Blank avi file but full sound - Video Studio 11 Pro

[Dave M]

I have a series of avi files taken with a camera which I have inserted into a homemade video. Everything works perfectly except for one file which, once burned to DVD, has the video blacked out but the sound plays just fine. I went back into Video Studio and using BATCH CONVERT selected the actual file and tried to convert it, again I end up with a black video with sound. At this point I decided to simply remove the problem avi file and continue on. Looking at the timeline in Video Studio, the file is gone and doing a preview everything seems fine BUT when I convert the file to DVD, the problem avi file is still there. I have renamed the original project file and tried to convert to DVD under a different name and it still shows, I cannot get a rid of it. I look at the timestamp where it appears and then go to the project file at this timestamp and it is not there.

Ideally, I would like to keep this file in the project but if I cannot get the video to display, I have to remove it. Any suggestions on how to either get the video to display or to actually remove the file from the project?


Thanks in advance for the support

[Ken Berry]

Welcome to the forum. First we need to know the exact properties of the problem .avi. Right click on it in the Video Studio timeline or in the library pane and copy all its Properties here please, plus the properties of the other .avis in the project if they are different.

The problem is, you see, that when you say 'avi', we have no idea what format you are using. AVI is merely a cover or wrapper extension used by a variety of formats. True uncompressed .avi is huge -- 65 GB per hour of video. DV/AVI is compressed but is still large at 13 GB per hour. At the other end of the spectrum, you have highly compressed mpeg-4 type formats like DivX or XVid which also call themselves .avi.

As for the mysterious reappearance of the file in your final DVD, that is simple. After you remove it, you are probably not saving the project. Instead, you have removed it from the timeline, and think it is gone. But unless you change the project file, that file still thinks the video is there. Then I suspect you go to Share > Create Disc > DVD and use that video project file (which still sees the unwanted file) and burn that to disc.

A more guaranteed way of getting rid of it is to remove it then render the project to a new mpeg-2 file (Share > Create Video File > DVD). Then when that is done, save your project, then open a new one. Don't worry about a name as the objective is just to clear the timeline. Then you go to Share > Create Disc > DVD, and manually insert your new mpeg-2 into the burning timeline. Build your menu and burn. The unwanted video should not be there...

This is in fact our suggested workflow for all project -- though burning directly from a project file will also work for a lot of people. However, if you have a project which uses a variety of formats, and especially if they are 'difficult' formats like DivX or XVid, and convert them to a DVD compatible mpeg-2 first. This puts less stress on your computer. Burning a project file to DVD, while possible, still requires the project to be converted into DVD compatible mpeg-2, which is a complex enough project. But by doing it as part of the burning process, you are adding that extra demand on your computers on top of an already very demanding process involving converting your menu to video, multiplexing the video and audio, creatings the .vob files and actually burning -- all on the fly. Some less well resourced computers cannot handle the demand.

[2Dogs]

If all the avi files were from the same camera, it's possible that the problem one is somehow corrupted. That should be apparent if you try to play the file in another program, say Media Player.

It would be worth knowing what camera model you are using. I know that Canon cameras store their mjpeg compressed video in an avi container, and I've been able to use those, together with .mov files from Panasonic cameras, which also use mjpeg compression, though there were some audio issues with the latter which required a VS patch to remedy.

[Dave M]

Properties for the 'bad file' are as follows:

FILE
File Format: Microsoft AVI Files
File Size: 10,937 KB
Frame Rate: 30.000 frames/sec
Duration: 43.367 seconds
Data Rate: 251.28 kbps

VIDEO
Compression: ArcSoft MPEG 4 Decoder
Attributes: 24 bits, 640X480
Total Frames: 1,301 frame(s)

AUDIO
Compression: Microsoft ADPCM
Attributes: 16, 000 kHz, 4 bit. Mono
Total Sample: 696,325 Samples

Properties from a sampling of the other files are as follows:

FILE
File Format: Microsoft AVI Files
File Size: 46,348 KB
Frame Rate: 30.000 frames/sec
Duration: 25.933 seconds
Data Rate: 1786.38 kbps

VIDEO
Compression: MJPEG Compressor
Attributes: 24 bits, 640X480
Total Frames: 778 frame(s)

AUDIO
Compression: PCM
Attributes: 11.024 kHz, 8 bit. Mono
Total Sample: 285,890 Samples

It appears there is a difference in the Compression format (I just learned that the problem file was taken with a friend's camera not ours).

