DVDA 4.5a shuts down with 2-Pass Mpeg from Vegas

DeeBee wrote on 11/16/2007, 3:35 PM

Using Vegas 8.0a I have archived video encoded as DVD NTSC. I modified the standard template as follows:
Video rendering quality: Best
Two-Pass (Checked)
Averge (bps): 8,000,000

With the current project I am putting together I have used one of the archived videos (as described above) along with recently captured AVI files and rendered it as AC3 and MPEG using DVD Architect NTSC video stream. I modified the standard template using the same settings I listed above.

After dropping the MPEG into a DVDA 4.5a project I double clicked on it in the Project overview to bring it up in the timeline. DVDA starts building the peaks and adjusting to display the thumbnails in the video track. When the thumbnail generation reaches the point in the clip where the archived video is, DVDA shuts down without errors or warning. It simply closes.

If I render the current project only using One-Pass everything is fine?!?!? Can anyone shed some light on why this might be occuring. Please let me know if you need any more information or if I haven't explaind this clearly.

Many Thanks.

Comments

MPM wrote on 11/18/2007, 8:57 AM

FWIW... I've never used dual-pass mpg2 in any software, so all I can offer is guessing really.

There is a difference between DVD video and DVDA video templates -- you can come close to Vegas/DVDA video by muxing DVD-spec m2v without supplying an audio track -- TMPGEnc's MPEG Tools works well. Although recent versions of DVDA accept m2v, it can have problems with it, depending on the files source, headers, specs etc...

Converting the archived mpg2 may be worth a try. If your max bit rate doesn't exceed spec, you shouldn't have to re-render it for or in DVDA unless you need smaller files.

"I have used one of the archived videos (as described above) along with recently captured AVI files and rendered it as AC3 and MPEG using DVD Architect NTSC video stream."

If you're combining different sources in Vegas & rendering it shouldn't matter, but if it does you might try DGIndex & VFAPI to put your mpg2 on the timeline with your avi clips.

If you're putting different sources together on a DVDA timeline... Generally I think it's preferred to do mpg2 encoding outside the DVD authoring app whenever possible -- I've never tried mixing sources on a single track in DVDA so no idea how well it works. You might try importing your problem mpg2 into a new DVDA project just to see what happens. If DVDA only crashes when you mix sources on the timeline, maybe you can avoid it by combining your video outside of DVDA?

"Can anyone shed some light on why this might be occuring."

*IF* the problem is the mpg2, you might look at the files headers etc. using some of the utilities at Videohelp.com. If there's something different between 1 & 2 pass maybe it'll show up?

DeeBee wrote on 11/19/2007, 8:51 AM

Thanks for your reply and info.

I should have clarified further I am actually combining the clips in Vegas and rendering it as one clip (Video, MPEG (m2v), and Audio, AC3, as seperate files). I import this single clip into DVDA.

DVDA happily generates the thumbnails in the timeline for the video but when it reaches midway through the mpeg file (the only clip in the timeline) where the archive video starts it pauses momentarily then closes.

Completely Baffling?!?!?

MPM wrote on 11/20/2007, 8:31 AM

While I have no idea what's causing your problem, here's what I have done many. many times without any glitches... Maybe it'll help?

1) For rendering the title video/audio, use DGIndex on the pre-rendered mpg2 to get a project file -> that project file thru VFAPI to generate a proxy avi -> that proxy on the Vegas timeline along with any other video clips on the same or additional timelines. Render to the DVDA template for mpg2. Audio always straightforward to ac3.

2) To avoid re-rendering the mpg2, use a proxy file as above for placement only [to know where to put everything else], render additional content to the same mpg2 specs, then combine (string) the clips together in Cuttermaran, running the output m2v thru TMPGEnc's MPEG Tools to create (mux) a video only mpg file for DVDA. Optional: create a proxy avi file for the finished mpg2 video, put it on the timeline in Vegas, then tweak all the audio before rendering ac3.

For attempting to salvage what you've already got (to avoid rendering) there are several utilities at videohelp.com for correcting mpg2 video files. ProjectX might have the most options, & the greatest chance of success, but I stress *Might*.