte mémoire est identique.
Autre information de configuration : j’utilise un disque SSD pour le travail des vidéos en port USB-C 10Gbits/s (taux de transfert en test de 450Mo/s). J’avais essayé dans le passé de tout mettre sur C:\ la vitesse de travail, d’ouverture… dans Shotcut était identique.

Comme suggéré voici le lien pour le MLT (sans les sources) pour ceux qui savent l’analyser et comprendre l’origine du problème.
Mais peut-être que j’utilise shotcut à ses limites… Si limite il y a !

Merci Ă  tous pour votre aide.

12

I have another piece of information:

  • when working on my videos, I use MLTs from last year.
    I open the MLTs in the latest version of shotcut, I replace three title images (I create PNG images in the video format, which I insert at the beginning and end of the video for the titles)
    MLT of 11/12/2022: 1255 KB
    MLT of 03/06/2023: 1255 KB
    MLT of 07/10/2023: 4485 KB

At the time of each video, I use the latest version of Shocut.
We notice the size of the MLT with the latest version of Shotcut!

Link to MLT

J’ai une autre information :

  • dans le cadre du travail de mes vidĂ©os, j’utilise des MLT de l’annĂ©e dernière.
    J’ouvre les MLT dans la dernière version de shotcut, je remplace trois images de titre (je réalise des images en PNG du format de la vidéo, que j’insère en début et fin de vidéo pour les titres)
    MLT du 11/12/2022 : 1255 Ko
    MLT du 06/03/2023 : 1255 Ko
    MLT du 07/10/2023 : 4485 Ko

A la date de chaque vidéo, j’utilise la dernière version de Shocut en date.
On remarque la taille du MLT avec la dernière version de Shotcut !

LIEN vers MLT

13

Thanks for providing the MLT files. I tried to open the heaviest one for 10 megabytes, but failed. After the RAM was loaded at just over 2 gigabytes, the application automatically closed. Having opened the “lightest” 2 megabyte file (GECD2_2024_familles_2), I saw a 45-minute project with a huge, probably even excessive, number of cuts. Due to the lack of source video files, it is difficult for me to analyze how justified it is to use such a frequent number of cuts. But, if you can’t do without this style of editing, I can only give you one piece of advice: divide your editing into “episodes” of about 10 minutes each, each episode is a separate MLT file, render all the episodes separately at maximum quality and in “ master-project" glue these episodes into one single video from pre-rendered episodes. Apparently, MLT is not designed for so many small parts. I even tried to open your file in kdenlive as a separate track and also failed, but unlike shotcut, the RAM load there was about 12 gigabytes.

upd. I discovered a problem with the flatpak version - it cannot load an MLT file weighing 10 megabytes in any way, the application crashes. But it opens without problems in the AppImage version, the RAM consumption on my Linux system at this moment is a little more than 3 gigabytes, probably due to the fact that there are no sources.

14

Thanks for your feedback.
Yes, I do a lot of cutting on this type of video project. Without going into detail, I record myself (screencast + audio) during my course sessions at university, so the speech is not continuous as I could do alone in front of my PC. There are gaps, downtime, repetitions… To deliver a summary of the course (with a “short” video of 1:30 for 4 hours of recording) I make numerous cuts. I am aware of it.
Depending on the video project, my mood, I make shorter MLTs, then use links from the mlt clips in an MLT (which I call Master), this gives me the advantage of being penalized less for each mlt… but the opening of the master can last up to an hour!
In previous versions of shotcut, I knew that exceeding 30 minutes of clip with my way of working (numerous cuts) posed a big slowdown problem. Which had disappeared from a version of Shotcut!
Today the quantity of video and the number of cuts made slow me down little, and hardly any in cutting and deletion actions (except for graphically moving an image with the Size/position/rotation filter)

I will wait for feedback from the developers to know their feelings on the subject. Know if Shotcut is not intended for so many cuts, if there is possible improvement on their side… or it is up to me to review my way of working (which will be complicated, because I am dependent on my own video capture…)
I don’t know if with so many cuts, all video editing software would react the same way (my intention is not to change software!)

I have just tested the conversion of clips… I don’t think I will be helped with codecs like DNxHR and Ut Video… but I would have to test on a complete session. The HEVC codec should not be the cause of my file size and memory footprint problems… At most, but I doubt it, could the small slowdowns disappear? But given the size of the videos, suffice to say that I prefer small slowdowns.

