Videostudio 9 audio sync problems

[rpungin]

Not wishing to keep advertising someone elses products here but download the trial version of Womble MPEG Editor http://www.womble.com/products/mvw.html
Then run Tools | MPEG GOP fixer.

This may or may not work
Steve J

Thanks Steve. Will download it when I get home tonight.

I looked at the website, hmm seems like they offer a full-fledged video editor that can edit MPEG files, inspite of all the things you've said about how editing MPEG files is not a good idea. I am not denouncing what you said, I am just saying that they actually try to circumvent the problems editing MPEG files that you've described.

I have to say that being able to edit MPEG2 files is VERY convienient. First they occupy much less space than AVI with DV codec when capturing DV tapes. Second MPEG2 is the format that many set top boxes save the video in. Also I have Windows Media Center Edition and I can easily convert recorded TV to MPEG2 using DVRMSToolBox.

And thanks for bringing this up on this board. Competition is what drives quality in products! Maybe Ulead will get their act together and eliminate the PTS problems when editing MPEG files!

[sjj1805]

I said it at the start....

.....
Normal video editors such as the Ulead range, Adobe Premier, Pinnacle, Sony etc are designed to work with AVI files (lossless) and so editing AVI files should not produce out of synch problems.
.......
2. If option 1 is unavailable - perhaps your capture software will only capture in MPEG format (example - my Hauppauge TV card.)
Then you need to use a purpose built MPEG Editor such as Womble http://www.womble.com/products.dvd/
or
VideoRedo http://www.videoredo.com/index.html
........

Regards
Steve J

[jchunter]

Steve,
Sorry, but I have to disagree with your thesis that "editing Mpeg2 causes audio/video Out of Sync (OOS) problems". I have dozens of pure Mpeg2 projects with perfect sync that serve as counter examples.

However, I will certainly agree that compressing Mpeg2 is very complicated and all codecs have bugs. No - really? Yes! The phrase: "Perfect software" is an oxymoron.

Our worst ever plague of OOS problems happened when Ulead messed up its VS8.0 Burning Engine release procedure - it caused massive chaos in the VS community for over 6 months. Upgrading to 9.0 solved all my OOS problems.

So I think it is time to put the blame where it belongs - not on the Mpeg2 compression algorithm (which happens to be lossy) but on bugs in its implementation. Following the Recommended Procedure is an effective first step to problem avoidance.

Moreover, now that we are well into high definition video, you better get used to even more highly compressed video algorithms. If you think that Mpeg2 is lossy, wait till you try Mpeg4, H.264, Divx, Xvid codcs. Video compression is here to stay!

[sjj1805]

John,
Sorry if I may have given any impression that editing an MPEG file WILL cause an out of synch problem, I am aware that you can edit MPEG and still end up with a file in synch.

To make an anology:
Walking on a tightrope does not mean you are going to fall off.

If you read the multitude of posts regarding this problem you will find that when a user has experienced an out of synch problem it was when they were working with MPEG files.
There will always be exceptions to the rule and I am sure someone is now going to add a post saying that their AVI file ended up out of synch. All I can say to that person is there are other possible causes such as a corrupted file or incorrect settings. It is unusual for an AVI to lose synchronisation.

In my original post I have outlined the major cause of this problem.
It will not be the one and only cause, there are others. I also concede that editing an MPEG file will not automatically make it go out of synch.

We users can only pass on our knowledge and experience. How the reader chooses to use that information is a matter for them.

Finally , Yes following the recommended procedure IS what our fellow users should be doing.

Steve J

[Ilene]

When I capture using my hauppauge win TV PCi 150 card, I have to capture as Mpeg...I do this at the best quality it will allow. I don't do a lot of editing but I do break the clips ups some....I don't find that I have audio/video sync problems at all, such as those described here....either on playback on my computer or once burned back to DVD. Do we know why this would be???

I find the quality to be a bit better when I capture to the Hauppauge card, vs, using my Dazzle DVC 90, or from camera to computer via firewire.

[sjj1805]

Hauppauge TV card eh!
Please view this
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=11379
(Similar procedure for VideoStudio)

Steve J

[Ilene]

thanks for the tips...but I use VS9...and thankfully have not experienced the audio/video sync problems aforementioned.

