Sync Problems in Project Preview and Output

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:50 am

I'm working with a file with the following properties:

XviD/MP3 encoded .avi
PAL format
512 x 384
25 frames/sec

I drop the file into the timeline and select "Clip" and it plays and seeks fine. I select "Project" and if I play it from the beginning, there are no sync issues (that I can tell). However, if I seek ahead and then hit "Play" or if I use multi-trim etc., then it becomes out of sync (the audio is about 3 seconds ahead of the video).

Also, whenever I try saving this file (not that it makes any difference to the sync issues, anyway

) using the "Same as first video" setting, it gives the "Unable to access audio codec" error. I figure this may have something to do with the sync issue.

It's worth mentioning, I suppose, that my codecs initially came from a codec pack a couple of years ago (and I don't think I've updating many of them manually since then). However, since I can play this file without trouble and since Ulead can play it and read all the codes and other file info properly, I can't see how this can be an issue. I also looked at the file in G-Spot and it tells me that the required codecs are installed and the file properties it gives me match up with the ones Ulead reads.

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions? This is driving me pretty insane.

Reactor · Post by **Reactor** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:15 am

I'm not 100% sure, but editing with highly compressed formats like XviD and DivX can cause problems (unless of course a specific plugin exists for the format, such as Mpeg 4) Do you have the same problems with standard DV codec videos?

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:02 am

Reactor wrote:I'm not 100% sure, but editing with highly compressed formats like XviD and DivX can cause problems (unless of course a specific plugin exists for the format, such as Mpeg 4) Do you have the same problems with standard DV codec videos?

No, I don't think I've ever had the problem with standard codecs. It also may have something to do with the fact that I wasn't using Plus. I'm going to upgrade and give it another go.

In the meantime, is there a program you can reccomend(sp?) to un-compress the file (and any other compressed file)?

Also, what's this about a plug-in for MPEG-4?

Thanks.

Reactor · Post by **Reactor** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:06 am

I believe for VS9 you needed a free plugin to handle Mpeg4, but it's fully supported in version 10.

In the meantime, is there a program you can reccomend(sp?) to un-compress the file (and any other compressed file)?

You could try Super (http://www.erightsoft.net/Superdc.html), or Mediacoder (mediacoder.sourceforge.net).

Also, you might want to make sure you're not trying to play the project back at ntsc speeds... since it's a pal file you've got.

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:21 pm

Reactor wrote:I believe for VS9 you needed a free plugin to handle Mpeg4, but it's fully supported in version 10.

In the meantime, is there a program you can reccomend(sp?) to un-compress the file (and any other compressed file)?
You could try Super (http://www.erightsoft.net/Superdc.html), or Mediacoder (mediacoder.sourceforge.net).

Also, you might want to make sure you're not trying to play the project back at ntsc speeds... since it's a pal file you've got.

Great, thanks for the answers.

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 8:40 am

Alright, I've upgraded to VS10+ and the problem is still occurring. I went into Preferences>Edit and changed the NTSC button to PAL but it still is out-of sync.

I'm going to try uncompressing it. Can you tell me what settings to use for this in MediaEncoder and/or Super?

Thanks.

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 4:48 am

If it helps any, I've think I've narrowed the problem down. XviD files seem to work fine, but XviD + MP3 audio seems to cause the problem.

So, with that said, is there another, quicker way around this besides completely un-compressing the file? I'm not too concerned with losing a little bit of video quality.

But if there's not, as I said above, what settings do I use to un-compress it?

Anyone?....Thanks.

Post by **Ron P.** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:12 am

Since the combination of Xvid and MP3 are causing the problem, why don't you first try converting the MP3 to a WAV file, and see if you still have the OOS problem. If so, the problem would most likely be the Xvid file.

You can use the free program AUDACITY.

Ron P.

MystikTK · Post by **MystikTK** » Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:37 pm

Yup, that did it. I used MediaCoder to transcode the audio to an MP4 file (just for the sake of cutting down on file size as WAV transcodes take about 1GB). Then I just layered the audio on top of the original video file, muted the original audio and saved it with the same video settings and alternate audio and edited that file: no problems.

Thanks.