Here are 13 ideas for how to improve performance when working with videos – whether in Fast video cataloger or not. Fast video cataloger is usually a very fast program, but as with most programs, sometimes is not as quick as you would like!

General performance tips for any Windows software

Make sure you have an adequately equipped computer

Fast video cataloger is designed to run on a PC with at least 2 GB of memory, and an intel i5 cpu or faster. The program will use more than one cpu core if available. It will also make use of a dedicated graphics card if you have one installed. Note that it does not have to be a state of the art graphics card, just about any dedicated card will be enough. The software will run on less than this spec but this is what I personally recommend; less than this might have a significant impact on performance.

Make sure your CPU is not throttled

This tip applies especially if you run the program on a laptop. Most, if not all, laptops have power save features that can be set to anything between performance and energy saving. Try changing the power save mode, as this can have a huge performance impact. Some laptops automatically try to save energy i.e. throttles the cpu when the power cord is disconnected. Try if there is a difference running on battery or plugged into the wall.

Close other running programs

Programs running in the background can take a significant amount of performance from your CPU and also put a strain on your disk system. If you feel Fast video cataloger is slower than usual, check the following common issues related to software:

Do you have heavy web pages loaded in your browser. Chrome is especially awful at this, as it fiddles with internal Windows timers.

• Is Windows update running?
• Do you have a scheduled virus scan running?
• Is Windows defragmentation running?
• Any other heavy program running that you usually don’t have running?

Run the windows disk defragmenter

If your hard drive is fragmented it will slow everything down. When indexing video files, fast video catalog uses the hard drive a lot, and a fragmented drive will significantly reduce efficiency. Run the Disk Defragmenter tool from accessories — system tools.

Tips specific to Fast video cataloger

Store your catalog on an SSD

Fast video cataloger saves changes to the catalog as they happen, so there is no need to save your catalog. That always happens automatically. Try to place your video catalog file on the fastest device you have. Preferably an SSD drive or internal hard drive. Video files can be stored on external drives as they are accessed way slower.

Turn off virus scanner on the video catalog

Turn off virus scanning for the vcat file extension. If you are an advanced user and know what you are doing, you can most likely also turn off virus scanning for your video folder.

NAS storage

Storing video files on a nas device is recommended and a good idea. The vcat file should preferably be stored on your fastest device and the internal drive is faster than a NAS. However, if you want to access the catalog from several computers you might need to have the catalog on a shared NAS device. In this case make sure to run automatic backups on the folder where the vcat file is stored. Automatic backup takes a copy of the catalog file every time it is written to, this will happen a lot and will waste space on your NAS as well as reduce performance.

Do not index videos while browsing

You can index video in the background as you are working with Fast video cataloger. However, indexing video is a heavy operation, it typically accesses the disk more and uses more CPU power than just playing the video. If you feel the program is sluggish simply pause the indexing process while you are working with the software and resume it when you are not using your computer.

Hide windows that you do not need

Fast video cataloger has a number of different windows that each have a specific function. Some of these windows carry out heavy computations in the background. So always hide windows that you do not use. The attract windows and the file organizer windows are the heaviest. The video player window only takes performance when it is playing a video.

Set the right size to video frames

You can set the size of video frame thumbnails. Setting a video frame size that is larger than the resolution of the video is possible but pretty pointless, you bet the same result from the zoom function. The larger size of video frames you capture the larger your catalog and the more memory the program will need and the more cpu it will need to decompress the video frame thumbnails.

Set the right number of frames to capture

You can set the intervals between the video frames when you capture. The more frames you capture per video the more memory and performance will be required.

Make sure companion images are of a reasonable size

Fast video cataloger has support for adding companion images to videos. These images will be displayed in the attract window and in the companion images window. There is no limit on the size of the companion images but adding huge images, like what you get by default from a high res digital camera, will take time to decompress.

Disable Sync to file folder

Fast video cataloger has the option to automatically sync the file view to where the video that click in the video catalog is stored. You can enable this feature from the preferences and it will not work if the file organizer window is hidden. However, when the file view browses to the location of the video it will need to access the disk and this can take time, especially if the disk has powered down, then it can take several seconds.