[rpungin]

I said it at the start....
2. If option 1 is unavailable - perhaps your capture software will only capture in MPEG format (example - my Hauppauge TV card.)
Then you need to use a purpose built MPEG Editor such as Womble http://www.womble.com/products.dvd/
or
VideoRedo http://www.videoredo.com/index.html
........

Ok, first I tried Womble MPEG Editor's GOP Fixer. For some bizzare reason, it did not write the output file. I added the job to the list, the file output filename was set correctly, but it never got written....

Then I tried VideoRedo and using Adjust Tempo Synchronization feature I sped down the audio by about 250ms and saved the re-rendered file. When I burned it on DVD it came out pretty good. In the beginning the sound was a bit ahead of the lips, but it's barely noticable. In the middle it was pretty much in synch and in the end it lagged a bit but again, it was barely noticable. So basically it worked out fine! Thanks Steve for the links to this very useful software! Phew, I am glad I don't have to re-edit the original file!

[phd]

You can also manually adjust sync in segments of the file with VideoReDo.

Mark your first segment of the file as if you were outputting it, adjust the sync and add that segment to the Joiner.

CLear the cut list, mark the subsequent sections and manually adjust the sync accordingly and continue to add segment sto the Joiner.

When you have adjusted all segments, save the file thorugh the Joiner, not the normal FIle Save a new file will be created with various sync adjustments.

[daftest]

John,
If you read the multitude of posts regarding this problem you will find that when a user has experienced an out of synch problem it was when they were working with MPEG files.
Steve J

NO.... they were using Ulead software........


Regards,
David.

[temperpolk]

Ok, first I tried Womble MPEG Editor's GOP Fixer. For some bizzare reason, it did not write the output file. I added the job to the list, the file output filename was set correctly, but it never got written....

While my first small project burnt in synch with VS9, I too encountered recently OSS. I've seemed to resolve it ok by capturing Mpeg editing and saving with recommended procedure, then running it through Womble GOP fixer - giving the output file name a different name and then bringing it into VS9 for the titles, then burning it. Looks good.

BTW, Womble's Wizard DVD's editing features seem kind of limited. The GOP fix seems to work pretty good though.

[alfred123]

For some time now to try and fix my audio sync problems, but with no luck, until yesterday. Here's what I normally did.

I use a DVD Recorder to record old VHS tapes. I then record the MPEG2 file from the DVD Recorder to a disk. I then import that file into my computer using DVD Workshop 2 which creates a mpeg file.

Now this file is perfect. Absolutely NO sync problems. Then I start editing with VideoStudio 8. After editing I Create a Video File. Still the file plays perfect in any player, including PowerDVD.

Then I import the file into DVD Workshop 2. Then export to a ISO. Test the ISO through PowerDVD. And ^&%&, OUT OF SYNC. It starts fine, but then at the end the sync is out. This drove me crazy!!...

can u spot where i went wrong?

VIDEOSTUDIO 8!!!!.....

That is the culprit!!...so here's what i did: (Sorry for the long article:)

Took the original file from the DVD Recorder. Checked the file with a program called GSpot. It shows you exactly what codecs where used in recording the VHS tape. Write down those settings! Size, audio bit rate, ect.

Then i downloaded VideoStudio 9 upgrade from Ulead's website, only $49.

Re-Edited the whole thing over again with VideoStudio 9. Now, this is where things changed.

Go look at your project settings. Make sure that they are exactly the same as the original file used! So that NO RE-REDERING needs to be done by VideoStudio.

Go to the SHARE section of VideoStudio and make a video file using PROJECT SETTINGS!. When you start exporting you will not see the video redering in real time. If you can, your settings are wrong and videostudio is re-rendering the video. A 2 hour video should only export around 15min max..(Thats what mine did:)..

Then took that file into workshop 2 and it works PERFECTLY!...

Tested it with 4 videos..

Hope this helps someone from going crazy.

[Ken Berry]

Well, fine, and thank you. But we are now up to version 14 (X4) with Video Studio, and very few users are still with VS 8 or 9. I am also not sure when you bought the upgrade to VS9, but it would have to have been about 5 years ago -- about the time of the thread you have posted in...

Moreover, there are very few reports these days of out of sync video and audio -- although admittedly we still get one now and then. But these users are unlikely to be using either VS 8 or 9... What is more, at the time of VS 8 and 9, the usual solution was NOT to SmartRender -- in other words, the opposite to what you are doing.

But I am glad you found a solution to your own trouble.