Sony Creative FAQ

Sony Creative Software FAQ

Haven’t found what you’re looking for? You can click here to go to the extensive Sony Creative Software knowledgebase which contains a wealth of good technical information. Or you can send us an email with your question.

I have the internet on my computer. How do I register my new Software?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

When you first launch the software, choose "Register online". The next screen will prompt you to provide information like first name, last name, e-mail address, etc. You will need to place a checkmark next to "By providing the registration information..." for the online registration process to continue. Finally, you will be greeted with a message, "Thank you for registering." That's it, now you can enjoy using your software!

If the online registration process fails, you may want to disable your anti-virus, security, firewire, or parental controls applications as these have been known to interfere with software from registering online. Now give the registration process another try. If it fails again, click "Retry" twice. On the third time, click "Cancel". Now you will be presented with a serial number and computer ID.  Armed with this information, you have alternate ways to register the software.

Option One: go to the registration page. Once there, you can enter your serial number and computer/machine ID and receive an activation code via e-mail.

Option Two: go to www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support.  Once there, you will click Technical Support.  On the following page, click the link “send us your question”.  Fill out the fields on the final page and submit it to our customer service department.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I have lost my Serial Number. What do I do now?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

If you lost your serial number, and recall registering your Sony Creative Software application, you might be able to recover the serial number.

1. First, go to www.sonycreativesoftware.com/myaccount. Once there, you will see an option to register a "My Account" login by typing in an e-mail address. Type in a known e-mail address you might have used to register the software. Then press "Submit".

2. The next screen will tell you that a confirmation e-mail has been sent to that particular e-mail address. Go to your e-mail inbox, open the e-mail, and click the link that allows you to complete the My Account creation process.

3. Once you have created a password, security questions, and brief customer profile, you will have access to My Account. Look for the link on the My Account page that says "My Software". If you registered the software with the correct e-mail address, you will see the serial number and link for each application.

If you don't see any serial numbers within this My Account, repeat the same steps with a different e-mail address. If you find that no e-mail address is yielding a result, it is quite possible that you never registered the software. You will need to provide Customer Service with one of the following items as proof of your purchase:

A scanned copy of your receipt of purchase from a licensed reseller.

A scanned copy of your credit card statement showing this purchase with the credit card number blackened out.

You can either fax one of the items from Australia to Customer Service at 0011 01 608 250 1745 or send it as a technical support request by clicking here.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I was asked to locate the computer ID/machine ID for my Sony Creative Software application. Where do I find it?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Open the software and go to Help > About (product name). The following screen will show a computer ID/machine ID. For some older programs it will begin with a 0,1,2, or 3 and be 9 characters long (example: 1xxxxxx-xx). Newer products will have a 14 character computer ID (example: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xx).

The other method to locating the computer/machine ID would be opening the software and attempting to register online, regardless of whether or not you have an Internet connection. When the registration fails you will be given the options of retrying, or canceling. Press the Retry button two more times and let it fail each time. Then press the Cancel button to see the screen with the computer ID/machine ID and serial number.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I have a Windows 7 or Vista 64-bit operating system and I really think I need to perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of my Sony Creative Software applications. How do I go about doing this?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Before doing a Clean Reinstall, it is important to do the following:

All audio and video effects chains and presets will be erased, so if you need to make a back up of your presets please download our Preset Manager program. For more information about backing up presets: Backup and Restore Audio Presets | Backup and Restore Video Presets
Safely disconnect any external USB or Firewire devices like hard-drives or dongles.
Temporarily turn off ALL anti-virus programs, as well as disabling any Registry Blockers, Spy Ware, Firewalls, etc. These applications have been known to interfere with software installation and registration.

Start the process of removing programs go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features - find and remove your Sony Creative Software applications (ACID, Sound Forge, Vegas, DVD Architect, Cinescore, CD Architect or Media Manager, as well as any other Sony Media Software or Sony Creative Software programs).

