Further Problems after Renaming Codecs

[alert]

I got to the point were MM2 was freezing as soon as I opened it.

I finally took the plunge and downloaded and ran John Kelly's Rename
Codecs program.

Afterwards, the very first time I opened MM2 it, once again, froze
immediately.

However, after that it ran much better and I was able to get quite a
bit of work done.

Yet, it still does freeze fairly regularly (just not as often or as
quickly).

Is this just something I'll have to live with or can something further
that renaming codecs be done?

Thanks,

Ed

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Check the Problem Solving > Acceleration and Codecs page of my website

If you took care of all the listed codecs, then try the hardware
acceleration.... that much freezing regularly isn't normal.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Maybe your collection database and project are large, so the periodic 10
minute backup process is stopping your work while it does it's thing, so MM2
appears to be frozen for a while.

You can change the option or uncheck it in Tools > Options
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

 

[John Kelly]

Hello Alert,

If the rename codec program has improved the use of the program then
clearly there was a codec issue which Rename Codecs solved for you. The
fact that the program froze the very first time and then "freed-up" is a
clear indication that it was looking for one of the Codecs that had been
renamed. I have had one other user where this happened. His final solution
was to create the project again, all the way from the beginning. He had no
problems after that.

To test this possibility out, all you need do is create a new project,
obviously you do not need to scrap your original project. Run the program
that way for a while and if nothing goes wrong, your problem and solution
are sorted.

Just in case, it is possible that one of the renamed Codecs was used to
create any captured footage. Its a problem I have been trying to figure out
how to fix without having to capture it all over again (obviously not
always possible) In the event that you captured using the WMV format, I am
fairly confident that this issue will not arise, and to be honest I do not
have enough information to determine where it can arise if capturing to the
DV-AVI format.

If you have the time (there is no rush) I would be interested in knowing
what games you have installed, other than those come with XP. I have
already eliminated QUAKE as a contender. I would also be interested in
hearing what Graphics programs you have installed, the sort that use
DirectX or OpenGL in particular.

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[alert]

First of all -- thanks you John Kelly and Papa John.

Without the help I've been getting here my project would be in sad
shape.

Games installed on my computer (except what was included with windows
XP):
- Harry Potter (I don't know which it is -- it's my daughters)
- Zoo Tycoon (again, my daughters)
We recently got my daughter her own computer so if these games create
any conflicts I'll just get rid of them.


I'm operating a Dell Demension 4550 with:
- Pentium 4 Processor at 2.0GHz
- 256MB DDR SDRAM at 266MHz
- 64MB GeForce4 MX Graphics Card
- 60GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 7200RPM
- Windows XP Home Edition
- FireWire card that I installed myself
- Iomega Super DVD writer (external, I have yet to use this))

Aside from whatever graphics program that came with the computer I've
installed Adobe PhotoShop and QuarkXPress and these are the programs
that I use. I manipulated almost all of the photo's in my movie in
PhotoShop.

Also, I should mention that with all of the freezing, I've been saving
multiple copies of my project. I'm extremely paranoid about losing it.
At twenty-two minutes right now it's probably a pretty big file (and I
always have at least two copies of it). It took 70 minutes to copy it
back to the tape in my MiniDV camcorder last night.

This is the first MovieMaker project that I'm doing so there are no
other movie files on my computer.

Last night (after I made the original post) it worked well and didn't
freeze at all. And then it copied my movie back to my camcorder
without any problems.

FYI, my project is a 20 - 25 minute movie celebrating a 50th wedding
anniversary and 70th birthday. It's made up of still photo's, old
Super 8 film and old and recent video -- all digitized via my
camcorder (Canon Optura Xl). It's scheduled to be shown on Saturday
night, May 29th at a big party in front of a hundred people -- just
nine days away!

Thanks for any further insight you may provide.

Ed

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

Thanks for the very complete reply.

