DVD/VR Import possible bug

Post by **lancecarr** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 3:14 pm

I have just upgraded from VS8 to VS 9 and have found something amiss with the Import DVD/VR function on my system.

I have a Sony DVD cam that records MPEG2's to 8cm DVD's, these are then finalised to write the standard DVD structure around the MPEGs. I use the import function to transfer the MPEGs into VS and then I can edit.

Tonight I performed the following procedure to ilustrate the problem:

1. VS8. I opened the program, went to the edit screen inserted a finalised DVD in the tray. I used the import function to navigate to the disc. It took VS about one minute to read the disc and detect 81 MPEGS within the DVD structure (vobs, ifos bups etc) and load the thumbnails of the MPEGs into the dialogue box. I used crtl-A to select all and hit "import." Two minutes later 1.4gig of MPEG files were INDIVIDUALLY loaded into the working folder with the thumbs displayed beside the editing screen ready to go. Basically it was a three minute exercise.

2. VS9 I opened the program and inserted the same 8cm DVD. I went to the capture screen and clicked Import DVD/VR. It took VS9 about a minute to read the contents of the disc and open the import dialogue box. Instead of offering thumbs of the individual MPEGs on the disc it shows the contents as a tree arrangement with "titles" and "chapters." Here's where it starts to get wierd. If you click on "title" it goes into a one to two minute re-search of the disc ending with a check mark against the title you selected. If you then select the next title, it goes back into the search of the disc again before the check appears another minute or so. If you then hit import it will import the entire thing as two huge MPEG files, not individual files and useless for editing.
If you want to get the files across to the computer as individual files you have to individually place a check mark against every chapter (file) listed. This mean on average 80 to 90 clicks before you can start importing. I have been banging away at this problem all day so in my little experiment I went straight for selecting the individual chapters. Essentially it took 10 minutes to get the disc recognised (repeatedly) and all the chapters on the disc selected. I then hit import and the process started. An hour and fifeteen minutes later I cancelled the process with about three quarters of the files transferred because I couldn't stand it any longer!
I went to the working folder and there was nothing there. It seems that the program is writing eveything to a temp folder before the file destination and if the process is interrupted then eveything is wiped. There seems to be no way to "select all" for importing as well.
The first 10 files transferred "relatively" quickly per the progress bar but then the process starts to get slower and slower.

I checked my CPU during the 2nd process and it was averaging about 57%, there was plenty of RAM available and plenty of virtual memory as well. The HDs were barely ticking over.
I have Windows XP SP2 fully updated.
NOT running any DLA software like InCd
I am running an Intel P4 2.8 gig processor.
1 gig RAM.
40 gig HD for Op system and 80 gig HD for files.
Sony DRU 710A burner with latest firmware.
Radeon 9200 video card.
Directx 9.0c has had diag run today with no errors reported.
1.5 gig swapfile.
Anyone with any ideas on this?

Post by **lancecarr** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 1:24 pm

Further to my above post I tried to repeat the exercise this time by copying the VIDEO_TS folder from the DVD to the computer and let VS9 import DVD from there.
It displayed the same behaviour as in the above post so that would effectively take the DVD burner out of the equation.
What I did notice was that VS9 cannot accucrately identify the individual MPEGs within the VOB file structure. It recognises the VOBs as "Titles" and the MPEGS as "Chapters" but when you do manage to import a chapter (eventually) it appears to randomly include preceding and following "chapters" (MPEG files) with the one you select.
If you select chapters 1 through 10 you get ten files loaded into the program. However the file that should be just Chapter 1 consists of chapter 1, 2, 3 & 4. The file that should be just chapter 2 is 1,2,3,4, the file that should be chapter 3 is chapter 1,2,3,4, the file that should be chapter 4 is 2, 3, 4, & 5 and so on.
I have also noticed over on the Movie Factory board that similar problems are coming to light with MF4. Seems that the new Import DVD/VR module in Movie Factory is the same as the new module in VS9 and has some issues!

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:01 pm

I have found some issues with the new importing feature.
I and many others requested ulead in the past to be able to
import the complete dvd as one movie instead of breaking
the video into separate mpeg2 files.

The new module gives the user both options. Full movie or chapters.
Most people prefer this new module (when it's working).

Read this post:
May or may not help your problem.

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewforum.php?f=2

Hope this helps,

MD

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 5:04 pm

Oops,
This one.

http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic.php?t=5720

Post by **lancecarr** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 1:47 am

MD,
thanks for replying to my post, I actually assumed from the look of the new module that Ulead were trying to add functionality to it. Unfortunately it's not quite there yet!
I have also reported it to Ulead as a bug. For me it's no big problem as I have left the barebones of VS8 on my computer, so I just use that to import individual MPEGs for the moment.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 1:38 pm

Lance,
When recording using a dvd cam everytime you press record & stop
creates another mpeg2 file on the dvd, Pausing the cam will leave the
file open and continue writing to that same file after unpausing.
You have many clips to work with.

If you haven't used the dvd-rw in -VR mode it's a good format to learn.
The creating of mpeg2 files on the dvd is the same as the above paragraph
but you can edit cut/trim/split a -vr disk.
The nicest feature of the -vr mode is using playlists.
Using the recorder and importing via VS8 you can create 1 playlist in
the camcorder, choose all the videos (@80 videos). Then the playlist
is assigned to all the videos.
Then in VS8 don't click on ALL or the individual ones but click on the
playlist1. Selecting playlist1 will then import all the videos assigned to the
playlist. Instead of checking off all the mpeg2's separately.
All the video(clips) assigned to that playlist will be imported. Or you create
a playlist with various clips(whatever you assign)
On my cam I record as long as possible to keep the amount of mpeg2 files
to a low value. If I have a long video and only want to extract a small
3 minute section out of the 10 minute recording then creating a playlist
on the cam and choosing the time in and out of the area within the whole
recording I need. That would be assigned as a playlist and you can import
just that section when selecting "Playlist" in the import module. Very nice feature.

