QT export fails, qtKitErrorCatchAll

[DeadSirius]

I use QuickTime Pro with Perian to expand 5.1 ac3 files into 6 discreet channels. I start with VOB files created with the current MacTheRipper, and demux the ac3 file from it with MpegStreamclip. This procedure used to be reliable, but suddenly it always fails with the dreaded "qtKitErrorCatchAll (-1309)" error. I understand the error is a bug in QuickTime, but I've been dabbling with various PC utilities (DVD Audio Extractor, Ciler's Ac3Tool) and they all suggest that the ac3 file is corrupt.

This all started without any changes to the apps or the system. I'm at a loss as to which to blame. I've tried using MTR's demux feature, but it always hangs before finishing. Is the problem MTR, MpegStreamclip, or Perian?

(Also, does anyone know what's up with the Perian forums? I've tried to register, but they never send me an activation key, even after making a second request.)

Any suggestions?

[terryj]

1. What version of MTR are you using?
version 3.0r14m is the latest.

2. What version of Quicktime are you using?

3. Where are the files stored? On internal or External drives?
When was the last time you repaired the disc using Disc Utility?

If I understand your work flow correctly you:

1. Rip a DVD to VOB file using MTR
2. Open the VOB in MpegStreamclip and demux the vob to .m2v and .ac3
3. Open the .ac3 file in Quicktime Pro and expand it into 6 channels.

Please correct if I am not understanding your workflow.

As for the Perian Forums, they seem to be fine, did you check your SPAM
filters and SPAN folders for any messages from cocoa or perian?

[DeadSirius]

1. 3.0r14m, yes.

2. QuickTime 7.6.

3. Yes, that's the workflow. (Though demux to ac3 only. The video goes to a QuickTime file, without a hitch.)

Further experimenting seems to point to the length being a problem. The movies I've been working with are over 2:05 hours. I tried demuxing to ac3 the individual VOB files, and they exported from QT just fine. (Unfortunately, if they're appended together, each break has an unacceptable hiccup.) Then I tried setting an outpoint in MpegStreamclip a few minutes shy of the ending, demuxing a partial ac3, and again, QT exported it just fine. So I guess the solution is to break the film into two pieces.

[DeadSirius]

Oh, I missed the other part of 3.

The files are on internal drives, spread out over 3 of them. Disk Utility was my first stop when the problem started, and it didn't seem to address it.

[rumplestiltskin]

Any strange characters in the pathnames to those files (or the destination files)?

[DeadSirius]

No, the filename are fairly standard.

I've just gone back and successfully accomplished what I wanted, simply by using the in and out points in MpegStreamclip to break the ac3 file into shorter pieces. The change that broke the system appears to be that the source files got much longer than the previous ones.

[rumplestiltskin]

Glad to hear you got it working!