Problem with mp4 rendering in Sony Vegas Pro 9

DJ Kos wrote on 12/7/2009, 1:13 AM

I am rending out mp4 file from Sony Vegas Pro 9. It renders out fine but when I got to play in in Quicktime it will play fine but if I try to skip thru the video it freezes up. Any suggestions? I really need to figure this out because I need to be able to scroll thru the videos because I use these videos in Serato video program for live shows and when I try to use cue points in the video the video freezes up there as well if I try to skip thru. Once again it plays fine as long as you just let it play but if you try to skip thru it, it just freezes up. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

xberk wrote on 12/7/2009, 8:31 AM

Do you have this problem with other MP4 files besides those rendered in Vegas?
Give us the specs on your computer .. Mac? PC? It may be that you lack the CPU power to playback the highly compressed MP4 smoothly and jump around in it.
Give us the version of Vegas. 9.0c ??
Give us the Render settings you are using.
Give us your version of Quicktime.

Need more info .. I usually render to MP4 using the Sony AVC setting and have never had a problem playing back in Windows Media Player.

musicvid10 wrote on 12/7/2009, 8:41 AM

Have you tried playing your video in VLC Player?

Quicktime Player is notorious for skipping and stalling on high-bitrate AVC/MP4 material. I never use it, and I hope that someday Vegas will be able to exist without it.

JJKizak wrote on 12/7/2009, 10:09 AM

Apple is coming out with a new one called Lala which is blazing fast and will (maybe) blow away MP4.
JJK

DJ Kos wrote on 12/7/2009, 1:15 PM

Plays fine in VLC player. Its just in quicktime and in Serato where I get the freezes.

DJ Kos wrote on 12/8/2009, 3:20 PM

All other mp4 files work fine. only ones rendered from Sony Vegas Pro 9.

* Model: HP Pavilion a6700f Phenom X4 9150e 1.8 GHz Desktop PC
* Item No: C4196
* General Features:
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit pre-installed w/COA
• AMD Phenom X4 9150e 1.8 GHz Quad-Core processor
• AMD Live Smarter Digital Entertainment
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* Motherboard Features:
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* Case Features:
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* Case Dimensions:
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* Package Includes:
• HP Pavilion a6700f Phenom X4 9150e 1.8 GHz Desktop PC
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit pre-installed w/COA
• Quick setup poster
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I need to get the settings I have for rendering.

I have latest version of Quicktime

DJ Kos wrote on 12/8/2009, 9:14 PM

Here are my settings! I need this to work right. No idea why there is a problem!

profile : main
frame rate : 29.97
field order : none (progressive scan)
pixel aspect ratio : 1.0000
Number of reference frames : 2
Use deblocking filter : checked
Variable bit rate : max : 3,000,000
min : 3,000,000
Two-pass : checked

I have went crazy for two days trying to figure this out with no luck. I need to be working on video but instead I spend all day trying to find out why this problem exists with rendering these mp4 files. Can someone please help me?? :-(

musicvid10 wrote on 12/8/2009, 9:28 PM

You are using 2 pass VBR with min and max at 3Mbs.
That is the same as 3Mbs CBR.
Although likely has nothing to do with your playback quality, it is an inefficient use of bitrate.

All other mp4 files work fine.
There is a difference between the MP4 wrapper and the AVC codec that is sometimes used inside the MP4 wrapper, but not always. IOW, you may be comparing apples to oranges.

As mentioned, AVC encoded MP4/MOV files often play horribly with the Quicktime Player. I have taken the time to post a basic tutorial of wrappers, codecs, and bitrates here if it will be of some use to you.

DJ Kos wrote on 12/9/2009, 4:17 AM

Seems like no one knows the solution to this problem though. ;-( I just want these files to work right. Its definiately a Vegas problem because I tried rendering out in windows movie maker and the mp4 file plays fine.

rtbond wrote on 12/9/2009, 8:47 AM

When using the Sony AVC save-as-type my MP4 files seem to play fine in QuickTime.

I have not used the MainConcept AVC CODEC (I think because of its apparent HD encoding limitations). Which CODEC are you using?

musicvid10 wrote on 12/9/2009, 9:00 AM

Its definiately a Vegas problem because I tried rendering out in windows movie maker and the mp4 file plays fine.

What version of WMM are you using? (The old WMM2 has an option for an MP4 render, but it is not AVC/H264. Newer versions render AVI or WMV only). The MP4 files rendered in Vegas only use the AVC/H264 encoders. The difference between wrappers and codecs is further explained in the tutorial I linked above.

For me, it doesn't seem to matter what software was used to render; AVC/H264 plays terrible in Quicktime on every Windows machine I have used.
-- AVC rendered in Vegas plays terrible in Quicktime
-- AVC rendered in Handbrake plays terrible in Quicktime
-- AVC rendered in Super plays terrible in Quicktime
-- Others report AVC rendered in Vegas plays just fine in Quicktime. YMMV
-- They all play fine in VLC, so is this a Vegas problem?

You might render some AVC/H264 .mov or .mp4 in Quicktime Pro, and see how it goes. Others have suggested it is better optimized for playback in its own system.

If you find another solution, other than using a different player or codec (which have already been mentioned), please feel encouraged to share it with us.

HTH