MM doesn't accept *.mp4 Videos - although codec is installed!
MM doesn't accept *.mp4 Videos- although codec is installed. WMP plays the
videos, WME accepts them - only MM does't take it - it doesn't even try (you
have to select "all files" in the import dialog, otherwise the mp4-files
aren't even shown and then it just says "wrong file type")
unbelievable! there are more and more flshcard camcorders, which use the mp4
file format!
Q: when will MS fix that? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 39010
Same Dimensions as the Input?
Using Tmpgenx Plus version 2.5 I have a bunch of wmv files I want to
convert to MPG. But everytime I do so, the resolution is different. I
want tgo keep everything the same number of pixels horizontally and
vertically. How can I set that?
For example, the source files are 400 x 300 and the output file is 352
x 288.
How can I change that? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 39007
Same Dimensions as the Input?
Using Tmpgenx Plus version 2.5 I have a bunch of wmv files I want to
convert to MPG. But everytime I do so, the resolution is different. I
want tgo keep everything the same number of pixels horizontally and
vertically. How can I set that?
For example, the source files are 400 x 300 and the output file is 352
x 288.
How can I change that? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 39006
??how to change duration for a clip
The default is set at 5 seconds per clip. When I click on the clip I want to
play longer and right click and get the properties info. It shows the
duration, time start and time stop...but I can't figure out how to change it.
I want one particular picture to stay on screen for 10 seconds instead of 5
seconds. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 39005
cannot capture using mm2 please help!
hi, i always had the first movie maker and it worked great! now after the
service pack 2 and new movie maker i go to capture with my rage fury pro 128
card (with the most current driver!) with composite analog in and movie maker
says "the video device is currently in use please close any other app using
it!" then after clicking of another dialog box says "the video device cannot
be used at this time there has been an error starting it" i got a trial
version of ulead and it worked great but i want my windows moveie maker back!
please help ! can i get the old movie maker 1 back? thanks tons!! Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 39004
Attn: "PapaJohn"
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_130E_01C586F8.2A2ADA30
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Please do not respond to any threads initiated by me. I do not want =
your input.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Al Stu
------=_NextPart_000_130E_01C586F8.2A2ADA30
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2668" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>Please do not respond to any threads initiated by me. I do =
not want=20
your input.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks, but no thanks.</DIV>
<DIV>Al Stu</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_130E_01C586F8.2A2ADA30-- Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38991
Video Capture Freezes
When I'm capturing video from a mini-dv cam using a USB cord that came with
the mini-dv cam, the image in moviemaker will freeze after a few minutes or
MB. When I play the clip in moviemaker, the sound continues, but the image
freezes. Any ideas?
Norm Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38987
Attn: MSFT; Snap, Crackle & Pop
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Will Microsoft ever fix the 27th frame drop from every clip and the =
resulting associated audio and audio/music tracks skip/click/pop?
=20
Top 10 Reasons to Use Windows Movie Maker 2
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/top10.mspx
=20
#1 -Make Movies Like a Pro
"Windows Movie Maker 2 comes with built-in slides, background music, and =
sound effects so you can make entertaining movies your friends will =
actually want to see."
Do Pros also put up with dropped frames and the resulting audio =
skip/click/pop? I think not.
#5 - Highest Quality Video and Audio
"With support for the latest Windows Media=AE compression technology, =
Windows Movie Maker 2 gives you the clearest video and crispest audio =
ever."
=20
Now that's an out right lie. Dropped frames and resulting audio =
skip/click/pops are "highest quality video and audio", "clearest video =
and crispest audio ever"? I think not.
=20
Skippy is a peanut butter brand and should NOT be included in a "High =
Quality" A/V editor.
=20
Microsoft, would you please fix this problem already. It's been around =
since version 2.0. One would think a quality issue such as this would =
be high on the priority list of fixes. Yet even with the release of 2.1 =
the issue remains and has existed for years.
=20
------=_NextPart_000_1267_01C586E9.B3AFC4F0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2668" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Will Microsoft ever =
fix the=20
27<SUP>th</SUP> frame drop from every clip and the resulting associated =
audio=20
and audio/music tracks skip/click/pop?<?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =
=3D=20
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B=20
style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><FONT color=3D#0000ff>Top 10 =
Reasons to Use=20
Windows Movie Maker 2<o:p></o:p></FONT></B></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><B=20
style=3D"mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><A=20
href=3D"http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/top10.mspx"><=
SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-WEIGHT: =
normal">http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/top10.mspx</S=
PAN></A></B><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 9pt 0in 0pt"><STRONG><FONT =
color=3D#0000ff><SPAN=20
class=3Dlabel1><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; =
mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">#1=20
-Make Movies Like a Pro</SPAN></SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=3Dblurb style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New =
Roman'"><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>"Windows Movie Maker 2 comes with built-in slides, =
background=20
music, and sound effects so you can make entertaining movies your =
friends will=20
actually want to see."<BR></FONT><BR>Do Pros also put up with dropped =
frames and=20
the resulting audio skip/click/pop?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> =20
</SPAN>I think not.<BR><BR><STRONG><FONT color=3D#0000ff><SPAN =
class=3Dlabel1><SPAN=20
style=3D"LINE-HEIGHT: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; =
mso-ansi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">#5=20
- Highest Quality Video and=20
Audio</SPAN></SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P class=3Dblurb style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 140%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New =
Roman'"><FONT=20
color=3D#0000ff>"With support for the latest Windows Media=AE =
compression=20
technology, Windows Movie Maker 2 gives you the clearest video and =
crispest=20
audio ever."</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Now that=92s an out =
right lie.<SPAN=20
style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Dropped frames and resulting =
audio=20
skip/click/pops are =93highest quality video and audio=94, =93clearest =
video and=20
crispest audio ever=94?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I =
think=20
not.<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p> Skippy is =
a peanut=20
butter brand and should NOT be included in a "High Quality" A/V=20
editor.</o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p></o:p> </P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p>Microsoft, would =
you please=20
fix this problem already. It's been around since version =
2.0. One=20
would think a quality issue such as this would be high on the priority =
list of=20
fixes. Yet even with the release of 2.1 the issue remains and has =
existed=20
for years.</o:p></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal=20
style=3D"MARGIN: 0in 0in =
0pt"><o:p></o:p> </P></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_1267_01C586E9.B3AFC4F0-- Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38986
"unknown error" MM2.1 - Canon ZR50
I cannot import video in any format with any method in MM2.
I have all SP's for XP Pro (SP2 + all options)
I keep getting "unknown error" when attempting to use wizard to import from
my Canon ZR50 MC.
Firewire connection.
The camera shows up in XP Pro - and is "avaialable".
However - all attempts to capture video in MM2.1 - fail with an "unknown
error"
Please help.
--
Steve Wingert
s_wingert@hotmail.com
IS Manager - Brandt Industries Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38983
Trying to record back to a DV Tape Deck
I have been teaching a group of nuns on how to use Windows Movie Maker for
their orphange, and for the most part, the software was very easy for them to
use when editing the videos for potential adoptive parents. However, when it
came time for me to show them how to record back their edited videos to tape
(in this case they are using a JVC DV/VHS deck). All I get after going
through the steps of exporting the video to tape is nothing but a black
screen on the tape.
Unfortunately, my experience as an editor has been limited to Final Cut
Pro, Avid and very little windows movie maker. Do i need to export the entire
edited timeline as 1 AVI file before I try to export the video out to tape,
or can I just take what is on the timeline and record it to tape.
