"media offline" and crash importing video.

Guidonzolo wrote on 1/10/2009, 10:06 AM

Hello...i've tried to import some video files (they are 40 video files of 1.2 Gb total; each one is an MPEG4/AVC recorded with a Sanyo HD1010 Camcorder). When i insert them on the timeline, i notice that some of them (the last 12 files) are marked as "Media Offline" so they are not accessible. Then the program crashes and i must restart it.
Of course the files are all on the same HD and on the same folders. I've created a project importing only the media marked offline and all works fine. The problem occurs only when i import all the 40 files.
Keep in mind that i work on a machine with the following data:
CPU Dual core 2.4 Ghz
4Gb RAM
HD with 100 Gd free
Video Nvidia GeForce 8400GS

Is there any limit to a numer of files that can be importend on the timeline?
How can i workaround this problem?

Thanks
Guido S.

Comments

Eugenia wrote on 1/10/2009, 10:51 AM

Vegas has problems dealing fast with .mp4/mov h.264 files, usually shot with digirecorders (e.g. Sanyo, Aiptek, etc), Samsung HD, and Kodak HD cameras. What you see is consistent with how Vegas fails with them.

For the media that is offline, it happens only when you switch focus away form the vegas window. If you come back to the vegas window after that, your media will show as offline, the screen will be frozen, and you must NOT move your mouse or click to things randomly or vegas will crash. You will have to wait for a long time for Vegas to rescan these files. So when you edit with vegas these formats as-is, never switch focus away from its window. And even then it's not 100% crash free.

In other words, you have three options:
1. Buy a Mac. Apple's products support these file formats much better for multiple reasons, including because they re-encode during importing.
2. Create proxy files: http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2007/12/12/proxy-editing-with-sony-vegas/
3. Buy Cineform NeoSCENE ($130), transcode the files to that codec, and edit as such. You can try their 3-day trial too. Make sure you unselect their 24p option in their Prefs for your footage before you use it.

But definitely do not try to use that kind of footage with Vegas as is. I do option #2 for my Kodak HD files btw, as Kodak uses MPEG4-SP instead of h.264, and so it's a tiny bit faster and less crash prone to the digirecorders' h.264 footage.

Eugenia wrote on 1/10/2009, 2:32 PM

BTW, the reason why AVCHD is not as problematic as mpeg4/mov files on Vegas is because Vegas uses the MainConcept codec to decode AVCHD, while it's using Quicktime for the other kinds of h.264 files. And Vegas crashes and burns with Quicktime... Very unoptimized for each other, I am afraid (both of them).

Eugenia wrote on 1/11/2009, 5:13 AM

BTW, one thing you can try (i haven't tried it), is to rename the mp4/mov files to .m2ts and re-load them. Check the properties of the loaded files. If MainConcept is now used to read those, then you should be good without many crashes. But if it's still quicktime used, you are out of luck, and you need to use one of the 3 options I gave above.

Guidonzolo wrote on 1/11/2009, 9:40 AM

Thanks for you replay.
The first option will be in my wishes but not now.... ;-)

I workaround the crash problem reducing the number of video files imported in Vegas. Befor starting Sony Vegas i've joined ten files to one. In this way, importing about 30 video files it works fine...maybe....
I've a new problem: after making cuts and so on, when i start the export function for obtaining a single video file, the process start but very slow...after two hours the progress bar is at 0%. I like to know if working as at point n.2, i can resolve this problem. I think that what you suggest at option 2 was concerned only for editing the video files within Vegas. For exporting them the problem cannot be solved so. Isn,t it?
I used also Magix Video Deluxe, but it has many problem and usually crash..
Can you help me to make simple editing video (cut, title and exporting to MPEG4 for playing with PS3) with any other software?

Eugenia wrote on 1/11/2009, 11:49 AM

>I workaround the crash problem reducing the number of video files

This is not really a solution. And if you export your segments with a codec that it's lossy, then you are losing much quality. Why don't you try my suggestions above, like the #2 and and the renaming of the .mov/.mp4 files to .m2ts. Especially the second way, might work, and it's very easy to do, you just rename the suffix of a few of your files to test it, and you check in their properties if the MainConcept codec is used to read them now instead of Quicktime inside Vegas. If this doesn't work, #2 is not a bad solution, I use it myself.

This is how to export for the PS3 btw: http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2007/11/09/exporting-with-vegas-for-vimeo-hd/

Guidonzolo wrote on 1/11/2009, 12:14 PM

Your suggestion is very usefull...i've tried it. But, after editing the files, the export operation take very long time. I suppose it stops works because after about two hours the progress bar is at 0%. Do you think that with #2 the exporting time could be better?

I've notice that following your blog for the #2, the final files have the .mp4 extension (after deleting the remaining part with Rename-it) and not m2ts. What's wrong? I've user the latest version of Super (2009)

Thanks again
Guido

Eugenia wrote on 1/11/2009, 12:29 PM

>Do you think that with #2 the exporting time could be better?

Export for your PC/web like this, the following works: http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/2007/11/09/exporting-with-vegas-for-vimeo-hd/
You might have hit a bug and it didn't export. Quit vegas, re-open the project, and retry.

>the final files have the .mp4 extension (after deleting the remaining part with Rename-it) and not m2ts

What is the extension for your *source* video files (straight out of the camera)? .mp4, mov, or m2ts? You see, you choose the right extension to change on Rename-it based on what it's the original. My example used m2t, but yours might be mp4 or mov! You need to compensate for that!

What is the exact model name of your camera btw?

>(after deleting the remaining part with Rename-it)

My tutorial does not say anything about deleting any files.

Guidonzolo wrote on 1/11/2009, 1:01 PM

> What is the extension for your *source* video files (straight out of the camera)? .mp4, mov, or m2ts? You see, you choose the right extension to change on Rename-it based on what it's the original. My example used m2t, but yours might be mp4 or mov! You need to compensate for that!

The source file is MP4. The camcorder is a Sanyo HD1010.

<My tutorial does not say anything about deleting any files.

Of course, i mean that i have deleted the last part of the file extension.

Thanks
Guido

Eugenia wrote on 1/11/2009, 1:48 PM

Ok, so, you have edited the proxy files? They are fast to edit, right? I am sure that exporting will work if you don't start clicking around after you switch to the high-res MP4 files.

Guidonzolo wrote on 1/13/2009, 1:55 AM

Ok..i've tried your suggest about using proxy files..here my comment:
1) you know that my source files are MPEG4/AVC. I've used Super converting them as you said. Then i delete the MPG extension obtaining the new reduced files with the same extensions of the originals: mp4
2) If i try to import such files in Vegas, it stop saying that tha file is not compatible with it. If i change the output extensions files from mp4 to m2ts, now Vegas import fine all the file.
3) With the reduced files the editing is more usable (thanks to you...)
4) when i close Vegas for reopening it with the original files vegas stop asking me to relocate the files. after selecting each file vegas stop with an error.

I think that i've to convert the source files with a codec compatible with mpeg4 so vegas, when i reopen it, doesn't stop asking to relocate the files.
What do you think about?

(Sorry for my bad english...)

Eugenia wrote on 1/13/2009, 6:34 AM

You renamed the .mpg files as .m2ts instead of mp4. So you need to rename all your original big files as m2ts too, otherwise vegas won't see them, that's why it asks to relocate them. you made this change to the proxies that was not in the tutorial, so you have to make that change too in the original files too.