After Effects CS3 Render Hacks

Anyone ever encounter these error messages while rendering?

Out of memory. (102400K requested) (23 :: 40)

AEGP Plugin Media IO Plugin: UNRECOGNIZED EXCEPTION (5027 :: 12)

I've been getting them for the past two weeks. They can show up at anytime during the render. In my case, most have occurred just after the last frame of the comp is processed. I'm pleased to say though that after much frustration and wasted time, I think I've finally come up with a reliable solution. The first part involves making available to After Effects as much system memory as possible. The second part involves actively freeing up memory while rendering.

The /3GB Flag in boot.ini

By default, Windows XP (32-bit) only allows programs access to 2GB of system memory. The remaining 2GB of the maximum possible 4GB is reserved for the operating system. However, users of Windows XP Professional have the option of setting a /3GB flag in the system's boot.ini file to allow up to 3GB of RAM for programs to access.

A Secret Menu

After having pulled an all-nighter and endured more than twelve hours of failed renders, I just about lost it when I learned of this Secret menu within the Preferences window. I don't know why anyone would want to hide something like this! Seems pretty important to me, or at the very least useful when encountering memory issues. To access this menu under Windows, hold down the Shift key and select Edit > Preferences > General. Keep holding the Shift key until the Preferences window is open. Then select Previous. You should see something similar to the figure below. The Secret menu can also be selected from drop-down selector in the Preferences window.

For Mac users, the path is After Effects > Preferences > General. However, in addition to holding down the Shift key, the Left Mouse Button must be held down during the entire path traversal — old mac style. Keep holding the Shift key until the Preferences window is open.

In the Secret menu, we are given the option to schedule a Purge at set intervals during the render process. With the default value of zero, no Purge event is performed during render. System memory will continue to fill until the specified Maximum RAM Cache Size is reached (see Memory & Cache in Preferences). To purge the cache and free up memory every specified number of frames, enter a number greater than zero in the field provided. By setting the value to 1, the cache will be purged after every frame rendered. I opted for 300, effectively scheduling a Purge to occur after every ten seconds of video rendered.

With regards to the Secret menu, please note that Adobe has commented stating, "If you're using that, it's a bug. You should never need to use that."

For more information, please consult the following resources.

• After Effects CS3 LiveDocs: Memory, Storage, & Perormance
• Adobe Forums FAQ: What are the optimum settings for best performance in CS4, CS5, and CS5.5?