Do a search. Restrict it to THIS forum. Use the search word "render". Finally, restrict the search to Search In "Subject Only."

You will find 791 hits, which is more than you want to read through, but you may find some ideas that apply. The usual recommendations are to first open the Optimize DVD dialog and look at the video in question. Does it have a green check mark next to it in the video column? In the audio column? Is it listed more than once? In that dialog, click on the video and then on the right, click on the Video tab. The "Recompress" section will probably say "Required" for your problem video. Click on the "+" and see what information it says.

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I just dragged an MPEG-2 video to the timeline and was surprised to see that it requires recompression. Huh?? The reason given, using the steps I just outlined, is "Media is not a DVD-compliant MPEG file."

I was actually not expecting this -- I just did it so I could give you an accurate idea of what to do.

So, to trouble-shoot my own, similar problem, I opened "GSpot" (a free software utility that you can simply download and run -- find it using Google) and dragged the problem file into it. GSpot simply provides information about the file.

This provided absolutely nothing of any value. My problem file looked the same as other files that DVDA 4.0b didn't want to compress.

So, I copied the problem file (simply by using copy/paste in Explorer). Bit-for-bit copy. I then put this file into DVDA 4.0b and --- HOLY COW -- it didn't need to be re-compressed !!!

Now this is bizarre.

Next, I did a CRC compare on the original file and the file I created by copy/paste. Not surprisingly, I verified that they were the same.

Next, I closed DVDA 4.0b, then re-started it, and finally dragged the problem file back into the project, just to make sure DVDA still wanted to re-compress it. It did.

OK, so what is different? Well the file name. One is called "test.mpg" and the other "copy of test.mpg." I didn't want to mess with the problem file, so I moved the good copy to another folder and re-named it test.mpg.

I then tried re-importing the original test.mpg -- which I had in no way tampered with, renamed, or otherwise modified AND NOW IT WAS OK!!

OK, this is really weird.

Bottom line is that I have no clue what is going on, but there definitely appears to be something strange with DVDA sometimes wanting to re-compress MPEG-2 files that don't need to be re-rendered. In my case, I was able to get DVDA working by closing and re-opening, and by dragging another file into DVDA first.

If this doesn't work, you should still do the search and follow the other steps I describe above.

[Edit] OK, there is one more thing that I left out and didn't notice until I went over my notes. When I first clicked on my "bad" test.mpg in DVDA's explorer, in the status line below the file listing, DVDA had some message that said (approximately -- I didn't write it down) "no information, must be prepared for open." Therefore, it appears to me that there may be some bug in DVDA where it fails to do this pre-import prepare properly, and subsequently thinks (erroneously) that it must re-compress the file.

Thanks John for your very specific set of steps taken...

It sounds like the same weirdness I had with one of my "pre-rendered in V7d" files in my posting of 3/18/07
. " Why would DVDA4 re-render? "

No logical explanation for the behavior/ recompression....a bug?

My solution was to let DVDA4b do the render from the .avi to mpeg for that one weird file and then it wouldn't be double rendered.

Eileen

p.s. maybe its not "my fault" afterall!

No logical explanation for the behavior/ re-compression....a bug?

Yes, I think it is, but I also think you may be able to work around it the next time you encounter it. First, always look at the Optimize dialog to make sure that nothing is going to be re-compressed (unless it is an AVI, etc.). Next, if something IS going to be re-compressed, and you don't think it should be, close the Optimize dialog and then click on the file in the DVDA explorer window. Look at the status line, and if it has that dialog about needing to "prepare" the file, perhaps pressing F5 (which causes a refresh) will cause it to start the prepare. Alternatively, close DVDA, then start it again, and see if, when you click on the file in the DVDA explorer, it starts the prepare process (which usually takes about 30 seconds -- sometimes more).

I've reported it to Sony. If they come up with anything that will help, I'll report back.

Hi John,
Thanks for the workaround suggestions.
I'm having some weirdness with erratic file errors/crashes with my CFDIs again in V7d, too. Cineform is working on that....

Kinda makes me wonder if its at all connected to the DVDA problems we've found... erratic behaviour that is sometimes gone with a simple close/reopen of the program.

I'm working pretty much exclusively with HDV footage that I capture/convert with my Cineform so if those files aren't getting made correctly (as per start/stop problems while capturing as well) then maybe its a cascade of problems everytime and everywhere I open those clips/files.

I look forward to lots of updates/upgrades hopefully to fix all this stuff post NAB....
Ok, I have my fingers crossed as well...

john, just a wild guess, but Windows itself can have problems trying to parse and categorize video clips -- believe I've read somewhere that it actually builds the graph for decoding & display every time you click on one in windows explorer. Problems there, maybe problems with one of the DS filters, maybe one filter was used and then deprecated after it didn't work? Anyway, just a guess 'cause I hate the thought your machine is haunted. ;?P

OT: have you tried Microsoft's windiff for your comparisons?