I am new to NP2. Don't even have it but thinking about buying it. I have a Intel Mac Dual Dual 3Ghz 10gigs RAM, CS3 Prod Premium. I read the previous banter which was very interesting. It seems like the background rendering is the best most valuable feature since it's like getting a whole nuther CPU for 399 no? The second best part it would seem are faster previews. Questions I have, not having yet made it out of the NP2 welping box, are......
1. If I am background rendering can I still get faster RAM previews, or are the two advantages exclusive?
2. How much faster are the NP2 RAM previews than the comparable CS3 faster RAM preview type deal? Is there a preference in AE CS3 for getting the faster preview or does it shut off when NP2 is going? Everything is shipping by the way so I can't answer my own questions.
3. How is the clunkiness factor if any with the switching interfaces between AE and NP2. It seems like anything I have ever used that involves a peripheral app, like Zaxwerks(maybe a bad analogy) has a clunky side because you mixing two apps.
4. Can you background render in CS3?
5. By the way ?..... My Mac Pro is shipping with 2gigs RAM 4x512MB. I am buying 4x2GB. I have heard that maybe I should not install the 512 chips. Any takers?
Thanks a ton for any responses.
G
I'm only half the thing I say I am, the other half are me.
Re: NP2 Calf by Steve Forde on Jul 31, 2007 at 2:47:09 pm
[Gollux]"If I am background rendering can I still get faster RAM previews, or are the two advantages exclusive?"
The two are exclusive to each other. You can run a fast preview while background render is running, but the current render will restart after the preview is complete. There are handy dandy alerts telling you what will happen to make sure that you don't restart a render by mistake.
[Gollux]"How much faster are the NP2 RAM previews than the comparable CS3 faster RAM preview type deal? Is there a preference in AE CS3 for getting the faster preview or does it shut off when NP2 is going? Everything is shipping by the way so I can't answer my own questions."
When you use NP2, it will ask you to disable CS3 multiprocessing. The main reason is, multiprocessing and Nucleo Pro use similar technology, and they could clobber each other (thereby clobbering your machine). In short, NP2 won't start if Multi-processing is enabled. Speed differences are a little more subjective. We have been hearing from users that NP2 is faster and more stable - but I think that could be just because they are used to NP. From a technical perspective, the approaches are similar, and should not be that different.
The primary benefit for NP2 is being able to render and work at the same time. The most gains in terms of time savings come from optimizing workflow, not how the processors are used.
In fact, our research suggests that most AE users could reduce their total project time by about a 2/3 if you didn't have to re-render frames every time you want to see something. Every time you move the playhead, it re-renders frames at all layers whether you actually changed the layer or not. Our commit to disk and precomp-proxy features are designed to specifically address this.
[Gollux]"How is the clunkiness factor if any with the switching interfaces between AE and NP2. It seems like anything I have ever used that involves a peripheral app, like Zaxwerks(maybe a bad analogy) has a clunky side because you mixing two apps."
We have gotten alot of feedback that it isn't clunky - but ultimately you have to be the judge of that.
[Gollux]"Can you background render in CS3?"
Nope. For a complete comparison - check out our comparison chart...
[Gollux]"By the way ?..... My Mac Pro is shipping with 2gigs RAM 4x512MB. I am buying 4x2GB. I have heard that maybe I should not install the 512 chips. Any takers?"
As long as your chips are paired correctly - it won't matter that much. AE uses BIG memory segments for cache, and the issues about bus speed and RAM segmentation are a little less predominant than say running a web server with millions of little transactions. Therefore - if you have room - throw 'em in.
Re: NP2 Calf by Gollux on Aug 3, 2007 at 5:41:57 am
Thanks a lot Steve. I have purchased Nucleo Pro and look forward to using it wiith my new system once it arrives. When you say the biggest efficiency boost comes from improving work flow, I prompts me to ask the question how to improve work flow aside from the "commit to disk" NP2 option. Can you offer any tips on work flow improvement, or more likely point me int the direction of resources to help improve AE workflow?
Also one more question. Say you have a simple solid for instance, a black background layer that would never change. Would it make sense to commit that layer to disk?
Thanks again,
G
I'm only half the thing I say I am, the other half are me.
Irrespective of NP2 though - keep in mind your layers, your nested comps and types of footage. In everyday use, there is a ton of re-rendering - potentially of the same frame over an over again. This causes you to wait before you see what you have done.
Naturally you can reduce resolution etc., but the more detailed the frame, the more it is necessary to render at higher resolution - just to see what you are creating.
Therefore - try to eliminate repeat renders of the same thing. Take layers that don't need tweaking and turn them into footage. If nested comps may need re-working, proxy them, and make the change as you go.
Is it possible to turn vector art into a raster image? AE is a raster program, and every time you ask it to convert footage (i.e. using an illustrator file) it wastes time. If you are finished scaling, or dealing with text (benefits of vector art) - can the vector be "pre-rasterized" by turning into a different footage type (like commit to disk)?
Obviously every project is different, and only you can be the ultimate judge of workflow, but my view (and that of GridIron) is "make the computer work for you" rather than - "you work around the limitations" of the computer.
