OK for a few seconds, then sputters, with TMPGEnc AVI files

[elmojr]

To convert DVR-MS files into MM-readable AVI files, I today installed
TMPGEnc Xpress 3.1, then went to a MicroSoft update page and updated my
WinXP (sp2) system right after the install.

However, the AVI files generated by TMPGEnc Xpress have a problem.
After playing the Timeline for a few seconds, MM 2.1 starts sputtering.
If I pause it, and then resume, it'll play fine for another few seconds
or so before beginning sputtering again. The sputtering is not in the
exact same places, so it seems to be a playback problem rather than an
AVI with flaws at exact places.

It's like it's getting behind or bogging down and can't quite catch up
until it's paused. I'd think it was running out of RAM if my system
didn't have so much (2 GB); besides, this has never occured before, and
only occurs with AVI files created by TMPGEnc Xpress.

MM has been working fine for me; this problem only developed today.

All suggestions are appreciated.

BTW, I'm using a 2-month-old Dell WinXP Media Center 2005, 3.4 GHz, 2
GB RAM system, an NVIDIA GeForce 6800 video card, an Angel TV tuner
card (has two tuners), and an SB Audigy 2ZS Audio (D8CO) sound card.

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Try a system restore to go back a couple days to see how it works then.

 

[elmojr]

Thanks, PapaJohn. OK, I just did a system restore back to just before
installing TMPGEnc Xpress, approx 12 hours ago. Now, TMPGEnc isn't
installed anymore, but an AVI file that it created is, so I booted MM,
played the AVI, and it started "stuttering" after about 15 or 20
seconds.

Am guessing that means the AVI file itself is bad...

What to do next? System Restore to an even earlier time, such as a
couple of days ago? Or leave as is, and reinstall TMPGEnc and try
generating another AVI file? Some other solution?

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

If you render a low quality file from it with Movie Maker (Pocket PC choice)
and play it... you'll know that it's problem with the file if the Pocket PC
isn't smooth.... if it is smooth, it means the file is OK and there were
dropped frames during the capture.

 

[elmojr]

I just had MM render a file in the "Video for Pocket PC (143 kbps)"
format, and the new file plays fine. Sorry for being slow, but what
does that mean, and where do I go from here in getting TMPGEnc Xpress
to work consistently with MM?

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

DV-AVI files are big and really just used for editing purposes... you
typically don't play them. Smooth playback needs a pretty powerful computer,
a faster hard drive, and one defragged...

If you look at the file on your hard drive, it might be fragmented in
hundreds of parts... viewing the file or previewing a project with it might
not be smooth, but if you know all the frames are there, you can go ahead
and edit your project and save the movies that use the file as a source....
and expect the finished product to play fine.

TMPGEnc might use the same files as Movie Maker, but they don't work with
each other.... give your hard drive a tuneup - free space and defrag, and
see if things get better.

 

[elmojr]

PapaJohn, you were quite right. My hard drive had gotten down to less
than 10% free space, and the AVI file created by TMPGEnc Xpress had
been fragmented into 28,794 fragments! So, I:

1) cleared out some HD space (from less than 10% up to about 35% free)
2) defragged the HD (only to find that it wouldn't defrag some files,
including that AVI file)
3) copied that AVI file onto HD #2 and then back onto HD #1, thus
reducing it from 28,794 to 59 fragments
4) defragged HD #1 once more, for good measure

Movie Maker works perfectly with that file now - no sputtering
whatsoever.

BTW, you might now want to add this to your list as yet another method
- and perhaps one of the easiest - of getting DVR-MS files from Media
Center into Movie Maker. Use TMPGEnc Xpress (now up to version 3.1) to
read the DVR-MS file (& it does support multiple, i.e., batch,
conversions) and to save it as an AVI file, which MM can import. It
costs $58, but seems to do the job - the advantage, of course, being
that the DVR-MS --> MPEG and then MPEG --> AVI conversions are all done
"under one roof" - very convenient.

Thanks, PapaJohn, for helping solve this problem, and for educating one
more (at least) MCE/MM user.

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Thanks for the update... glad it worked out..

and the note about TMPGEnc Xpress to convert DVR-MS files...