**NOTE: The JVC deck that the nuns are using is a firewire deck that was
meant for both capturing (which works) and recording. Unfortunately, the guy
who sold and "installed" the equipment skipped town, and was not much help
for them.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated (either a website that I
can refer to or a manual that I can read or something)...Many many thanks.
miggy. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38981
FAQ: #20050712 Crashes & Hangs
Movie Maker FAQ 1 Last updated 6th January 2005
Crashing and Hanging
================
1) What is a Codec?
==============
A Codec is software that was first created to deal with the transposition of data from one form into another. One of the first important Codecs was a procedure still used today called Soundex. I believe the first proper use of Soundex was by the Mormons. Most of us use Soundex or its equivalent every time we use a spell checker. The Mormons use it in their vast database of all persons baptised by them. It enables very fast data searches on similar sounding words that are not necessarily spelled the same way. Soundex though is a one way procedure. Its a CODER The other part of the word Codec is derived from the word DECODER. Joining the two parts together we get the word CODEC...Codec.
With regard to Codecs and any Video or Audio playing software. MP3 or WMA audio files have been compressed using CODER routines. When you play those files on your computer you are using the DECODER routines to produce a sound or video signal that can be seen/heard on your machine.
With regard to Audio/Video editing software. A Codec is used to compress the data so that it occupies as small a space as possible usually on a hard drive. But in the case of editing a file the Codec must first expand the compressed data before the edit can occur and afterwards compress it again when the data is saved to a new file.
The problems with Codecs arise from "Calls" A call is the expression used to define the way one software module talks to another so that information can be passed between the two. The problem occurs when the Call is not properly formatted, or the reply is not understood. This becomes a problem that the calling software must handle. When the calling software fails to handle the error it can do one of a number of things....the correct way is to contain the error and respond with an alternative approach and possibly inform the user that the error occurred, the other approach we are all to familiar with, either the software or the machine crashes and probably taking all of your hard work with it.
2) Movie Maker crashes, what can I do?
============================
From item one above there is a good chance that your problem arises from a problem with a Codec. Movie Maker version 2.1 was supposed to address this issue by giving you the user the ability to disable one or more of the Codecs on your machine. The problem however is not fully addressed and results in some Codecs not being exposed to the disable option. If its that particular Codec that is causing the problem you are stuck.
You need to know which Codec it is, where it is, possibly what other software installed it and what other dependencies exist. In other words you need to know a LOT of things. The proper way of dealing with the issue would be to remove the offending Codec but that's not very practical as you may really need the other software that depends on it.
There is a temporary solution available in the form of a program called "Rename Codecs" It has been in use for perhaps a year now by many hundreds of people and with great success. There have been a total of 6 times that the program did not solve the users problem (At the time of writing this) You can obtain your FREE copy of the program from www.the-kellys.org The basics of the program are that it will offer you the option of temporarily renaming Codecs that are known to be a problem for Movie Maker. You would do that before using Movie Maker. Once you are finished using the program you again run Movie Maker and use the RESTORE option to put those Codecs back into operation...its very easy to use.
There is an additional option. You can use the options within XP to turn off the various levels of video acceleration that your graphics card has. Doing this is not a good idea but if you do you must understand that every program that relies on those abilities will either run badly or not at all. To turn the acceleration down right click your desktop and select PROPERTIES, then SETTINGS then ADVANCED and then TROUBLERSHOOT. You will then see a slider bar which should normally be positioned on the far right. You can move it one step at a time and then close the dialog down and re-try Movie Maker. You can repeat those steps until (and if) Movie Maker works properly.
A lot of video programs give you the opportunity of taking a snap shot of the video displayed, Intervideo WinDVD 5 does a good job of this. Movie Maker also has this option. BUT, if you turn the acceleration down as above, you will no longer be able to take those snapshots. This is not a great problem of course as you can change the acceleration back. But it is rather tedious.
3) How do I make my system perform better and stop Movie Maker crashing
=======================================================
This is by far the best way of doing things. Whilst the Rename Codec program is a MUST when you really do need to keep "other" software on your system, the following approach will ensure that your system runs at its best speed and will be less likely to crash at all from Video or Audio problems.
You need to download the latest versions of DirectX and the Windows Codecs pack together with the latest version of Windows Media Player. You should NOT try to install these packages via the Internet, you should get the standalone versions. The reason is obvious once you know it. Suppose those updates you did some time back are not working properly...it may be that they were not installed properly or it may be that a file is either corrupt or simply missing. How would you know??? The more experienced may spot the problem but the average user will not. So why download the full package??? That's easy. When you unzip a package several checks are made to ensure the integrity of the files inside the zip. If there is a problem you will be told there and then...the file is corrupt or damaged in some other way....you do not need to trust an install over the Internet and the possibility of data being missed....
You can get the packages via these links...
Codec Pack
-----------------
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/format/codecdownload.aspx
DirectX
----------
http://go.microsoft.com/?LinkID=1081813
Windows Media Player
---------------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b446ae53-3759-40cf-80d5-cde4bbe07999&displaylang=en
Movie Maker for XP
---------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.aspx
The link for Movie Maker is actually a link to SP2 (Service Pack 2). This a large download. Its not to bad if you have a reasonably fast broadband connection, but if the download fails its a long way back to the start!!! Personally I would recommend you obtain A CD version of SP2...its available on the Windows Magazine and from Microsoft directly
Drivers for your graphics card
----------------------------------
I have discovered that most people are confused on the issue of drivers for their graphics card in that when advised to acquire the latest driver they go straight to the Microsoft website and get one from them. Their is a problem with that in that the drivers supplied by Microsoft are Generic.
I made the mistake of going direct to Microsoft some time back and the result was that I could only run the machine in the basic "Safe Mode" the driver was the most up to date and was definitely more recent than the existing driver. It took some time to understand what was going on I must admit......
The graphics card was an NVidia GForce 4 etc and was manufactured by Gainward. After several attempts at getting the Microsoft driver to install I decided that the download MUST BE corrupted in some way, So I went to the NVidia website and downloaded their driver (Same version number as the one from Microsoft) I had the exact same problems!!! In the end I went to the Gainward website and downloaded the most up to date driver they had.....once installed the graphics card performed better than ever and with more configuration options than I would ever need.
So why did an older driver work better than the most recent from NVidia ??? Its simple when you know why .... Gainward produce high capability cards and in order to achieve some of their aims they change the way the NVidia chipset works. This requires a modified driver....and they produce their own. The card is still based on the NVidia and conforms to the basic design....but it runs very much faster because of code optimisation, and that optimisation is missing from the Microsoft or NVidia drivers.
The result of all this is that you should ALWAYS go to the website of the MANUFACTURER of the card and not the manufacturer of the chipset (in my case NVidia)
The Method
-----------------
Reboot your computer and install SP2. After the install has completed you should reboot your computer twice...yes boring but desirable
After the reboot you should now install the DirectX pack and reboot again.
After that reboot install the Codec Pack and reboot yet again.
After that install Windows Media Player and reboot again
Finally install the latest driver for your graphics card.
Rebooting the machine does perform an important task. It completes installation process's and ensures that previously existing file locks are removed. Under certain conditions XP will not overwrite a file if it has been locked. Note that this is not the same as marking a file as Read Only.
Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
---------------------------------------------------------------
This utility can be obtained here...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/decoder.mspx
A very useful program but with a problem. It reports that I have the MGI MPEG-2 Video Decoder on one of my machines...I have NO MGI software on my system!!