Also, remove the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SONY_MEDIAMGR), any and all Microsoft .NET Framework versions, and the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable software if it is listed.

Once un-installed, delete the following folders:

C:\Program Files\Sony\
(Do not delete this entire folder if you have other Sony applications installed such as Sonic Stage, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, etc. If that is the case then only delete the folder for the Sony Creative Software application you are using as well as the Shared Plug-Ins folder.)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Sony\
(Do not delete this entire folder if you have other Sony applications installed such as Sonic Stage, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, etc. If that is the case then only delete the folder for the Sony Creative Software application you are using as well as the Shared Plug-Ins folder.)
C:\Program Files\Sony Setup

WARNING: The next step will require you to delete Windows Registry Keys. The Registry is a very sensitive area to work in. If you are not comfortable with advanced configuration and system changes, ask an administrator to help you with this. (Related Topics: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows: http:////windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/back-up-the-registry)

Next, open the Registry Editor. Select Start and type REGEDIT in the 'Start Search' box.

In the Registry Editor, locate and delete the following registry entries:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Creative Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Creative Software

32 bit applications (like ACID and DVD Architect) installed in 64 Bit Windows 7 will also store registry keys in a different location. Locate the following registry keys and delete them. (Depending on which versions you have installed you may see one or more of these entries. If you do not see all of these, that is normal. Delete those which you do find.)

If you locate a folder labelled "Sonic" please DO NOT confuse this with Sonic Foundry. Leave it alone.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wow6432Node\Sony Creative Software
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Wow6432Node\Sony Media Software

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sony Creative Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sony Media Software

Close the Registry Editor.

After removing all of the previous items, you may download and re-install from this link -

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/updates

When finished with all reinstallation, please restart your computer. When your computer has restarted, you will have a complete clean installation.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I really think I need to perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of my Sony Creative Software applications on my Windows 32-bit operating system. How do I go about doing this?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

(If you are running a Windows Vista or Windows 7 64 Bit Edition operating system, Click Here.)

Before doing a Clean Reinstall, it is important to do the following:

All audio and video effects chains and presets will be erased, so if you need to make a back up of your presets please download our Preset Manager program. For more information about backing up presets: Backup and Restore Audio Presets | Backup and Restore Video Presets
Safely disconnect any external USB or Firewire devices like hard-drives or dongles.
Temporarily turn off ALL anti-virus programs, as well as disabling any Registry Blockers, Spy Ware, Firewalls, etc. These applications have been known to interfere with software installation and registration.

Start the process of removing programs go to Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features (in Windows XP, open Add or Remove Programs) - find and remove your Sony Creative Software applications (ACID, Sound Forge, Vegas, DVD Architect, Cinescore, CD Architect or Media Manager, as well as any other Sony Media Software or Sony Creative Software programs).

Also, remove the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SONY_MEDIAMGR), any and all Microsoft .NET Framework versions, and the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable software if it is listed.

Once un-installed, delete the following folders:

C:\Program Files\Sony\
(Do not delete this entire folder if you have other Sony applications installed such as Sonic Stage, Everquest, Star Wars Galaxies, etc. If that is the case then only delete the folder for the Sony Media Software application you are using as well as the Shared Plug-Ins folder.)
C:\Program Files\Sony Setup

Next, open the Registry Editor. Select Start and type REGEDIT in the 'Start Search' box. (For Windows XP users, go to Start > Run ... type REGEDIT and press 'OK')

In the Registry Editor, locate and delete the following registry entries:
(Depending on which versions you have installed you may see one or more of these entries. If you do not see all of these, that is normal. Delete those which you do find.)

If you locate a folder labelled "Sonic" please DO NOT confuse this with Sonic Foundry. Leave it alone.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sonic Foundry
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Media Software
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sony Creative Software

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sonic Foundry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Media Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Sony Creative Software

Close the Registry Editor.

