Cause of Crashes Identified

FMVorenkamp wrote on 4/1/2013, 8:42 AM

I'm writing this post to alert the developers to a bug I've found that's made Vegas Pro 12 near unusable for me in the workplace. A little preamble: I've tried everything from re-installing the software, to disabling GPU acceleration.

The issue seems to be with the project manager and a compatability issue with quicktime formats.

If there is a single quicktime file associated with the project, selecting the project manager tab will freeze the software every time. Worse, there won't be a backup file or an opportunity to report the crash to Sony- it simply locks up and must be force quit. In fact, if the project manager was open the last time the program ran, it will seize up immediately upon opening.

Another issue involving quicktime is that frequently, you'll see odd blips and half frames appearing over your footage randomly during playback and even in renders. Frequently, I'll have frames from a quicktime clip appearing upside down for a single frame overlaid onto another clip--- and the quicktime clip that was causing the weirdness wasn't even on the timeline, only the project manager.

Finally, I'm unable to render anything from my timeline in any format other than an uncompressed .avi. This has been the case with Vegas Pro for me since version 11 across several different systems. For a short time, MP4 was a viable export option, but now it's almost a guaranteed crash every time.

I love Vegas, but these issues are putting a spotlight on the software's crashes here in the office. I really do not want to switch to a different NLE, so I'm really hoping that with the next update we can see these issues resolved.

Comments

JJKizak wrote on 4/1/2013, 9:19 AM

Which Quicktime verson are you using?
JJK

dxdy wrote on 4/1/2013, 9:25 AM

Quicktime 7.6.2 is the only version that has consistently worked for me. Win 7 Pro, V12 v384.

rmack350 wrote on 4/1/2013, 9:36 AM

First off, sorry you're having troubles. I'll assume you've filed a tech support incident at https://www.custcenter.com/app/utils/login_form/redirect/ask/session/L3RpbWUvMTM2NDgyNjIyMi9zaWQvRnh4c3BEbWw=. This is a user-to-user forum and not everyone realizes that so it's worth pointing out from time to time.

I assume you're talking about the "Project Media" window rather than the "Media Manager" tool. "Project Manager" could be either of the two.

The first thing to do with the Project Media window is to turn OFF the thumbnail view. Switch it to something like Details. This is a known issue with crashing.

Beyond that, some people recommend rolling back to a particular version of Quicktime. I've not had troubles with the most recent version but perhaps it's a combination of the Quicktime version and the specific type of Quicktime media you're trying to use. Quicktime is just a container for various media types so there's some variability possible here.

I don't know what to say about not being able to render anything but an uncompressed AVI since VP 11. That would seem to be a showstopper. Did you upgrade to VP12 because you couldn't render in VP11?

Rob

OldSmoke wrote on 4/1/2013, 9:42 AM

I got QT 7.7.3 Pro and have no issues at all with .mov files. I do however recall a similar issue with preview showing garbage and renders that did things I cant even describe. It was when I experimented with RAM settings and used the bios provided XMP profile of 2133MHz @ 1.6V which is what the my PC17000CL11 RAM is actually rated for. I used that in my previous system with an i7-3770K without any problem. I contacted the RAM manuafcturer and got proper settings for 1600MHz and 1.5V which have tighter timings, down to CL7 and it is now stable and fast too.
Maybe it is just a specific QT format that you have issues with but I doubt it. I just helped another user that had QT file issues and those worked fine on my machine too.

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=855041&Replies=10

NormanPCN wrote on 4/1/2013, 11:50 AM

I hope you reported this to Sony Support. This is not the best place to report reproducible bugs.

rmack350 wrote on 4/1/2013, 2:35 PM

OldSmoke, I certainly wouldn't want to rule out RAM timings, especially when all slots are filled as I assume they are on the OP's machine. That could go a long way towards explaining the inability to render anything.

And of course the problem could be more than one thing. Definitely turn off thembnails in the project media window.

Rob

NormanPCN wrote on 4/1/2013, 2:45 PM

Yes, a lot of people don't know that when all ram slots are filled timings typically have to be more conservative. Reading the fine print on fast ram DIMMs will state that fast alternate timings are for single bank only.