I would not let that put you off using it as it does have a useful purpose even though the same objective can be achieved via other already existing routes within XP. I am in favour of this program as it does give good advice on which Codec you should select as the preferred Codec
4) What files does Movie Maker NOT like?
==============================
Any MPEG based file will cause Movie Maker problems even though they seldom cause problems for Media Player. There are a number of reasons...Media Player does not need the CODER part of the Codec and there are many methods/procedures/algothims used to Code an MPeg file and its that wide range of methods that Movie Maker can not address. Its not really a bug but the method of dealing with the issue, well there is no method...Movie Maker gives an error and crashes or it just crashes. The particular file extensions are Mpeg, MPG and MP3.
JPeg still images can also be a problem and for similar reasons to MPeg files. There are a number of formats for a JPeg and it seems that the older formats are not properly dealt with. To work around the issue you can reduce the compression used in creating the JPeg and NOT use the progressive format method
The best solution for these problems is to convert the file into a more acceptable format, and as it happens a format that is more easily worked on by Movie Maker...the conversion you should employ are
MPeg, MPG convert to AVI, MP3 convert to WAV and JPeg, JPG convert to a standard bitmap BMP
NOTES
======
There are several other approaches you can take to solving a Codec issue. I have seen several other methods of solving the problem, and basically they don't. Instead they treat the symptom and not the problem itself. Several other methods involve damaging the picture of your computers layout (that's a bad pun by the way) and simply doing that involves the risk of permanent damage to that picture.
The program Rename Codecs also damages that picture of your system but it does at least provide a user friendly way of restoring your system and that method requires no prior knowledge on your part about where, which and how to make those changes.
All efforts are made to ensure that the information is accurate. As no one is perfect I would be happy to hear of any errors found in this document (send an e-mail to webmaster@the-kellys.org). If you have any doubts at all over following the advice given here you should NOT attempt it.
The contents of this FAQ are liable to change with out prior notification.
The Webmaster
Check out the Free Video and Stills Hosting at The Kellys
Coming soon Get your Personal News Distributor (PND from www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38966
Imported mp3 comes and goes
Greetings. I've created a project in which I have an mp3 playing at the end.
The music plays on cue... sometimes... It only plays in storyboard mode, and
only when I click on a transition box while the project is playing. When I
converted it to a movie file, the music from the mp3 did not show up. Can
someone point me in the right direction? Thanks! Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38959
Major bug with DXVA and Windows Media Player.
Hey Microsoft, whats up with the fact that DXVA acceleration does not
work in a limited account? You don't actually think that the majority
of the population runs XP with administrator rights do you?! Ok, maybe
they do but that does not make it right. Anyway this is a nuisance for
me, I spent an hour trying to figure out why the DXVA acceleration was
not working because of this bug. So yea, any suggestions d00ders? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38958
adding audio
i'm new at this, very new. is there a way to import purchased songs from
napster or itunes? i can't even import a song from a cd i have at home. is
there an "idot's" explaination to this? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38950
Save a movie project into VCD format
Hi, I have created a movie project using MS MOvie maker and I want to know
what format should I use when saving it as a movie file, so that I can create
a VCD .
Thanks in Advance Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38946
Export DV-AVI from MovieMaker 2.1
Sorry to post this question - I do not seem to be able to find an answer on
the web.
I'm running Moviemaker 2.1. After nicely having imported from DV quality
camera (Panasonic) and prepared a film with MM the only way I find to export
DV-AVI is to copy it back to the camera/tape !!
After I start the wizard to save a movie file and I select to save it t hard
disc, I can only save it in WMA format (????). There are no options to
select DV-AVI !!!
The only time I find DV-AVI export possibility is when I select save back to
camera.
What am I doing wrong ?? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38943
Changing Format
MMcan anyone help me I am trying to change the format of my movie maker file
so I can burn it on a DVD (using Nero). Nero doesn't seem to recognize the
WMMP file. Any help will be appreciated!
Holly Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38941
Connecting my Hi-8 Video Camera
I have a video camera that records onto a Hi-8 tape. I would like to connect
my camera to my computer. My camera has a composit video out and an S-video
out.
My computer does not appear to have the proper composit video in port, but
it does appear to have an S-video port. Will connecting the camera to the
computer via the S-video work? Thanks. -Steve Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38932
slide duration
I set the slide duration to 3 seconds, half of my slides are on 3 seconds and
half of them are set a 5 seconds. I reset defaults, but they are not the
same. How do I get the same slide duration for my whole slide show?
Thank you. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38931
Movie Maker 2 - Can't Access options or save
I have all the latest updates for XP Pro. I tried using the Movie Maker
today and everything seems to work except the save dialog box does not come
up and I can't save my movie. I can save projects.
Also the Options dialog will not show up when I choose it from the menu.
I think I have successfully reinstalled movie maker by using some advise
found on some other groups.
Can any one help?
I also have tried the advise from the following:
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.moviemaker/browse_thread/thread/6dfec42810dbdf65/79ae6d4d4879df24?q=%22movie+maker%22+options&rnum=2&hl=en#79ae6d4d4879df24 Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38930
windows movie maker crashes
i get onto movie maker, and then after about a minute, it crashes. it gives
me the send error report/not send screen. then it closes. i will post the
description of why it crashes. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38922
FAQ: #20050711 Crashes & Hangs
Movie Maker FAQ 1 Last updated 6th January 2005
Crashing and Hanging
================
1) What is a Codec?
==============
A Codec is software that was first created to deal with the transposition of data from one form into another. One of the first important Codecs was a procedure still used today called Soundex. I believe the first proper use of Soundex was by the Mormons. Most of us use Soundex or its equivalent every time we use a spell checker. The Mormons use it in their vast database of all persons baptised by them. It enables very fast data searches on similar sounding words that are not necessarily spelled the same way. Soundex though is a one way procedure. Its a CODER The other part of the word Codec is derived from the word DECODER. Joining the two parts together we get the word CODEC...Codec.
With regard to Codecs and any Video or Audio playing software. MP3 or WMA audio files have been compressed using CODER routines. When you play those files on your computer you are using the DECODER routines to produce a sound or video signal that can be seen/heard on your machine.
With regard to Audio/Video editing software. A Codec is used to compress the data so that it occupies as small a space as possible usually on a hard drive. But in the case of editing a file the Codec must first expand the compressed data before the edit can occur and afterwards compress it again when the data is saved to a new file.
The problems with Codecs arise from "Calls" A call is the expression used to define the way one software module talks to another so that information can be passed between the two. The problem occurs when the Call is not properly formatted, or the reply is not understood. This becomes a problem that the calling software must handle. When the calling software fails to handle the error it can do one of a number of things....the correct way is to contain the error and respond with an alternative approach and possibly inform the user that the error occurred, the other approach we are all to familiar with, either the software or the machine crashes and probably taking all of your hard work with it.
2) Movie Maker crashes, what can I do?
============================
From item one above there is a good chance that your problem arises from a problem with a Codec. Movie Maker version 2.1 was supposed to address this issue by giving you the user the ability to disable one or more of the Codecs on your machine. The problem however is not fully addressed and results in some Codecs not being exposed to the disable option. If its that particular Codec that is causing the problem you are stuck.
You need to know which Codec it is, where it is, possibly what other software installed it and what other dependencies exist. In other words you need to know a LOT of things. The proper way of dealing with the issue would be to remove the offending Codec but that's not very practical as you may really need the other software that depends on it.