As to the issue of the file reappearing after we deleted it, I have saved the project file several times with the same result (this has been going on for over a month). I am not sure what you mean by "unless you change the project file, that file still thinks the video is there" I deleted the file, then saved the project. I have exited the application many times and come back later, opened the file, made changes and then created the disk and each time the file shows up (no video but audio), even though it is not on the time line.

My wife just informed me that she believes the video clip worked when she originally created the project file in VS9 (4:3 format) and she believes the issue arose when we upgraded to VS 11 Pro (a Christmas present) and changed the format to 16:9.

I haven't tried the rendering a new mpeg-2 file (I will try it later tonight) Hopefully that will work if I have to actually remove the but I am still hopeful that it can be saved as it is a very good clip and I would like to include it.

Thanks for the quick response to my original request.....

[Ken Berry]

I am afraid I know nothing about the ArcSoft mpeg-4 decoder, but there is a wide variety of them out there, and it could be that there is something about what ArcSoft does that makes it unreadable unless you have that decoder installed on your computer.

As 2Dogs has already asked, will that particular file play on anything on your computer, like Windows Media Player?

I guess my first step would be to try to convert that file to mpeg-2 using a third party conversion program like SUPER (freeware) from www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html Such a conversion will have to occur sometime anyway.

OK. And I can only repeat that with projects involving a mixture of formats including the highly compressed mpeg-4 variety and much less compressed formats like MJPEG, our suggested workflow is more likely to produce more positive results -- and certainly not stress out your computer!!!

Let us know how it goes...

[Dave M]

I tried converting it to mpeg2 with several different programs and all give me the same result, black screen with audio so I don't believe the problem was with VS anymore. However I was able to get the file converted to Mpeg4 and it appears to play fine in VS so I will give it a try in the project and let you know how I make out.

Sorry 2Dogs, I missed your question on playing the file in other programs, yes the original file plays fine in Windows Media Player and in VS 11 Pro for that matter (prior to trying to convert the project to DVD). The only issue in VS prior to creating a DVD is the icon in the library area is black whereas all the other video files show the first screen as an icon. When I play the file tho is plays fine (up until I convert to DVD then it is all black).

I am thinking the issue is with the file itself and not with VS. Will let you know how I make out. Thanks for the help....

[gomactrading]

I have the very same problem with DV footage (above 1 GB of data) when Panasonic DV codec is installed. It never happens below 1 GB and it never happens when Panasonic DV codec is removed. I never tried to have the Matrox DV codec installed to see if problem is the same but I venture to say that it will. Therefore, it is an internal Ulead software problem. I say that because there is never such problem with any other editing program that I use whether Panasonic DV codec is installed or not.

[Ken Berry]

Yes, other users in the past have reported problems which I have attributed to them having the Panasonic DV codec installed. And I acknowledge that it is probably a bug, or at least an aversion, that the program has to it. The curious thing, though, is that VS itself does not install a DV codec -- it uses the standard Windows one. I think the problem lies in the fact that VS is set up to look for that Windows standard codec, and can't 'see' it if another DV codec has assumed priority.

Conversely, I have never had any trouble opening DV video captured by VS in its various versions, in another editing program like Premiere or Power Director... So equally, there does not seem to be anything wrong or non-standard with the DV which VS captures.

[Dave M]

Just to close the loop on this topic, I was able to get the file in question to work in 16:9 format. I noticed a setting in the SHARE/CREATE DISK/PROJECT SETTINGS option 'DO NOT CONVERT COMPLIANT MPEG FILES'. I unselected this and saved the project to an ISO and then burned the ISO to a DVD and it worked perfectly. Also, I discovered, if I left this option selected but saved the ISO as 4:3 the file also worked properly. So it appears the 'not converting' of the file when saving as 16:9 was an issue.

That solved my real problem but I am still not sure why the file stayed in my other burns as a black video with audio after it had been deleted from the timeline. If anyone can offer any insight, it would be appreciated.