SP2 causing crash?

[Guest]

I have a Panasonic DV Camcorder and I use a IEEE 1394 4-6 pin cable to make
video transfers. MMaker2 used to work perfectly with SP1 but now since I've
reformatted, it takes a VERY long time to go through each screen of the Video
Capture Wizard. Finally, when you get to the last screen (Capture
Automatically or Capture parts manually) MMaker2 quits responding.

However, Windows seems to recognize the camera, because if you select it
under My Computer, it gives you a preview pane which works correctly when the
camera is ready to record.

Only 3 differences in my computer since MMaker2 quit working:

1. New video card with VIVO (which work correctly in MMaker2)

2. New codec pack: ACE Mega Codec Pack

3. SP2 upgrade

Any suggestions for me?? Thanks y'all

 

[Rehan]

2. New codec pack: ACE Mega Codec Pack

What is this. Isn't this a bootleg collection of various codec files which
somebody has put together. How can you seriosuly be asking help with this on
your system.

 

[John Kelly]

Hello there,

I doubt if your remarks will create any good feelings between you and the
compant that sells this mega pack....http://www.freeweb.hu/galgonet/

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Rehan]

This is not a sold product but a "freeware" made by somebody by collecting
all the various codecs. I seriously doubt if its content can be considered
as legal at all.

 

[John Kelly]

Well thats mighty strange....there seem to be rather a lot of places on the net
that you can BUY it, including the one I gave you the link to...that web page
describes the bew desktop interface it has...it looks rather good from the
description. Perhaps you have not been able to load the page, I don't know but I
can most definetly tell you that it IS for sale.

--
John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[John Kelly]

Sorry, Have two conversations going..ACE Mega Codec Pack is a free download and
has some amazing stuff in it....I will have to try and find the person who was
loking for this kind of thing a few days ago and let him know about it....I am
staggered by the number of codecs it has...looking forward to testing them all
out, glad you brought it to my notice

--
John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[John Kelly]

Hello there,

The below I hope will help you out.....The Codec pack you installed may
have put something onto your computer that Movie Maker does not like....the
below is a solution I created for codecs that are known to cause
problems...you may have installed a codec that is not yet "known" to be a
problem and therefore my program might not help at all.

The GREATEST problem we have here is that users do not read the
instructions properly, So, can I bring to your attention the FAQ mentioned
below and say if you do not read up on how the program works you may well
get into a mess.

You sound as though you are suffering from a codec problem. There are two
root causes and below you will find the solution for each together with some
notes on other issues.

Option 1)

The one stop solution for that is a program called Rename Codecs and it is
available from my web site (Free). Make sure you check out the FAQ, on the
site, on what it does and how to run it (That will take about one minute of
your time!!) All the info you need is on the web site. The latest version is
1.51.

This reassuringly safe to use program requires no knowledge on your part
about what it is doing or how it is doing it or what it is doing it too!!!
neither do you need to know where any of these files are or whether it is
safe to rename them or not.....and best of all, ITS FREE !!!

Option 2)

If this does not solve your problem then try the following out...it has
proved to be a successful procedure for a variety of problems.

1) Download the full version of DirectX Ver 9.0c, Media Player 9 (10 if you
prefer), and Service Pack 2(SP2).

2) Reboot you computer and Install DirectX

3) Reboot again and install Windows Media Player

4) Reboot yet again and install Service Pack 2

5) Reboot one more time

Yes it sounds very tedious, but if you want to be certain all file locks
are removed so that the correct files can be installed this is the way you
have to go.

It is very important that you only download the full versions of these
programs and that you DO NOT attempt an install over the internet.

Other Notes
===========
Graphic Card Acceleration
-------------------------

There is advice floating around that you should disable the graphics
acceleration abilities of your graphics card if Movie Maker locks up or
crashes out. Doing this is roughly equivalent to taking out your current
graphics card and replacing it with an Etch-o-Sketch toy.

The Graphics card on the machine I edit on is a cut above the average, it
has DV In & Out as well as Video In & Out. It does all sorts of clever
things and it is extremely fast. Then the day came when I tried Movie Maker
2 for the first time. It was a disaster. Knowing what the problem was I
immediately logged on to Microsoft and got the latest driver. There was no
change with the performance of the Graphics card with respect to Movie
Maker. After a lot of messing about I went to the cards manufacturer and
downloaded there most recent driver. I was convinced that the one from
Microsoft was in some way defective. It turned out that I was right but for
the wrong reason.

The version of the driver from Microsoft was more recent than the one on my
system AND more recent than the one from the OEM.BUT, the OEM had made minor
changes to how the card worked and these were not taken into consideration
by the Microsoft update!!!

So, do not get the generic update from Microsoft until you have tried the
latest driver from the manufacturer of your card.