There is a temporary solution available in the form of a program called "Rename Codecs" It has been in use for perhaps a year now by many hundreds of people and with great success. There have been a total of 6 times that the program did not solve the users problem (At the time of writing this) You can obtain your FREE copy of the program from www.the-kellys.org The basics of the program are that it will offer you the option of temporarily renaming Codecs that are known to be a problem for Movie Maker. You would do that before using Movie Maker. Once you are finished using the program you again run Movie Maker and use the RESTORE option to put those Codecs back into operation...its very easy to use.
There is an additional option. You can use the options within XP to turn off the various levels of video acceleration that your graphics card has. Doing this is not a good idea but if you do you must understand that every program that relies on those abilities will either run badly or not at all. To turn the acceleration down right click your desktop and select PROPERTIES, then SETTINGS then ADVANCED and then TROUBLERSHOOT. You will then see a slider bar which should normally be positioned on the far right. You can move it one step at a time and then close the dialog down and re-try Movie Maker. You can repeat those steps until (and if) Movie Maker works properly.
A lot of video programs give you the opportunity of taking a snap shot of the video displayed, Intervideo WinDVD 5 does a good job of this. Movie Maker also has this option. BUT, if you turn the acceleration down as above, you will no longer be able to take those snapshots. This is not a great problem of course as you can change the acceleration back. But it is rather tedious.
3) How do I make my system perform better and stop Movie Maker crashing
=======================================================
This is by far the best way of doing things. Whilst the Rename Codec program is a MUST when you really do need to keep "other" software on your system, the following approach will ensure that your system runs at its best speed and will be less likely to crash at all from Video or Audio problems.
You need to download the latest versions of DirectX and the Windows Codecs pack together with the latest version of Windows Media Player. You should NOT try to install these packages via the Internet, you should get the standalone versions. The reason is obvious once you know it. Suppose those updates you did some time back are not working properly...it may be that they were not installed properly or it may be that a file is either corrupt or simply missing. How would you know??? The more experienced may spot the problem but the average user will not. So why download the full package??? That's easy. When you unzip a package several checks are made to ensure the integrity of the files inside the zip. If there is a problem you will be told there and then...the file is corrupt or damaged in some other way....you do not need to trust an install over the Internet and the possibility of data being missed....
You can get the packages via these links...
Codec Pack
-----------------
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/format/codecdownload.aspx
DirectX
----------
http://go.microsoft.com/?LinkID=1081813
Windows Media Player
---------------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b446ae53-3759-40cf-80d5-cde4bbe07999&displaylang=en
Movie Maker for XP
---------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.aspx
The link for Movie Maker is actually a link to SP2 (Service Pack 2). This a large download. Its not to bad if you have a reasonably fast broadband connection, but if the download fails its a long way back to the start!!! Personally I would recommend you obtain A CD version of SP2...its available on the Windows Magazine and from Microsoft directly
Drivers for your graphics card
----------------------------------
I have discovered that most people are confused on the issue of drivers for their graphics card in that when advised to acquire the latest driver they go straight to the Microsoft website and get one from them. Their is a problem with that in that the drivers supplied by Microsoft are Generic.
I made the mistake of going direct to Microsoft some time back and the result was that I could only run the machine in the basic "Safe Mode" the driver was the most up to date and was definitely more recent than the existing driver. It took some time to understand what was going on I must admit......
The graphics card was an NVidia GForce 4 etc and was manufactured by Gainward. After several attempts at getting the Microsoft driver to install I decided that the download MUST BE corrupted in some way, So I went to the NVidia website and downloaded their driver (Same version number as the one from Microsoft) I had the exact same problems!!! In the end I went to the Gainward website and downloaded the most up to date driver they had.....once installed the graphics card performed better than ever and with more configuration options than I would ever need.
So why did an older driver work better than the most recent from NVidia ??? Its simple when you know why .... Gainward produce high capability cards and in order to achieve some of their aims they change the way the NVidia chipset works. This requires a modified driver....and they produce their own. The card is still based on the NVidia and conforms to the basic design....but it runs very much faster because of code optimisation, and that optimisation is missing from the Microsoft or NVidia drivers.
The result of all this is that you should ALWAYS go to the website of the MANUFACTURER of the card and not the manufacturer of the chipset (in my case NVidia)
The Method
-----------------
Reboot your computer and install SP2. After the install has completed you should reboot your computer twice...yes boring but desirable
After the reboot you should now install the DirectX pack and reboot again.
After that reboot install the Codec Pack and reboot yet again.
After that install Windows Media Player and reboot again
Finally install the latest driver for your graphics card.
Rebooting the machine does perform an important task. It completes installation process's and ensures that previously existing file locks are removed. Under certain conditions XP will not overwrite a file if it has been locked. Note that this is not the same as marking a file as Read Only.
Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
---------------------------------------------------------------
This utility can be obtained here...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/decoder.mspx
A very useful program but with a problem. It reports that I have the MGI MPEG-2 Video Decoder on one of my machines...I have NO MGI software on my system!!
I would not let that put you off using it as it does have a useful purpose even though the same objective can be achieved via other already existing routes within XP. I am in favour of this program as it does give good advice on which Codec you should select as the preferred Codec
4) What files does Movie Maker NOT like?
==============================
Any MPEG based file will cause Movie Maker problems even though they seldom cause problems for Media Player. There are a number of reasons...Media Player does not need the CODER part of the Codec and there are many methods/procedures/algothims used to Code an MPeg file and its that wide range of methods that Movie Maker can not address. Its not really a bug but the method of dealing with the issue, well there is no method...Movie Maker gives an error and crashes or it just crashes. The particular file extensions are Mpeg, MPG and MP3.
JPeg still images can also be a problem and for similar reasons to MPeg files. There are a number of formats for a JPeg and it seems that the older formats are not properly dealt with. To work around the issue you can reduce the compression used in creating the JPeg and NOT use the progressive format method
The best solution for these problems is to convert the file into a more acceptable format, and as it happens a format that is more easily worked on by Movie Maker...the conversion you should employ are
MPeg, MPG convert to AVI, MP3 convert to WAV and JPeg, JPG convert to a standard bitmap BMP
NOTES
======
There are several other approaches you can take to solving a Codec issue. I have seen several other methods of solving the problem, and basically they don't. Instead they treat the symptom and not the problem itself. Several other methods involve damaging the picture of your computers layout (that's a bad pun by the way) and simply doing that involves the risk of permanent damage to that picture.
The program Rename Codecs also damages that picture of your system but it does at least provide a user friendly way of restoring your system and that method requires no prior knowledge on your part about where, which and how to make those changes.
All efforts are made to ensure that the information is accurate. As no one is perfect I would be happy to hear of any errors found in this document (send an e-mail to webmaster@the-kellys.org). If you have any doubts at all over following the advice given here you should NOT attempt it.
The contents of this FAQ are liable to change with out prior notification.
The Webmaster
Check out the Free Video and Stills Hosting at The Kellys
Coming soon Get your Personal News Distributor (PND from www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38904
MPEG 4 conversion
My digital camera shoots video in MPEG 4 format. I want to include some
videos in a Movie Maker project, but Movie Maker doesn't accept the format.
Is there any way I can get Movie Maker to accept the format, or, if not,
convert the video to an acceptable format? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38902
movie maker crashes msvcrt.dll error
not sure what the problem is with movie maker every time i try to open the
program i get i send error report and then it just crashes (error msvcrt.dll
problem) i am running windows mce 2005 SP2 p4 3.4 1 gb ram 250 hd please
let me know how to fix this thanks. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38900
Curious problem with video importing.
I have WindowsXP with an Intel 4pentium 1.72GHz, 512Mb RAM.