After removing all of the previous items, you may download and re-install from this link -

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/updates

When finished with all reinstallation, please restart your computer. When your computer has restarted, you will have a complete clean installation.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

What does it mean when I see a message that says "error 41" or "too many activation codes"?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

"Too many activation codes" means that your product has been registered with different, unique computer IDs more than the maximum count allowed. Often, this is simply the result of a PC that continually fails and must be reformatted, requiring our software to be reinstalled. Submit an incident to customer service to get this issue resolved.

Customer Service will require your serial number, as it is written in the Quick Start Guide that shipped with the product, as it was found in the order confirmation email you received from your online order, or as it is written in the Help/About box in the application.
They will examine the installation and registration history of the serial number. As it is stated in the End User License Agreement you agree to upon installing our software, it is illegal to share/copy/duplicate our software without our explicit permission. If the product has been registered by more than one user, they will require you to provide proof of your purchase. If you purchased the product directly from us, Customer Service will have record of that transaction. If you purchased it from a dealer or distributor, you will need to provide your sales receipt or credit card statement showing the transaction.
Once proof has been given that this is a legitimate error and not an infringement upon our license agreement, Customer Service will reset your install limit, or generate a new serial number for you.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I am having problems running the Media Manager within ACID and/or Vegas. It either gives me an error when I launch the application, or I cannot install it at all. How can I fix this?
The information in this article applies to: All versions of Vegas and Acid

First off, verify you are using the latest update of ACID Pro or Vegas Pro. You can find the latest releases on our updates page. Also, make sure that your software is supported on the operating system. Consult the product README when you go to Start > Programs > Sony > ACID Pro or Vegas Pro. If you continue to have issues running the Media Manager after updating your software, please follow the steps outlined below.

1. Does your PC run any type of registry cleaner or maintenance tool such as PC Tools Registry Mechanic?

We have observed that some of these tools delete critical Sony registry keys which causes ACID or Vegas to be unable to initialize the Media Manager. Sony recommends that these tools not be used.

2. Verify the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine is installed.

Verify this in two steps:

(a) Use Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and look for Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SONY_MEDIAMGR).

(b) If the engine is listed as installed, verify that the service is actually installed and can be run. Go to Control Panel --> Administrative Tools --> Services. Look for a service named MSSQL$SONY_MEDIAMGR. If it is listed, then right click on it and choose Start from the menu. Does it give any errors?

If either of these fail, see the reinstall steps below.

3. Verify the Media Manager is installed.

Use Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and look for Sony Media Manager

If you do not see it listed, see the reinstall steps below.

4. Check the application directory for a .log file.

When the Media Manager runs within ACID or Vegas, it creates a text log file in the application directory. The default locations would be:

C:\Program Files\Sony\ACID Pro (version number)\acid(version number).log
C:\Program Files\Sony\Vegas (version number)\vegas(version number).log

These can be helpful as they usually capture details which can help us track down what is failing.

5. Reset saved preferences with Ctrl+Shift held down at application launch.

Before launching the application, hold down the Ctrl+Shift keys on your keyboard. While holding those keys, double click the program's icon to launch it. Keep holding down Ctrl+Shift until the program has loaded.

The Media Manager preferences can be manually cleared independent of ACID or Vegas preferences by deleting all the files in both of these directories:

C:\Documents and Settings\[Login Name]\Application Data\Sony\Media Manager
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Sony\Media Manager

Instructions for Reinstalling

1. Uninstall ACID Pro or Vegas
2. Uninstall Sony Media Manager
3. Uninstall Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (SONY_MEDIAMGR)
4. Uninstall Sony Sound Series Loops and Samples Reference Library if installed.
5. Completely delete the Media Manager directory.
Normally this is C:\Program Files\Sony\Shared Plug-Ins\Media Manager.
6. Reboot the computer
7. Close any applications running in the background. Make sure to disable any anti-virus, spyware, or other security related software, as it may interfere with the installation. For items located in your System Tray (in the bottom right corner of your screen), right click on their icons and choose to Exit, Close, or Disable.
8. Run the ACID or Vegas installer.

