OT-ish: MainConcept Mpeg 1.4.2 and Vegas files

filmy wrote on 3/31/2004, 12:17 PM
I am posting here because I have found a possible issue with Vegas rendered files and the 1.4.2 stand alone encoder from MainConcept. I wanted to see if anyone else here has had any problems.

Here is the scenrio - you load up a DV file that should be at 720x480 but it loads up as 360x240. What I did not notice at first is that it was using the DirectShow import module. Suggestion from Mark at MC was to try moving the AVI Import mod up, so I did and that solved the problem, or so I thought. I started to notice something else - if I loaded up a file that was rendered in Vegas with the 2-3-3-2 pulldown it used the DirectShow module. But more interesting was that I could load up another file rendered the same way and it would load fine. Than I noticed the run time - one was about 3 minutes and one was about 14 minutes. So than I thought is was file size related.

So I disabled the DirectShow import module and than any Vegas rendered file using the pulldown returns an error of "No Video Data found". Ah - the plot thickens! So now I try to load up a full render of about 65 minutes - same error. So it must the size of the file right? Wrong because I load up the same project but rendered with the MainConcept codec, not the Vegas one - run time is still about 65 minutes - and it loads perfect using the "DV Import (Type1 and raw)" mod.

So my deduction at this point is it might have something to do with the headers that Vegas writes to long files? Mark thinks it might be some directShow filter setting telling DV files to decode at a lower resolution. But if so I can't find it plus this seems to only happen with Vegas rendered files that run longer than 9 minutes 57(ish) seconds with pulldown. (See below)

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P.S - I followed a path here - DV Rendered file in AE with MC_DV opens fine. 5 minute run time, fine. 9 minute run time fine. 9 min 57 sec fine. 9 minute 59 and over is iffy...rendered with MainConcpet DV codec it opens but with deafult Vegas codec, no. I take the same files but re-rendered in Vegas with the pulldown - 5 minute fine. 9 minute fine. 10 minute - problems. Opens with DirectShow at 360x240. So anything with pulldown rendered in Vegas that is over 9 minutes has the error. Anything not rendered with MainConcept DV codec opens with DirectShow.

Anyone here have ideas or the same problem? 1.4.1 did *not* have this issue. I know because I took the full Vegas render with 2-3 pulldown and it worked with no issues. Now the same file will only load using the DirectShow mod and at the wrong size.

Comments

stormstereo wrote on 4/2/2004, 12:37 AM
Bump,

...cause I'd like to see whats going on...
Best/Tommy
filmy wrote on 4/2/2004, 7:51 PM
Well for the most part I did the leg work on this solution. MainConcept kept telling me that it was not their program/codec, that is had to be something else along the import path. A DirectShow import filter/codec was what they basiclly said over and over again. I searched and searched - found nothing. Checked all DV codecs and all were set to decode a full rez. The only program having the problem was the stand alone Mpeg encoder.

So I am double checking all settings - in the registry under HKCU > Software > MainConcept > DVVideoDecoder there is a setting for PreviewDVResolution and, as I mentioned above, all those settings are at full rez. But there is also a setting for "CIF", this setting is not in the settings pop up - it was set at "1" so I changed it to "0". Guess what? DirectShow imports are all fine now - Vegas files read at the correct size. It didn't really have to do with the resolution decoding size but the CIF setting that i didn't even know about. Learn something new every day.

So I have no idea on what changed the CIF setting for the MainConcept DV Decoder. Version 1.4.1 of the Mpeg encoder worked fine, installed 1.4.2 and had the problems. So - if anyone has a like problem after installing 1.4.2 look for the CIF setting as I describe above.
johnmeyer wrote on 4/3/2004, 6:58 AM
Did it every actually render at lower than 720x480?
filmy wrote on 4/3/2004, 7:45 AM
>>> Did it every actually render at lower than 720x480?<<<

If you only imported the file and did nothing but output, yes - unless you manually went in a changed the settings. In other words - I would import a DV file and it would come in at the "correct" 720x480 size with the DVD template, set at 720x480. However - in the problem areas - where the Vegas files would come in via DirectShow import at 360x240, the output size would also come up the same - and it would come up with a default of Mpeg-1. Changing to DVD, or any other setting, would also default to the smaller output size. So you would have to go in and manually reset the size to 720x480, which of course meant that the program would be resizing/blwoing up because it was reading the input size as 360x240.
johnmeyer wrote on 4/3/2004, 8:55 AM
BUt did you actually try to render, regardless of what the Mainconcept screen said, and verify that the resulting file really was at the lower resolution? I have seen what you describe, and my renders still come out at full NTSC resolution. Try a small test file and see.
filmy wrote on 4/3/2004, 8:58 AM
>>>BUt did you actually try to render, regardless of what the Mainconcept screen said, and verify that the resulting file really was at the lower resolution?<<<

If I am reading you correctly you are saying the output/render settings are ignored. Hmm..now if this is true than *that* would be a bug for sure.
stormstereo wrote on 4/7/2004, 9:55 PM
FWIW - Have not tried to render yet but I had a look at the CIF and it was set to 0.
Best/Tommy