Choppy clips and sudden crashes

[RandKocher]

Hi,
I bought a GoPro knock off call CAMPaK and transferred from it a 25 minute MP4 file to my harddrive via a usb cable.
I installed VideoStudio 2018, 21.3.0.141 64bit trial version.
After several hours of attempting to cut 14 minutes of the begining and 6 minutes of the end, leaving a 5 minute clip, all I'm experiencing are choppy playbacks and sudden crashes.
What are the things I should be trying to correct this?
-Rand

My Computer:
Window 10 Home Edition, 64 bit
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Motherboard
Intel i7-6700k @ 4.00GHz, 4 Core CPU
16GB RAM
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 750 Ti Video Card
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
ASUS VW222U Monitor
Windows is installed to a 240GB SSD
All Apps are installed to a 1TB Harddrive

Video file:
MP4
Data rate 18874kbps

[Ken Berry]

Welcome to the forum.

VS normally handles mp4 quite well. I get mine from a GoPro Hero 3 and two smartphones. One of the latter even films it in 4K, and again VS 2018 has no difficulty with it.

So we probably need to know a little more about the properties of the mp4 from your CAMPaK. I know you have given us its bitrate, but what we really need to know is its exact frame rate. Quite a lot of recent smartphones are using what is called a variable frame rate which varies up and down from the fixed rates used by editing programs like Video Studio. A standard frame rate for NTSC video, for instance, is 29.97 frames per second (fps), and 25 fps for PAL. These modern smartphones I mentioned, however, will use frame rates measured in fractions of a second above or below these rates. And VS has difficulty playing them. Sometimes it rejects them outright, but sometimes it plays them erratically, and sometimes the program might crash.

Since this is what you describe, can you please right click one of your clips in the VS timeline and choose Properties -- then copy all of them here, or take a screen shot of the Properties box and upload it here as an Attachment.

If indeed you do have a variable frame rate, we advise people to use a video converter program such as the freeware Handbrake or Format Factory, to run their mp4 through it and convert it to a standard frame rate mp4.

The other thing it would be useful to know is whether you have enabled SmartProxy in Preferences. This creates standard definition copies ("proxies") of your high definition original video which are easier to edit and play smoothly. When satisfied with your edits, they are applied to the high def originals and used to produce a new high def version of your project.

[RandKocher]

Ken,

File
File name
File format MPEG-4 File
File size 3,460,128 KB (3.30 GB)
Duration 1500.350 seconds

Video
Video type H 264 High Profile Video
Total frames 45,000 frames
Attributes 24 bits, 1920 x 1080
Frame rate 29.993 frames/sec
Data rate 18870 Kbps

Audio
Audio Type MPEG AAC Audio
Total samples 12,002,800 Samples
Attributes 8000 Hz, 16 Bit, Mono
Bit rate 16 Kbps

Smart Proxy is unchecked. I haven't changed any Preferences, so they are all default.
Thank you so much for your help,
Rand

[lata]

Hi Rand
Ken mentioned variable frame rates before seeing the properties?
The properties indicate using a frame rate of 29.993 f/s, that indicates the video using a variable frame rate, video editors can have problems editing some variable rates.
If you had not said it was recorded with a camera I would have assumed a IPhone.
The standard constant frame rate should be 29.97 f/s for NTSC video
In addition the audio is using Mono, again this has caused some issues and fixed by converting to Stereo?
Other than that I do not see a problem with those properties.
I can only assume that it is the knock off version that is recording to this rate and that the real GoPro would use the correct rate.
Ken as far as I know owns a GoPro and could confirm this.
And as kens suggestion you should try converting the video files to use a constant rate, converting would also convert the audio to stereo.

[RandKocher]

Hi,
I converted the file, and everything was going well this time as I was learning my way around the application. I edited the original clip down to 1 minute and added a title a few seconds in. I played with other effects and adding other media, but removed them using 'Undo'. I decided to lengthen the duration of the title, but now when I click on the title in the timeline the program crashes every time.
Did I corrupt my project by adding effects and media that aren't fully reversible, removable?

********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Using Any Video Converter, I converted the file to the following:

File
File format MPEG-4
File size 410,872 KB (401 MB)
Duration 1500.367 seconds ( Why does my edited, 57 second, clip in the timeline still have the original 25 minute long property? )

Video
Video type H.264 Baseline Profile Video
Total frames 44.966 frames
Attributes 24 bits, 1920 x 1080
Frame rate 29.970 f/s
Data rate 2163 Kbps

Audio
Audio type MPEG AAC audio
Total samples 66.161,664 samples
Attributes 44100 Hz, 16 bit Stereo
Bit rate 75 Kbps