I have just installed a video card, a "Digital Terrestrial TV / Analogue TV
tuner card" VideoMate DVB-T300.
I have it up and running displaying old movies from an Analogue "Sony
Handycam 330x", but when I try to record a video to a file I get an error
message "FAILED TO BUILD A PREVIEW GRAPH".
What does this mean? There is no reference to this error in the help menus.
Also, I am required to install a provided "Internal Audio Patch Cable" so
as to be able to hear analogue audio, and the installation instructions say
to plug the end in to the "AUX-IN" port of the sound card. But I can't
find such a port. The only things close to this on the motherboard manual
are "CD IN" and "MODEM IN". Can I plug into the "MODEM IN" port since this
is no longer used now that I have an external modem?
Please help, Frank Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38897
where is download for Movie Maker 21.
All I want to do is download the Movie Maker 2.1 program. But I go to
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx and
can't find a link anywhere to download the program!
I have SP2 installed and automatic updates installed. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38896
Saved movie looses clips (and includes deleted clips)
I captured a 3-hour 10 GB movie from digital TV (VideoMate DVB-T300) to
disk. Then used Movie Maker to remove the advertisements and save to disk,
which results in a 1.7GB .wmv file. When I play this file in Windows Media
Player there are large segments missing, and some of the advertisements are
still present. The project plays exactly as desired in Movie Maker.
System is 1GB RAM, 200GB SATA disk, AMD 64-3500 CPU, Leadtek 6600 video
card.
Any thoughts? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38895
why are movies always a bit draker in MM2?
why are any imported movies always a little darker in mm2?
I can punch the brightness but of course loose some contrast... I do not
believe it is really supposed to work this way...
since we are converting some 1/2 reel to reel video tape this was really
noticeable when I went for 1/2 inch to dvcam them to mm2..... this was
dark to begin with but the resulting image was black until I bunched
brightness up several times.
it is not just this tape... things are a little darker always either
computer...
side issue.... we are looking for any old reels of 1/2 inch reel to reel
video tape anyone got any??
--
Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC
Please check our web site at
http://www.smecc.org
to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
buy, and by all means when in Arizona drop in and see us.
address:
coury house / smecc
5802 w palmaire ave
glendale az 85301 Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38887
Captured Video Distortion !!!
I am brand new to trying to capture and edit video and photos. I am also not
a genius with computers in general. I use them at work but am able to call IT
to resolve any problems that occur. Now I am working at home and do not have
that luxury.
I just purchased a Gateway 825GM. Specs are P4 550 chip - 3.4 GHz, 250 GB
SATA HDD (7200 RPM - 8MB cache), 1GB DDR (Dual channel memory), ATI Radeon
X300 SE Video (128 MB PCI-Express Card), Avermedia M-150 TV Tuner Card, 8.5
GB Double Layer 16X DVD+/-RW and 16x DVD Drives, Windows XP MCE 2005.
I bought this unit with the purpose of converting and editing VHS video
tapes and scanned photos and slides to DVD for archive and to distribute to
family. My son died a few years ago and I have been waiting for prices to
drop enough to purchase equipment to do this.
I have spent the first couple of weeks downloading updated drivers and
software for all of the installed devices and programs. This has been and
education and ordeal. I assumed that everything that is installed on a new
computer has been tested and works together flawlessly. Wrong. After
installing the necessary updated drivers, everything seems to be working
together at the moment.
I am outputing my VHS video from a VCR component video through an adapter to
convert to SVideo to input into the TV Tuner card. RCA audio is input into
the tuner card also. I captured the entire 120 minute tape in Movie Maker. I
used "best available" option which was 720 x 480 at 30fps. Video and audio
device is the Avermedia tuner card. Movie Maker broke the entire tape into a
series of 100 or so individual files or clips. I burned the entire collection
to DVD using "Power DVD" that Windows Media Center defaulted to when I did
the conversion. I also have some "Nero" software that is installed on the
computer. Is it a better choice?
I have noticed that there is some distortion in the video that has been
captured. It shows up in the captured files that I view in Movie Maker and on
the DVD copy as well. This distortion does not show up when viewing the
original VHS tape. Some of the captured video looks okay and then there will
be in some places a horizontal line of distortion across the screen and in
other places the images will blur and shift with ghost images on the screen.
Any suggestions as to what might be causing the problems? And any advice as
to changes in hardware or software. I want these images to be right, since
they are all that we have left of our son. Sorry for being long winded, but I
wanted to give as much detail as possible in order to help solve my problems. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38877
viewing on TV
I have a bunch of old movies on VHS that I successfully transferred to movie
maker, edited and burned on CD/DVD I can view on computer just fine but
regardless of format or type of cd +/- or dvd +/- I cannot get my dvd player
to recognise and play on my TV. Any suggestions? Thanks....... els Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38875
FAQ: #20050710 Crashes & Hangs
Movie Maker FAQ 1 Last updated 6th January 2005
Crashing and Hanging
================
1) What is a Codec?
==============
A Codec is software that was first created to deal with the transposition of data from one form into another. One of the first important Codecs was a procedure still used today called Soundex. I believe the first proper use of Soundex was by the Mormons. Most of us use Soundex or its equivalent every time we use a spell checker. The Mormons use it in their vast database of all persons baptised by them. It enables very fast data searches on similar sounding words that are not necessarily spelled the same way. Soundex though is a one way procedure. Its a CODER The other part of the word Codec is derived from the word DECODER. Joining the two parts together we get the word CODEC...Codec.
With regard to Codecs and any Video or Audio playing software. MP3 or WMA audio files have been compressed using CODER routines. When you play those files on your computer you are using the DECODER routines to produce a sound or video signal that can be seen/heard on your machine.
With regard to Audio/Video editing software. A Codec is used to compress the data so that it occupies as small a space as possible usually on a hard drive. But in the case of editing a file the Codec must first expand the compressed data before the edit can occur and afterwards compress it again when the data is saved to a new file.
The problems with Codecs arise from "Calls" A call is the expression used to define the way one software module talks to another so that information can be passed between the two. The problem occurs when the Call is not properly formatted, or the reply is not understood. This becomes a problem that the calling software must handle. When the calling software fails to handle the error it can do one of a number of things....the correct way is to contain the error and respond with an alternative approach and possibly inform the user that the error occurred, the other approach we are all to familiar with, either the software or the machine crashes and probably taking all of your hard work with it.
2) Movie Maker crashes, what can I do?
============================
From item one above there is a good chance that your problem arises from a problem with a Codec. Movie Maker version 2.1 was supposed to address this issue by giving you the user the ability to disable one or more of the Codecs on your machine. The problem however is not fully addressed and results in some Codecs not being exposed to the disable option. If its that particular Codec that is causing the problem you are stuck.
You need to know which Codec it is, where it is, possibly what other software installed it and what other dependencies exist. In other words you need to know a LOT of things. The proper way of dealing with the issue would be to remove the offending Codec but that's not very practical as you may really need the other software that depends on it.
There is a temporary solution available in the form of a program called "Rename Codecs" It has been in use for perhaps a year now by many hundreds of people and with great success. There have been a total of 6 times that the program did not solve the users problem (At the time of writing this) You can obtain your FREE copy of the program from www.the-kellys.org The basics of the program are that it will offer you the option of temporarily renaming Codecs that are known to be a problem for Movie Maker. You would do that before using Movie Maker. Once you are finished using the program you again run Movie Maker and use the RESTORE option to put those Codecs back into operation...its very easy to use.
