Program won't 'Produce' in 4K from my Fuji X-T3...

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Solved by

Mar 02, 2023 12:11

It's been a while since I played with PowerDirector, probably last April when I edited a holiday video.
I'm sure my version of PowerDirector 365 has 'Updated' since then.

One of my cameras is a Fuji X-T3 that creates video files in MOV format, 4K.

I just loaded in a clip of around 25 seconds and tried to produce it - no editing, just make a h.265 4K MP4 file...

When I hit 'Start', the program just sat there doing nothing...

So I changed settings and tried to produce a h.264 MP4 file in HD - 1920x1080.
No problem at all - PowerDirector raced through the re-render and the file worked perfectly.

I then went back to an old file from my camera - that I KNOW worked perfectly last April when I edited the holiday video.

Again I could produce an HD file without issue.
Once again, using h.265 4K produced nothing...

So I tried to produce using h.265 but having the resolution at 1920x1080 to see if it was h.265 causing the issue.
It produced a working video in a matter of seconds, so it's not the h.265 setting that's at fault.

I then decided to play with some GoPro footage.
The GoPro files are MP4 4K files, straight from the camera...
This time, PowerDirector was able to produce and render the 4K output without issue !

Nothing in my computer hardware has changed since last April when PowerDirector worked perfectly well producing 4K files from my Fuji camera.

I made myself a coffee as I pondered what was going wrong...
I just left the program not producing at 0%
I came back to see it had finished !
However, the file was 'Sound only' no picture...
The produced video appeared in the media list with a music symbol in it...
I've no idea why the program just decided to produce a sound only clip after a delay !

So I'm using the same camera, same computer... But my 'Updated' PowerDirector seems to have forgotten that it used to produce files from this camera perfectly well... (Better if I kept hardware acceleration switched off - another story)

Can anyone throw any light as to what's going wrong or how best to fix this ?

Gerry

tomasc

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline

Mar 03, 2023 14:53

A user with the same camera may be able to answer that question fully. Older versions of PD are able to edit 4k 10 bit videos that are not successful in PD365 without a conversion. Here is a possible workaround that may be useful: https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/97172.page .

According to the spec page, some 10 bit videos can be imported to PD365.

optodata

Senior Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Sep 16, 2011 16:04 Messages: 8630 Offline

Mar 03, 2023 18:41

Quote It's been a while since I played with PowerDirector, probably last April when I edited a holiday video.
I'm sure my version of PowerDirector 365 has 'Updated' since then.

To my knowledge, the only way to install updates for the subscription product is to open the CL App Manager and click on the Update button for each app. If you haven't done that, then PD365 should be the same version it was when you last used it.

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 04, 2023 10:33

Quote

To my knowledge, the only way to install updates for the subscription product is to open the CL App Manager and click on the Update button for each app. If you haven't done that, then PD365 should be the same version it was when you last used it.

I'm fairly certain I did an update via the App Manager - I just didn't actually try producing any 4K video from the Fuji X-T3 before the other day when it failed...

PowerDirector WILL play the 'mov' video from the fuji X-T3 perfectly well.
It CAN produce h.265 HD video (1920x1080), so the program is reading the fuji mov video file correctly.

However, it CANNOT 'Produce' a video in 4k, Neither h.265 nor h.264 ???

It used to do this perfectly well, it's just an 'Update' that has stopped this from working.

It CAN produce a 4K video when starting with a GoPro file (Which is MP4 straight from the camera).

I'm struggling to justify paying for updates that actually stop me from using the program.

Gerry

JL_JL

Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline

Mar 04, 2023 12:51

Quote I'm fairly certain I did an update via the App Manager - I just didn't actually try producing any 4K video from the Fuji X-T3 before the other day when it failed...

PowerDirector WILL play the 'mov' video from the fuji X-T3 perfectly well.
It CAN produce h.265 HD video (1920x1080), so the program is reading the fuji mov video file correctly.

However, it CANNOT 'Produce' a video in 4k, Neither h.265 nor h.264 ???

It used to do this perfectly well, it's just an 'Update' that has stopped this from working.

It CAN produce a 4K video when starting with a GoPro file (Which is MP4 straight from the camera).

I'm struggling to justify paying for updates that actually stop me from using the program.

