Video Studio Audio Problems (HELP PLEASE VIDOMAN)

[Coach T]

Hi All

I am a rookie to the whole manipulating of video on computer etc. I do have some minimal technical knowledge regarding computers.

I recently bought an analog to digital video capture device to convert and capture football tapes and mini DVD's to DVD or SVCD format. The package bundled Video Studio SE DVD 9.0 with the device.

Since that time I have been "taking the course" (fiddling around using help etc.) and in attempting to do the do, I have had a bunch of problems with the program. I too have gotten the "Load from error stream" message with the X'ed out white thumbnails. In reading the forum I saw the info on renaming the the vs_video.dat file and have done so only minutes ago. I have not yet restarted the program to see if it is resolved

BUT/BECAUSE

the reason for my post is due to the fact that I have managed to create a project from video clips that function fully within Windows media player (video and audio) but do not function fully within Video Studio. The "movie" was rendered without audio and I've tried reading the entire help section but none of it seemed to offer and info that seems to make sense or resolve the matter.

PLEASE HELP

Thanks in advance


Coach T

[Black Lab]

Well, you've really given us nothing to go on. First read this post, making sure to give as much info as possible.

What sort of "analog to digital video capture device" did your purchase? Did it come with it's own capture software (other than VideoStudio)?

The more info you can give the better.

[Ron P.]

Welcome to the forums Coach,

I think I understand your hesitance in wanting to move, let alone reboot. It seems that there's only a 50/50 chance of seeing your masterpiece again..

1. Within a single Project File (VSP) are you combining different video file formats? For example clips that are DV(avi), MPEG-1, MPEG-2 etc.? I hope not, you need to limit your file type in a single project, and try to make sure your bitrates are close.

2. The audio codec being used by any one of the inserted video clips by chance Dolby AC-3, or 5.1? If so you are not going to be able to hear the audio since your VS9 version is an SE (simple edition), which is watered down, and tweaked by the hardware manufacturer, to work with their hardware.

3. Speaking of Hardware Manufacturer, what is the make/model of the capture device your VS9SE came with? When purchasing capture cards, video cards, etc., always assume that the drivers are outdated, and locate their website, check for current firmware, and drivers.

4. By do not function fully within VS, is this the common, jerky preview? I say common, because when previewing, especially complex projects, VS must throw all the edits, titles, filters. everything together "on-the-fly". It takes a real powerhouse PC to keep things flowing smoothly. You can try changing the Playback from Instant to High-Quality, in the Preferences (press F6, or go to File>Preferences). If your project settings are NTSC DVD, then the HQ will be disabled. You need to change it (Project Properties) temporarily to MPEG-2. You can also select a Preview Range, that VS will Render to a Temp file, so that you can see how your project is progressing.

I hope that helps... I know when I seen my name above, I thought, whoa, this guys scraping the bottom of the ol barrel for hlep..

[Coach T]

I hope that this version helps and isn't too long, BLACK LAB AND VIDOMAN


THE FIRST PROBLEM


Once I open the VideoStudio 9 program I keep getting the X'd out thumbnails. I always get 8 x'd out thumbnails after which I can get (import /or what ever term best describes) being able to work with the video.

If I minimize the screen for any reason (to check emails or something) then it pops up again, (the 8 X'd out boxes). It may happen twice but after I click on the "load from stream error" box 8 times I can go back to working on what I was doing. As long as I am not "dragging and dropping" a thumbnail at the same time as the X'd out box is popping up. If I do that then the program hangs.

MY SOLUTION

What I have done to get past the problem is that I click the error messages 8 times then I add I clip to another clip and save the file, then I add one more clip then I save the file and so on and so on. It's a pain in the a$$ but it seems to work. Especially after getting caught a few times and having the program hang on me.


After reading the entire "help section" of the program and a bunch of posts on this forum I think that I am getting a better handle on some of the functionality of the program and some of the issues (even though I don't quite get the technical)


I have since tried to utilize the suggestion from Vidoman's post below but it did not seem to solve the problem.


Post Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:26 am

Post subject: Reply with quote

This is similar to what Bert.1 is doing, but I think more precise to the problem. The white Xd boxes indicate that VS can not find those files to relink. So remove the VS_video.dat file and VS will rebuild it when you reload the program.

Instructions:


* Go to C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Ulead Systems\VideoStudio\9.0 (or whatever version).
* Locate the file mentioned above, VS_video.dat. This is a data file that stores the information for the Video Library in VS.
* Rename the file VS_video.datX. Just placing an X at the very end, so that if need be, you can go back an remove the X, and you will still have it to restore.
* Now launch VS, and it should have a new Video Library (the default).

You can return to the folder where the VS_video.dat file is located, and see that VS has recreated that file.

I have also noticed that the name of the folder within the Library Manager (the folder that seems to be the default folder that opens when the program is launched and that has the clip in it) is made up of a bunch of foreign characters:

a degrees sign, an "n" with a tilde above it, a backwards "u", the post that should be on the right is on the left, an "o" with a tilde above it, a backwards and upside down "?" and an "A" with an accent above it.

The above is what the name looks like.


THE SECOND PROBLEM- the main reason for posting

I captured some analog video from a Hi-8 camcorder using "ADSTech DVD Xpress" the Video Studio 9.0 SE DVD came bundled with it.

I used the VS9.0 to capture some digital video from a mini-dvd camcorder and those clips function fully. The audio is fine and the video is fine. When I double click on any of the clips they open in windows media player and the audio and video are both fine.

The problem occurs after I try to make a movie project using VS9.0, after I edit the various clips together there seems to be no audio at all in the final video studio project file nor in the rendered mpg video clip (the movie)

I hope this helps BLACK LAB AND VIDOMAN

[Ron P.]

