PD 11 - Preview Screen goes blank after 9 min of editing

tspnyc2013

Newbie Location: Brooklyn, NY you gotta prob'm wi'dat? Joined: Jan 18, 2013 13:56 Messages: 23 Offline

Solved by

Nov 12, 2014 11:36

PowerDirector 11 issue – Preview goes blank for Play, but not when paused or stopped.

First of all, I installed the PD11 patch in January, and I reinstalled it today just in case that might help. It did not.

The project I am making now is using a video created by PowerDirector 11, as an H.264 AVC 24p file. Original file is from a Sony camcorder, used to create 99% of my videos. I had to sync audio to that file.

I have done tests, and the issue happens in projects I created months ago that never had the issue.

I have not used PowerDirector for two or three months. I do not remember if there has been any updates to my computer system and software in that time that would be relevant.

Now that I am using PD again the preview screen keeps blanking out. It turns a dark purplish black, which is noticeably different from an actual black screen.

When the video is paused or stopped the image returns. The moment Play is pressed, it goes blank again. It is blank in title edit screen too.

It does not render as blank video. The videos are produced normally even when the preview screen is blank.

But it makes it impossible to work on videos.

Exiting Power Director and re-opening resolves the issue temporarily, but it returns minutes later. Shutting down or restarting the computer has no effect on this issue.

My system:

Sager laptop

Windows 8.1 Pro

Intel Core i7-4700MQ @ 2.40GHz 2.40 GHz

Intel Graphics 4600

GeForce GTX 780M

Available Video Memory 1792MB (shared)

16 GB RAM

64 bit OS

More information:

I have timed this issue. It happens between 9 and 15 minutes into editing. Usually closer to 9 minutes.

The issue appears when I click on a segment of video and then click into another track with empty space. It has also happened when I was exiting the Mask screen. And when working in the titles screen, adjusting the fade out times.

Sometimes it is after I split, deleted or moved a segment of video. But in tests, it will happen simply by clicking on a segment of video and then clicking into another track.

It does not happen if I am just letting a project play through. It only happens when adjusting things or clicking on something after I had adjusted something else.

My projects are pretty simple, being demonstrations of acoustic guitars, with subtitles, edits every one to two minutes. Videos rarely exceed six minutes.

Please advise.

Thanks

Carl312

Senior Contributor Location: Texas, USA Joined: Mar 16, 2010 20:11 Messages: 9090 Offline

Nov 12, 2014 13:38

It may be the Video renderer. The default Video Renderer in PD 11 was VMR7, VMR9 works far better.

http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/29154.page#159697

You should check Intel for the latest HD video update.
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx

Carl312: Windows 10 64-bit 8 GB RAM,AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz,ATI Radeon HD 5770 1GB,240GB SSD,two 1TB HDs.

tspnyc2013

Newbie Location: Brooklyn, NY you gotta prob'm wi'dat? Joined: Jan 18, 2013 13:56 Messages: 23 Offline

Nov 12, 2014 14:18

Thanks Carl.

I am not comfortable making changes to registry.

I do see I am several versions behind on my Intel driver. So am updating that and will see how it goes.

It seems odd to me though, that this would happen out of the blue, after working well for dozens of videos.

tomasc

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

Nov 12, 2014 14:36

Since this is a laptop, dust could buildup on the inside over time and cause overheating when performing something stressful like video editing. Exiting the app allows the cpu to cool down again without throttleing until you do video editing again. A notebook cooler may help.

tspnyc2013

Newbie Location: Brooklyn, NY you gotta prob'm wi'dat? Joined: Jan 18, 2013 13:56 Messages: 23 Offline

Nov 12, 2014 15:42

Thanks tomasc,

That is possible. It does run very hot when editing. But I keep it on a grate suspended over the desk so it gets lots of airflow. And I try to keep the lid tilted, as I use a large monitor and desperate keyboard and mouse.

It had not occurred to me to look into having it cleaned on the inside. I guess canned air would do the trick, but I would take it to a pro computer guy to do it.

tspnyc2013

Newbie Location: Brooklyn, NY you gotta prob'm wi'dat? Joined: Jan 18, 2013 13:56 Messages: 23 Offline

Nov 13, 2014 23:09

This is becoming a serious problem.

It is not an overheating issue. I have experienced the same blank screen when the computer was started minutes before and I cannot even hear the fan running.

And it is now happening more frequently.

I am going to try an full uninstall and reinstall as soon as I have time. But, do I need to move any project files before I do that?

Fenman

Senior Contributor Location: Cambridge, UK Joined: Nov 24, 2011 04:44 Messages: 731 Offline

Nov 14, 2014 12:37

Have you tried doing a system restore to a date near where you think it was working properly? When problems like this turn up out of the blue it is often due to updates being automatically installed in the background. PD in particular seems to be very heavily dependant on system functions, especially video drivers. I've suspected for some time that it may be making use of 'unofficial' hooks into driver functions in an attempt to boost speed. This could explain the issues that have been experienced when drivers, especially Nvidia, get updated. Regards,
Mike

Home-build system:
Intel Core i5 Quad Core 3.3GHz, 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333MHz,
Asus Nvidia GT440 1GB, 2 x Western Digital WD10EARS 1TB, 1 x Seagate ST1000DM010 1TB,
Windows 7 Prof 64-bit, PD 9 Ultra 64, PD 13 Ultimate 64

tspnyc2013

Newbie Location: Brooklyn, NY you gotta prob'm wi'dat? Joined: Jan 18, 2013 13:56 Messages: 23 Offline

Nov 17, 2014 21:35

Well I only updated the NVidia after the problem started and was several versions behind.

But I cannot restore and lose all sorts of things I have done in the mean time.

I had not used Power Director for almost three months so it could be something at any time since July.

fkaMikeB

Senior Member Location: Ohio, USA Joined: Aug 09, 2014 23:22 Messages: 217 Offline

Nov 18, 2014 19:48

"System Restore changes Windows system files, registry settings, and programs installed on your computer. Personal files, such as documents, e‑mail, photos, and music files, are not changed." Mike B.
|>>PowerSpecG311 PC(2014)<<||>>Windows®7Pro 64-bit OS<<|
|MB:AsRock FM2A88X Extreme6+|CPU:AMD A10-7850KQuad 3.7GHz|RAM:8GB DDR3|GPU:MSI Radeon™R7 250 1GD5OC|
|HDD:Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB|HDD:WD Red 2TBx2|RAID:SansDigital TR5M+B 2TBx3|BD-R:LG BE14NU40 Ext|
|Camera:Canon Ultura miniDV|WebCam:Logitech C910|ADVC110 Analog/Digital Converter|
|PowerDirector12Ultra.2930|PhotoDirector5Ultra.5424|AudioDirector4Ultra.3522|Cyberlink MediaSuite10 OEM|

tspnyc

Newbie Joined: Aug 27, 2013 09:18 Messages: 24 Offline

Dec 22, 2014 12:56

This problem persisted, but I learned I could make the blank purple screen go away by right clicking on the preview screen and going to the 3D settings.

At first I would change them and then change them back to normal 2D.

Then I learned I could just click on 2D even though that was already selected. So I have been able to work - until today.

Now the purple screen will not go away ever, even after shutting down the program.