Example: On my desktop dvd recorder I recorded a 1 1/2 hour VHS tape
onto dvd-rw in -vr mode. The mpeg2 file size on the dvd was approx
3.5gig . I only wanted the morning xmas section of 10 minutes. Instead of
having to import the complete 3.5gig file onto the
harddisk and rendering out that clip I create a playlist and assign the
IN and OUT points (using the dvd desktop recorder).
Then simply import the playlist which was a 10 minute video.
Very fast & the video is already dvd compliant with dolby 2/0 audio.
Import, create chapters, menu & burn.

Hope this helps,

MD

Post by **lancecarr** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 2:16 pm

MD,
Wow, I really have to say thank-you for taking the time to provide that information it is greatly appreciated. Given the brief explanation of -VR mode in the cam's manual I had never really bothered to explore it fully. I was totally unaware of the playlist feature and how I could use it. Thank-you, rest assured I will be playing with my new found toys immediately!

Post by **lancecarr** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 2:16 pm

MD,
I know you are tracking with this problem here and on the MF board so I thought I would try to get you a little more information.
It seems that the new DVD/VR Import module is totally misreading the infomation in the VOB file structure. I don't know enough about it to even suggest as to how it is doing that...wouldn't know an .ifo from a .bup if my life depended on it!
Anyway, I placed another old finalised 8cm DVD from the Sony DVD cam in the computer.
VS8 detects 70 scenes (MPEGs). As you know that import module only does that alone.
I checked the disc through Windows and it shows three .vob files.
VS9 correctly detects the three vobs as "Titles." It also correctly indentifies the 70 MPEGs as "Chapters." So far so good.
I selected Chapters 1 through 6 from the first Title to import. All 6 were imported and all from the correct Title BUT:
Chapter 1 consisted of mpeg#1 through to #8. However #8 was missing a piece at the end.
Chapter 2 consisted of the missing piece from the end of mpeg#8 plus #9.
Chapter 3 consisted of mpeg#10 minus about two seconds from the end.
Chapter 4 consisted the missing two seconds from the end of mpeg#10 through to the end of mpeg#12.
Chapter 5 consisted of mpeg#13 through to about half of mpeg#20.
Chapter 6 consisted of the missing half of mpeg#20 plus mpeg#21.
I have submitted what I have found to Ulead on this so far and I have requested the following functionality:
That the user has the choice of:
Selecting Chapters for importing.
Selecting Titles for importing as one whole MPEG.
Selecting Titles for importing, automatically broken into the individual MPEGs under that Title.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:08 pm

I was told by tech support to copy the contents of the dvd to the harddisk
and import from the harddisk. Make sure to keep the main directory
proper, dvd-video is video_ts and dvd -vr is dvd_rtav (pretty sure).
That worked for me and that's when I decided to share and remap to
the drive which also is working for me (the MF4 post I made to share etc).

Yours sounds like a different problem. I've been getting the can't
read disk (don't remember the numbers) and CSS copy protection.
These are home videos. MF3 or VS8 import fine.

I don't think that chapter points can be less than 2 minutes apart
so if some of the videos are <2minutes then maybe that's where
chaptering is getting confused. Also, if you made a playlist, then
VideoStudio 8 should be able to import properly but I've found MF4 and
VS9 do not display the playlist (can't find it).

At least by people posting and reporting the problem to tech support they
can work on it.

Email to me if you want or message (that's working now on the forum I think).

MD

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:13 pm

>> don't think that chapter points can be less than 2 minutes apart
>>so if some of the videos are <2minutes then maybe that's where
>>chaptering is getting confused.

I don't think that chapter points can be less than 2 minutes apart
so if some of the videos are less than 2minutes then maybe that's where
chaptering is getting confused.

MD

crorad · Post by **crorad** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 9:29 pm

I am having a similar problem although if I pick 6 out of 12 chapters it just makes 6 video files of the entire dvd folder not just the selected chapters. Has tech support gotten back to anyone on this on a solution?

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 9:54 pm

Importing a DVD isn't as simple as one would think. There are many
variables. The method of burning(video-dvd, video-vrdisk), dvd-video,
dvd+vr, dvd-vr, fast editable type of media dvd-ram,dvd-rw,dvd-r,dvd+r,
dvd+rw. The reader or reader/writer used to read the disk.
How many mpeg2 files are contained in 1 vob file (vob are containers for
mpeg2 files), chapters, playlists, unfinalized dvd's and finalized dvd's.
Audio tracks/sub-titles.

Tech support told me they were forwarding my information to the
software engineers.

Packet writing software is also conflicting. On one machine if I record
onto a DVD-RW in -VR mode (Sony desktop recorder RDR-GX7) then
finalize the disk, put the disk into a sony recorder to import the dvd-vr
video into VS or MF. Whether I can import or not after exiting the video
program I hit the eject button on the reader/writer. Then InCD displays
it's updating the disk. There goes that video. The disk isn't readable
in the computer or the recorder anymore. I have to re-format the dvd
in the Sony recorder again. I quickly learned to only put the disk
into the reader. Tonight I'm uninstalling InCD on that machine to
see if anything is better. I believe it's also the way windows is
allowing access to the drive.

For now if the new module doesn't work use the old one. I have gotten
the importing module for VS9 and MF4 to work for me.

MD

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 9:55 pm