At first glance the only comment I would make is that you are running on
a small amount of RAM. I have 1.5GB and having done a few checks in the past
I find that on my system Movie Maker will consume up to 540MB of RAM. As you
do not have that much, the missing amount will be supplemented by your
Virtual Memory. This puts a demand on your hard drive/system that alone
might account for your problems, in particular if the drive is badly
fragmented (Note XP defragmenter does not defrag the drive, only the files
causing potentially more problems that it solves when using Movie Maker)

Your graphics card having 64MB of RAM may also (very slightly) add to
the demand on your system.

Your Hard Drive. Check out the Tutorial and additional notes on my
website about how to check it is running at its best speed. You would not be
the first to discover it was running several times slower than it should
be. If this is the case it is fairly easy to fix. In particular you should
see the notes on 32bit access...if this is not enabled then this WILL cause
your problem.

The games, I can't comment on them yet...I will try and research them to
find out what codecs they might be using. You should note that it is
frequently the case that uninstalling software does not remove all of the
components. For this reason I use Symantec Systemworks which makes an exact
list of all changes so that IT rather than the windows installer can remove
all modifications the program made.

Adobe Photoshop is my preferred editor for still images....I don't know
QuarkExpress, but if it is the same kind of program as Photoshop I doubt
very much that it will cause any problems either.

Everything else seems fine to me...So, do check out the points I have
raised. On the RAM front some months back I upgraded my RAM with 512MB DDR
RAM modules bought from PC World in Birmingham UK. They cost (I think) £45
each (around US $70 - $80) and are PNY I think.. I have never known RAM to
be quite so cheap. Having that extra bit of RAM makes a hell of a difference
to how Movie Maker works. My other editing package MovieDV eats all of the
RAM up (which is actually why I upgraded).

In the meantime I will do a search of the web and see what can be
discovered about those games.

Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Ed,

That's quite a way to start your MM2 career.... an important big project
with a hard deadline.

That makes one I'm working on now seem minor.... 17+ and growing minutes for
a 40th birthday party being shown on a bunch of big-screen plasma
TVs/monitors at a Casino this weekend.... to 25 to 50 people. The video is
being made mostly from scanned still pictures.

As I'm doing it for someone else and won't be at the party, nor involved in
the actual playing. I did some checking/testing of the playback/projection
process. A key question is how your movie will be shown and have you tested
all of the steps right up to seeing it on the TV/screen? I'll be uploading
a high quality WMV file.... it'll be downloaded to and played on a laptop
that has an output capability to feed into a professional A/V system in the
casino. I put some samples out a few days ago and they were tested on the
laptop for smooth playback.

I guess the suggestion is to think thru and actually test each step of the
process. Some people will get to the end of the editing before they realize
that they have some hurdles in the DVD authoring/burning/playback parts of
the process.

Lot's of luck,
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

 

[alert]

Ed,

That's quite a way to start your MM2 career.... an important big project
with a hard deadline.

I'm going to copy the movie back to my camcorder and connect that to
an InFocus LP400 projector. I'll have that connected via leads to a
stereo receiver with speakers.

Essentially, I'll be using my camcoder as a vcr. The projector works
great -- I've used it before. The amp and speakers will be powerful
enough for the sound (a key element). I've already copied my movie
back to the camcorder twice, and then used my camcorder to play it
through my vcr on my tv -- so I know it works.

As I said earlier, I copied my almost-completed movie back to my
camcorder last night. It took 70 minutes to copy the 22-minute movie
but it played fine.

I will certainly test the whole system before the Big Night.

I've done three of these movies before but each time I use videotape.
I had to rent a video editing machine and sound dubbing was always a
problem.

You should've seen my den when I did it that way -- two tv monitors,
one vcr, one editing vcr, my stereo components pulled out, all of the
wires -- my wife wanted to shoot me!

And I did it three times!

Aside from all of the problems I've encountered with MovieMaker, it's
STILL been a pleasure to work with.

Ed