15

Weird, for me on Windows it loads the big .mlt fine in about a minute using 3030 MB of RAM.

I think there’s a very large amount of cuts that definitely slow down the use of the program, I don’t even have the waveforms or thumbnails enabled (btw, you should disable these to maybe lower some ram usage) and it’s still rather laggy. I also noticed that the more zoomed in I am the more RAM it uses so try to see if these things help.

There’s ~3700 chains in the .mlt file which I think means there’s around 3700 cuts in your timeline, that’s… a lot. Not sure how many editing apps could handle those smoothly, you should really think about splitting the projects into 30 minutes chunks, I also usually end up with many splits but I mostly deal with 20min projects.

Besides splitting the file into smaller projects, I would say maybe try to use a previous Shotcut version to test open it (use the portable version so you can quickly swich between them).

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16

According to my observations, shotcut becomes a clumsy elephant when there are more than 500 elements on the timeline. I think that the shotcut is not designed for such serious work and loads. It is still designed for something simpler. In my normal work, I very rarely use even 100 elements on a timeline; I just don’t need to do anything very complex.

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17

Maybe that explains the 9Mb mlt file, but given what FranckB wrote in post 11, there are still some unanswered questions on that front since the same project in different Shotcut versions is ballooning.

Looking at it now, but the developers will likely have a better idea.

18

+1 to all of this.

Yeah, given how the OP is operating (trying to be efficient by embedding MLTs inside others) portable upgrades are the way to go, while keeping the original Shotcut version. And make sure to create a backup of your mlt files before opening in any new Shotcut version! Maybe you could even have each Shotcut version as a main folder and associated projects as a subfolder (yes I know it’s also at the top of the mlt file when opened in an editor, but that gets overwritten).

One thing is for sure - when you have a stable working version and large projects are behaving as they should, do NOT upgrade over the top (see the portable installer option mentioned above) until you have tested thoroughly.

@bentacular has a Youtube video recommending the use of “chapters” for streamlining the editing process, and I think in this case it would be worth changing your workflow to avoid these headaches.

–

+1 Ă  tout cela.

Oui, étant donné le mode de fonctionnement de l’OP (qui essaie d’être efficace en incorporant des MLT dans d’autres), les mises à niveau portables sont la solution, tout en conservant la version Shotcut d’origine. Et assurez-vous de créer une sauvegarde de vos fichiers mlt avant de les ouvrir dans une nouvelle version de Shotcut ! Peut-être pourriez-vous même avoir chaque version de Shotcut comme dossier principal et les projets associés comme sous-dossier (oui, je sais que c’est aussi en haut du fichier mlt lorsqu’il est ouvert dans un éditeur, mais cela est écrasé).

Une chose est sûre - lorsque vous avez une version stable et que les grands projets se comportent comme ils le devraient, ne faites PAS de mise à jour par-dessus (voir l’option d’installation portable mentionnée ci-dessus).

@bentacular a une vidéo Youtube qui recommande l’utilisation de “chapitres” pour rationaliser le processus de montage, et je pense que dans ce cas, cela vaudrait la peine de changer votre flux de travail pour éviter ces maux de tête.

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19

thank you all for your answers, but I think shotcut reaches the limits of what is possible. Even when working with chapters (MLT Clips in a master), this method that I particularly like is not stable enough from one version of shotcut to another. Rapid software development is misleading: thinking that the latest version will always be the best…
In short, today I’m at a dead end when it comes to working on and exporting old, slightly modified projects.

merci à tous pour vos réponses, mais je pense que shotcut attteind les limites du possible. Même en travaillant avec des chapitres (Clips MLT dans un master), cette méthode que j’affectionne particulièrement n’est pas assez stable d’une version à l’autre de shotcut. Le développement rapide du logiciel est trompeur : pensant que la dernière version sera toujours la meilleure…
Bref, aujourd’hui je suis dans une impasse pour travailler et exporter des anciens projets légèrement modifiés.

20

I don’t know if the developers have been here… what they think…

21

I think you are using Shotcut in an extreme manner that I do not. It is not designed to support a certain number of things. It just does certain programmed things, and it is up to you to determine how much works well enough for you on your system. For some people, it is not even good enough to simply opening a video and play it because it does not do hardware decoding. I only try to make sure pragmatic usage operates in a reasonable manner for me and my systems. There is nothing more I am willing to do for you and your use case.