Kevin,

I have a feeling that there is something in your timeline at that point that is stopping the rendering process. It could be a clip, an effect, a transition, a photo, could be any of many causes.

Do you have 'Enable preview during production' selected. With this selected you will likely see where the rendering process is stopping. Then you can check the timeline for the possible cause.

Hal OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
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A lot of us experience hangs at 21% and were able to trace it to hardware acceleration, whether you turned it on or not it may be on by default without you knowing. If you can't check the box to turn it on/off it's probably defaulting to on. If it is on and you can turn it off try again.

See this thread for details.
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/30/13075.page
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It hangs with both Hardware acceleration on AND off. The clip goes from a Blur transition to a speeded up clip (2.0 faster). Then it hangs. I am upscaling all of my clip to quasi "HD" from 640x480 .AVI clips. Thanks. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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That was it.. it didn't like the fast clip, blur transition then another fast clip with upscaling. I changed the second clip to normal speed and it made it through the complete rendering process. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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Kevin,

Here is what I do when using some of the power tools, (ie: speed, video reverse).

Once you decide which sections you are going to speed up or slow down. Save the project, then save it again with a similar name+the effect (I have one called "crowrevx2.pds) Remove everything from the time line except the clips you want to speed up. Adjust your speed as desired. When you finish the edit, produce this part in the same format that you intend to use in the final production. Give it a name that will describe the effect. (crowrevx2). After production return to the edit room and save the project.

Re-open your main project and import the file above. Use this file in the spot where you want the effect.

This might seem like a lot to do, but usually you can get it all done in a few minutes. I have found this method to be very stable, and to actually save me time in the long run.

Have a look at the finished project mentioned above
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZm2v5b0YP8

Hal OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
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That vid is so funny.

I still wonder if there isn't something kicking in to utilize more hardware to make the effect, such as multiple cpu's but doesn't handle ti right. There are tips at top of forum about setting your cpu # in msconfig. I was at 1 and seem more stable at 2 though I still got locked at 21%. I see you have 4 cpus. Also it may be that it just takes long enough to process that particular effect that it gets interrupted by autosave, virus software etc. There are tips in forum about those to.

Not neglecting Kevin's advise if you just want to move forward, but if you want to isolate the problem to make future editing easier will take more research. I often turn on task manager and watch the cpu utilization. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
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Ken,

Thanks for the comment about the video.

What follows is going to sound like a lecture, but it is in no way intended to be a lecture. I worked in adult education for about for about ten years, so when I write it sometimes sound like the classroom.

Every job we do, video editing included, is a compilation of smaller jobs. The construction industry is a good example as it mimics producing video very well. Most projects, if not all, start with a vision of the final product. After approval of the final design, the architect(s) (thats us) divide the project into different sections depending on the work to be carried out. This layout is given to the general contractors (thats us again) to determine the actual steps needed to attain the final result. The general contractor, keeping in mind the resources available to him/her, structures the work flow based on what resources are available. Each aspect of the job is then passed to the foreman (guess who - us) who directs the individual segments of the job. Each segment is completed before the next begins. We don't want a problem in phase one to show up in a later phase. That would force us to go back to the start. And the story goes on.

The whole point above is to demonstrate why a lot of us here use the modular process of making several small projects, based on the complexity of the final project. If changes are required to a small section of the project, we need only go back to that particular segment and make the changes, rather than recompile the whole project again.

Many do not realize that we use this procedure every day in their lives. We see a job to be done, we decide the steps required, and then perform the steps. Our thought process actually starts at the finish and works back to the beginning, then the physical process takes over starting at the beginning and working toward the finish. I use this method in every project.

Hope I didn't bore anyone to death.
Hal
OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
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Thanks for your replies.

It really seems like a glitch in the software after some repeated testing. Who knows though...

I have a i7 930 using 8 (virtual) cores and CPU utilization is not 100%. It's strange because I have the same effects earlier in my timeline on a different set of clips and it plows right through that part. I've run msconfig and I'm showing the 8 cores.

Maybe it's the upscaling the .AVI clips at the same time as using one of the power tools?

I guess my main point is that in a 5-6 minute video, PD8 should be able to render whatever I throw at it. As soon as I remove the 2nd instance of my speed effect (after the Blur Transition), it works.

I've also noticed that PD8 always slows in rendering through the transitions more than it should.

I will research further and see if there might be another causal relationship I can identify. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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This has been a very interesting thread to read!

Ken the 21% hanging has been a long-term issue.

Here is an older link called the "21% Club"
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/8397.page#35126

...I thought you might be interested in seeing it. It sure will be interesting if you do happen to stumble on something that works for most people. I think it, the hanging, has many variables to it...it isn't JUST hardware acceleration....as you can see certain types of EFFECTS can cause it to hang with or without hardware acceleration.....But somehow they all seem to be related...