Registration
------------

There is in my view some very bad advice floating around that tells you to
unregister the offending codec. If you take this advise be warned that
unregistering any file and doing it wrong will more than likely stop the
program that file belongs to from working all together and may in an extreme
situation cause your entire XP system to fail. This is true whether you make
a mistake using the Registry editor or the registration program itself, one
mistake and you are potentially in deep trouble. Whatever you unregister in
this manner has to be restored and you should take note that the
registration of a codec can often involve more than one registry entry. If
you are expert in these matters you will have no problem.

I have also found that MP3, Mpeg and Jpeg files can cause problems, So...

Convert all MP3 to WAV or WMA

Convert all MPeg to AVI

Convert all Jpeg to BMP

Video Conversion
------------------------

For Video Conversion you should also check out the Knowledge Base Section
of my "Great Links > Knowledge Base" One of the website's in there called
"Video Help" has the best collection of useful information I have yet come
across on converting between the various formats together with links to the
software needed.

Image Size
----------------
There is a lot of very bad advice being given out on Aspect Ratios in
relation to still images. The short version of the advice you actually need
is this.

16:9
-----
If you want a 16:9 ratio final product (video) you should crop your image
to the ratio of 16:9. In addition (talking in terms of PAL) you should use
your favourite image editor to resize the image so that is 576 pixels
tall...the width takes care of itself if you cropped it to 16:9.

4:3
---
If you want a 4:3 picture (older style TV screen) then crop it to that
ratio, then resize the image so that its height is......576 (Pal
measurement), again the width takes care of itself.

Weird Sizes
-----------------
Under no circumstances should you EVER create or resize an image so thats
its dimensions are something like 800 x 600....if you do you will get a
slightly blurred image...and no amount of tinkering around the edges will
ever put it right. See the FAQ on Movie Maker and Ratio on my website for a
more detailed example of why that image will blur.

---
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

John,

Thank you very much for your help, I wish everyone who replied had the good
attitude that you have. Now here's what I've done:

1. Uninstalled that huge ACE Codec Pack and rebooted...didn't help

2. Tried your Rename Codec program...unfortunately didn't help

3. Also tried the tiny software program that you provided on your site to
interface between a camera and the PC...it worked but i dropped about 5
frames every 5 seconds...which i thought was alittle strange.

4. I noticed that when i rebooted my computer that if i left my camera
hooked up through the firewire and turned on, the computer would not boot up
(sit at the blue welcome screen forever). As soon as i turned the camera off
and terminated communication from the camera...boom.. computer finished
booting up (this is why i don't think it's a codec problem).

I have just started redownloading MMaker2 and will re-install asap. Also, i
pretty much lost every codec when i uninstalled the ACE Codec Pack, so i'm
going to reinstall WMP 10 as well.

If you have any other suggestions, please tell me...i might have to go to a
different area of the newsgroup since it might be a problem with the firewire
communications.

Thanks! ~ Jonathan

 

[Guest]

John,

Thank you very much for your help, I wish everyone who replied had the good
attitude that you have. Now here's what I've done:

1. Uninstalled that huge ACE Codec Pack and rebooted...didn't help

2. Tried your Rename Codec program...unfortunately didn't help

3. Also tried the tiny software program that you provided on your site to
interface between a camera and the PC...it worked but i dropped about 5
frames every 5 seconds...which i thought was alittle strange.

4. I noticed that when i rebooted my computer that if i left my camera
hooked up through the firewire and turned on, the computer would not boot up
(sit at the blue welcome screen forever). As soon as i turned the camera off
and terminated communication from the camera...boom.. computer finished
booting up (this is why i don't think it's a codec problem).

I have just started redownloading MMaker2 and will re-install asap. Also, i
pretty much lost every codec when i uninstalled the ACE Codec Pack, so i'm
going to reinstall WMP 10 as well.

If you have any other suggestions, please tell me...i might have to go to a
different area of the newsgroup since it might be a problem with the firewire
communications.

Thanks! ~ Jonathan

 

[Guest]

John,

Thank you very much for your help, I wish everyone who replied had the good
attitude that you have. Now here's what I've done:

1. Uninstalled that huge ACE Codec Pack and rebooted...didn't help

2. Tried your Rename Codec program...unfortunately didn't help

3. Also tried the tiny software program that you provided on your site to
interface between a camera and the PC...it worked but i dropped about 5
frames every 5 seconds...which i thought was alittle strange.

4. I noticed that when i rebooted my computer that if i left my camera
hooked up through the firewire and turned on, the computer would not boot up
(sit at the blue welcome screen forever). As soon as i turned the camera off
and terminated communication from the camera...boom.. computer finished
booting up (this is why i don't think it's a codec problem).

