Disc/ Video sharing problem (overlapped buffer)

[Cablehogue]

Hi there! First off, a bit of background on myself so I don't seem like such an idiot. I have used Ulead for about two years now but mainly for projects using footage I have recorded with my own camera. In other words, pretty straight forward and simple stuff.

Recently though, I have begun some projects using footage not of my own making (stock footage etc.). The first of such projects turned out well so I wanted to burn to a DVD to show. It burned fine till about 80 percent in and then it goes "an internal error occurred when an overlapped buffer is full" I know from searching on this forum that this has come up for other users also. Various solutions have been suggested but I'm not really sure how to apply them to my own project.

As I said, I'm very inexperienced when it comes to matters such as these. I mostly fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to putting together videos.

Alright more specific information:

Ulead Video Studio Version: 10
NTSC
Error occurred in disc step and video step.
Video Files: MPEG4, WMV, MPEG2
Audio Files: MPEG4, WAV

Project template properties:
NTSC drop frame (29.97 fps)
MPEG files
24 bits, 720 x 480, 29.97 fps
Lower Field First
(DVD-NTSC), 4:3
Video data rate: Variable (Max. 7000 kbps)
LPCM Audio, 48000 Hz, Stereo

If I need to provide any more information, please let me know. I have tried to follow the guidelines for posting. I'm sure I'm doing everything wrong. Just please tell me how I can fix my various mistakes if possible. Thanks!

[Ken Berry]

We used to have a lot of users with buffer problems, but they related to capture, not authoring. And I have to confess I can't recall a specific "overlapping" buffers problems and have no clear idea what it means.

The only thing I can think of, though, looking at your workflow, is that you have cobbled together a variety of formats, none of which are really meant to be edited (especially the mpeg-4 and wmv) and, if I read you correctly, are throwing them all together in a project and perhaps trying to burn it to disc -- expecting Video Studio to do the conversion as part of the burning process.

If that is indeed the case, all I can suggest is that you very seriously consider converting the mpeg-4 and wmv video to mpeg-2 first, either using Video Studio or another specialised converter such as SUPER. WMV is particularly notorious for being slow and difficult to use in anything but its own format, however, so just be aware of that.

The other potential pitfall I see is in your project properties, which uses Lower Field First. You need first to work out what the Field Order is of the largest type of video you have i.e. if most of your clips are mpeg-2 and there are relatively few of the mpeg-4 and wmv's, then check the mpeg-2 video by right clicking on a file within Video Studio and see what it says about Upper or Lower Field First -- do this for several of the files if the mpeg-2s come from different sources.

I say this because it is a basic rule of editing that you should not mix Upper and Lower Field First videos together in one project, because one or the other will suffer if you specify the opposite Field Order in your Project Properties. You will also need to bear this in mind when converting the mpeg-4 and wmv clips to mpeg-2.

[Cablehogue]

This might have an obvious answer but I'll ask it anyways. What would be the best way of converting the MPEG4 and WMV files to MPEG2 in Ulead?

[Ken Berry]

The only way of which I am aware would be to put the mpeg-4 files in the timeline and select Share > Create Video File > DVD (though here you would need to make sure you get the Field Order right). Ditto for the WMV files. The 'DVD' does not of course mean you would move on to burn a DVD. It just means you would produce a DVD compatible mpeg-2. You also need to do this one clip at a time...

[Cablehogue]

One more question. Would it be better to take the already edited clips and convert them...or take the unedited clips, convert them, and then re-edit them? Thanks for the help.

[Ken Berry]

For future projects, I would first convert the files, then edit them. Given the nature of the originals, it would be better to have them first in mpeg-2 format and then edit as it is simpler and faster to then re-render in that format than in either mpeg-4 or especially mpeg-2. But for your current project, I guess you could convert the edited files. The end result should hopefully be much the same...

[Cablehogue]

Everything worked great. No more overlapped buffers for me. I went ahead and converted all the audio to WAV. This seems to work fine but would MPEG audio files work better?

[Ken Berry]

Definitely not. .WAV is the rock standard audio file and (L)PCM audio on DVDs is based on it. Essentially, it is 'pure' or uncompressed audio. Mpeg-layer 2 audio is fine in PAL countries, as it is part of the international PAL DVD specifications. It is not part of the NTSC standard, though seems to work pretty well except on some verrrry old NTSC DVD players. But it is of course compressed. If you are talking about mp3, you need to be aware that VS does not like audio encoded with certain mp3 codecs, and especially the LameMP3 one...

[Cablehogue]

I burned the project to a dvd using the "create disc" feature. When I viewed the dvd, it worked perfectly except that it seemed to ignore one of my audio filters on one of my sound files. I then used the "create video file" feature and created a dvd file from the project. When I viewed the dvd, everything worked perfectly and no audio filters were ignored. Could this be something else or did I do the right thing for once? Are the WAV and LPCM audio files conflicting possibly? I don't know.

Also, I was trying to use on of video templates I got from the "make and share video templates" topic in this forum. It was the "youtube-mpeg4.avi" template to be precise. I was going to use this template to upload my project to youtube but would it work with mpg files since it is avi?

Thanks again for all the help!

[Cablehogue]

And the LPCM audio files are from the mpg video files.

[Ken Berry]

I know nothing about You-Tube -- and between you and me, I am not sure I *want* to know anything about it! So hopefully someone else will answer that aspect of your latest query.

As for the DVD aspect, if you did you editing and then went straight to Share > Create Disc, that could have been the reason the burn did not get all your audio filters -- particularly if you inserted that filter late in the edits and then did not save your project. That is because that workflow inserts the project file as it was last saved in the burning module. So it will only burn what was in the last saved version of the project file.

That is yet another reason why we always recommend that people do all their editing, and first (as you did the second time round) go to Share > Create Video File > DVD and save the whole project as a new DVD-compatible mpeg-2 file.

Note also that after you produce your new mpeg-2, you go to File > New Project. Don't worry about giving your new project a name. The objective is just to clear the timeline of your current project.

Once that is done, you select Share > Create Disc > DVD. The burning module will open. Use the Add Media button at the top to insert your new mpeg-2 in the burning timeline. Then go to the middle of the three icons in the bottom left of the burning screen. There is a little box beside the words 'Do not convert compliant mpeg files'. Make sure that box is ticked (it usually is by default). That way, your already compliant mpeg file will not be re-encoded. Then build your menus and burn.

[Cablehogue]

Alright, new problem. They seem to be never ending with this project. I converted the project to a dvd compatible mpeg2 file fine but as I'm watching it I notice little clicks in the audio I never noticed in editing. All in the audio transitions. They were all saved long before I converted the project. The audio sounds amazing when I'm editing but I hear these clicks when watching the dvd compatible file. Maybe I'm hearing things and I just need to be done with this thing.

[Black Lab]

One thing you may want to try. After your editing is complete, go to Share>Create Audio File. This converts all your audio clips into one WAV file. Is the clicking noise also in this file? If not, then remove all of your audio clips and replace with the WAV file. Now render your project to the DVD-compliant MPEG-2.

[Cablehogue]

That worked! Thank you very much! I hadn't thought of that. Can anyone out there answer my question about the youtube template? I was trying to use on of video templates I got from the "make and share video templates" topic in this forum. It was the "youtube-mpeg4.avi" template to be precise. I was going to use this template to upload my project to youtube but would it work with mpg files since it is avi?