I think I have narrowed it down, but have no idea what the solution is...
When I add clips from this camera to the timeline, they show up fine and you can see a little thumbnail picture in the timeline. BUT after I trim these clips the thumbnail picture turns black (regardless of trim size). All of the clips with black thumbnails don't show video on the final movie, but everything plays just fine on the timeline before I create the final movie file.

Oh, I just noticed something that might shoot my last theory, there is ONE trimmed clip that still shows up in the timeline and in the final movie.
If it matters, the camera that these clips come from is the Insignia HD DV Camera.

I had a similar problem with a codec that wasn't officially supported by PD. After an update it worked fine. Looks like that camera uses XviD. Have you installed the codec on your computer? I'm not sure that will help, but I have heard of instances of video software trying to use DivX instead and they were not completely compatible. Just one thought. __________________________________
CORNBLOSSOM

I thought about that, but then shouldn't I have a problem seeing any of the clips from that camera? I just can't see a few of the trimmed clips (except for 1) in the final movie. I can see the clips in any player though.

Deeno;
Please post your dxdiag.txt file so we can look at it:
1. START
2. RUN
4. type DXDIAG
5. Save information button
6. Attache to new reply, please

Maybe an idea for a workaround:
As you are getting thumbnails of the un-edited (original) clips I'd expect that you can view these clips in the preview window.
Try to produce a PD generated MPG of your unedited and original clips, and start your project from these MPG files.
You should be able to edit and view these.

Michael.

Hi Deeno,

So you are getting some great advice. One thing that we do try to do frequently in the forum is to attempt to reproduce your problem on other systems. That way we can isolate what the potential problem is....it may be your PC...or your camera footage, they are not all the same....some camera manufactures release cameras that make a video file that does not play well with Video editing software....

Could you record a couple of tests clips(5-10 seconds long) from these two cameras and post them as an attachment in the forum? You can have a maximum of three attachments per post, so you might post twice. Use the ATTACHMENT button....and then BROWSE for these test clips...the select SUBMIT....and they will upload. We can then download them and test them on out system and verify if we experience the same result as you.

Could you also give the MAKE and MODEL of the cameras you are using? That would be great.

Regards,

Kevin
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Here is the dxdiag.
Mike, I can view everything in the project window, even the trimmed clips (with the black thumbnails), but when I make the final movie all of the clips with the black thumbnails, aka the trimmed clips from this camera, there is no video from those (just audio).
Kevin, It's the Insignia NS-Dcc5hb09 camera. Just a cheap little HD camera from Best Buy, works great though for it's size. Most of the clips are long though (hence the trimming). Maybe I'll make a little test video just so you have a clip from the camera to play with. What's odd though is the fact that ONE trimmed clip from this camera still plays video in the final movie?

here is a short sample video from this camera

another update...

ok, it seems to only black out the thumbnail when you trim the beginning of the clip, you can trim from the end and be just fine, but if you trim off any from the start it blacks out.

Deeno;
Thanks for posting the DXDIAG. You need to update your video drivers:

YOURS:
Card name: Intel(R) G33/G31 Express Chipset Family
Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
Chip type: Intel(R) GMA 3100
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.4820 (English)
Driver Date/Size: 7/16/2007 17:45:26, 57344 bytes

Review the link below, then go to the INTEL site for updates:
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/14162.page

This should resolve most of the video issues, but this video chip only has 128MB memory..Fairly lean for high-res video production sometimes.

Fred - thanks, I'll try that. but for some reason I don't think it will make a difference in this case. Why would a video driver effect how trimmed video is displayed?

Hi Deeno,

I can confirm your problem on my system. As soon as the avi clip is split then the second half of the clip goes black. This has been reported in the past with avi's before from other users. I will have to look back and see what the fix was. See my screenshot for confirmation.

P.S. Was that snow on the ground?!! Summer ended way too quickly!

Kevin
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Here is the link to the work around....It seems that some cameras produce an avi file that doesn't play well with Power Director. The fix is that they needed to be converted to another type of video file.

If this helps, here is the topic I was thinking of that was exactly the same type of problem:

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/11115.page#50148

Regards,

Kevin
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Hi again,

I imported your test avi clip into another video editor.....The application rhymes with "Phony PayGas" , and I use it sometimes to compare results....such as in this instance.

The clip imported onto the timeline but only the audio transferred to the timeline.....but no video showed up at all.....only the audio was there. Black Screen in the preview window.

The only thing this shows is that not all cameras produce an output that can be accepted easily into video editors. Each Camera manufacturer sometimes has its own proprietary video codec that does not play well when imported into other applications.

The solution, usually is to convert these to another file type, as pointed out in that thread I put in my response before.

Regards,

KEvin
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I am not sure how to respond to your statement:

Why would a video driver effect how trimmed video is displayed?

I was able to duplicate your reported BLANK thumbnail (even WITH the most current drivers) so in this instance outdated drivers are not the cause!!

However, WXGA and the 1280x720 widescreen standard (property of your attached AVI) was still being finalized in 2008. Drivers prior to that time will not handle the stream correctly and even many dated June 2009 fail to render in timeline and preview correctly. I am just saying...My efforts are trying to make sure that any KNOWN issues are removed to help finding a solution.

Whatever it takes...I hope you find the solution or workaround..Kevin's seems to work best. We all want it to work for you. Have a GREAT day.

Thanks Kevin, I'll look into that. Glad to hear it's not just me, but bummed that I have to redo my entire movie.
Yup, that's snow... winter has started here in MN.

ps - is there a quick an easy way to batch convert video to another format?

Hi there,

I use Cyberlink MediaShow Espresso....You could try it as a free trial....it is very easy to batch convert all your files.

Regards,

Kevin
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