Missing sound in .mov on Windows 8.1

[Nigel]

When I inset a .mov file into the VS X8 time-line, on Windows 8.1, the sound (wave data) is missing.

Here are some of the things I did to diagnose this problem:
- I tried it on Windows 7 with VS X8 - Works OK.
- I installed X8 SP1 - Still fails.
- I converted the .mov file to .divx using DivX converter - It works OK.

Is this a bug, or am I missing some configuration/properties setting.

BTW. Rendering the project with the DivX files is much much slower, so I would prefer to keep the original .mov files that were created by my camera.

[BrianCee]

do you have the latest version of Quicktime installed on your computer

[Ken Berry]

Could you also please right click on one of the .mov clips in the timeline and copy ALL its properties here, or take a screen grab of the Properties box and upload it here as an Attachment. Where did the video come from?

[Nigel]

BrianCee. I don't understand your question. I am not using quicktime. The .mov file works just fine in VLC. The problem is only preset in the VS X8 timeline and the rendered mp4 file.

Ken. The file came from my camera. I shot the video using my Canon Powershot Elph 330HS. I attached a snapshot showing the "flatline" audio in the VS X8 timeline and the properties box for this clip.

[Ken Berry]

Quicktime is the program/codec which governs .mov -- in other words, .mov files are really Quicktime files, though .mov is only a wrapper extension used for a variety of widely different formats. But you must have Quicktime loaded somewhere on your computer. Check in Control Panel > Programs and Features to see if it is listed. If it isn't, then you will need to install it or update it to the current version if there is an older version. (There is a free version of Quicktime, which is all you will need.)

As for the Properties, they appear to be standard AVCHD mpeg-4 files, though using the cinematic frame rate of 23.976 fps. Since the Properties box shows you have audio properties, I am surprised you don't hear anything in VS, though curiously the Properties don't show what compression (i.e. which audio codec) is used, though with AVCHD it would normally be AAC or something fairly standard like that. It will be interesting to see if installing/updating Quicktime will correct this.

EDIT: since the audio plays in VLC, what does VLC say is the format of the audio? In VLC go to Tools and select Codec Information.

[Nigel]

I installed the latest version of Quicktime. This did not make a difference. Still no sound.

VLC codec info is: pcm s16 le (sowf). See attached screen-grab.

[Ken Berry]

Thanks for that information. Although PCM is in itself standard audio, the LE in it indicates that it is a "Little Endian" variant. Doing a Google search for "pcm s16 le (sowf)" reveals that this codec has been a problem for many users in many different programs for many years! I couldn't find a quick solution, and the only one which seemed to make sense was to use a conversion program to convert it to a format which VS can play. Some of us here use a freeware converter called Format Factory which does a good, quick job. When installing it, however, just be careful to read each step to avoid installing all sorts of other useless stuff, toolbars etc, which it offers to install apart from Format Factory itself.

[Nigel]

Thanks Ken.
I will try Format Factory, after I have VS X8 installed again!!! What happened!!??
In an attempt to resolve this issue, I installed my old version VS X7. It behaved the same way, so I proceeded to uninstall X7. This clobbered X8.
Now I am trying to re-install X8 from scratch, but I cannot.

The symptom: A blank Setup window frame flashes on the screen for a few milliseconds, and that's it.
I cannot get past this point.

Any ideas?

[BrianCee]

Download and unzip the attachment to this post - then run the resulting .exe files - try installing again

VSX8_Cleanup.zip

(635.74 KiB) Downloaded 269 times

[Nigel]

Good news.
I ran VSX8_Cleanup.exe, installed VideoStudio X8, and applied SP1 update. No other changes to the system.
The sound has been restored in the above mentioned clip with no need for conversion.

Thanks to all for your help.