Stop-start video clips

[Guest]

When I edit or combine video clips on windows Movie Maker, then play them on
Media Player 11, they are very jerky. More like a series of stills than a
movie.
But if I switch on repeat, and play one through several times, it improves
with each playing until eventually it is as smooth as the original clip.
However, this improvement is not permanent, and once the clip is stopped,
the problem re-occurs next time it is played.
It seems to be worse when the original clips are MPEG's, but it also happens
with WMV's, though they don't seem to be affected quite as badly.
I tried reducing the video acceleration, and then turning it off, as
suggested in help, but this had no effect .
Windows Update tells me that I am running the latest versions of both
movieMaker and Media Player.
Can anyone suggest a solution ??.

Thanks, Leo.

 

[John Inzer]

When I edit or combine video clips on windows Movie Maker, then play
them on Media Player 11, they are very jerky. More like a series
of stills than a movie.
But if I switch on repeat, and play one through several times, it
improves with each playing until eventually it is as smooth as the
original clip. However, this improvement is not permanent, and once
the clip is stopped, the problem re-occurs next time it is played.
It seems to be worse when the original clips are MPEG's, but it also
happens with WMV's, though they don't seem to be affected quite as
badly.
I tried reducing the video acceleration, and then turning it off, as
suggested in help, but this had no effect .
Windows Update tells me that I am running the latest versions of both
movieMaker and Media Player.
Can anyone suggest a solution ??.

Thanks, Leo.

================================
What is the format of your completed movie?

If a video clip plays better (smoother) with
each successive play in WMP...it must
be a memory issue because WMP does
nothing to the file that would actually improve it.

Adding more RAM might help and also
increasing the size of your Virtual Memory
Paging File might be worth a try.

The following article explains how:

(308417) HOW TO: Set Performance Options
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308417

And...doing some system maintenance may
be worth a try:

(260897) How to Delete the Contents of the
Temporary Internet Files Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=260897

Running Disk Cleanup, Error Checking and
Defrag on a regular schedule is a good idea.

(310312) Description of the Disk Cleanup
Tool in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310312

(315265) How to Perform Disk Error Checking
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315265
(check the two boxes..."Automatically fix file
system errors" and "Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors") the utility will run
the next time you restart your computer.
(run error checking repeatedly until it finds
no errors)

(314848) How to Defragment Your Disk
Drive Volumes in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314848

BTW...MPEGs can cause issues...

Movie Maker 2 - Importing MPEG Files
http://tinyurl.com/eajjh

File type compatibility with Movie Maker
http://tinyurl.com/v8tee

--

John Inzer
MS Picture It! -
Digital Image MVP

Digital Image
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[Guest]

John, thanks for your reply. In answer to your question, the clips go in as
MPEG's and/or WMV's and come out of MM as WMV's. If there is a way to choose
the format of the modified clips, I haven't worked it out yet. ( I'm very
much a beginner ).

I will check out your suggestions over the next few days ( I can't do it
right away ) , and I'll post the results when I've had the time to work my
way through them and test the results.

Thanks & Regards, Leo.

 

[John Inzer]

John, thanks for your reply. In answer to your question, the clips
go in as MPEG's and/or WMV's and come out of MM as WMV's. If there
is a way to choose the format of the modified clips, I haven't worked
it out yet. ( I'm very much a beginner ).

I will check out your suggestions over the next few days ( I can't do
it right away ) , and I'll post the results when I've had the time to
work my way through them and test the results.

Thanks & Regards, Leo.

====================================
In addition to the fact that resource issues are
more than likely at the heart of your skipping in
WMP issue...it's also possible that using MPEG
source files could be part of the problem.

Here are the steps for the save options in
Movie Maker:

To save as a .wmv movie file...
Type...Ctrl+P to open the Save Movie Wizard /
Choose...My Computer /
Next /
Enter a Name and a Save Location /
Next /
Tick...'Best Quality For My Computer'
Next/
Wait while the movie is saved /
Finish...

To save as an .avi movie file...
(and several other options)
Type...Ctrl+P to open the Save Movie Wizard /
Choose...My Computer /
Next /
Enter a Name and a Save Location /
Next /
Show More Choices /
Other Settings /
Open the drop window and choose...DV-AVI /
Next /
Wait while the movie is saved /
Finish...

Also, you may find it useful to use
a custom profile:

Movie Maker 2 - Saving
Movies - Custom WMV Profiles
http://tinyurl.com/s2vgu

Creating Custom Profiles
for Windows Movie Maker 2
http://tinyurl.com/cuny7


--

John Inzer
MS Picture It! -
Digital Image MVP

Digital Image
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[Guest]

Once again - Thanks John. I now believe that you were right when you
suggested I need more RAM.
Something in one of your references triggered my memory to check a handout I
got from the basic course I did when I bought my PC.
It refers to the Task Manager (performance) display. I used it and found
that while the problem clips were playing, the CPU was running at 100% .
This would reduce to between 90 and 100% when they were played thru a few
times.

