Files over 2GB using Sony AVC are unplayable

kjordan2001 wrote on 9/13/2009, 4:09 PM

I'm trying to render a long file in Sony AVC with a 16mbps rate and the file comes out over 2GB which I think is somehow the cause of it being unplayable where nothing will open it. Just under 2GB seems fine. I'm not rendering to FAT32 or anything that has the 2GB limit for the filesize since the file I see is over 2GB, it's just nothing can play it. Has anyone else run into this issue? Vegas Movie Studio doesn't crash or give any kind of error, but the file still doesn't work.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 9/13/2009, 6:26 PM

the cause of it being unplayable where nothing will open it.
it's just nothing can play it.

Just what is nothing

What players have you tried?
Better yet, which ones haven't you tried?
What are your system specs?
Are you using an external drive?

Blanket generalizations aren't really very helpful.

kjordan2001 wrote on 9/13/2009, 7:28 PM

Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic (which should play just about anything), Nero Showtime, and Quicktime are the ones I've tried. Any of those should play the files I output seeing as if they're under 2GB they work in those and the format should have no limit on file size.

I've got a Core 2 Quad Q9550 with 4GB of RAM on Windows 7 64-bit beta preview. The file was rendered to a 1TB external drive, but even copied or rendered onto the primary hard drive it doesn't play. I don't think this is isolated to Windows 7 or 64-bit if you're going to say that's likely it since I believe I had the same problem on 32-bit Windows XP. I usually cut my clips down to smaller ~1GB segments for upload to Vimeo, but I'm trying MotionBox now and it allows any size.

I was curious more as to if there was some kind of limit somehow with the Sony AVC codec for the file size it will output.

musicvid10 wrote on 9/13/2009, 8:22 PM

Media Player in Windows 7 is "supposed" to support h.264 playback. There are a ton of issues with it reported on the internet.

No previous versions of Windows will play AVC files without a third party codec. Are you saying you have Media Player Classic installed on Windows 7 Beta?

Have you tried playing back your file(s) with VLC Media Player?

Quicktime will play AVC files greater than 2GB. Many of mine are twice that size.

Most external hard drives come formatted FAT32 for compatibility with Mac. That's why I asked. Are you saying you have reformatted that drive to NTFS? You did not say.

"I was curious more as to if there was some kind of limit somehow with the Sony AVC codec for the file size it will output. "

No. The Sony AVC codec is used routinely for BluRay files, which are usually well in excess of 2GB. Your problem lies elsewhere, thus the questions . . .

"I believe I had the same problem on 32-bit Windows XP."

Can you confirm that? There are lots of issues with Windows 7 Beta 64 that haven't been sorted yet. If it were me, that's one of the first things I would rule out. Oh, and you didn't mention which version of Vegas Movie Studio you are using, but none of them are certified for Windows 7 (or 64 bit OS, I believe).

kjordan2001 wrote on 9/15/2009, 4:14 PM

1. Are you saying you have Media Player Classic installed on Windows 7 Beta?
Yes.

2. Have you tried playing back your file(s) with VLC Media Player?
Yes, unplayable in there as well.

3. Are you saying you have reformatted that drive to NTFS?
Yes.

4. "I believe I had the same problem on 32-bit Windows XP." Can you confirm that?
Just reinstalled 32-bit XP on the same computer and it does indeed not play in any player if it's above 2GB. If I trim it down to below 2GB it plays.

I'll also try it on my Vista laptop, but I doubt there's anything with the actual hardware of my computer that would be the cause and it's likely not an operating system issue seeing as a freshly formatted XP has the same result.