Notes:

The Media Manager is a shared component between ACID and Vegas. Installing an application which includes a newer Media Manager component will update the entire PC so that the other existing applications start to use the newer Media Manager. Uninstalling the application does not remove the newer Media Manager (even if the newer application was a trial).

Media Libraries are not backward compatible. Each newer Media Manager will offer to upgrade older libraries to the latest format (MM 2.x even encourages you to do a backup of your library first).

This means that if you have ACID Pro 5.0x, install a trial of Vegas 6.0x, and then uninstall the Vegas 6.0x trial, you are still using the newer Media Manager within ACID. This can be an issue if you want to reformat the hard drive or restore their computer. If you only install ACID Pro 5.0x, you won't be able to open your existing media library (because it will have been upgraded to the newer Media Manager library format that came with the Vegas 6.0x trial). The resolution would be to install the newer trial software again.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

Does Sony Creative Software have a diagnostics tool I can use to help troubleshoot problems I encounter on my computer while using my software?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Sony Creative Software has created a utility called Diagnostics Tool 1.0. This tool will help the Technical Support department track down “hung” application errors and the causes for them.

The Diagnostics Tool is available here: http://download.sonycreativesoftware.com/util/SonyDiag_v1.0.zip

The snapshots created by Sony Diagnostics Tool 1.0 are only useful if the application in question is "hung" and requires using the Windows Task Manager to end the process (or a reboot). Please note that if an application has completely crashed and either the Sony Creative Software crash dialog or the Microsoft Windows error reporting dialog is displayed, Sony Creative Software needs those details instead of the snapshot created by Diagnostics Tool 1.0.

The downloadable file is named SonyDiag v1.0.zip. Please download the .zip file to your Windows desktop and open it. Inside the .zip you will find a file called SonyDiag.exe. To use the tool, please "hang" the Sony Creative Software application as you had before, and then run this file.

When you run this, on the first window you will be prompted to "Create Snapshot." Choose that. In the next window, find the application that is hanging and click OK. Then you will be asked to save a file. Please save this to your desktop and then send it with your incident.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

Where can I find the latest version update of my Sony Creative Software?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Please click here to see the list of updates you can download from the Sony Creative Software website. It is a good idea to keep your Sony Creative Software up to date with the latest version as not only does it provide you with the latest bug fixes but it also adds the latest released codecs and sometimes, offers new features.

I keep getting an error that says “Error 1606. Could not access network location %APPDATA%\.” What does this mean and how can I fix it?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

This error means there is a problem in the Microsoft Registry Subkeys. This is a problem within Windows and not our software, although the problem can manifest when trying to run or install our software. Please see this article from the Microsoft Knowledgebase for a solution.

As a workaround, you may want to create a new Administrator Account, then install the software within this new account. This will create a whole new set of registry keys which should not be corrupt. You can read more here about how to make a new Administrator Account; links for the appropriate operating system below:

Windows 7 or Vista

Windows XP

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

How do I register my Sony Creative Software Site Licenced software?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Your site license does not need to be registered on-line. Please refer to the instructions in Section 2 of the "Installing New Site License Software" document that came with your software. When first prompted to enter your serial number, you should enter the entire code exactly as it appears on Licence Documentation.

This is the format of the serial number code: xxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx,xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxx (where x is an alpha numeric character).

You must also make sure you have have installed your software from the site license disc that you received and not from any downloads. You can verify that you are using the correct disc by checking the disc itself; it will say "Site License" on it. .

Please click here to see detailed information on this subject from the Sony Creative Software website.

Where can I find training articles that will help me learn how to use my Sony Creative Software?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Please click here to go to the main training page on the Sony Creative Software website.

Please click here to go to the full list of training articles on the Sony Creative Software website.

Please click here to go to a list of older articles including those written by guest columnists on the Sony Creative Software website.

I am experiencing stuttering, dropouts, noise, and/or latency with playback and recording. What are some recommendations for troubleshooting this problem?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Below are several recommendations that...using some trial and error...may help you get better results with recording and playback issues.