Gerry

About the best you can do is share a current clip that's causing the issue and see what other user's experience is with producing 4K. You probably would have better luck with that than CL Support route.

It's kind of uncommon in my experience that you can produce lower resolution but not higher.

Jeff

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 07:54

Quote

About the best you can do is share a current clip that's causing the issue and see what other user's experience is with producing 4K. You probably would have better luck with that than CL Support route.

It's kind of uncommon in my experience that you can produce lower resolution but not higher.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

It's not a single clip that's now failing to produce, it's ALL my previously working clips !

In the interest of smaller files, I've uploaded three example files to 'Google drive' accessible with this link...
No great quality, but taken when in a sea plane...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ggyJbeq650cMAr4clTtFeWuyQjPXt-QR?usp=sharing

The straight from Camera MOV file is where I started... (MaldivesClip_FromCamera MOV file )
I placed this on the timeline and tried to 'Produce'.

The MaldivesClip_Produced_4K MP4 file is the sound only result I got from PowerDVD's attempt at h.265 4K Production...

A longer clip causes PowerDVD to just sit there a while before producing a 'Sound only' clip ? !

The MaldivesClip_Produced_HD MP4 file is a correctly produced HD movie file when I dropped the h.265 resolution to 1920x1080 !

Can anyone replicate this ? - Or find their latest version 365 produces the clip correctly ?

Thanks for looking and helping.

Gerry

JL_JL

Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 09:11

Quote Hi Jeff,

It's not a single clip that's now failing to produce, it's ALL my previously working clips !

In the interest of smaller files, I've uploaded three example files to 'Google drive' accessible with this link...
No great quality, but taken when in a sea plane...

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ggyJbeq650cMAr4clTtFeWuyQjPXt-QR?usp=sharing

The straight from Camera MOV file is where I started... (MaldivesClip_FromCamera MOV file )
I placed this on the timeline and tried to 'Produce'.

The MaldivesClip_Produced_4K MP4 file is the sound only result I got from PowerDVD's attempt at h.265 4K Production...

A longer clip causes PowerDVD to just sit there a while before producing a 'Sound only' clip ? !

The MaldivesClip_Produced_HD MP4 file is a correctly produced HD movie file when I dropped the h.265 resolution to 1920x1080 !

Can anyone replicate this ? - Or find their latest version 365 produces the clip correctly ?

Thanks for looking and helping.

Gerry

I can't replicate your issue yet when pref > Hardware Acceleration for decoding is unchecked, a must depending on hardware. I've used the camera source MaldivesClip_FromCamera.MOV and produced to default profiles in PD21 and PD20 of:
1) H.264, MP4, 3840x2160p (50mbps) in both 25fps and 50fps, CPU or GPU (AMD, Nvidia) encoding with no issue
2) H.265, MP4, 3840x2160p (37mbps) in both 25fps and 50fps, CPU or GPU (AMD, Nvidia) encoding with no issue

Maybe optodata or tomasc will try with their PD21 365 version as it's different than my PD21 perpetual key version.

I'm fairly certain you'll need the Apple QT or QT Lite installed to properly handle this clip.

Jeff

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 09:28

Quote

I can't replicate your issue yet when pref > Hardware Acceleration for decoding is unchecked, a must depending on hardware. I've used the camera source MaldivesClip_FromCamera.MOV and produced to default profiles in PD21 and PD20 of:
1) H.264, MP4, 3840x2160p (50mbps) in both 25fps and 50fps, CPU or GPU (AMD, Nvidia) encoding with no issue
2) H.265, MP4, 3840x2160p (37mbps) in both 25fps and 50fps, CPU or GPU (AMD, Nvidia) encoding with no issue

Maybe optodata or tomasc will try with their PD21 365 version as it's different than my PD21 perpetual key version.

I'm fairly certain you'll need the Apple QT or QT Lite installed to properly handle this clip.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Many thanks for checking.

Now I'm at a loss as I can't get 4K production from my copy...

I have the 365 version.

How do I get a copy of the 'Stand alone' version of the program as I think I'd prefer this ?

I never use all the other 'Add-on frippery' anyway.
In the past (Pre 365) I updated every other version or so, when something was added I thought may be useful.

