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Even if you have a brand-new computer with a wickedly fast processor and lots of RAM, you may experience problems when you work with digital video. Perhaps the most common problem is frames being dropped during capture or export. A dropped frame occurs when your computer can't keep up with the capture or export process and loses one or more video frames. Pinnacle Studio and most other video-editing programs report dropped frames if they occur. If you encounter dropped frames (or you just want to help your computer run more efficiently for video work), try the tips in the following sections to improve performance.
 | You should be running Windows XP for digital video work, and the following sections assume that you are using XP (either the Pro or Home version). If you're using an earlier version of Windows (such as Me), you can still follow along, although some steps may be slightly different. |
Updating video drivers
Windows operates the various components in your computer by using software tools called drivers. Outdated drivers can cause your computer to run slowly — or even crash. This is especially true of video display drivers in Windows XP. The display adapter (another name for the video card) is the component that generates the video image for your computer's monitor. Hardware vendors frequently provide updates, so check the manufacturers' Web sites regularly for downloadable updates. If you aren't sure who made your display adapter, follow these steps to verify the manufacturer and model:
1. Choose Start --> Control Panel.
2. In the Windows Control Panel, click the Performance and Maintenance icon if you see that option, and then double-click the System icon.
If you do not see a Performance and Maintenance icon, simply double-click the System icon.
The System Properties dialog box appears.
3. Click the Hardware tab to bring it to the front, and then click the Device Manager button.
The Windows Device Manager opens.
4. Click the plus sign next to Display Adapter.
More information about the display adapter appears in the list, including the manufacturer and model of your display adapter.
5. Click the Close button (X) when you are done to close the Device Manager.
As shown in Figure 1, this display adapter is made by NVIDIA. To check for updated drivers, you can do a Web search for the manufacturer's name and then visit the manufacturer's Web site to see whether updates are available. The Web site should contain installation instructions for the driver updates. Make sure that any driver updates that you download are designed specifically for Windows XP (or specifically for the version of Windows that you're using).
Figure 1: Use the Windows Device Manager to review information about the hardware components that are on your computer.
Adjusting power settings and screen savers
Your computer is probably set to power down after a period of inactivity. Normally this is a good thing because it conserves energy, but it can cause problems during video capture and some other video-editing actions. To temporarily disable power-saving options, follow these steps:
1. Choose Start --> Control Panel.
2. In the Windows Control Panel, click the Performance and Maintenance icon if you see that option, and then double-click the Power Options icon.
If you do not see a Performance and Maintenance icon, simply double-click the Power Options icon.
The Power Options Properties dialog box appears.
3. On the Power Schemes tab, set all four pull-down menus (near the bottom of the dialog box) to Never, as shown in Figure 2.
Alternatively, you can just choose the Always On scheme from the Power Schemes pull-down menu.
Figure 2: Turn off power-saving features for video work.
4. Click the Save As button, name the power scheme Video in the Save Scheme dialog box that appears, and then click OK.
5. Click OK again to apply the changes and close the Power Options Properties dialog box.
To conserve power in the future, you can turn on the power-saving features by simply choosing a different power scheme in the Power Options Properties dialog box.
 | You should also disable screen savers when you are getting ready to work with video. To do so, right-click an empty area of the Windows desktop and choose Properties from the menu that appears. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab and choose (None) in the Screen saver menu. Click OK to close the Display Properties dialog box. |
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