Problems importing from DVDs

[Lindy]

I'm a Ulead VS 10 user who is considering moving up to VS Pro X4. While trying out the trial version, however, I have encountered a problem that I've never had with VS 10.

When importing chapters from a DVD, foreign subtitles, and any audio description that is present, are imported along with each chapter. I do not wish to import either, but I can find no setting by which to prevent it, nor any explanation in the help files.

Re the subtitles, I can stop the words showing by clicking the relevant box in Preferences, but the presence of a subtitle track is indicated by a blue strip across the bottom of the frames in the timeline, which I find a nuisance when editing, especially as the frames in the timeline are so small. And won't the overall size of the finished video be affected by the track being present even if the words themselves are not seen?

Re the audio descriptions, there must surely be a way of preventing the automatic importing of such, but there doesn't appear to be anything in Preferences by which to do it.

I can't think that these problems are due to my using only the trial version of VS X4 at the moment, so help would be very much appreciated.

ETA: Ulead VS 10, too, is now automatically importing audio description tracks when I import chapters from a DVD, though not subtitles! Installing the VS X4 trial on the same computer must be affecting the programme, presumably through shared files. It's rather frustrating, to say the least.

[BrianCee]

The blue strip along the bottom of the frames in the timeline indicates the present of an audio track - as far as I know it has nothing to do with subtitles, if you mute the audio of the video the blue line changes to grey - every video I edit has that blue line. On my set up at least that blue line is not appearing in the preview window - are you saying you have a blue line in the preview window ? - if not then it will not appear in your final output - and the frames in the timeline are only a guide - in fact the option exists to not show frames in the timeline at all and I believe some people work like that - if you are doing accurate editing then it is the frame in the preview window which matters - the 'frame' in the timeline may in fact be a number of frames depending on how stretched the timeline is, so the size there is not important - rely on the preview window.

I have just checked back in my version of VideoStudio 10 and that does indeed have the blue audio line under the frames and as far as I can remember it always has had - I see nothing in X4 that is different in that respect. In version 9 it was purple - but it was still there - I cannot remember when it first appeared but a line to indicate the presence of audio has been a standard in all versions for a very long time

If you can import from your DVD - then edit - then export your final video (to disc or whatever) then all is working and the fact that there are bits you do not want there originally is what editing is all about - loosing what you don't want and ending up with what you do - and as far as I can tell from your post that is what is happening - is it not ???

[Lindy]

Thank you for your kind response.

With regard to the blue line, I'm not speaking about the preview window but the timeline, which I prefer to show frames. I've been using VS 10 since its release. If the blue line has always been there, then I can't think how I've never noticed it, especially as I've been aware of the speaker symbol that appears at the beginning of each clip. Perhaps I should have started taking the tablets sooner.

The main problem is the automatic importing of an audio description when one is present on a DVD. I can't find a way to prevent it happening, or to lose the audio description when editing. The audio description is not heard when I play only a clip in the preview window. It's present when I play the project, however, and it's there when I go to "Create Disc", and then preview the finished project.

And now, since trying out VS X4, this is happening in Ulead VS 10, too. Shortly before downloading the X4 trial, I had been working on a project in VS 10 - I still have it on file and there is no audio description in it at any point (when working on that project, I wasn't even aware that there was an audio description on the DVD from which I took a clip). Since trying out VS X4, importing the same chapter into VS 10 that I'd used in the previous project, results in the audio description being imported as well, and I can't remove it.

[BrianCee]

It seemed to be the blue line which you were originally concerned about - but as I said that will not be in your final video. You say the audio descriptor is not heard when you play clip but is when you play project - does that mean that the audio has been imported to a separate sound track - do you have a sound file in an audio track you could delete. I assume there is audio on the DVD that you do want - that is the anwer is not just to mute the sound on the whole video.

I do not know of any way to stop the import in the first place - maybe someone else does.

[Lindy]

Thank you again, Mr Cee.

I was concerned about the blue line, but what you said made me realise that it would have been present when I was editing in Ulead VS 10, and as it obviously hadn't troubled me then (my not even having noticed it!), it wasn't going to trouble me when using VS X4.

The importing of the audio description is another matter. It didn't happen when I imported files into VS 10 before I installed the VS X4 trial. To prove to myself that VS 10 really doesn't import audio descriptions, and its not doing so in the project I was working on before installing VS X4 wasn't just a fluke, I have today uninstalled the software from my PC and installed it on my laptop instead, then imported a chapter from the DVD that I now know contains an AD. Sure enough, no audio other than the main soundtrack was imported. The problem is obviously in VS X4, and the installation of the trial must have affected the working of VS 10 when I had both on my PC.

I do wish to have the main audio on any clips I take from chapters imported into VS X4. The AD is indeed not heard when I play a clip but is heard when I play the project; there is, however, no separate sound file that can be deleted in order to remove it. I do hope that a way around the problem can be found, as, at the moment, it is discouraging me from purchasing the software.