Gerry

PowerDirector Moderator

Senior Contributor Location: New Taipei City, Taiwan Joined: Oct 18, 2016 00:25 Messages: 2104 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 11:38

Quote

Hi Jeff,

Many thanks for checking.

Now I'm at a loss as I can't get 4K production from my copy...

I have the 365 version.

How do I get a copy of the 'Stand alone' version of the program as I think I'd prefer this ?

I never use all the other 'Add-on frippery' anyway.
In the past (Pre 365) I updated every other version or so, when something was added I thought may be useful.

Gerry

Hi,

Did some quick tests on your issue and Jeff's findings.

PDR 365 Business 2401
System :
Intel Z590 Overclocked
BIOS: F5 PI (type: UEFI)
Processor: 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz (16 CPUs), ~3.6GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050

MaldivesClip_FromCamera
Timeline 50fps
Timeline preview jerky and loses audio in 2nd half

Production
HA both off

H.264 MP4, 3840x2160p 50mbps 25fps No fast video rendering - audio and video produced OK
H.265 MP4, 3840x2160p 37mbps 25fps No fast video rendering - audio and video produced OK

H.264 MP4, 3840x2160p 50mbps 25fps NVIDIA NVENC - audio and video produced OK
H.265 MP4, 3840x2160p 37mbs 25fps NVIDIA NVENC - audio and video produced OK

Both HA on
H.264 MP4, 3840x2160p 50mbps 25fps No fast video rendering - audio only production
H.265 MP4, 3840x2160p 37mbps 25fps No fast video rendering - audio only production

H.264 MP4, 3840x2160p 50mbps 25fps NVIDIA NVENC - audio only production
H.265 MP4, 3840x2160p 37mbs 25fps NVIDIA NVENC - audio only production

Further tests show when Pref>Hardware Acceleration>Enable hardware decoding is selected PDR will only produce an audio file.

If Pref>Hardware Acceleration>Enable hardware decoding is unselected then production is normal, with or without NVIDIA NVENC.

Maybe that helps??

Cheers
PowerDirector Moderator

For customer support related issues, please contact:
- Customer service: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/customer-services.do
- Technical support: https://membership.cyberlink.com/support/service/technical-support.do

ynotfish

Senior Contributor Location: N.S.W. Australia Joined: May 08, 2009 02:06 Messages: 9977 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 15:28

Hi Gerry -

I can confirm what both Jeff & PDM have reported here. With Preferences > HA unchecked, production to H.265 & h.264 is fine. With HA checked in Prefs, I got either (a) audio only files or (b) stalled rendering.

To test further I grabbed original Fuji X-T3 sample clips from Imaging Resource & found exactly the same thing.

In the case of your issue, I found no difference between the 365 version & PDR21 (tested both).

Cheers - Tony
Visit PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials, tips, free resources & more. Subscribe!
Full linked Tutorial Catalog PDtoots happily supports fellow PowerDirector users!

JL_JL

Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline

Mar 06, 2023 20:20

Quote Hi Jeff,

Many thanks for checking.

Now I'm at a loss as I can't get 4K production from my copy...

I have the 365 version.

How do I get a copy of the 'Stand alone' version of the program as I think I'd prefer this ?

I never use all the other 'Add-on frippery' anyway.
In the past (Pre 365) I updated every other version or so, when something was added I thought may be useful.

Gerry

As I had posted in my initial response, it is a must to have pref > Hardware Acceleration for decoding unchecked as other users have found out as well.

You can buy a perpetual key from https://www.cyberlink.com/store/powerdirector-video-editing-software/buy_en_US.html?affid=2581_1709_540 the Lifetime License products. I'm not sure I'd recommend that route either, CL appears to have no interest in support of this option anymore. Each year it gets more and more diluted, like no Suite anymore, and updates are few and far between. The attached graph shows the demise in supporting the released perpetual product.

Another case in point, basic audio issues plagued PD21 release, https://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/97787.page#post_box_393128 , a hotfix that never fully corrected the issue was posted with the statement “A perpetual patch should be available in the near future.” that was 10/4/2022. For a product that only has an ~1yr perpetual update life, what is near future when it’s been 5+ months since statement?

The only good part of the perpetual key is one learns to know the quirks, and workarounds. The 365 product appears to be a rolling target, new pushes bring new issues and no viable way to roll back to a prior version.

