Changes don't end up on the DVD

[Brain Champagne]

So- I made some changes to my video- including shortening one clip by about half.

I even saved the vsp file under a different name, closed VS and re-opened it.

And when I create a DVD, the changes are not on the DVD- it's including the entire clip that I cut in half, instead of just what is left in VS.

Any ideas?

[Ken Berry]

Did you reopen the project under its new name, or did you reopen the original project? The former should have worked...

But the best way around your problem is a different workflow. Once you have finished your editing, cutting the video in half etc, instead of going -- as I suspect you are -- to Share > Create Disc > DVD, try first making a new DVD-compatible mpeg-2 of your project: Share > Create Video File > DVD (if the project is less than one hour; or if it is longer -- then Custom and lower the bitrate from the default 8000 kbps. 6000 kbps will allow a 90 minute project, and 4000 kbps a 2 hour project to be burned to a single layer DVD.) You can then play that video with a software player to see if everything is as you want it.

Then, when the new file is created, close the project by opening a new one. Don't bother giving it a name -- the objective is just to clear the timeline. Then select Share > Create Disc > DVD. The burning module should open with an empty timeline. If there is anything in the timeline, then delete. Then click on the Add Media button at the top of screen and navigate to your new mpeg-2 and add it. Then proceed as normal. However, make sure that in the Options cogwheel icon in the bottom left of the burning screen, the box beside 'Do not convert compliant mpeg files' is ticked.

[Brain Champagne]

Opened the new file, I did it twice and both times it burned the 'old' version. And I'm staring the clip right in the face- I can see it's the shorter version- and still it burns the old version.

I understand about making a file and then burning that file to a DVD. Does that lose any resolution? Some of the clips I'm working with are crummy enough as it is... Exactly what are the best settings to use for the DVD compatible mpeg-2?

[Brain Champagne]

One more question- the video is under twenty minutes, do I need to lower the bit rate? I want the highest quality possible.

[Ken Berry]

One way or another, unless your original video is already mpeg-2, your video is going to be converted to DVD-compatible mpeg-2, either in the way I described -- after editing, in the editing module -- or else as part of the burning process. And the quality settings will be the same as you set them whether it be in the editing or burning modules.

As it is, you are creating the mpeg-2 in the burning module, since it is the project file -- which is not a video file -- which is being inserted in the burning module timeline when you choose Share > Create Disc > DVD after your finish editing. A project file is just a small text file which tells VS what video is in the project, where it is stored and what editing has been done to it it.

Since your video is only 20 minutes long, you can happily choose Share > Create Video File > DVD, and accept the default settings. The default bitrate is 8000 kbps, which is high quality. Once you insert that new file in the burning module and have the 'do not convert' box ticked, it will not be converted again, thus retaining its original quality. Moreover, the time taken for it to be rendered in the editing module, can be deducted from the time taken to burn the disc. It would take the same time to render the project to mpeg-2 in the burning module, but since it is already mpeg-2 and doesn't need to be rendered again, all you have happening is conversion of the menu to video format, multiplexing of the audio and video, and actual burning of the disc. So overall, the time taken to produce the disc will be much the same whatever the workflow you adopt. It's just that with the workflow I am suggesting that you might avoid the sort of problem you have been experiencing.

[Brain Champagne]

Thanks so much. Creating a file seems to keep the changes (I'll then try to burn a DVD- but a re-usable one this time, it's getting expensive!- and see if after creating a file, creating a DVD resets what it's burning... or whether I have to continue to create a file and then make a DVD from the file- understanding that it isn't adding much time to the whole process, just annoyance).

In any case, which 'create video file' is best? DVD/VCD (etc) or the second-to-last choice of NTSC DVD?
(I'm using VS2, by the way)

And have they fixed this bug with more recent versions?

[BrianCee]

To avoid making any more expensive 'coasters' - the Create disc module provides a preview of your final project complete with remote control so you can completely check what is about to be burned to disc without wasting discs - in the window before the final "Burn" one click on the "Preview" icon at the bottom of the 'menu and preview' window - then you can check all menu functions as well.

Also there is no need to actually burn a DVD at all to see what the final result will be - when you get to the final "Output" window in the Create Disc Module then do not insert a disc at all into your drive - uncheck the "Create to Disc" option and instead choose either/both to "Create Disc Image" or "Create DVD Folders".

Then you can play either of those options on a completely separate programme on your PC - the free VLC player will play the disc image - and if all is well then burn the ISO or DVD folder to a blank DVD knowing it will be exactly what you intended.

If you are creating a video file for use on a DVD then just DVD is best choice.

I don't recall any one else complaining of this error so can't say if it has been fixed - only you can prove that - download the free trial of VideoStudio - Version X6 is available today - and use it free for 30 days and see if you still get the error.

[Brain Champagne]

It's not a DVD issue- when I create a file it has the same problem.

To explain in further detail:

I have two clips and a transition between them. Doesn't seem to matter much what the transition is.

The video does what I expect it to do.

The audio, however, is a different story. Whether or not I have the second clip's audio as fade-in or not, what I hear when I run the clip in VS is what I'd expect. But when I create a file, it cuts off the first little bit. So instead of hearing an emcee introduce a comedian by saying "Ladies and gentlemen, Shaun Eli" what you hear on the file is "Men, Shaun Eli."

I tried splitting audio, that didn't help. I then took the split audio and dropped it into the music track and so far that seems to help but I'm not positive (still have to play the entire DVD). Anyway that's an annoying way to deal with it, and unlike a split audio track, the music track doesn't seem to drop straight down (i.e., if you drag it sideways it doesn't stop at a transition the way a title does).

Oh, I've given up wasting DVDs, I'm now using re-writable ones...

[BrianCee]

you started this topic by saying you had made some changes to a VIDEO and that those changes did not appear when you burnt a new DVD.

Where has the AUDIO problem come from ? - that sounds like a totally different issue.

and you do not need to use ANY DVD's - read what I said above about other options.

[Brain Champagne]

Yeah, the video changes were another issue- I cut half a clip out but it kept producing the video with the entire clip, I think it wasn't re-rendering. For some reason it was not making the changes.

I fixed that problem (though clearly it's still a huge software bug- what's on the VS screen should end up in the file).

But the audio problem (a different problem) remains.

Sorry, it's gotten to the point where I can't keep track of all the mistakes the software is introducing.

So far splitting the audio and then moving it to the music track seems to have remedied it (still haven't finished watching the video but I'm almost done). I also tried just creating an audio file but that didn't help.