Import Problem

[Gra]

Hi Guys

As mentioned I invested in a new system:
INTEL CORE 2 QUAD PROCESSOR Q6600 2.4GHZ 1066MHZ 10
MOTHRBOARD ASUS P5BDLXWIFIA 101GBMHZ800
MEMORY DDRII 1GB 800MHZ PC6200
WINDOWS XP HOME
GF 8800 GTS 320MB DDR3 PCI-E DUAL-DVI HDTV OUT 10
WESTERN DIGITAL HDD RAPTOR 150GB SATA 10000RPM

I had a quick play after loading MSP8 and Cool 3D PS. I made sure the C3DPS project stings (height/ width) ratios were the same as the MSP8 ones and imported a C3DPS clip into MSP (which it is supposed to play).
It was exactly as my old PC. Although my PC software settings (inc. MSP) were pristine, the C3DPS clip stuck and jumped and made it impossible to work on titles or transitional effects. I know I can import C3DPS as an AVI or animated GIF but the Alpha channel overlays don't seem as good.

Apols if this is not the right board but has anyone both software and faced the same problem? If so, do I need to tweek the MSP8 settings or C3DPS (which ones)?? Is it a case that importing C3DPS into an MSP8 is not possible in the real world even though they are both ULead products???

[sjj1805]

Cool3DPS projects can be inserted into MSP 8
Try this one by Ken Lowther
Theatre curtain

Then you will know if there is a problem with your installation or your files.

[Gra]

Thanks Steve.

There's definately something wrong. I can save c3d projects as animated giff or avi and they insert and play smoothly in MSP8. Yet the same clip imported in its native c3d file format sticks and jerks and I always get a red line on the complexity bar making it impossible to work with (the main reason for buying 3D PS was for titles, etc, for my MSP projects so I need it to play smoothly to align other tracks). The C3DPS settings are normal PAL, 720x576 (25fps), which are the same for my MSP projects.

Although this PC is brand new and the ULead software has been freshly loaded on to a virtually clean and unused hard disc, it is exactly the same problrm on my old pc as well.

Is this a comon problem? I wonder if anyone else has had and solved this problem or if its in the Ulead software? The software I'm using is on the discs that I bought from Ulead alongside my original electronic download from the Ulead shop.

Any thoughts?

[Gra]

Hi guys
I've been pursuing the issue I raised re poor instant playback of C3D files with Corel for several weeks and it's been v. hard. They keep giving me answers to questions I didn't ask but already know the answers to!

At the moment Corel say I have to render the c3d file in MSP for it to play properly. Is this true? It takes forever to render a c3d file and if there's a few titles or transitions then it takes hours and then takes another set of hours if one of them is moved slightly on the timeline to match a sound track, for instance.

Does anyone else face stuttery/ stuck instant playback of c3d files in MSP and how did you solve the problem? As I mentioned I had this problem on my old PC and it is an identical problem on my brand new suped up one, so something is wrong or else I have set up preferences or I am doing something wrong!

Any help or guidance on solving this problem would be very gratefully recieved.

[Gra]

Just a bit more info, I tried the same C3D clips in VideoStudio 8 and the same problem existed. Is it something I should set in c3d for them to play on the video editing timeline or something I should switch on or off in MSP/ VS?

[Devil]

I'm not qualified to really give you an answer but I'll try, anyway.

A C3D file is not a clip, I believe, but a file equivalent to a dvp. IOW, it is only a source of information, sufficient to render into a clip. You therefore have two choices: render it in Cool3D or render it in MSP.

The fact that, in Instant Playback you get a red line in MSP. is an indication of the complexity of the unrendered work you have done in C3D. If you had the same degree of complexity in a purely MSP-generated dvp, you would have exactly the same problem. This will certainly manifest itself in jerky playback and the only way to avoid this is to use the full playback which involves a full pre-rendering. No matter the horsepower available in the hardware, there will always be a degree of complexity that instant playback cannot cope with and this is why it shows pink-to-red to warn you to expect problematic instant playback.

The jerkiness in Instant Preview is not really important because it is never transmitted through to the final rendered project.

As you are going to render your C3D work at some stage in the proceedings, it is my thought that the sooner the better and give MSP the least work to worry about. IOW, I think you will find it far better to render it directly to an AVI clip before taking it into MSP (obviously, with identical project settings).

FWIW

[IronS]

If you want to use the C3D file as an overlay (like an onscreen logo) it is better to render in MSP.
If it is "just" a clip in your movie than you can use both COOL3D and MSP to render.

Good luck,
Erik

[Gra]

Hi Thanks Devil and Erik

I'm working on a piece of overlay title text that moves and 'explodes' in time to my audio. Therefore I need to be able to finely adjust either the c3d file or rendered clip in MSP to ensure they are in time.

Importing the actual c3d file isn't working, for whatever reason, because it sticks and jumps in MSP. After a full playback it plays smoothly but when I need to move either the music track or the c3d file it needs to undergo another full playback as though smart render doesn't exist: even the slider gets stuck after full playback. Rendering in C3DPS using the AVI overlay facility is very slow: a test using an uncomplex basic piece of text of 50 frames (110kb) with no attributes, moving from one side of the screen to the other, takes nearly half an hour to render in C3D on my pc. The actual titles I am working on, with various attributes, is 325 frames long and 410kb and it will take several hours in one go if I render before import to MSP.

In all honesty I feel now it is a problem with C3D here because I imported the same test and rendered it in MSP in a matter of a minute or two. As no one here or on the C3D board seems to have experienced this problem, it seems it is unique to me and my 2 PCs (despite they are both different pices of kit - although my older PC can render slightly faster than my new custom-built for rendering PC!) Unless anyone can pop up with the solution, I'm working on a work around by splitting the title into segments and I'll let you know how successful that is in case anyone in future may face this problem.

Thanks for all your advice and if any does have a magic solution, do let me know.

[Devil]

If I were you, I'd start with the audio in MSP and note the frame numbers where you want something to happen. Then, when working in C3D, you will know the frame numbers where to put the events. You can then reder to avi, and you will find that all works perfectly.

It is normal having to re-render under the circumstances you describe. Smart render works only on unmodified clips.

[neonbob]

Although this most likely is not part of the problem, I have found that MSP does not work very well with the newer hardware. I have the quad core as well and msp seems to work better if you turn off 2 of the cores. The new DX10 cards also do not work as well on XP as compared to Vista.... they tend to be a bit slower.

[Gra]

Thanks both for you replies.

Devil, That's such an obvious idea, many thanks. However, I'm about to make myself sound a right plank; is there a way to just see the actual frame number of a clip? I've set my ruler unit to '1 frame' but I have to count up the frames (for example it goes 0:0:0:1 to 25; then 0.0.1.01 to 1.25, etc, rather than frame 1 to 300.) I tried freeze frame to tell me but that was greyed out. I've looked in all the tools and help but I can't see any obvious way.

Neonbob, having just invested in a PC built for rendering, that's not good to hear - especially in view of other threads about the future of MSP development (or lack of it - please don't start another thread here). Still, although the rendering is poor on C3D, for what ever reason, rendering here works brillo on MSP (which is the critical main reason for the upgrade).

[Devil]

Please allow me to correct you. The frames go 0.0.0.0 > 0.0.0.24 > 0.0.1.0 >0.0.1.24 in PAL!

However, you are quite right; video is annotated traditionally hh.mm.ss.ff. To convert to numbers, you can use ff + ss*25 + mm*1500 + hh*90000. This would be easy in a spreadsheet or a programmable calculator.

[Gra]

Thanks Devil for clearing that up and the calculation.