Coach,

Lets start with your Second Problem...

The link that Blacklab posted Read this Post, provides a guideline to the specific information we need to be able to help you with any degree of accuracy.

So please provide us the information laid out in the aforementioned post..

[Coach T]

SUBJECT: The video clips are fine by themselves until I import them into the program. After editing the clips into a movie project I don't get audio in the final version.

Properties of your source files (format, file size, where did you get it?)

This is an example of the name of one of many of the files: UVS070327_235413~0.mpg,

file size: 153 MB

I got it by importing it from a mini-DVD using the VS9.0 program


What devices are involved and their mode of connection?

There are no devices

Project Settings

I'm not sure exactly what this means with regards to me but I clicked

"new project" > "capture step" > selected from choices "import from DVD/DVD-R" > the files were then imported by the program and saved in multiple clips with each clip having a name like the example above. I did save using the MPEG 2 setting.

Output format (file, DVD, VCD, SVCD)

I've not attempted to output yet but I do have rewritable DVD's. The plan was to output to the format that would have the greatest quality at the lowest file size. The purpose is to distribute football game and practice footage with players using the smallest number CD's or DVD's possible.


PAL or NTSC

I'm in Canada and we use NTSC

Error Codes (if any)

"Load From Stream Error"

no audio on finalized project but it's not an error code, there is just no audio on the movie.

I hope this one works

[Ken Berry]

Like Vidoman, I too will begin with your second (current) problem. You seem to be importing the footage from the mini-DVD correctly. The reason you are not getting audio is almost undoubtedly the reason given above -- namely that if the mini-DVD was recorded on a mini-DVD camera, it is almost 100% certain that the audio on the disc was recorded using Dolby. And your version of VS9 SE does not process Dolby. It is a free, crippled version usually distributed free with hardware (which happened in your case). Dolby requires a licence fee for each use of its software, and no company is going to pay a licence fee and then give that software away free.

There is little you can do about this. If you go to www.videohelp.com and do a search for 'AC-3 filter', there is a free decoder which will at least allow you to import the Dolby audio on the mini-DVD discs. It should allow you to play the audio back when captured but you cannot then use Dolby as the audio of your project i.e. you cannot output to Dolby audio. You must use either LPCM or mpeg layer 2 audio instead.

Or you can upgrade to a program that handles Dolby natively (as does the full version of VS9 or the current 10 or the imminent VS11.)

Now, a hint. To get the properties of a file, you right click on a clip WITHIN Video Studio (either in the library pane or in the timeline).

And finally, your original problem. I suspect it was caused by the fact that you were trying to capture from the Adstech device using VS9SE for capturing. The device itself is an excellent one and provides very good quality DVD-compatible mpeg-2 captures using the on-board mpeg-2 chip.

BUT -- and it's a big 'but' -- there is a quirk with it. You should ONLY use the capture software that came with it. It is called CapWiz and is designed by Adstech specifically to work with their device.

This is not the fault of Ulead -- Adstech will not share its technology with other companies, so these other companies like Ulead cannot adapt programs like Video Studio to capture from those devices. (In the past, Adstech used to tweak earlier versions of Video Studio 7 and 8 to capture with their devices, though this seems to have stopped). In your case, Adstech has only provided VS9SE for *editing* (not capturing) video captured with CapWiz.

So try that. And don't worry that you are using two programs. A lot of us here use more than one program, often more than two, for any video project. I regularly capture using a nice little piece of freeware called WinDV (only for mini DV cameras), edit the captured video in VS10+, then author using either Movie Factory 6+ or DVD Workshop.

[Coach T]

Thank you Mr. Berry I don't know for sure that this is the problem but I DO know that, like you said, the audio of the clips is in the Dolby format.

What do I do with the decoder? Do I just install it and it works on it's own or???

Budget is a bit of a concern and I just got this device 1 month ago. I'm using a borrowed computer to do the editing.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Coach T]

I have gone back and read all the posts and noticed that Vidoman did make mention about an audio codec and Dolby. I did not make the connection at the time so thank you as well Vidoman

[Ken Berry]

It has been a long time since I used that free AC-3 Dolby decoder. But I am pretty sure that detailed installation instructions are on the videohelp.com download page.

And from memory (I used it with VS8), once installed on the computer, it operates in the background. So when you import video with Dolby audio on it, the audio should be heard within VS9SE. But remember, as I said, in outputting new video from your captured video, you have to choose either LPCM or mpeg layer 2 as the audio output format.

And also don't forget to use CapWiz when capturing with the Adstech capture device...

[Coach T]

So I've downloaded and AC3 filter called AC3 filter and it does not work in the background so now I'm stuck. I'm planning to go online again and look for one that might be a little more idiot proof

[Ken Berry]

For what it is worth, I think it does actually work in the background. But you have to configure it.

I found this on the website of another program which recommends using the AC-3 filter with their product:

VOB files (from DVD) may use an AC3 audio stream, which require a DirectShow filter on your system. A free AC3 filter can be downloaded at the site linked in Step 1. Simply install the AC3 filter on your system, change the important optimum quality settings as per below, and [name of program] will convert the AC3 audio stream during the conversion process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't forget to follow the other important quality-settings steps below after downloading and installing.

1. Download the AC3 Filter installation file from here. Run the installation file.
2. Launch the configuration dialog by going to Start ->Programs ->AC3Filter ->AC3Filter Config
3. Under the Main tab, change the Sample format to PCM Float. Uncheck Use DRC.
4. Under the Mixer tab, uncheck Auto gain control.
5. Output format in both of these tabs should be at 2/0 - stereo.
6. Save settings, and you should be ready to start importing AC3-audio VOBs! You may need to restart your computer first.