MF5 bug? ANY thumbnail template with > 10 thumbs crashes.

[maddrummer3301]

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[sjj1805]

MD,
I prefer that people do ask, we are here to assist each other and if a user finds something that messes up their machine then they would be failing in their duty of care to other users not to bring it to the attention of the forum.

Anyone who posts tweaks etc on this forum does so with the best of intentions and in most cases the other members of the forum know little or nothing about the poster and that posters skills and abilities.

I hope to have pointed out in my somewhat lengthy reply above that any tweaks I publish are extensively tested beforehand. I am able to try things out that many other users wouldn't be able to because of
1. My particular computer system configuration which took me several years to develop.
2. Over 25 years computing experience with several different operating systems. In fact my very first computer was a Dragon 32 with a massive 32kb RAM (Yes - kilobytes)

In those days no internet, no floppy disk drives and if you wanted to write a decent program you had to learn assembly language - 1 level up from machine code.

Anyway - don't want to get off track here I'm just trying to put our members at ease that I do have a fair whack of experience and also I am not adverse to anyone questioning anything I post. I would prefer to explain any concerns in further depth when necessary.

I have illustrated in the above reply how easy it is for something unknown to be missed. Several users have posted on this forum simple how to copy menus between the Ulead products. I will be the first to say it was a matter of luck that I found the issue relating to the Wizard Templates.

After writing the "How To" regarding sharing items between products it was only natural to explore the wizard templates. It was due to the intensive prodding and poking that I do when exploring items of this nature that I discovered to a fair degree how they work and that they rely on the existing templates. So if in the case of the duplicated smartscene menus when copying them between MF5 and VS10 you deleted the wrong duplicate - you end up in trouble.

It was also obvious fairly soon in my research that the smartscene menus are too dangerous to mess with.

For this reason it is a must that if a user with good intentions posts a tweak and then other users find a problem it MUST be posted here so that the tweak can be further checked for reliability.

I am also aware that Ulead do sometimes monitor our posts and I received an email from their technical support on one occasion relating to a post by a forum member - actually it was one by maddrummer3301 himself - concerning the drop frame counter.
Ulead are quite happy for the tweak to be published but simply asked that I included a warning as follows:

This is not an official solution by Ulead. The "Drop Frame Counter" involves editing a critical program file and any other changes to it can cause the program not to run properly. If you encounter problems with the software and ask for Technical support, the TS guys may not be able to give the exact solution because the program has been tampered. Tech Support can never know for sure what other values are changed so its better to be safe. Its like voiding the warranty of a certain electrical device by removing a jumper or modifying its circuit. Make sure you backup those files and revert it to the original one and then ask for TS assistance.

It is covered in the EULA under "2. Use of Software: You may not: 4) reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble or otherwise attempt to discover the source code of the software"

This was simply to cover themselves in the form of a disclaimer should problems arise.
http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic. ... 6426#56426

So to sum up.... Please share your tweaks BUT be prepared to answer questions when you do so.

Thank you to maddrummer3301 for bringing this concern forward to the forum members.

[Herb Jones]

The 16 menu that I set up worked fine. Thanks a million!

While viewing my 16 menu burned DVD. I now noticed a problem with occasional stuttering video.

I tried a trial MF4 version that I had, and the stuttering went away, using duplicate MPEG setting sfor both MF4 and MF5.

- The video is fine, worked with MF4.
- I had the custom settings set to exactly what the video was recorded as.
- I was using 2-pass MPEG encoding.
- I was not allowing to use compliant MPEG files, so it did re-encode.

I would use MF4, but man, that software has more bugs than a baitshop!

The stutter in the video is about 1/4 second every five minutes. Not major, but an irritant if you know that it is not supposed to be there.

Any ideas?

[sjj1805]

Could be the DVD disc. what burn speed did you use?
Try burning to a Hard Drive folder then play from the hard drive with a DVD player such as PowerDVD, Ulead DVD Player 2.0 etc.

[Herb Jones]

I am only burning at 2x - the file worked with MF4, so I know the files are ok. Only leaves MF5.

I was incorrect previously. I recorded the file at a constant 7902 kbps.

When I burned it, I did variable 7040 with 2-pass on.

I am not doing anything funky, simply recording composite video from a VCR.

I am going to try turning off 2-pass. Another option would be to try and burn at a variable rate. I don't know if it is harder for the softare to encode constant -> variable.

Do you know?

I will try turning off 2-pass tonight.