The first things you will want to pay attention to are your recording setup and your input and output volumes. These articles will help to address that:

Answer Title: Setting up your system for audio recording
Answer Title: Setting levels for sound recording in Windows Vista

If after setting up and adjusting your sound levels, you are still having problems here are some additional suggestions and ideas.

- If you notice that files recorded in ACID play out of sync, this article is helpful.

- Defragment all the hard drives on your system.

- Try bypassing all audio effects within your project. To do so, choose Options > Bypass All Audio FX. If this fixes the problem then you can guess that there are problem plug-ins within your project. Try re-enabling these plugins and then remove them one by one until you find the culprit. When you find the one causing the problem, try rendering what's on that track only by solo'ing it and reimport the rendered file. When you do this, you can then delete the track with the problematic plug-in / plug-in chain from your project.

- Use the Audio Device tab to specify playback and recording options. To display this tab, choose Preferences from the Options menu, then click the Audio Device tab. When making adjustments within the Audio Device tab, there is not a specific amount that works for everyone; and trial and error is the best method for finding the settings for your system.

In this window, you can make changes to settings such as "Automatically detect and offset for hardware recording latency". If you have this checked and are still getting latency during recording, try unchecking this option and drag the User recording latency offset slider to specify an offset value. Try raising or lowering this slider and try recording in between changes to see if you have any better luck.
Try adjusting your Track Buffering settings.
First, see if raising or lowering the value for Track Buffering helps. To adjust this, go back into Options > Preferences > Audio Device tab. If you still find that you are experiencing problems try unchecking the option for Enable track buffering.
To make specific changes to your audio device driver buffer settings, click the Advanced button to access the advanced audio preferences. Typically, raising the buffer amounts will help with stuttering or latency problems, but expirimenting may be required.

- If none of the options within the software or within your recording setup help, then you may want to look for updated Sound Card Device Drivers. If you are using an external recording interface that connects via Firewire or USB, it is a good idea to visit the support website manufacturer of the interface for the most current ASIO sound drivers. If you are using a sound card that is installed inside your PC (or the OEM equipment), then you will want to check with your computer manufacturer's support website for driver updates. Checking for updated video card drivers is also recommended.

- You may find that other programs or services are causing conflicts when attempting to record or playback audio. Knowing this, you may also want to try disabling non-critical startup applications and services to rule out any conflicts with extra programs running. To disable these items from starting, you can go to the Start menu and select Run. Then type msconfig into the field provided and press Enter or OK. In Windows Vista, there is a field at the bottom of the Start menu that you can type directly into.

Open the Startup tab, press the “Disable All” button and then Apply. Then go into the Services Tab, check the box next to “Hide All Microsoft Services” at the bottom of the window and choose Disable All. Then press Apply and OK and reboot the computer.

** Note: This measure is for testing purposes. If you are disabling these services, none of these services are critical for your computer to start or function. We recommend this troubleshooting step to remove as many variables from the problem as possible; though you may also be disabling desired services like anti-virus or portable device recognition services like iPod Service, etc. If this solves your issue, you may want to repeat the steps above to open the MSCONFIG dialog so that you can re-enable most of these services. You may want to spend some time re-enabling these one at a time until you find the culprit. Most likely there are just one or two services that are causing the conflict.

- If after trying all of these suggestions, you are still having problems it may be the case that you're project is simply running out of system resources. Projects with a large number of tracks or that use a large number of effects and plug-ins will tax your system - you have possibly hit the brick wall of performance for your machine. There will always be a limit to the amount of tracks that can be successfully played by a particular system. This amount varies due to several factors such as amount of RAM, hard drive speed, frontside bus, and processor speed. If you are at the minimum system requirements for the software and the above steps did not help resolve the audio dropouts you may need to upgrade some system components. Generally with Vegas or ACID, the more RAM that you add the better the performance.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

Note from Intelliware: A better quality Audio Interface that supports the ASIO Driver could improve the performance of your software on your PC. Please click here to see the current range of Roland Audio Interfaces that you can purchase from your local Roland Dealer.