Jeff


Filename	PD_Updates.png	Download
Description
Filesize	61 Kbytes
Downloaded:	12 time(s)

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 07, 2023 04:00

Many thanks to 'Tomasc', 'Optodata', Jeff and Tony...

Success !

I had been an idiot, thinking that simply unchecking the speed enhancement in the 'Produce' page would solve the problem.

Going into the program preferences and switching off the hardware enhancement options there, worked 1st time.
I will say that to 'Produce' my originally required clip of 23 seconds took around 5x 'Real time', which is a tad slow, but workable.
(Ryzen 2700X @4GHz, 32 Gb RAM unused graphics card Nvidia GTX 1070)

One of the many reasons why I have been using PowerDirector for quite a while now (I think my 1st copy was version 5.0) was it's ability to produce videos at speed. (OK back then, I would hit 'Produce' then go and have my Dinner !)
When I 1st used this computer - It's a few years old now - I could use the Nvidia GTX 1070 to speed things up. This facility has become less and less usable, and is now completely defunct. I only bought the card to assist with video editing, I don't play games on this machine. I had given much thought to the graphics card I installed (Expensive at the time). I'm just glad I didn't opt for the GTX1080 !
I do have a standalone copy of PowerDirector 15, (I think my version of 17or18 was 'Destroyed' in my 1st update to 365).
I wonder if I tried V.15 out in 'Producing' how it would compare with the 'New and improved super-duper PowerDirector 365' ? !

This of course doesn't answer silly questions like...
Why can PowerDirector 'Produce' the same Fuji clip at 1920x1080 using hardware assistance in just a few seconds ?
Why can PowerDirector 'Produce' at speed in 4K from a GoPro but not a Fuji X-T3 ?

Many thanks again,

Gerry

JL_JL

Senior Contributor Location: Arizona, USA Joined: Oct 01, 2006 20:01 Messages: 6091 Offline

Mar 07, 2023 08:25

Quote I had been an idiot, thinking that simply unchecking the speed enhancement in the 'Produce' page would solve the problem.

Two entirely different and independent operations to the video, that's why it was specifically stated to uncheck in pref > Hardware Acceleration for decoding

Quote I wonder if I tried V.15 out in 'Producing' how it would compare with the 'New and improved super-duper PowerDirector 365' ? !

Produce times would be extremely similar for both H.264 and H.265 produce options at the same profile and common hardware use settings between PD15 and PD21, like CPU decoding and encoding. Less than 2% difference on my platform with your clip.

Quote Why can PowerDirector 'Produce' at speed in 4K from a GoPro but not a Fuji X-T3 ?

SVRT (at speed no encoding) capability has been hit and miss for years and never really gets vetted of issues. Great when it does work without issue but that can be seldom with modern high end video recordings. Your Fuji video has an average video bitrate of 210 Mb/s, way outside the profile range of bitrate in PD21.

Jeff

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 07, 2023 10:00

Hi Jeff,

Quote
Two entirely different and independent operations to the video, that's why it was specifically stated to uncheck in pref > Hardware Acceleration for decoding

Hence I was an idiot ! I realised that I had to disable in edit/preferences eventually !

Quote
Produce times would be extremely similar for both H.264 and H.265 produce options at the same profile and common hardware use settings between PD15 and PD21, like CPU decoding and encoding. Less than 2% difference on my platform with your clip.

I'm fairly sure that my problems with hardware enhanced production have progresively grown since I bought this particular workstation. I cannot remember using the fuji clips with PD15, but certainly used the graphics card in PD17 without issue.

Quote
SVRT (at speed no encoding) capability has been hit and miss for years and never really gets vetted of issues. Great when it does work without issue but that can be seldom with modern high end video recordings. Your Fuji video has an average video bitrate of 210 Mb/s, way outside the profile range of bitrate in PD21.

Yes, I note the fuji using circa 210 Mb/s... Good job I didn't wind it up to it's 400Mb/s capability !
I believe I'm correct in thinking I'd be wasting my time shooting in 10 bit as well.

At least it's working now.

Many thanks for your assistance.

Gerry

tomasc

Senior Contributor Joined: Aug 25, 2011 12:33 Messages: 6464 Offline

Mar 07, 2023 10:52

Quote This of course doesn't answer silly questions like...
Why can PowerDirector 'Produce' the same Fuji clip at 1920x1080 using hardware assistance in just a few seconds ?
Why can PowerDirector 'Produce' at speed in 4K from a GoPro but not a Fuji X-T3 ?