I have just started redownloading MMaker2 and will re-install asap. Also, i
pretty much lost every codec when i uninstalled the ACE Codec Pack, so i'm
going to reinstall WMP 10 as well.

If you have any other suggestions, please tell me...i might have to go to a
different area of the newsgroup since it might be a problem with the firewire
communications.

Thanks! ~ Jonathan

 

[John Kelly]

Hello there,

2. Tried your Rename Codec program...unfortunately didn't help

OK, it does not always help....but nothing was lost by trying it out.

3. Also tried the tiny software program that you provided on your site to
interface between a camera and the PC...it worked but i dropped about 5
frames every 5 seconds...which i thought was alittle strange.

OK, that means then that you have a speed problem. There is a section in the
FAQ for MM on my web site....the trouble is its very general.....

4. I noticed that when i rebooted my computer that if i left my camera
hooked up through the firewire and turned on, the computer would not boot up
(sit at the blue welcome screen forever). As soon as i turned the camera off
and terminated communication from the camera...boom.. computer finished
booting up (this is why i don't think it's a codec problem).

Yes I agree that this is not a codec problem, its a basic comm's failure...I
have never tried that...I must give it a go and see if its always the case.

I have just started redownloading MMaker2 and will re-install asap. Also, i
pretty much lost every codec when i uninstalled the ACE Codec Pack, so i'm
going to reinstall WMP 10 as well.

Yes, sounds like the best route to take.....I would download the DirectX pack
as well as the Codec pack from MS and install them...DirectX first followed by
a re=boot then the Codec pack and another re-boot. I can't really comment on
WMP 10, I don't have it....I have heard that people have problems after
installing it, in the world of things there were not that many complaints

If you have any other suggestions, please tell me...i might have to go to a
different area of the newsgroup since it might be a problem with the firewire
communications.

As far as the firewire card is concerned there are some (Texas chipset's) that
do not work well with some cameras.....If after all other options have been
tried it might be worth trying a new card if yours has a Texas chipset...I just
did a quick search for the relevant message on that....no trace.......so maybe
I am wrong.

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

First of all, sorry about the triple post there..kept telling me there was an
error..but there obviously wasn't. Ok 1 quick question John. When you refer
to the "DirectX pack as well as the Codec pack from MS" what exactly are you
referring to? I plan on getting the full download file like you instructed
somebody else to do on another thread. But i figured the codec pack from MS
would be included in WMPlayer and the directX codecs would be included with
the DirectX 9.0c installation. Correct me if I'm wrong ok?

Thanks!

 

[John Kelly]

Hello,
No, the packs I refered to are stand alone packs that you can download....I'm
not in a position to give you the URL at this time.....installing these packs
will ensure that the previous install of Media Player etc are complete....by
downloading them first you side step issues that can occur with internet
download/install

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

I never have found those packs you are referring to...but I did download WMP
9 and 10, DirectX install, and MovieMaker...installed each one (except WMP
9..it wouldn't let me since I had WMP 10 already installed). I rebooted
after each install and still the same problem. I'm really thinking it's a
communications problem with the Firewire now. Anything else before I start a
new thread somewhere else?

~Jonathan

 

[John Kelly]

Hello there,

OK, what you did should have fixed the problem if it was software related....I
guess all thats left is to examine the hardware...Can you borrow a firewire
card AND cable???

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
Just glad I don't live in Croydon, UK
\|||/
(o o)
----------ooO-(_)-Ooo-------------
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

I have 2 firewire ports through my Sound Blaster Audigy. I tested everything
on my friend's computer and it worked perfectly. It might be a problem with
my Audigy, good point John, thanks.

~ Jonathan

 

[John Kelly]

Hello again,

Yes, I seem to remember that there is a problem with Audigy...it might
be a good idea to disable the firewire part (if it shows itself as a
separate device) and proceed from there.

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

 

[Guest]

If I disable the firewires...I don't have anyway to transfer data from the
camera. I checked out Creative.com and didn't find any help.. I guess I'm
sorta stuck. The firewire ports essentially "work." It recognizes the type
of camera and it 1/2 works with your little program that captures through a
1394 based device. I dunno what to do,

~ Jonathan

 

[John Kelly]

Hello,

Yes, I should have said, disable the firewire on the sound card and
purchase a PCI/Firewire card and proceed from there...I'm fairly sure that
this was the solution for the others.....perhaps if you could borrow a pci
card....

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

 

[Guest]

Ah i see what you mean. Yeah the only thing that really bugs me about that
is that it worked before SP2 flawlessly. I don't know if SP2 was the cause
of this whole episode or not...but I'm thinking that it is. Anyway, John I
want to thank you very much for your help because I appreciate it a ton. If
you ever need help troubleshooting network problems or other difficult
windows errors, I got ya covered. Thanks man,

~ Jonathan