There is an additional option. You can use the options within XP to turn off the various levels of video acceleration that your graphics card has. Doing this is not a good idea but if you do you must understand that every program that relies on those abilities will either run badly or not at all. To turn the acceleration down right click your desktop and select PROPERTIES, then SETTINGS then ADVANCED and then TROUBLERSHOOT. You will then see a slider bar which should normally be positioned on the far right. You can move it one step at a time and then close the dialog down and re-try Movie Maker. You can repeat those steps until (and if) Movie Maker works properly.
A lot of video programs give you the opportunity of taking a snap shot of the video displayed, Intervideo WinDVD 5 does a good job of this. Movie Maker also has this option. BUT, if you turn the acceleration down as above, you will no longer be able to take those snapshots. This is not a great problem of course as you can change the acceleration back. But it is rather tedious.
3) How do I make my system perform better and stop Movie Maker crashing
=======================================================
This is by far the best way of doing things. Whilst the Rename Codec program is a MUST when you really do need to keep "other" software on your system, the following approach will ensure that your system runs at its best speed and will be less likely to crash at all from Video or Audio problems.
You need to download the latest versions of DirectX and the Windows Codecs pack together with the latest version of Windows Media Player. You should NOT try to install these packages via the Internet, you should get the standalone versions. The reason is obvious once you know it. Suppose those updates you did some time back are not working properly...it may be that they were not installed properly or it may be that a file is either corrupt or simply missing. How would you know??? The more experienced may spot the problem but the average user will not. So why download the full package??? That's easy. When you unzip a package several checks are made to ensure the integrity of the files inside the zip. If there is a problem you will be told there and then...the file is corrupt or damaged in some other way....you do not need to trust an install over the Internet and the possibility of data being missed....
You can get the packages via these links...
Codec Pack
-----------------
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/format/codecdownload.aspx
DirectX
----------
http://go.microsoft.com/?LinkID=1081813
Windows Media Player
---------------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b446ae53-3759-40cf-80d5-cde4bbe07999&displaylang=en
Movie Maker for XP
---------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.aspx
The link for Movie Maker is actually a link to SP2 (Service Pack 2). This a large download. Its not to bad if you have a reasonably fast broadband connection, but if the download fails its a long way back to the start!!! Personally I would recommend you obtain A CD version of SP2...its available on the Windows Magazine and from Microsoft directly
Drivers for your graphics card
----------------------------------
I have discovered that most people are confused on the issue of drivers for their graphics card in that when advised to acquire the latest driver they go straight to the Microsoft website and get one from them. Their is a problem with that in that the drivers supplied by Microsoft are Generic.
I made the mistake of going direct to Microsoft some time back and the result was that I could only run the machine in the basic "Safe Mode" the driver was the most up to date and was definitely more recent than the existing driver. It took some time to understand what was going on I must admit......
The graphics card was an NVidia GForce 4 etc and was manufactured by Gainward. After several attempts at getting the Microsoft driver to install I decided that the download MUST BE corrupted in some way, So I went to the NVidia website and downloaded their driver (Same version number as the one from Microsoft) I had the exact same problems!!! In the end I went to the Gainward website and downloaded the most up to date driver they had.....once installed the graphics card performed better than ever and with more configuration options than I would ever need.
So why did an older driver work better than the most recent from NVidia ??? Its simple when you know why .... Gainward produce high capability cards and in order to achieve some of their aims they change the way the NVidia chipset works. This requires a modified driver....and they produce their own. The card is still based on the NVidia and conforms to the basic design....but it runs very much faster because of code optimisation, and that optimisation is missing from the Microsoft or NVidia drivers.
The result of all this is that you should ALWAYS go to the website of the MANUFACTURER of the card and not the manufacturer of the chipset (in my case NVidia)
The Method
-----------------
Reboot your computer and install SP2. After the install has completed you should reboot your computer twice...yes boring but desirable
After the reboot you should now install the DirectX pack and reboot again.
After that reboot install the Codec Pack and reboot yet again.
After that install Windows Media Player and reboot again
Finally install the latest driver for your graphics card.
Rebooting the machine does perform an important task. It completes installation process's and ensures that previously existing file locks are removed. Under certain conditions XP will not overwrite a file if it has been locked. Note that this is not the same as marking a file as Read Only.
Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
---------------------------------------------------------------
This utility can be obtained here...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/decoder.mspx
A very useful program but with a problem. It reports that I have the MGI MPEG-2 Video Decoder on one of my machines...I have NO MGI software on my system!!
I would not let that put you off using it as it does have a useful purpose even though the same objective can be achieved via other already existing routes within XP. I am in favour of this program as it does give good advice on which Codec you should select as the preferred Codec
4) What files does Movie Maker NOT like?
==============================
Any MPEG based file will cause Movie Maker problems even though they seldom cause problems for Media Player. There are a number of reasons...Media Player does not need the CODER part of the Codec and there are many methods/procedures/algothims used to Code an MPeg file and its that wide range of methods that Movie Maker can not address. Its not really a bug but the method of dealing with the issue, well there is no method...Movie Maker gives an error and crashes or it just crashes. The particular file extensions are Mpeg, MPG and MP3.
JPeg still images can also be a problem and for similar reasons to MPeg files. There are a number of formats for a JPeg and it seems that the older formats are not properly dealt with. To work around the issue you can reduce the compression used in creating the JPeg and NOT use the progressive format method
The best solution for these problems is to convert the file into a more acceptable format, and as it happens a format that is more easily worked on by Movie Maker...the conversion you should employ are
MPeg, MPG convert to AVI, MP3 convert to WAV and JPeg, JPG convert to a standard bitmap BMP
NOTES
======
There are several other approaches you can take to solving a Codec issue. I have seen several other methods of solving the problem, and basically they don't. Instead they treat the symptom and not the problem itself. Several other methods involve damaging the picture of your computers layout (that's a bad pun by the way) and simply doing that involves the risk of permanent damage to that picture.
The program Rename Codecs also damages that picture of your system but it does at least provide a user friendly way of restoring your system and that method requires no prior knowledge on your part about where, which and how to make those changes.
All efforts are made to ensure that the information is accurate. As no one is perfect I would be happy to hear of any errors found in this document (send an e-mail to webmaster@the-kellys.org). If you have any doubts at all over following the advice given here you should NOT attempt it.
The contents of this FAQ are liable to change with out prior notification.
The Webmaster
Check out the Free Video and Stills Hosting at The Kellys
Coming soon Get your Personal News Distributor (PND from www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38874
Movie file created will not play in Media Player 9
I've created a new movie using Movie Maker 2.1. It plays great in Movie Maker
preview and even when I created a Video CD it works in my TV DVD player,
however if I try to play it on my computer using Windows Media Player 9 it
will only play in a discoloured and blurred format ? Is Media Player 9
suitable for playing video. I wanted to create a small video to email home to
friends and thought this would work?
--
hope you can help...
thanks... Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38873
Can you use WMM to create a slideshow DVD?
Is this possible? I know it can burn .wmv to a cd but is it possible to
encode a DVD? Do I have to take the .wmv and convert that to a DVD?
--
Nocturnal
http://www.spywaretalk.org Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38871
Unable To See Video In Preview Pane During Capture
I am unable to see video in the preview pane when capturing video. The
application still captures video and I can control my Sony Mini DV Video
Camera from the application software. However, all I see in the preview pane
is electronic noise. Once I have captured video to my PC, I am able to view
and play it back without any problems.
How do I resolve this issue? Even though I can still see the video playback
on my Sony Mini DV Video Camera during capture, it would be more functional
to be able to see it in the application on my computer.