My initial reply to this topic is based on this Fuji (Movie Recording Mode) article: https://fujifilm-x.com/global/products/cameras/x-t3/feature-movie-recording/ . The chart shows that 4K are 10bit for H.265 and 8bit for avc (H.264) recordings. There are more selections in the article posted by ynotfish. It possibly means different firmware for the same camera.

The sample Maldive MOV clip is a 4K uhd hevc 10 bit 210 Mb/s 50 fps clip . The earlier GoPro’s can only record 4K as hevc 8 bit 64 Mb/s 60 fps (U.S.) and can be produced using any of the default profiles or with the Profile Analyzer suggestion. You don’t want to do that with 10 bit source video as there is no need for the higher bit rates(210 Mb/s) for 10 bits as PD365 can only produce in 8 bits. 50 Mb/s for 8 bits should be sufficient.

Until one day PD365 is upgraded to produce 10 bit videos, there is no need for higher than present bitrates for producing videos. Hope that this may help in answering the question about the GoPro’s compared to the Fuji X-T3 when using PD365. The latest GoPro can record videos in 10 bits. No one has posted such a clip for us to test yet.

Jeff answered first while I was still typing. SVRT does work on the GoPro produced files on my end to do more editing and corrections but SVRT does not work on the original GoPro files as noted.

GerryQ

Member Joined: Aug 26, 2015 14:43 Messages: 63 Offline

Mar 07, 2023 12:49

Quote

My initial reply to this topic is based on this Fuji (Movie Recording Mode) article: https://fujifilm-x.com/global/products/cameras/x-t3/feature-movie-recording/ . The chart shows that 4K are 10bit for H.265 and 8bit for avc (H.264) recordings. There are more selections in the article posted by ynotfish. It possibly means different firmware for the same camera.

The sample Maldive MOV clip is a 4K uhd hevc 10 bit 210 Mb/s 50 fps clip . The earlier GoPro’s can only record 4K as hevc 8 bit 64 Mb/s 60 fps (U.S.) and can be produced using any of the default profiles or with the Profile Analyzer suggestion. You don’t want to do that with 10 bit source video as there is no need for the higher bit rates(210 Mb/s) for 10 bits as PD365 can only produce in 8 bits. 50 Mb/s for 8 bits should be sufficient.

Until one day PD365 is upgraded to produce 10 bit videos, there is no need for higher than present bitrates for producing videos. Hope that this may help in answering the question about the GoPro’s compared to the Fuji X-T3 when using PD365. The latest GoPro can record videos in 10 bits. No one has posted such a clip for us to test yet.

Jeff answered first while I was still typing. SVRT does work on the GoPro produced files on my end to do more editing and corrections but SVRT does not work on the original GoPro files as noted.

Hi Tomasc,

Many thanks for you contribution.

I note your comments re the Fuji.
I intend to continue to shoot with the X-T3 in 10bit 50fps since one day I may be able to edit video and produce my output in a better final format than at present. It will be good to have the old footage backed up in higher quality than I'm able to use today.
I look at some of the videos I took of my two boys growing up. My Sony Hi8 was once considered to be pretty good, but now looks awful when compared to the phone in my pocket.
Why 50fps ? - No excuse really, save the fact that I have older siblings that still use DVDs / Blu rays. I have it in my head that it should be better to produce UK discs in PAL 25fps from original 50fps than 60fps.

As an aside - I have found when shooting faster moving objects that I often prefer the results from my GoPro to the Fuji.
I reckon it's just the rolling shutter operation / firmware employed.
Aircraft propellers look particularly strange from the Fuji !
I continue to use both cameras.
I'm never going to be a master with them, but heh, my last holiday video on Youtube was put there just for the family and not promoted anywhere... It got over 10,000 views ! ? Go figure !
(I've dropped my 360 deg camera and haven't carried it or used it for years...)

I note your comment regarding the latest GoPro being 10 bit. It also shoots in 5.3K and 8:7 format which could be fun to play with.
I have a birthday coming up - it might be an excuse to upgrade !

Many thanks once again.

Gerry