Sync problem on large file

DaisyGirl · Post by **DaisyGirl** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:16 pm

I am working from a notebook and have recorded a very long video onto my external hard drive. The video is about 4 or 5 hours and I've saved it in two sections. I am now trying to put a chapter into the middle of each section. The sound is completely out of sync. Initally I was battling to put a chapter into the middle of the second half... but I have now noticed that even the beginning of the first half it out of sync.

I did notice that using the jog wheel caused this so I played the whole damn thing right into the middle to try to keep it in sync that way... but to no avail. Is there any way to hold the sound and keep the movie playing (or visa versa) in order to get one to catch up with the other?!

Any suggestions would be most grateful.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 8:53 pm

What format are your A/V files? ...The more-compressed formats are more-prone to this (and other) problems. (I had to buy a special-purpose MPEG editor to solve my MPEG-2 sync problems.)

This is a difficult problem, and it seems to have many different causes and potential solutions. If you search the forum for "sync" or "OOS" (out of sync), you will find lots of discussion and suggestions.

DaisyGirl · Post by **DaisyGirl** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:07 pm

Hi Doug - Thanks for your reply. They are .avi files. What confuses me is that I understand that the file could be out of sync as it plays further into the file, but that it is now out of sync in the beginning is strange. I did search the forum but shall look again. Thank you.

Post by **Ron P.** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:12 pm

AVI is a container or wrapper, that can hold DV, DivX, Xvid and MPEG-4 and others. DV is the slightly compressed format that Digital and Mini DV camcorders use to record to tape. DivX (fee based) and Xvid (free codec), and MPEG-4 are highly compressed and are intended for distributing and not editing.

If you are editing DV, video then your 4-5 hours of recording should have a file size around 52-65 gig. DV video files generally take about 13 gig per hour.

So while it is possible to edit the latter formats, there are risks along the way, such as OOS.

DaisyGirl · Post by **DaisyGirl** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:20 pm

Thanks... but now I'm more confused! I purchased DVD Movie Factory for the sole purpose of transferring video tapes to DVD. I use the software sold with the product to do that. The 'PVR recorder' puts it into .avi format and then one uses Ulead DVD Maker to edit it. I find it confusing that the software which comes with the hardware in order to make DVDs puts it into a format which is not meant to be edited! I thank you for your help. Is there anything I can do about this?

Post by **Ron P.** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:53 am

Ok, hold on....

We still do not know what format your video clips are. With one of your clips on the time-line, press the i adjacent to the left. You will get the Clip Properties pop-up dialog. Please post them here..

For instance I just loaded an "avi" file into my time-line, one that I know was not DV, or RAW uncompressed "avi". Here's what the properties for that file are:

Notice the Video Compression. It states DivX 6.8 codec. This is a DivX file format, however it is contained in the "avi" wrapper.

DaisyGirl · Post by **DaisyGirl** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:13 pm

Hi Videoman - thank you for your patience! It's in MPEG format.

DVDDoug · Post by **DVDDoug** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:24 am

...I just had another thought... If you spliced your videos together with a transition (i.e. with a crossfade), try a simple hard-splice... I sort-of think it was the transitions that caused my "lip sync" problems

It's in MPEG format.

You may be able to use VideoReDo (~$50 USD) or Womble (~$100) USD) to edit your file. These are both special-purpose MPEG editors, and both offer free trials. I use Womble for MPEG-2 editing. (No more "lip-sync" problems, or other weird problems!) It is a full-function video editor. VideoReDo is a simpler cut & splice editor. You would still probably want to use Movie Factory to author and burn your DVD.

If your file is MPEG-2, movie factory may be able to use it (after editing with another program) without re-coding. If it's MPEG-1 or MPEG-4 Movie Factory should be able to re-code it (after editing) to DVD-compatible MPEG-2. But, as you are finding out, it can be "hit-or-miss".

Is it possible to re-capture the video to a different format? Where did the video come from, and what capture hardware did you use?

If your video is from a MiniDV camcorder, you can simply re-capture to AVI/DV. If the original source is available and your capture hardware/software can capture to AVI/DV this would be the best option. The 2nd-best format is DVD-compatible MPEG-2. (Not all MPEG-2 files are DVD compatible, and even MPEG-2 can be trouble when you edit it.)

--------------------------
If it was me, I was stuck with an "difficult" format, and "all else fails" here's what I would do...

- Convert the file to MPEG-2 with SUPER (FREE!!!). I'd use DVD-compatible settings (which I think you can get from Movie Factory Project Settings).

- Edit the MPEG-2 files with Womble. (I already own Womble.)

- Use Movie Factory to author & burn the final DVD.

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- Another option might be to (attempt to) convert the files to AVI/DV with Corel-Ulead Video Studio (which I also already own), edit the AVI/DV files with Video Studio, and then author & burn the DVD with Video Studio or Movie Factory.

DaisyGirl · Post by **DaisyGirl** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:20 pm

Thanks everybody. I am going to try the conversion with Super and, if I don't get that right, I will delete the 5 hour long recording and run the old video again, this time using MPEG-2 instead of .avi to record. The lip sync is out on the avi file even before I start trying to 'movie maker' it! The capture hardware is a USB device with KWorld printed on it. It came with the MovieMaker and ULead software.
Thank you all again. I shall be back if that doesn't work!