I am desperately trying to use MF5. I like the features over Roxio, Nero 7, Sonic, and Intervideo - and have mastered most of the bugs. I like Nero 7, but it was missing some minor features, and ABSOLUTELY does not run as fast as MF5. I believe this 'stutter' to be the last issue before I choose.

Thanks again for the help!

-hj

[sjj1805]

.......I am going to try turning off 2-pass. Another option would be to try and burn at a variable rate. I don't know if it is harder for the softare to encode constant -> variable.

Do you know?


Thanks again for the help!

-hj

The only real advantage that variable has over constant is when you are struggling to get it to fit onto the DVD. By using a variable bit rate you can reduce the file size a bit more because less bits are used where there is little movement, more bits are used where there is lots of movement.

Constant bit rate is - as the name implies - the same throughout.
Therefore constant is easier on the encoder.

Variable requires more work by the encoder. Using variable you can either do it in one pass in which case the encoder is trying to do it on the fly (and so has to guess), or in 2 passes where it examines the file beforehand to get an idea where the parts are that need a lower / higher bit rate.

[snoops]

Herb,

You need to use CBR with MF5.
VBR is currently severely broken in MF5.
Use a bitrate viewer on the output and you'll see.

(You really should read some of the other posts here.)

[Herb Jones]

Steve,

Gotcha on the VBR. I believe you are referring to recording with Ulead. I'm using WinTV2000 to record. My recorded files with VBR seem to be working fine (well, minus the glitch we are discussing here).

The video 'skip' problem, I am seeing with VBR and CBR. Burning with MF5 set to VBR and CBR. Doesn't seem to matter what I do.

I looked closer, and the first skip starts at 45 seconds with two completely different files and settings. It then seems to skip every 60 seconds. I timed it with a stopwatch through about 6 minutes. So, it's 00:45:00 01:45:00 02:45:00 03:45:00...

I then fast forwarded to 55:00:00 and found that it lagged to about 55:57:00 before it skipped. It lost a few seconds over the course of an hour - but was definitely still there.

I have two DVD players, and it does it on both with two separate attempts (one with 2-pass on and one with 2-pass off - no difference).

So, having tried 2-pass, no 2-pass, CBR in, VBR in, CBR out, VBR out - I don't know what else to do. Wait for a patch and try it again later I guess. In the meantime, I may just have to make due with something else.

The video skip is very subtle, but bothersome if you know it is there.

What to do... what to do...

-hj

[sjj1805]

Steve,

Gotcha on the VBR. I believe you are referring to recording with Ulead. I'm using WinTV2000 to record. My recorded files with VBR seem to be working fine (well, minus the glitch we are discussing here).

The video 'skip' problem, I am seeing with VBR and CBR. Burning with MF5 set to VBR and CBR. Doesn't seem to matter what I do.

I looked closer, and the first skip starts at 45 seconds with two completely different files and settings. It then seems to skip every 60 seconds. I timed it with a stopwatch through about 6 minutes. So, it's 00:45:00 01:45:00 02:45:00 03:45:00...

I then fast forwarded to 55:00:00 and found that it lagged to about 55:57:00 before it skipped. It lost a few seconds over the course of an hour - but was definitely still there.

I have two DVD players, and it does it on both with two separate attempts (one with 2-pass on and one with 2-pass off - no difference).

So, having tried 2-pass, no 2-pass, CBR in, VBR in, CBR out, VBR out - I don't know what else to do. Wait for a patch and try it again later I guess. In the meantime, I may just have to make due with something else.

The video skip is very subtle, but bothersome if you know it is there.

What to do... what to do...

-hj

Are we getting off the original topic? We we're originally debating the number of thumbnails in a menu but now we're talking about CBR/VBR and video skipping and possibly capturing methods

If you're using WinTV2000 perhaps you may find the following link useful.
Create DVD from Hauppauge TV Card

Could you also complete your system specifications on your profile page please. This may hold a clue to the skipping you've mentioned.

[snoops]

Steve is right, we're off topic now.

But I was talking about MPEG2 encoding for DVD authoring (menus and clips).

There are more issues than the wrong bitrates when using VBR. Other advanced settings like DCT precision and field order are reset/ignored, generating DCT9 with progressive (frame) output.

[Herb Jones]

Agreed.

I was hoping it would be a simple 'we know this is a problem, here's what you do'.

I will re-post his problem to change the subject line.

Close the >9 thumb post out.

-hj