We upgraded 2 of our 5 Symphony Nitris (classic hardwre) to v3.0.5.  We're still plagued with memory issues.  The editors feel it's even worse that v1.8.4.  Also many Dig_Too_Short errors while capturing, that we don't get on v1.8.4.    One option, for the memory issues, is to upgrade to Vista Biz 64 & 8GB's RAM.  My own system at home is on Vista, and the Access Violations etc seem worse than XP Pro.

So, for those that are running on Vista Biz 64, with 8GB's RAM, what has been your experience?  Is the additional RAM helping?  Any other peformance boosts, or problems?  Anyone else seeing higher incidents of Access Violations?

Please specify Nitris classic hardware or Nitris DX.

I've been running Vista Biz x64 on and off for the past 4 months.  It took a while and a couple full re-installs to get everything working properly in our environment.  But it's been pretty much rock-solid stable for a couple months now.  I currently have 12 GB RAM installed and Media Composer 3.0.5 runs faster than any Avid MC or Symphony system I've used since 1993.  I also can now run After Effects and Photoshop simultaneously with MC and all applications run great with all the extra RAM.  I just upgraded last week to the Adobe CS4 apps and the new 64 Bit Photoshop seems pretty smooth.

I would recommend the upgrade, but I'd definitely set it up as a dual-boot system and install Vista on a separate, new hard drive.  That way you can still boot up into Win XP and get some work done if things don't go smoothly with the Vista transformation right away.  And of course, as previously very well stated, only Vista Business x64 is qualified.

Jack

Editmvp:

It took a while and a couple full re-installs to get everything working properly in our environment.

Sure...

I ended up doing 3 full installs of Vista, but mostly because of all the peripherals I use and because of my own quirky customization.  First off, I'm using a 4-port dual-video KVM switch to swap back and forth between 4 different systems, 2 Mac Pros, the xw8400 Avid MCA system and a Pioneer PRV-LX1 DVD recorder.  Secondly, I use a Mac keyboard layout for all my PC systems - which can really complicates things.  For many years I cut on Mac platform Avid systems and have never really liked the way PC keyboards are setup.  So I just remap the control, alt and option keys so that when I switch back and forth between systems, all my keyboard shortcuts are exactly the same.  I'm also using a Wacom tablet - switched between all 4 systems via the KVM switch.  I also use a Griffin PowerMate knob to remotely start/stop and cue to in/out points when Media Composer is running.  And the list goes on...  But after getting all the correct drivers and a couple updates, everything works perfectly now.

So I'd say at least 90% of all the issues I had with Vista 64 Biz and the multiple installs were due to all the extras in my particular system.  However, there did seem to be a couple issues with Vista that were corrected after allowing the Windows Auto-Update to run - just once, then disabled.  All my installs were performed from an original Vista Business 64 Bit WITH SERVICE PACK ONE, but several networking issues were resolved only after the Windows update.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I highly recommend installing Vista on a separate new hard drive so you can always startup in XP if needed.  Vista Installs a Boot Manager program when it is installed with a previous version of XP is found on the same system.  The Boot Manager allows you to choose your operating system during startup.

The bottom line is that if I can get Vista 64 to work with all the stuff I have attached, it should be pretty seamless for most everyone else.  In my opinion, the benefits of the extra performance are definitely worth the upgrade to Vista Business 64 Bit.

Regards, Jack

Thanks Jack, appreciated!

We bought a new Symphony Nitris DX w. 4G RAM running Vista Biz 64 on an 8600. The system has run flawlessly since day one (installed by certified reseller), unlike the Adrenaline system it replaced. It is like the best days of Meridien, with speed, responsiveness, and amount of real time video. Running all HD at 175X Dnx. I'm a convert.

Rod ... what percentage usage does SN get up to?  Have you had any large complex sequences choke the system?

Randall. We just went to Vista 64 and 8gb ram with our Classic SN 3.05 on an xw8400. A 288mb sequence uses 54% memory with no chokes.

It's a wonderful thang. Take the jump, you'll be delighted you did.

Thanks for the encouragement!

We are seeing a ridiculously small amount of memory use --  18% of the memory when editing. We are wortking on a 1 hr. show and a 2 hr. show, so the sequences are quite large. I can't say that the system has ever "choked". There are still efx that need to be rendered, of course, but many that don't. All hd dnx media at 10 bit res.

We upgraded a classic nitris on xp system 1.8 to vista 3.0 because of all the memory issues.  We do complex spots and moderately complex hour long docos with lots of sapphire and BCC's...with 4 gigs ram.....all the memory problems went away...don't hesitate, go to vista 64 and get some ram man.

Cheers

Gregg g

I have been following the Vista 64 upgrade throughout the forum.  I am in the process of upgrading as we speak.

All has gone will except: I am getting a PCI slot error.  I have reset the boards, they are in the proper slots, I am running Bios 2.23.  But still get the error.  OS is Vista Business 65, on an xw8400.  Any ideas?

Second thing, I am getting up to speed on Vista, how can I re-create "My Network Places"?

I appreciate your help and hope you have had a great holiday season.

Jim

"... I am getting a PCI slot error ..."

What is the exact error?  On our xw8400, we were getting "Fatal Error on Unknown Slot."  It may have been a defective ATTO FC42XS in Slot 7.

I can't get the MN Client 5.1 to work with my Lanshare 4.2. It can't connect. Followed the release notes. *edit* except for the right version of Lanshare. Upgraded to 4.24 and it worked */edit*

Anyone else working with Lanshare and Vista?

I am having a few playback issues.  Graphics card is a Nvidia Quadro FX3500/driver 169.47, CPU xw8400, Vista Buz 64, Running Symphony Nitris 3.1.1. When I playback in an HD project, I lose control of the Avid when I click the source or record button under the source record monitor windows or by starting play with the space bar.  I regain control after it has finished playing the clip or sequence.  Playback for SD, stop and start with the spacebar is fine, but I lose control when I use the playback buttons on the monitor menu.  Again, I regain control when it has played back the clip or sequence. 

Media is on Unity (5.0.3) Client is 5.1.1. 

Things I have tried.  I upgraded the FX3500 driver to 178.46 with the same result.  I even moved the graphics card to a different slot, same deal.

Does anyone have any other suggestions.

Thanks

Jim