PD version 10 - trial version crashes with mov files

Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Solved by

Jul 06, 2012 13:07

I've been back and forth with this at Customer Support for a week. After 4 tickets over 4 days I finally got through to them that I was using the trial version and they should stop asking for "proof of purchase" as step 1 to solve the problem. Importing an mov file works but as soon as I drag it to the timeline I get this error.

"Cyberlink PowerDirector could not construct the media source as a graph. This may be due to a lack of decoding filters for the file you are trying to edit."

As per the last instructions from Customer Support I have downloaded and installed Divx codec and QuickTime (I already had the latest version but I re-installed it) with no luck.

Furthermore, these mov files will edit in Adobe Premiere and VideoPad without a problem, so it's not my PC, or codecs that are the problem here..

I believe the problem is that the current trial version of PD does not include the latest patches (which I have tried to apply but they won't install unless I have purchased the program.)

This is poor customer relations - I can't even try the editor with my camera's mov files. It's a shame, looks like great software but this gives me no confidence to purchase it and take my chances afterwards.

Charles

ynotfish

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

Jul 06, 2012 13:38

Hi Charles -

The good news is that it's not a restriction in the trial version & it's not an inherent problem in PD. This issue comes up over & over again... i.e. MOV files work in other NLEs & media players but not in PD

You've installed the latest QuickTime (I assume from Apple), so it probably comes down to what codecs are installed & what PD can access.

This thread (and many others discussing similar issues) might be of interest... http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/30/23034.page

Cheers - Tony
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Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Jul 06, 2012 14:44

Thanks Tony,

But I actually read this post and tried K-Lite before I even contacted Customer Support - not only did it not work it created major graphic problems on my PC and I had to uninstall it.

If the mov files work in other programs (like Premiere) is this not a PD rendering problem?

Charles

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Jul 06. 2012 14:45

ynotfish

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

Jul 06, 2012 14:51

Charles -

It can lead you to think that it's a PD problem when it only evidences itself in PD!

So - on your PC (now) - do you have any third party codecs installed? You've uninstalled K-Lite. Is ffdshow installed?

Cheers - Tony
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Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Jul 06, 2012 15:03

Thanks Tony,

A quick search of programs shows xvid - not sure why it's there - I'll try uninstalling it. Should I remove DivX for now as well? Not sure if CD burning software influences this as well as something called "Picture Control Utility" and Nikon's own camera software.

Charles

stevek

Senior Contributor Location: Houston, Texas USA Joined: Jan 25, 2011 12:18 Messages: 4663 Offline

Jul 06, 2012 18:35

What is the source of the mov files - a camcorder or a digital camera?

Have you enabled hardware acceleration?

From Download notes: " VC-1/H.264 file playback in the trial version is limited to PCs with hardware acceleration."

If you are using an on-baord graphics card, you do not have the ability to use hardware acceleration.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jul 06. 2012 18:38

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Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 10:14

The source is a digital camera. I've tried the trial version on 3 different computers with more than one mov file and it doesn't work on any of them.

I still maintain that it's a problem with the trial version.

Can someone else test this? There are several patches that have been issued since PD 10 was released. The one released on 2011-12-28 specifically says "Improves the Import and Production Compatibility of mov files". But as I said in my original post, none of the patches can be applied to the trial version.

Charles

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Jul 09. 2012 10:15

stevek

Senior Contributor Location: Houston, Texas USA Joined: Jan 25, 2011 12:18 Messages: 4663 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 12:58

And the comment about hardware acceleration for those computers with video cards?? It will not work if you do not have a card and rely only on the software to encode the video.

Did you miss that or are you ignoring it? .
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BoilerPlate: To posters who ask for help -- it is nice to thank the volunteers who try to answer your questions !
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Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 14:05

No I read it, thanks. Looks like that comment is just confirming that no matter what codec you try it won't work unless you can use hardware acceleration. I only have on-board graphics cards. But it does say the trial version so I presume the full version won't have this issue. As a work-around I've converted the files to mpeg.

Charles

vn800rider

Senior Contributor Location: Darwen, UK Joined: May 15, 2008 04:32 Messages: 1949 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 15:28

Whilst it is generally true that on-board graphics have historically been unable to implement hardware acceleration, many current laptops have Sandy Bridge type (and later) CPUs which do have "hardware acceleration" (so to speak).

So my Asus i5 has either Intel HD3000 with QuickSynch or an Nvidia GT520M 1Gb card, selectable at program startup. Mostly the Intel QS is way quicker than the Nvidia for my sort of editing. Both trigger PD's HA facilities when selected in preferences.

Cheers
Adrian

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Charles_I

Newbie Location: Toronto Canada Joined: Jul 05, 2012 15:23 Messages: 25 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 15:41

Sadly I just have an old Acer desktop with Pentium 4 and built-in Intel 910GL Express. What do you recommend for a graphics card? Sorry, if this should be another topic.

Charles

Xerox

Contributor Location: California, USA Joined: Aug 09, 2009 01:36 Messages: 446 Offline

Jul 09, 2012 17:07

If you don't have Windows 7, then files with h.264/avc codecs will not work in the trial version. That was the problem I had with the trial version. I only have Windows XP. Gateway DX4380, AMD A8-5500 Quad Core 3.2GHz with ATI Radeon HD 7560D; 16GB RAM; 1 TB SATA 7200 RPM; Windows 8 Pro 64-bit; PDR11, PDVD12.