Turn off Audio Proxy?

StevB wrote on 10/9/2004, 12:19 PM

I just got Movie Studio 4 and I'm trying to create a project using previously captured AVI files. The files were captured using a firewire connected DV camera and Microsoft Movie's import video feature. The AVI files all play with matching audio in Windows Media Player and Quicktime but, when imported into MS 4, only some or none of the audio plays.

I apparently selected different audio formats between 12 bit and 16 bit when I originally filmed different shots. When loading the AVI's from the media pool into MS 4, an error box appears saying that an Audio Proxy is helping change the audio format to make the audio more efficient. It also says that you can "Cancel" the proxy by clicking on a cancel feature on the left on the status bar. A details button in the error box tells me the formats are mixed.

The AVI files are small and load within a few seconds. By the time I click the "X" next to the proxy box at the very bottom left corner, it seems the process has already completed. Is the some way to override the proxy process or do something with the AVI file before I load it into MS 4? The audio properties of the AVI files when in the Media Pool indicate that they are 48KHz, 16bit, stereo. Can any one please help me get the full audio onto the timeline?

Comments

djcc wrote on 10/11/2004, 5:09 PM

I am no expert in this arena, or any other for that matter... however, have you tried recapturing using MS using its defaults? Hopefully, someone with more experience in this area will chime in and my response will be nothing more than a "bump" that leads to that.

SonyTSW wrote on 10/17/2004, 9:21 PM

From your description, it sounds like the audio in the AVI file is a compressed format. Movie Studio needs to make a proxy file (a companion file in WAV PCM format) in order to handle the audio. If you don't let it create the proxy file, you are likely to end up with no audio available.

What happens if you let MS 4 create the proxy file? Depending on the length of your AVI, this may take a little while. However, you'll only need to do this once; the next time the project is loaded MS4 will use the existing audio proxy file.

StevB wrote on 10/17/2004, 11:00 PM

Thanks to both djcc and SonyTSW for trying to help. But the Proxy appears to be limited on the "companion" file size it tries to create. The Properties of the clip in the Media Pool show both the video and audio files with the same time of 00:01:49, yet I only get about 0:29 seconds of audio when I move the clip up onto the tracks. I did try waiting a long time on the proxy once and got nothing different. In all cases, the video does move up completely though.

Fortunately I still had the original dv tapes, gave up with the proxy problem, and have just captured new AVI files using MS4 and everything works fine. I'm just sorry that I spent time using Microsoft's freebie video editing and didn't get started earlier with Screenblast. So now that I have MS4 and all the great people always so helpful on this forum, I can't wait to get started again.

Thanks for the help,

StevB

SonyTSW wrote on 10/19/2004, 8:27 AM

I'm glad to hear that recapturing in MS4 solved the problem.

Was this problem file something that you rendered from Microsoft Movie Maker? I've come across some files created in that app that for some reason changed to a different audio sample rate mid-way through the audio stream (e.g., audio was captured at 48,000 Hz but anywhere there were edits in MM the audio was 44,100 kHz). MS4 (and Vegas) require a constant audio sample rate.

StevB wrote on 10/19/2004, 8:40 PM

Yes I did use Microsoft Movie Maker to render the AVI. I had thought that I had maybe changed the audio sample rate when I originally filmed but, I believe the problem was caused by Movie Maker. When starting the proxy, MS4's error message said that the audio rates were different. However in the media pool, the audio stats read all one sample rate. Microsoft must be the problem. Not any more for me though. Hope this helps others.

Thanks

Steve Grisetti wrote on 10/20/2004, 7:09 AM

I, too, have occasionally had problems with AVIs produced in MovieMaker.

The fix is simiple: I open the file in Virtual Dub (a free download) and Save As. Virtual Dub will automatically convert it to a compatible AVI.