I haven't a clue...I am not that technically oriented....amongst other things!!

Hal,

I didn't think it was a lecture at all....I always enjoy reading your posts!!

Regards,

Kevin
Check out PDtoots. PowerDirector Tutorials and more! Over 5,000 Subscribers.

What makes this forum fun is the many types of viewpoints/approaches. I'm a debugger, others are trainers.

When I mean it could still be hardware related I don't mean what is done via the hardware acceleration, but what windows and the motherboard does on it's own. For example setting cpu to 8 may be too much, try 4 for the cores. Since this isn't stopping at 21% it probably is a different problem.

I remember when I migrated to Vista I kept having crashes and I cursed it. Then when I installed a dual boot to Win7 it wouldn't even install because it said my memory was bad. Ran some memory tests and sure enough it was. Replaced it and both have worked fine ever since. Sometimes it isn't the software.

Other times it's poorly written code with memory leaks or logic errors and over time it starts to breaks down. I find with PD it always pays to close and reopen after a burn or I can expect a crash. I have high expectations for software to work right, so I work on 2 hr videos with 40 chapters and as many clips, effects, text overlays and slide shows. I have no transitions. If I stopped to burn each section my creativity would suffer.

Somehow I missed the other 21% thread from last year and you sure know how to make one depressed knowing that CL hasn't fixed this problem yet. I think I'll add a link in the old thread to the new one so we have a total history. So far for me I can keep my project whole just by shutting off hardware acceleration and then go to bed. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
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Ken, I agree with you 100%. While I can't rule out a issue with my PC, I built it from scratch, tuned it, and keep it tuned. I wish my cars had this much attention!

I expect software to be bug free (or mostly) with tightly written code. I used to have a Mac and I never had any crashes or disruptive bugs in either iMovie or Final Cut Pro Express. Alas, to have the same computing power for video editing on the Mac platform as I do with my PC would cost me a bundle for an upgraded Mac Pro.

Anyway I've played with a bunch of different NLEs over the years and it really seems there is a bug in PD8 that is causing my issues. Kevin's reference back to the 21% club (thanks Kevin) seems to confirm this.

That being said, I think PD8 is still a very innovative, fast, easy to use NLE that I plan to continue to use. I also can hardly demand perfection from something that cost $90.00.

I've been reading some of the PD9 Beta posts and I hope they run the code through the wringer again and see if they can eliminate some of these glitches. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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Just a quick follow up... I read the 21% club and I don't have issues burning DVDs, my issue is simply rendering to file using a timeline with complex effects, transitions and upscaling.

Anyway.. thanks, this is a great forum! Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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I took a quick search of the Beta 9 forum to see if anyone has reported the 21% issue. Didn't find any, which either means they fixed it and keeping it secret to force us to upgrade or they have testers that work around the problem by bypassing it or don't have testers that have had the problem. I hope they fixed it. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
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Ken,

At the risk of sounding argumentative, which is not my intention. Let's have a look at what happens in the upper end of video editing. The movie industry.

The movie industry has much more robust software and hardware than we are using. But, they do not work on the whole movie as one part. Each movie is divided into many parts or scenes if you like. Each scene is edited and produced on its own. Then the director and editors review the various scenes. They determine the special effects to add/remove. They determine the audio to go with the segment.

When all the editing of the scenes is completed they decide on which scenes to use and the best method to combine the scenes for the final movie.

We as amature editors can learn a lot from the pros. What we see in the movies is what we try to emulate. To get the same type of results we have to follow the same type of procedures. Most times I find the editing the longest part of the whole process. But, it is the editing that gives us that special feeling when we watch the finished product.

Just my humble opinion
Hal OS - Win11 Pro, Alienware R13, CPU - Intel Core I7-12700KF 12 CPUs), 16g DDR5 4400 RAM, Video - Geeforce RTX 3080ti 12g, PD11 & PD365
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Thanks no argument. I don't have to go through all those decision making people to know what I want in my video. I don't have multiple cameras to have to choose the best angles from, so I only have to deal with how to transition from one large clip to the next, add text overlays and a couple of special effects. Something I could go with Nero without any problems. I chose PD because there are more options for adding creativity without having to pay more or being stuck with limited choices. Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
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Kevin:

I've found that when editing with HD footage I get renderer hangs too. What I've found helps is to change the length of the clip before the clip that hangs by just a little. It seems to me that the renderer is getting out of sync somewhere and changing the length of the clip fixes it. This often happens when I've got a transistion such as a crossfade between the clips. It doesn't seem to matter whether you lengthen or shorten the clip and even just a frame or two seems to make a difference. Scott Hendry
www.scotthendry.com
YouTube username TheCscottHendry

Interesting Scott... I'll give it a try. Thanks. Windows 7 Home Premium - 64 Bit
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