When I preview my High Definition footage from the Vegas timeline, it stutters or skips. How can I achieve smoother playback?
The information in this article applies to: Vegas Software

Video editing requires a significant amount of system resources, especially if you are working with high-resolution photos or high-definition video. Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements that can be found in the release notes. When editing and previewing your video in Vegas if you are not seeing true framerate during playback, there are a number of settings that you can adjust within the software to help optimize playback from the timeline.

Match Project Properties to your source media
If your project’s Properties (dimensions, aspect ratio, frame rate, etc.) are different than that of your source media files, Vegas has to do additional processing to convert it in real time. To set your Project Properties, go to File (or Project) > Properties. Select the Template that corresponds to your source media, for example, HDV 1080-60i. If you aren’t sure which Template to select, hit the Match Media Settings button (with the folder icon) in the upper-right corner of the Properties dialog. Navigate to one of your source video files and hit Open. This selects the appropriate Template for you. Hit Apply and OK.

Adjust your Preview Quality setting
Vegas software allows you to toggle between various Preview Quality settings, depending on what type of work you are doing on the video. For detailed imaging work, such as applying Video FX or masking, set the Preview Quality to Best (Auto) or Best (Full). For other types of editing work, such as checking the pacing of a montage, or checking a transition, set the Preview Quality to Preview (Auto). You can change this setting at any time during your editing. Adjusting the preview settings will have no affect the final rendered video.

Disable or Bypass effects
Video that has effects applied, such as color correction, brightness and contrast or other filters can sap your computer’s processing power and cause gapping and stuttering. In Vegas Pro, you can bypass effects by clicking on the button labeled Split Screen View, and then clicking Select All. In Vegas Movie Studio, you can open the Video FX window, and uncheck the name of the effect in the FX chain. Don't forget to re-enable them before you render.

Selectively Prerender Video or Build Dynamic RAM preview
To preview a portion of your timeline smoothly and at full resolution, try Selectively Prerendering or Creating a Dynamic RAM preview. This will be your best option if you wish to preview a section of timeline that has complex compositing or transitions. The difference between these two options is that the first creates a temporary file that is stored on your hard drive, while the second uses your computer’s RAM to store the data. To use one of these techniques, create a loop region on the timeline and go to the Tools > Selectively Prerender Video or Tools > Build Dynamic RAM Preview.

Down-convert to an intermediate format
Some computers simply don’t have the processing power required to edit AVCHD footage on the timeline. That doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to use the software. Take a look at a conversion tool such as GearShift by VASST or AVCHD UpShift by NewBlue. Otherwise, you can perform the conversion yourself. For more information, check the Help file of the program or take a look at this article.

Finally, keep in mind that even if your video isn’t playing back smoothly from the timeline, doesn’t mean it will appear this way in the final render. Go ahead and render out a portion of the timeline and open it up in a media player. You will get a better idea of what your final product is going to look like. Happy editing!

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

My computer has just crashed whilst using Sony Creative Software. What should I do now?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Please click here to see an up to date list of articles on the Sony Creative Software knowledgebase on the subject of crashes. If you cannot view an answer related to your crash incident then contact Sony Creative Software direct with a full and concise description. Please include details about your computer and the version of Sony Creative Software that you are running. Click here to send your report.

How come I cannot render a file larger than 3.9GB when using a Sony Creative Software program?
The information in this article applies to: Vegas Software

If you are rendering to a drive and rendering consistently hangs up at the same point, your drives may be formatted as FAT (File Allocation Table) or FAT32.

The largest a single file can be on a drive that is formatted using FAT32 file systems is 4 GB. You can reach 4 GB rather quickly with digital video renders. For instance, NTSC DV AVI files take up about 3.5 MB per second of video. With Windows 2000 and later, the operator has the ability to format their drives as FAT, FAT32, or NTFS (New Technology File System). NTFS has no file size limitation other than the maximum amount your hard drive can carry.

