Quote: I have two issues with audio that I add to my videos. At times the tracks play normally and other times it sounds like you are pressing play and fast forward at the same time. Other times it will play fine in Power Director but when I produce to a .MOV or .MPEG4, the audio disappears. I make sure it isn't muted, etc. I have tried producing in different formats, exiting the program and going back in and it still has issues. The oddest part is that one track may not work when I produce the video the first time, then when I do it again, it does work but then another track does not. What could be causing this and how do I fix it? My audio files are typically MP3 format.

Thank you!

Some varietys of MP3 files do not work well in Powerdirector 9, if you convert your audio files to WAV the problem should go away.

Also which build of PD9 are you using, the latest is 3305.

http://www.cyberlink.com/downloads/support/powerdirector/patches_en_US.html

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Quote: Some varietys of MP3 files do not work well in Powerdirector 9, if you convert your audio files to WAV the problem should go away.

Well, with the utmost respect, I think you'd agree that the problem shouldn't be there in the first place - especially since MP3 functioned perfectly well in PD8. I have kept my software updated and find no difference made by the latest patch. MP3 of all types that I have on my computer fails to work properly, and when you are pressed for time pulling away from the project in hand to transcode a shortlist of sounds and FX is the last thing you want to dally over.

And now the teccies swan off to play with version 10 and their 3D toys rather than make their program work properly. This is infuriating and irksome. A plague on the programmers...

I would go to a rival NLE in a sulk as a protest, but none seems to me to be a patch on PD9 in overall bang for my bucks.

Carl, can you tell me what varieties of MP3 do work well in PD9 (without the need to expand offstream to WAV) and can anyone tell me if PD10 has the same problem(s) or gremlins of its own.

Many thanks BigEric
(Like any complex skill, good videography gets easier with practice. And talent. And planning. And a love of the process)

Carl, can you tell me what varieties of MP3 do work well in PD9 (without the need to expand offstream to WAV) and can anyone tell me if PD10 has the same problem(s) or gremlins of its own.

I don't know about PD 10, no experience.

PD9...
From what I know, the MP3 that breaks is usually a variable rate MP3.
There are also some reports of non 48 KHz rate MP3 causing timing problems, even it they play.

I think constant rate MP3 work most of the time in PD9.

But for my time and experience with PD9 and its quirks, making or using WAV audio files in the first place saves time.
WMA work also.

True, the initial conversion of your MP3 library is time consuming, but you will never have to worry about what happens with a MP3 on the timeline.

I have batch conversion software that will convert a stack of MP3 to WAV at a time.

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

Hi fellow MP3 sufferers -

Throughout the PD9 & PD10 forums there are scattered & random issues with .mp3 files in PD... i.e. mp3 files that play acceptably well in various media players. It is a problem that did/does NOT plague PD8 users. Fact.

Until I was provided with a completely unpredictable solution, here http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/20707.page#109776 I too did exactly as Carl is suggesting. MP3s gave me so much grief, I avoided them like the plague. Now - I have no issues at all with them.

Note here that MP3s (all, not some) are supposed to be compatible with PD http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/requirements_en_AU.html - the bitrate issues mentioned above have been semi-consistent causes of problems.

BigEric - yes PD10 users have reported similar/related issues with mp3s... & please don't go off sulking. It's unbecoming in a gentleman!

Cheers - Tony


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Thanks for your replies, Carl and Tony.

You've saved me a few bob on upgrading to PD10: it seems once again wiser to stay back from the (b)leading edge of technology. And as for tweaking my Codecs ... er ... wtf ?

This issue is an irritant, to be sure. But I must confess that when I take a step back from most crashes and calamities, I realise that the Keep It Simple, Stoopid protocol suits me best. Time spent on tweaking is time stolen from shooting and cutting and sequencing and storytelling. I find myself getting seduced by the technology and the sense of awe I get from twiddling knobs and dials when I should really be demolishing the backlog of 190Gb of 12 month old stuff to bash into shape (oh, and the 35 years of video material that could really benefit from "freshening up"). You have given me a workaround - and it works for me... Thanks.

Advice from Colonials on Gentlemanly conduct accepted with Good Grace (who is a lot nicer company than Ill Will and much more reliable than Gay Abandon)

Keep Smiling, y'all BigEric
(Like any complex skill, good videography gets easier with practice. And talent. And planning. And a love of the process)