I have a P4 Intel 3.6GHz PC system with 1G RAM and Gigabyte NVIDIA Ge-Force
6600 250MB graphics card
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
- Joseph G Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38869
strange colors
When paying my movie on the timeline the colors look juct fine. I saved it
as the default 'Best Quality' setting for playback on my harddrive. When I
play the video in Win Media Player the colors have a strange hue. To correct
it I have to move the hue slider in Win Media Player all the way to the left
(or right) and then the colors are closer to the original file. What's up.
Why is the default color so strange? Searched Movie Maker to see if I had to
change this setting somewhere and can't find a thing? Movie is for my Dad
and theres no way he's going to be able to figure out to move the hue slide
in Win Media Player. I just want the colors to be right when click the movie
file and play it. I see there are other who have has a similar problem. Any
solutions out there?
Thanks,
Michael Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38867
audio changes when i move clip down to story board/timeline
when i move my clips down to the storyboard and play them the sound is
distorted or has a twinge i can't describe it exactly, but it does change and
will record to the dvd like that. if i play it on the video camera or from
the clips created by movie maker they sound perfect. but as soon as i drag
them down it changes. please help. thanks Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38864
frame rates
Does anyone know of a way to change the frame rate after the video is saved
in movie maker?
--
tjt Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38858
WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER
YOU HELPED ME GET THE SOUND WORKED OUT ---BUT NOW---
THE PICTURES ARE CLEAR AND SHARP UNTIL I MOVE THEM INTO WMM. THEY ALL BECOME
FUZZY, OUT OF FOCUS. HOW DO I OVERCOME? LEONARD Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38849
Video file not accessible
I captured 19 GB of video from a camcorder through Movie Maker 2.1 through
USB directly to an external hard drive. I hit STOP, but before I could press
FINISH, somone pulled the plug. Therefore, the video data is there, and I
even made a copy on another drive. But there is no header information on the
file, so i cannot access it, nor can I import it into any application. This
is a crucial file. Help! Thanks. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38848
Burning to DVD..?
Does anyone know of Movie Maker will eventually have the ability to burn to
DVD as opposed to CD? I am using Sony's Vegas Movie Studio and Architect
products to make DVD's, but I'm still new to these applications and the
learning curve is steap. I would say that they're not user friendly,
although I'm sure very powerful once mastered.
Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated! Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38845
Why won't my movie maker project open?
My movie maker project won't open and it says that it may not be a movie
maker project, or that the file is corrupted. What is the problem and what
should i do to fix it? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38838
why won't my project open?
whenever i try to open a project that i saved in movie maker, it says that
the file is either not a windows movie maker file or that the file has been
corrupted. What do i have to do to open my movies again? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38837
picture transition help with time please
I have made a movie using movie maker. It is only digital still images from
my digital camera(jpeg) and audio (MP3). I don't have any video transitions
or effects. I want the pictures only to display about 1. I have gone into
tools/options and changed the transition time there but it hasn't changed on
the actual movie. How can I change the time each slide shows on an already
created project?
--
TIA,
Kirsten Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38835
FAQ: #20050709 Crashes & Hangs
Movie Maker FAQ 1 Last updated 6th January 2005
Crashing and Hanging
================
1) What is a Codec?
==============
A Codec is software that was first created to deal with the transposition of data from one form into another. One of the first important Codecs was a procedure still used today called Soundex. I believe the first proper use of Soundex was by the Mormons. Most of us use Soundex or its equivalent every time we use a spell checker. The Mormons use it in their vast database of all persons baptised by them. It enables very fast data searches on similar sounding words that are not necessarily spelled the same way. Soundex though is a one way procedure. Its a CODER The other part of the word Codec is derived from the word DECODER. Joining the two parts together we get the word CODEC...Codec.
With regard to Codecs and any Video or Audio playing software. MP3 or WMA audio files have been compressed using CODER routines. When you play those files on your computer you are using the DECODER routines to produce a sound or video signal that can be seen/heard on your machine.
With regard to Audio/Video editing software. A Codec is used to compress the data so that it occupies as small a space as possible usually on a hard drive. But in the case of editing a file the Codec must first expand the compressed data before the edit can occur and afterwards compress it again when the data is saved to a new file.
The problems with Codecs arise from "Calls" A call is the expression used to define the way one software module talks to another so that information can be passed between the two. The problem occurs when the Call is not properly formatted, or the reply is not understood. This becomes a problem that the calling software must handle. When the calling software fails to handle the error it can do one of a number of things....the correct way is to contain the error and respond with an alternative approach and possibly inform the user that the error occurred, the other approach we are all to familiar with, either the software or the machine crashes and probably taking all of your hard work with it.
2) Movie Maker crashes, what can I do?
============================
From item one above there is a good chance that your problem arises from a problem with a Codec. Movie Maker version 2.1 was supposed to address this issue by giving you the user the ability to disable one or more of the Codecs on your machine. The problem however is not fully addressed and results in some Codecs not being exposed to the disable option. If its that particular Codec that is causing the problem you are stuck.
You need to know which Codec it is, where it is, possibly what other software installed it and what other dependencies exist. In other words you need to know a LOT of things. The proper way of dealing with the issue would be to remove the offending Codec but that's not very practical as you may really need the other software that depends on it.
There is a temporary solution available in the form of a program called "Rename Codecs" It has been in use for perhaps a year now by many hundreds of people and with great success. There have been a total of 6 times that the program did not solve the users problem (At the time of writing this) You can obtain your FREE copy of the program from www.the-kellys.org The basics of the program are that it will offer you the option of temporarily renaming Codecs that are known to be a problem for Movie Maker. You would do that before using Movie Maker. Once you are finished using the program you again run Movie Maker and use the RESTORE option to put those Codecs back into operation...its very easy to use.
There is an additional option. You can use the options within XP to turn off the various levels of video acceleration that your graphics card has. Doing this is not a good idea but if you do you must understand that every program that relies on those abilities will either run badly or not at all. To turn the acceleration down right click your desktop and select PROPERTIES, then SETTINGS then ADVANCED and then TROUBLERSHOOT. You will then see a slider bar which should normally be positioned on the far right. You can move it one step at a time and then close the dialog down and re-try Movie Maker. You can repeat those steps until (and if) Movie Maker works properly.
A lot of video programs give you the opportunity of taking a snap shot of the video displayed, Intervideo WinDVD 5 does a good job of this. Movie Maker also has this option. BUT, if you turn the acceleration down as above, you will no longer be able to take those snapshots. This is not a great problem of course as you can change the acceleration back. But it is rather tedious.
3) How do I make my system perform better and stop Movie Maker crashing
=======================================================
This is by far the best way of doing things. Whilst the Rename Codec program is a MUST when you really do need to keep "other" software on your system, the following approach will ensure that your system runs at its best speed and will be less likely to crash at all from Video or Audio problems.
You need to download the latest versions of DirectX and the Windows Codecs pack together with the latest version of Windows Media Player. You should NOT try to install these packages via the Internet, you should get the standalone versions. The reason is obvious once you know it. Suppose those updates you did some time back are not working properly...it may be that they were not installed properly or it may be that a file is either corrupt or simply missing. How would you know??? The more experienced may spot the problem but the average user will not. So why download the full package??? That's easy. When you unzip a package several checks are made to ensure the integrity of the files inside the zip. If there is a problem you will be told there and then...the file is corrupt or damaged in some other way....you do not need to trust an install over the Internet and the possibility of data being missed....