One note, external drives are often initially formatted with the FAT32 file system. The solution to this problem would be to render to a different drive that is not formatted as FAT32 or to reformat the drive you are rendering to and format that drive using NTFS file system. For instructions on this process, please see the link on Microsoft Support website:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307881/EN-US/
(How to convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP)

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I am looking to run my legacy Sony Creative Software and Sonic Foundry programs on Windows 7 within "Windows XP Mode". Will they work? Are they supported?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software
Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC (available on Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate) allow you to run multiple Windows environments within your Windows 7 desktop. At this time, we do not support any applications installed or operated in Windows XP Mode. You will need to install your Sony Creative Software or Sonic Foundry programs on a supported operating system listed in the System Requirements. Please check your software's documentation for system requirement information.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

What is the policy for installing and registering a Sony Creative Software program on multiple computers?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

According the Sony Creative Software End User License Agreement, there is no restriction for installing or re-installing the software on multiple computers. Many users need to have the software installed on more than one computer (i.e., a home PC, a work PC, and a portable laptop) for the convenience of being able to work on projects at different locations. Our EULA allows for this type of use and only the purchase of a single license is required to do so.

If multiple, simultaneous use is needed, then according to the EULA purchase of multiple licenses will be required (i.e., a classroom or a business with multiple people using the same program at one time).

Each time the software is installed, it may be installed using the installation disc or by downloading directly from our Updates page.
Reinstalling requires that you enter the serial number provided with your ordered materials.
There is no need to de-activate or de-authorize your software when you are installing on a new computer.
The software should be registered using the same contact and user information each time it is registered.
For information regarding purchasing an ACADEMIC multiple user site license, please contact one of our Academic Resellers.
For information regarding purchasing a COMMERCIAL multiple user site license, please contact our Customer Service team.

This article was copied from the excellent Sony Creative Software knowledgebase. Please click here to see this knowledgebase article on the Sony Creative Software website.

I am using an audio interface which uses an ASIO driver. How can I improve the performance of audio on my Windows 7 computer?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

Start by setting your computer for high performance to make sure that your computer's CPU is running at it's optimum;

Go to: Start then Control Panel then Power Options.
Choose High Performance
Click the Change Plan Settings button.
Make sure both power options are set to Never

Now we should disable the System Sounds as they can interrupt your audio;

Go to Control Panel and select Sound
Go to the Sounds Tab
Under Sounds Scheme, select No sounds
Click Apply and then OK

Enablling the DMA can improve audio performance too. So let's do that next;

Open the Device Manager
Expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers category then double click on each one of the IDE channels
Under the Advanced Settings tab, make sure the Enable DMA box is ticked in device properties. Please note:This option may not be available on your computer. If it isn't then you should not worry about completing this step.

The ASIO Driver likes to operate with Background Services switched on. To do this:

Go to the Control Panel and select System
Go to Advanced System Settings and click the Performance tab
Set processor scheduling as Background Services
Click Apply and then OK

Disable Windows Firewall, anti-virus and spyware software should all be disabled to ensure they do not interfere with your audio recording or playback Make sure that you disconnect the internet on your computer when you do this. If you are still disatisfied with the performance of your computer then you may need to disable the fancy visual effects in Windows 7 by doing the following:

Press Start and in the search box type: SystemPropertiesPerformance and press enter.
On the Visual Effects tab select Custom
Untick: Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing to help prevent glitches when minimizing and maximizing. You can also experiment with disabling other visual effects in the custom list to see how they improve audio performance.
If you wish to optimize your Windows 7 graphics for the best performance select Adjust for Best Performance.
Once you have finished, press OK

The current range of Roland audio interfaces support the ASIO driver and can be found here . Contact your local Roland Dealer for more details or send us an email with your enquiry.

Where is the serial number located in my package?
The information in this article applies to: All Sony Creative Software

It is written in the Quick Start Guide that shipped with the product.