"an unspecified error has occurred" X4 Authoring

[Ron P.]

John,

Didn't have much time this morning to try to replicate this. However the little time I had, I could not. I followed the same procedure you're using and it would not crash on me. Couple of differences, my OS is Vista, and I don't have that text menu for some reason. I'll try again this evening, after work.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

First can you please tell me what program you used to do the video screen capture, cheers.

The gallery templates seem as though they have been imported from X2, is this correct?
If so have you tried using a pukka X4 template?

When you hide the objects, why do you drag then off screen.
Have you tried leaving them in position, still hiding them?

Ive run through the process but cannot force an error.

[metmot]

John,

Didn't have much time this morning to try to replicate this. However the little time I had, I could not. I followed the same procedure you're using and it would not crash on me. Couple of differences, my OS is Vista, and I don't have that text menu for some reason. I'll try again this evening, after work.

Ron,

Two more things that I didn't note which I noticed during my trials:

If I go back and just add the music back to the menu and leave the motion unchecked, sometimes it will then render.

And on another unrelated note: The cancel button (which the burn button turns into after clicking it) on the final stage still doesn't cancel the process a lot of the time which is very annoying if you realize you want to change something after you push the burn button. The ESC key also has no effect. I almost always use the flow I showed in the video, making an image file only and then burning it with Power Iso after it's complete. I have had to use windows task manager before to make the thing stop. Just another glitch which lives on and on from version to version.

[metmot]

Hi John

First can you please tell me what program you used to do the video screen capture, cheers.


I used a program called camtasia. It's designed for making tutorials and such. It's pretty powerful and expensive too. ($300). It is way cooler in function than anything in that demo I threw together last night. You can download a fully functional 30 day trial here. http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia/

The gallery templates seem as though they have been imported from X2, is this correct?
If so have you tried using a pukka X4 template?

Actually I forgot about that. I did export templates from X2 while using the trial version of X4 prior to buying it. Maybe that is the problem? Should I abandon my old templates?


When you hide the objects, why do you drag then off screen.

I drag them off the screen because even though you hide them, most DVD players will still highlight the hidden object when scrolling with the up and down command and you will see them as blips on your screen as you do so. By dragging them off the screen this visual annoyance won't happen as they lay well outside the title safe area. I thought of this myself but it seems to solve it for me. Most DVDs I make I want to simply play with the play button with no other choices on screen. If I have multiple menus it's a different story of course. Have you tried leaving them in position, still hiding them?

Ive run through the process but cannot force an error.

[c-mathis]

John,

THANK YOU so much for the breakthrough!! To me, the comment about leaving Background Music in the Menus was the clincher. I've been dealing with failed burns and unspecified errors for nearly three weeks now. In each menu I previuosly created, I was always deleting background music from both the Title Menu and The Chapter menus. Like you, now I am able to now Uncheck Motion Menus, and experience a successful burn.

I like to use chapters, but now know they make the most sense to apply and configure in the Authoring module, rather than the Edit module. Many of us have put a lot of frustrating time into this problem. Thanks again for bringing some sanity to this state of total confusion, even though forcing us all to use music in our menus, isn't necessarily a preferred option.

Craig

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

The reply from Craig seems to suggest that you have also found the problem being related to background music, is this correct.?

Cancel button, yes I have noticed that this does not work, has never worked for previous versions. I did work at one time but cant remember how far to go back.

X2 templates, I will try to export them to X4 so I can run a test.

[metmot]

Hi John

The reply from Craig seems to suggest that you have also found the problem being related to background music, is this correct.?

Cancel button, yes I have noticed that this does not work, has never worked for previous versions. I did work at one time but cant remember how far to go back.

X2 templates, I will try to export them to X4 so I can run a test.

Yes it seems that the background music for the templates also is a factor in the menu render fail. I experimented with deleting, leaving as is and changing the background music along with the motion menu option for various menus and found different combinations of such to have relevance to the rendering success or lack there of.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

I have managed to duplicate your problem, “Unspecified Error”

I have exported X2 templates to X4 and using the same text as you.

Deselecting the background music option seems to be causing the problem.
As confirmed by Craig

When I hit burn button if the process starts with Creating Menu, and all is ok.

However if the process starts with Prepare Output Content then I get the error, just a though the menu creation is missing. It does this every time when audio is deselected.

I have also duplicated the error using X4 templates. No audio and i get an error

[metmot]

Trevor,

I have found that I can in fact delete the audio without getting an error as long as I leave the motion menu box checked.

One more thing, in case any one was wondering why I always make an image file and don't use VS to burn the actual DVD. That has a lot to do with the cancel button not working. I like to create an ISO file and mount it to a virtual drive and take a look at the finished product and only then burn a DVD. Blank DVDs cost money, unlike an image file and I found I used to create a lot of table coasters. Once I'm satisfied with my DVD ISO, I can then burn it using power ISO which has a very reliable burn module and save the image for future use. Power ISO is also great for a variety of data projects.

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi John

Sorry I meant to mention that the error only occurs when deselecting the motion menu. I took that as read.
Maybe you should report this to Corel Support, as we appear to be able to duplicate the problem I suppose it can be classed as a bug.

I generally create Iso files especially when needing multiple copies, others use the Video_TS folder approach. Just the way I have always worked.

I found that the VCL Media Player can play the iso without problems.

[c-mathis]

I have an open trouble ticket with Corel on this Menu burning issue. In an email back to the technician who was working with me on my own issue, I have explained what you have discovered, and the workaround(s). I have also referred him to this link to see all of your comments, and to John's video, which is so fantastic for demonstrating the problem. I have not heard back from Corel.

[Ken Berry]

FWIW, I too can confirm that I get an 'Unsepcified error' with background music disabled, when it gets to the "Prepare Output Content" Stage...

[c-mathis]

This is the reply I got from Corel tech support:

"I am glad to hear that the source of the issue seems to have been identified. I was in the process of checking into the 64bit operating systems to see if I could recreate the issue. I am aware that the burning will not proceed with no sound file selected for the menus and I apologize for not picking up on that sooner. For silent DVD menus, you would need to create a silent audio file to load instead of the default music it loads."

TEST for No Sound Menu:
I created an empty 30 second (.wav) file, with no sound, using Nero Wave Editor. I then substituted it as background music in a Menu test. It worked great to create a silent menu.

I tried to upload the file here, but couldn't find an extension that was acceptable to get past the security filters of the site.

[Ken Berry]

That's fine as a workaround, though hardly a solution!!!

[Black Lab]

I tried to upload the file here, but couldn't find an extension that was acceptable to get past the security filters of the site.

Why?