You can get the packages via these links...
Codec Pack
-----------------
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/format/codecdownload.aspx
DirectX
----------
http://go.microsoft.com/?LinkID=1081813
Windows Media Player
---------------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b446ae53-3759-40cf-80d5-cde4bbe07999&displaylang=en
Movie Maker for XP
---------------------------
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.aspx
The link for Movie Maker is actually a link to SP2 (Service Pack 2). This a large download. Its not to bad if you have a reasonably fast broadband connection, but if the download fails its a long way back to the start!!! Personally I would recommend you obtain A CD version of SP2...its available on the Windows Magazine and from Microsoft directly
Drivers for your graphics card
----------------------------------
I have discovered that most people are confused on the issue of drivers for their graphics card in that when advised to acquire the latest driver they go straight to the Microsoft website and get one from them. Their is a problem with that in that the drivers supplied by Microsoft are Generic.
I made the mistake of going direct to Microsoft some time back and the result was that I could only run the machine in the basic "Safe Mode" the driver was the most up to date and was definitely more recent than the existing driver. It took some time to understand what was going on I must admit......
The graphics card was an NVidia GForce 4 etc and was manufactured by Gainward. After several attempts at getting the Microsoft driver to install I decided that the download MUST BE corrupted in some way, So I went to the NVidia website and downloaded their driver (Same version number as the one from Microsoft) I had the exact same problems!!! In the end I went to the Gainward website and downloaded the most up to date driver they had.....once installed the graphics card performed better than ever and with more configuration options than I would ever need.
So why did an older driver work better than the most recent from NVidia ??? Its simple when you know why .... Gainward produce high capability cards and in order to achieve some of their aims they change the way the NVidia chipset works. This requires a modified driver....and they produce their own. The card is still based on the NVidia and conforms to the basic design....but it runs very much faster because of code optimisation, and that optimisation is missing from the Microsoft or NVidia drivers.
The result of all this is that you should ALWAYS go to the website of the MANUFACTURER of the card and not the manufacturer of the chipset (in my case NVidia)
The Method
-----------------
Reboot your computer and install SP2. After the install has completed you should reboot your computer twice...yes boring but desirable
After the reboot you should now install the DirectX pack and reboot again.
After that reboot install the Codec Pack and reboot yet again.
After that install Windows Media Player and reboot again
Finally install the latest driver for your graphics card.
Rebooting the machine does perform an important task. It completes installation process's and ensures that previously existing file locks are removed. Under certain conditions XP will not overwrite a file if it has been locked. Note that this is not the same as marking a file as Read Only.
Windows XP Video Decoder Checkup Utility
---------------------------------------------------------------
This utility can be obtained here...
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/decoder.mspx
A very useful program but with a problem. It reports that I have the MGI MPEG-2 Video Decoder on one of my machines...I have NO MGI software on my system!!
I would not let that put you off using it as it does have a useful purpose even though the same objective can be achieved via other already existing routes within XP. I am in favour of this program as it does give good advice on which Codec you should select as the preferred Codec
4) What files does Movie Maker NOT like?
==============================
Any MPEG based file will cause Movie Maker problems even though they seldom cause problems for Media Player. There are a number of reasons...Media Player does not need the CODER part of the Codec and there are many methods/procedures/algothims used to Code an MPeg file and its that wide range of methods that Movie Maker can not address. Its not really a bug but the method of dealing with the issue, well there is no method...Movie Maker gives an error and crashes or it just crashes. The particular file extensions are Mpeg, MPG and MP3.
JPeg still images can also be a problem and for similar reasons to MPeg files. There are a number of formats for a JPeg and it seems that the older formats are not properly dealt with. To work around the issue you can reduce the compression used in creating the JPeg and NOT use the progressive format method
The best solution for these problems is to convert the file into a more acceptable format, and as it happens a format that is more easily worked on by Movie Maker...the conversion you should employ are
MPeg, MPG convert to AVI, MP3 convert to WAV and JPeg, JPG convert to a standard bitmap BMP
NOTES
======
There are several other approaches you can take to solving a Codec issue. I have seen several other methods of solving the problem, and basically they don't. Instead they treat the symptom and not the problem itself. Several other methods involve damaging the picture of your computers layout (that's a bad pun by the way) and simply doing that involves the risk of permanent damage to that picture.
The program Rename Codecs also damages that picture of your system but it does at least provide a user friendly way of restoring your system and that method requires no prior knowledge on your part about where, which and how to make those changes.
All efforts are made to ensure that the information is accurate. As no one is perfect I would be happy to hear of any errors found in this document (send an e-mail to webmaster@the-kellys.org). If you have any doubts at all over following the advice given here you should NOT attempt it.
The contents of this FAQ are liable to change with out prior notification.
The Webmaster
Check out the Free Video and Stills Hosting at The Kellys
Coming soon Get your Personal News Distributor (PND from www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38830
Advice Please 8mm film to DVD
I have a collection of old home movies on 8mm film and a decent Leica film
projector. Can someone advise me best method to digitize the movies. I
understand the quality will not be as good as camcorder but want to preserve
the films for my kids. Thanks.
Bubba Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38820
Updating FTPINFO.DAT
I want to save my movie out to my FTP site, which is on a Yahoo small
business server. The only entry in the list of media sharing services is
Neptune. I don't want Neptune. I want Yahoo. Please tell me how to get
Yahoo into the FTPINFO.DAT list so it will show up in my drop down menu of
media sharing sites. Thanks. Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38818
tool Cinematize allows you to select a favorite video or audio clip from your DVD, and then extract and save it in a format compatible to movie maker 2 or others...
saw this... this looks like a handy thing to have.... - ed sharpe
archivist for smecc
http://miraizon.com/products/products.html
Cinematize - The Missing Link
Video and audio editing used to be a one-way street -- make your
creation and then burn it to a DVD. Sure, you could duplicate the entire DVD
using copy tools, but there was no easy way to extract scenes back into an
editable format while preserving the high quality of the original.
Miraizon Cinematize turns this "impossible and difficult" experience
into a "fun and easy" one.
With Cinematize, you can now select a favorite video or audio clip
from your DVD, and then extract and save it in a format compatible with
popular movie and audio editing applications, including QuickTime, iMovie,
and Final Cut for Macintosh and Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, and Adobe
Premiere for Windows.
--
Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC
Please check our web site at
http://www.smecc.org
to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
buy, and by all means when in Arizona drop in and see us.
address:
coury house / smecc
5802 w palmaire ave
glendale az 85301 Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38817
how do I edit titles?
This should be an easy one for all of the experts with this software. I am a
"first time movie maker" and am navigating my way through the process. I
have titles in my movie and have them on the wrong clips. I can't seem to
edit them after they are actually on the clip. I am highlighting it and then
going to tools and edit title is not highlighted. I also tried to just
delete a title and it won't let me. I can delete a title that is in it's own
clip, but not when it is on an actual picture itself. Can anyone walk me
through this? Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38814
narration over a music rack
I am trying to have music in the backround of narration. so far all I get is
narration followed by music track. This is over a slide show made with
WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER. how to???
THANKS
LEONARD Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38793
How to retain quality
I am using Windows media encoder to do a screen capture for a tutorial.
I import the file into windows movie maker, add sounde etc.
When I save the movie, the quality is greatly reduced. Is there a way I can
prevent this. How can I retain the original quality?
Thanks Tag: Thank you to Jonathan Gunner Tag: 38772
Hello,
Would just like to say, that I have successfully burned my first
Home Movie to DVD - all thanks to your advise.