So I checked the graph for a few different clips and came up with this :-

While they were playing -

MPEG clips that had NOT been thru MM used about 10 -15% of CPU capacity
WMV clips that had NOT been thru MM used about 40 - 45%
MPEG clips that had been edited in MM used about 45 - 55%
WMV clips that had been edited in MM used about 40 - 50%

Movies that were made up by splicing a mix of BOTH types together = 100%.
( and no doubt needed more )

I tried increasing the Virtual memory, but that didn't help, so I guess I
probably need more RAM, though I have not yet tried saving a movie other than
by using the automatic " Best Quality For My Computer" setting.

When I get a bit more spare time I will follow your second piece of advice &
try some of the other settings, to see if one of them will give me reasonable
quality playback, at a rate that my CPU can handle, without having to upgrade
it.

However, I'm already in the doghouse for spending too much time on this at
the expense of other duties, so it could be a while.

I really appreciate your help on this - I have an answer to my problem and
I've learned a quite a lot in the process.

Keep up the good work !!!

Best Regards, Leo.

 

[PapaJohn]

CPU usage and memory usage are two different things... more RAM will add to
your system's memory but do nothing for your CPU. People don't usually
upgrade a CPU, not until they move on to their next newer system.

My website's Problem Solving > Can't Save a Movie page has info about how to
check your memory usage.

 

[Guest]

John, Once again - thanks for your help. I now think you were right when you
suggested it was a resource problem. Following up a reference in your first
post triggered a memory from the basic course I did when I bought my PC.
I dug up the handouts and followed the instructions for using the Windows
Task Manager (performance tab)
It showed that while the problem clips were playing, the CPU was running at
100%.

So I checked a few other clips and this is what I found :-

Mpegs that had not been thru MM used about 10 - 15 % of CPU capacity
WMVs " " " " 40 - 45 %

Mpegs that had been edited in MM used about 45 - 55 %
WMVs " " " 40 - 50 %

BUT - A mix of BOTH types spliced into one movie = 100%

They were all saved on MM using the " Best quality for my Computer" setting,
so when I have a bit more free time I will have to try some of the other
settings as you suggested in your second post.
Maybe I will find one that will give me reasonable quality, but at a rate
that my CPU can handle without having to upgrade it.
However that could be a while, I'm already in the doghouse for spending too
much time on this at the expense of other duties.

I really appreciate you help with this John - I have an answer to my problem
and I've learned quite a lot in the process.

Keep up the good work !!!.

Best Regards, Leo.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for that PapaJohn - as I said in an earlier post, I'm very much a
beginner at all of this, and still have a lot to learn -

Including NOT to repeat a post until I'm sure it really hasn't gone thru.
( Sorry about that )

So what this means is that until I upgrade my hardware, I will have to find
a way of saving the clips in MM that is within the capabilities of my CPU.

Looks like I've got a bit more reading to do.

Cheers, Leo.

 

[PapaJohn]

Your CPU speed only effects how long it takes to save a movie. A 3 GHz CPU
will save it twice as fast as a 1.5 GHz one... but it'll save it equally
well. You don't need to wait for the next better computer.

Saving a movie isn't a real time process. The computer will take whatever
time it needs to get it completed.

 

[Guest]

PapaJohn, I understand what you are saying here, but I think we may be
talking at cross purposes. I'm probably not explaining myself clearly
enough, and/or not using the right terminology.

Perhaps I should make the point here that most of the clips I have edited or
combined in MM are AOK and play smoothly on MP11.

It is only a few that are not. They are jerky ( choppy ??) and stop briefly
at frequent intervals while playing.

What I think is causing the stop-start , is that the CPU is running at 100%
when Media Player is PLAYING the movie, after it has been saved.

When I watch the CPU performance graph on Task Manager while a "good" clip
is playing, it shows that less than half the total capacity of the CPU is
being used.

But when I watch the same graph while a "bad" clip is playing, it shows a
flat line across the top of the graph, and a reading of 100%.

When I did this with a "marginal" clip, CPU usage would show at 95 -100 %
and while I cant be absolutely sure of this, it seemed to me that the pauses
on the screen coincided with the graph hitting the 100 %.

Now I know that my logic may well be wrong here, but this seemed to indicate
that
my CPU lacked the capacity to play those clips.

So what I have been trying to say is not that I think my machine lacks the
capacity to save the movie properly, but that it lacks capacity to play it
smoothly - in the format in which it has been saved.

What I am hoping is that if I save the movie in a different format (?), by
manually choosing a suitable setting, instead of "best quality", then I maybe
will get a movie that my machine can play smoothly.

Hope this makes more sense now.

Regards, Leo.

 

[PapaJohn]

thanks.... here's a utility that can help you assess the varying bitrate
demands of eac frame of a wmv file... it might help here too

http://www.sliq.com/default.asp?view=wmsnoop

 

[Guest]

Thanks, PapaJohn, i've had a quick look at that info link, and it could be
what I need, but it's something I will have to have a longer, slower look at
when I have more time than I've got at the moment

Regards, Leo.