Video Darkens

maarkean · Post by **maarkean** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 8:15 pm

I am having a recent problem with Ulead Video Studio 10. It has worked perfectly for quite awhile but just recently when I playback any video I am editting it will darken. When I hit stop it returns its normal look. If I play video that has not been added to the movie it plays fine. When I play video in any other program it looks fine.

I recently switched harddrives. Other than that I have done nothing unusual with my computer. This problem has effectively made videostudio useless. I have tried reinstalling the program, updating it to service pack 1, nothing helps.

Any help would be appreciated.

maarkean · Post by **maarkean** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:26 am

No one knows how to fix this?

railroadguy · Post by **railroadguy** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 12:54 am

Is it dark on the finished MPEG or only on the preview screen? I only capture and edit DV so I don't know how different file types look, but my preview screen is darker then the finished DVD output.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:48 am

Sometimes it can also be indicative that your graphics card driver needs updating; or conversely (as I recently found) that you have updated the graphics driver to a version beyond its capabilities.

I for instance, was using a Winfast G-Force FX5200 card a few months ago and updated the driver to the very latest. It should have worked, but I -- and others -- found that we started getting erratic results not dissimilar to your own. (Apparently that NVidia/Winfast driver was problematic more generally.)

Anyway, when I reverted to the previous driver, the problems disappeared. By the way, I had not updated the driver for any particular reason. Just thought it was a good idea at the time.

maarkean · Post by **maarkean** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:19 am

It is dark on the preview screen and the finished version.

I have not done anything with the graphics driver in quite awhile. So there is nothing different in that area from when it worked and now that it isn't working.

Post by **Ron P.** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 11:42 am

Please complete your System Information in your profile. Clicking on this button -->

will take you to a short tutorial, explaining how to find and complete that information. This way it will always be available, and will save you from retyping it in the future.

Of course in your situation we are interested in the Video Card that you are using. There is nothing special in VS that controls your monitor, or drives your video/graphics card. It uses what's available to it on your system.

Next, generally when the program "has worked" then "now it doesn't", is indicative of a change to the system that is causing a conflict. This could be anything, from additional programs, to system updates. Even Windows updates can all of a sudden cause programs to start behaving improperly. So on your PC, what has changed since it last worked properly?

maarkean · Post by **maarkean** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:32 pm

Okay, system information established.

The only recent change to the system I can think of was my transfer of my computers HD contents from the old 200Gb to the new 500Gb. The OS is now running off of the new drive. Norton Internet Security no longer runs. There may have been some Windows Updates but those are automatic so rarely pay attention.

The only recent program addition is Norton Ghost which was what I used to copy the HD.

Even completely uninstalling VS (from the Add/Remove program and also deleting the Application Data and file in My Documents) has not resolved the issue. All video files rendered in VS when played experience the problem. However, all the uneditted video files play perfectly in every other program except VS preview.

PS Oh yes, Symantec tech support installed some remote access software when I was having a problem getting the HD copy feature to work.

Post by **Ron P.** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:53 pm

Thanks for completing your System Information..

You have checked Nvidia website and you have the current drivers?

ForceWare Release 90
Version: 93.71
Release Date: November 2, 2006
WHQL Certified

Since you like most (and I) do not have a dedicated video editing machine. We must use ours for all our functions. So what I found best in this situation is to create a video editing hardware profile. You might want to review Steve's tutorial on Creating a Video Editing Profile.
Are your Direct-X drivers currrent and up to date? Go to Start--All Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools-->System Information. Then go to the Tools menu--DirectX Diagnostic Tools. Run the tool to see if it shows any problems, especially with the Display drivers.

Your reinstall procedure the same as what is outlined in the forums? Try doing a complete un-install/re-install. Ulead programs leave a lot of files behind. So just doing a simple add/remove programs from the control panel and then re-installing may not correct some issues. Instructions can be found here : Re-installation of Ulead Products