Messages posted by Scott

Dafydd:

Thanks for taking the time to replicate and report the problem. It's somewhat a relief to know that I wasn't just doing something dumb. Hopefully this will prove helpful to others who may be experiencing the same problem and CyberLink will fix the problem.

I am sorry if I strayed off-topic a bit and let my frustration show. I bought a new toy and it didn't work - that's the root of it. I should know better.

I have moderated similar forums before and I recognize both the importance and the challenge of keeping people on topic. The moderators and contributors here are doing good work on behalf of customers and it is appreciated. Your A-Z guide to systematically documenting and diagnosing problems was particularly helpful and I followed many of those steps and related threads to isolate the problem I was experiencing.

Thank you.

Scott.

Neil:

I had considered that - I do burn dual layer discs on this computer with no problems. But, just in case, I figured I'd burn the movie to folders on my hard drive then use another program to burn to discs, but it won't write to folders either.

I'll try to break the movie in half and get under the 4.7GB limit to see if that works. I know I can burn a small file - I just wonder how large I can go.

Thanks for the tip on the Adware. It just bugs me how aggressive CyberLink is in trying to sell more stuff to me when my frustration bucket runneth over.

NA

I have a combination TiVo unit/DVD burner that I bought a number of years ago. I hooked up my video camera to that and recorded the tapes onto the hard drive of the TiVo unit - basically it handles the analog to digital conversion for me. Then I burned those files to DVD's.

From there I captured the video from the DVD's into PD8 from a digital source. This process worked very well and I avoided any audio/video sync issues that could come up by using a seperate capture device.

Thanks.

My computer is a Dell Precision Workstation M6300 laptop with 2 Intel Centrino DuoCore T9300 processors @ 2.5GHz and 4GB RAM.

I am running Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 (64-bit). It has a dual-layer DVD burner in it that I regularly use to burn dual layer discs so I know it works.

It has an NVIDA Quadro FX 1600M graphics card and I believe the graphics card has 2GB of dedicated RAM.

This is pretty high-end laptop that should handle the job (at least the hardware should).

I am running .2220 with the patch that was released on 10/29. I think there are major problems with these builds and with this software.

There is another thread that talks about how the Trial version of the software performs better than the retail version. I am beginning to believe that as well. I am particularly suspicious of the Content Pack. It seems like it's primary purpose is to create Bloatware and Adware.

The Trial version was stable and robust - which is why I paid for the program. The full version with the Content Pack freezes up constantly and pushes Ads out in every screen. All of my problems started after I paid for the software and installed this animal.

Also, I tried this advice:
Re:Not enough system memory question...
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/7909.page#32675

How about trying it again but turning off some process?
1. Type msconfig
2. Select the second tab and click the button "Advance option"
3. Check the process count and select 2
4. Restart the PC and try to burn the same project again.
These instructions are from R&D.

I made the above changes and turned off a lot of processes/services. Then I monitored the Burn with Task Manager/Resource Manager. The Memory usage never went above 60% used although the CPU pegs at 100% for most of the burn process.

The burn crashed at about the same point and with the original message: Unspecified errors.

At this point, I am going to wipe PD8 clean off my computer and go back to the Trial version and see if that works.

I've already made a big enough pest of myself with CyberLink that they have offered me a refund. I have 6 more days to decide. I'll give it another day or two to work this problem. Otherwise I'll move on - I want to make movies not become a volunteer software debugger for CyberLink.

I am using dual-layer 8.5GB drive and discs and have that setting checked on the Disc preferences.

Here is a further update:

I updated BIOS, Graphics driver (NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M), chipset software and other seemingly related drivers on my system.

I also applied the patch so my release level is: VDE090925-03

Now upon burning I get the following error message:

Burning Unsuccessful.

Possible Causes
Transcoding engine's front end stream error.
Might be due to:
1) Broken or missing source file
2) Out of system memory.

That memory comment sounds like a distinct possibility. I'll look into that.

Is there some practical upper limit to the file sizes or movie length that PD8 can burn or am I experiencing some other problem?

I am trying to convert some Hi8mm video tapes to DVD. I have Produced a single movie file of 1 hour and 54 minutes with 11 scenes in it. It includes some transitions and a single music track over about 3 of the scenes. Pretty basic movie with no special effects.

But PD8 will not burn this movie to Disc or to Folders. It bombs out after about 15 minutes (11%) with an error message that says “Burn Unsuccessful” and “Unspecified Error.” Now there’s a bit of helpful programming – not!

So far, I have performed the following to try to diagnose and correct the problem:

1. Shut off all other running applications (at least the ones I can find)

2. Uninstalled and reinstalled PD8 and the Content Pack Multiple times (Build version 2220, but have not applied the C patch – that’s next). Same errors.

3. Produced the movie a second time (It takes 8-1/2 hours to render – might be a clue there – although with the trial version of the program I initially did it in 3 hours!) and tried to burn again to Disc and Folders. Same errors.

4. Tested Burning of Sample Video to Folder (no music, transitions, etc.) with the same settings I am trying to use. It works.

5. Tested Burning a 4 minute segment of my imported .mpg file to Folder with no audio, transitions, etc. using the same settings. It works.

So I am back to file size as a prime suspect.

My computer is a Dell Precision M6300 laptop with an Intel Centrino DuoCore T9300 processor @ 2.5GHz and 4GB Ram. I am running Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 (64-bit). It has a dual-layer DVD burner in it that I regularly use to burn dual layer discs so I know it works.

The properties on my Produced .mpg are as follows:
File type: MPEG-2
File size: 6.69 GB
Video
Video type: MPEG-2
Original duration: 01:54:22:10
Bit rate: 8.00 Mbps
Resolution: 720 x 480
Frame rate: 29.97 fps
Aspect ratio: 4:3
Audio
Type: Dolby Digital
Sampling rate: 48 kHz
Bit rate: 256 kbps
Channel: Stereo

The Disc Preferences I am using are:
DVD Video (8.5GHz)
HQ – Best Quality
Dolby Digital – 2 Channels.

Again, there is nothing exotic about what I am trying to do, but I recognize that this file size is large. But, it seems like PD8 and my computer should be able to handle this. I’d like to make simple 2 hour DVD’s with multiple scenes so I don’t end up with 40 Discs.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Scott.