I used to use VS10 to edit out commercials from video imported from a DVD, recorded by a DVD recorder.
Once all my cuts were made, rendering to an mpeg-2 output file took very little time, since Smart Render was enabled.
With VS11.5+ however, I can't get Smart Render to work. I have all the latest XP updates, including the latest DirectX 9.0c, and all available patches - but even though the project properties are correctly set to match the properties of the source material, Smart Render is not enabled. (the usual prompt comes up when inserting the video onto the timeline)
I notice when using "Share>Create Video File" that the "MPEG Optimizer" option is greyed out.
I've tried importing just a single chapter from the DVD - approximately 300MB, but can not Smart Render that.
I've tried importing directly onto the timeline, but it makes no difference.
I've tried importing the DVD from DVD folders ripped onto my hard drive.
I've tried doing all of the above on both my desktop pc and a C2D laptop, with the same unsatisfactory results.
Any ideas, or is this a VS11 bug?
Can't Smart Render imported DVD
Moderator: Ken Berry
Can't Smart Render imported DVD
JVC GR-DV3000u Panasonic FZ8 VS 7SE Basic - X2
Sorted!
Seems odd, but renaming the imported mpeg-2 files solves the problem!
The whole DVD was named by VS as uvs080122_165702~0.mpg, and I renamed it to a shorter name, using only alpha-numeric characters.
So it would appear that VS can name files in a way that other parts of the program don't like! I suspect it was specifically the tilde character, "~", that was responsible. Very strange!
The whole DVD was named by VS as uvs080122_165702~0.mpg, and I renamed it to a shorter name, using only alpha-numeric characters.
So it would appear that VS can name files in a way that other parts of the program don't like! I suspect it was specifically the tilde character, "~", that was responsible. Very strange!
JVC GR-DV3000u Panasonic FZ8 VS 7SE Basic - X2
I can tell you I was greatly relieved to have fixed it!
To satisfy my curiosity, I did some tests with a 3 minute long clip from the source video.
I renamed the clip aaaaabbbbbcccccddddd.mpg, and tried Smart Rendering it. It worked without a problem, even with a 20 character filename. I presumed that VS had introduced the "~" character since the name had exceeded a set maximum length. You commonly see the character when you're in Dos, when it's used to truncate file or folder names that are longer than 8 characters.
Next I changed the name to aaaaabbbbbcccccdd~.mpg - 18 characters long, same length as the default VS name that had seemed to be the cause of the original problem. This was able to be Smart Rendered without problems.
Just to be sure, I renamed the file aaaaabbbbbcccccd~1.mpg, since perhaps the problem was somehow caused by the position of the "~" character - but this too was able to be Smart Rendered.
Just to prove to myself that I wasn't hallucinating, I tried importing another DVD recorded last night. It was given the default name uvs080124_141332~0.mpg. I was almost relieved to discover that it would not Smart Render - and that the "MPEG Optimiser" was greyed out.
I then tried deleting first the ~uImportDVDTempFileInfo.ini, and then the uvs080124_141332~0.upd files - but the imported mpg file could still not be Smart rendered.
When I changed the name of the file to uvs080124_14133200.mpg, MPEG Optimiser came back as an option and I was able to Smart Render the file.
Just to be certain, I renamed the file back to uvs080124_141332~0.mpg, and Smart Render was disabled again.
So there would definitely seem to be something amiss with the file naming, at least on my particular pc. I have two internal hard drives, each with several partitions, and use NTSC for all my OS and data partitions. There's plenty of space for all temporary files, which are pointed to the appropriate drives and folders. Everything is regularly defragged and kept tidy.
Perhaps someone else will experience a similar problem. I can't really see how it would be specific to my own setup.
To satisfy my curiosity, I did some tests with a 3 minute long clip from the source video.
I renamed the clip aaaaabbbbbcccccddddd.mpg, and tried Smart Rendering it. It worked without a problem, even with a 20 character filename. I presumed that VS had introduced the "~" character since the name had exceeded a set maximum length. You commonly see the character when you're in Dos, when it's used to truncate file or folder names that are longer than 8 characters.
Next I changed the name to aaaaabbbbbcccccdd~.mpg - 18 characters long, same length as the default VS name that had seemed to be the cause of the original problem. This was able to be Smart Rendered without problems.
Just to be sure, I renamed the file aaaaabbbbbcccccd~1.mpg, since perhaps the problem was somehow caused by the position of the "~" character - but this too was able to be Smart Rendered.
Just to prove to myself that I wasn't hallucinating, I tried importing another DVD recorded last night. It was given the default name uvs080124_141332~0.mpg. I was almost relieved to discover that it would not Smart Render - and that the "MPEG Optimiser" was greyed out.
I then tried deleting first the ~uImportDVDTempFileInfo.ini, and then the uvs080124_141332~0.upd files - but the imported mpg file could still not be Smart rendered.
When I changed the name of the file to uvs080124_14133200.mpg, MPEG Optimiser came back as an option and I was able to Smart Render the file.
Just to be certain, I renamed the file back to uvs080124_141332~0.mpg, and Smart Render was disabled again.
So there would definitely seem to be something amiss with the file naming, at least on my particular pc. I have two internal hard drives, each with several partitions, and use NTSC for all my OS and data partitions. There's plenty of space for all temporary files, which are pointed to the appropriate drives and folders. Everything is regularly defragged and kept tidy.
Perhaps someone else will experience a similar problem. I can't really see how it would be specific to my own setup.
JVC GR-DV3000u Panasonic FZ8 VS 7SE Basic - X2
That is strange, I like how you figured out the problem.
Is the source dvd that your importing a DVD+RW disk?
Depending on the dvd recorder they are usually in the +VR format and when you playback the file there must not be any time stamping information in it because you can only play it at standard play, you can't fast forward or seek within the file nor to the end. Not all files but I've come across some and they were recorded as +VR on a DVD+RW disk.
In early versions of MF when you would import a dvd the program wouldn't see the videos as dvd compliant, yet they were just imported. What you had to do was remove them from the timeline and then manually insert them.
I haven't come across this in MF5 or MF6, just previous releases.
Is the source dvd that your importing a DVD+RW disk?
Depending on the dvd recorder they are usually in the +VR format and when you playback the file there must not be any time stamping information in it because you can only play it at standard play, you can't fast forward or seek within the file nor to the end. Not all files but I've come across some and they were recorded as +VR on a DVD+RW disk.
In early versions of MF when you would import a dvd the program wouldn't see the videos as dvd compliant, yet they were just imported. What you had to do was remove them from the timeline and then manually insert them.
I haven't come across this in MF5 or MF6, just previous releases.
No, the disc was a DVD+R. I will try using an RW disc to see if I get the same effect though. Actually, when I imported using VS10, it's possible that I was using a DVD-RW disc that came with the unit, but the disc has since become marginal in quality.
One oddity, which I've not been able to replicate, is that when the first DVD was parsed, it showed "Title 0" with 12 chapters, and also "Title 1" with 12 chapters. Previewing either one would show the same video. I didn't get that effect with the second disc. I'll have another disc to import on Sunday, so that should at least confirm the name "bug".
Incidentally, the final target for the video (AMA Supercross) is H.264, with each 60 minute show boiled down to a 42 minute episode taking up only 360MB, but actually looking better than the original mpeg-2 footage, using MeGUI for the H.264 encoding. The two-pass encoding, using x264 and the highest quality profile takes about 5.5 hours on my 1.8GHz C2D laptop. I'd love to be able to achieve similar results with VS.....
One oddity, which I've not been able to replicate, is that when the first DVD was parsed, it showed "Title 0" with 12 chapters, and also "Title 1" with 12 chapters. Previewing either one would show the same video. I didn't get that effect with the second disc. I'll have another disc to import on Sunday, so that should at least confirm the name "bug".
Incidentally, the final target for the video (AMA Supercross) is H.264, with each 60 minute show boiled down to a 42 minute episode taking up only 360MB, but actually looking better than the original mpeg-2 footage, using MeGUI for the H.264 encoding. The two-pass encoding, using x264 and the highest quality profile takes about 5.5 hours on my 1.8GHz C2D laptop. I'd love to be able to achieve similar results with VS.....
JVC GR-DV3000u Panasonic FZ8 VS 7SE Basic - X2