Skipping and Frezzing Problem

[Mister Mike]

I am having a skipping and frezzing problem when I burn a dvd. When I downloaded hi8 tape the problem was very minor but when I downloaded reg 8mm tape the problem was so bad I could not even watch the dvd. I am using Ulead 7. I am bring the footage in in DV format I then add a title or two and then burn the disk. COuld the problem be because I did not turn off my screen saver? Thanks for any help.

[redwudz]

Need more info.

Does the DV file on you computer play OK before you encode it?
Do the DVD video files (VOBs) play OK before the burn?
What program are you burning with and what DVD media are you using?
Have you tried different media and have you had successful burns?

And yes, some screen savers can cause problems. Loose the 'savers' and just let the computer blank the screen.

[Mister Mike]

Need more info.

Does the DV file on you computer play OK before you encode it?
Do the DVD video files (VOBs) play OK before the burn?
What program are you burning with and what DVD media are you using?
Have you tried different media and have you had successful burns?

And yes, some screen savers can cause problems. Loose the 'savers' and just let the computer blank the screen.

The DV file does play ok before I encode it. but to be honest I don't view the entire footage. I have a box of home video tapes both 8mm and Hi8mm I need to transfer. I have been transfering them onto the pc add a title or two and then burn.
I have not played the VOB file before the burn.
I am burning with Ulead 7 software.
I am new at this so I have not used different media. I have been using Memorex DVD+RW I chose this because I did not want to have a bunch of coasters. I figured if it didn't work out right I could re burn.
Thanks for your input any additional help would be great.

[ZippyP.]

You need to narrow down the problem. Try some good quality media, burn one to test and see if it fixes the problem.

[Mister Mike]

Need more info.

Does the DV file on you computer play OK before you encode it?
Do the DVD video files (VOBs) play OK before the burn?
What program are you burning with and what DVD media are you using?
Have you tried different media and have you had successful burns?

And yes, some screen savers can cause problems. Loose the 'savers' and just let the computer blank the screen.

I just finished up another attempt. And NO the file does not play ok before I encode it. It does skip/freeze at several points during the footage. Why is this happening? When I watch it as it transfers onto the pc everything looks ok but during editing and play back the skips/freeze scenes are there. What could be the cause?

[troyvcd1]

Well for one your using crappy memorex media. But your problem probably lies with using ulead to create your mpeg streams. Try tmpgenc or cce and then some authoring software. Also limit yourself to about 2 hours per dvd. Also make sure that your field order is correct when converting your avis to mpegs.

[Mister Mike]

Well for one your using crappy memorex media. But your problem probably lies with using ulead to create your mpeg streams. Try tmpgenc or cce and then some authoring software. Also limit yourself to about 2 hours per dvd. Also make sure that your field order is correct when converting your avis to mpegs.

Redwudz asked me to check if I was getting this problem before I converted the file. I did check and I was getting the problem when I played the footage back on the pc before I converted. I watched it go from the camcorder to the pc and there was no problem. I don't know anything about "field order" can you explain further or point me in the direction of some information.
So far all of my dvd are under 2 hours. I will give tmpgenc + authoring software a try once I get my feet on the ground. I would like to get a workable system going in Ulead so as to better understand the various steps before I branch out to using different software for different steps of the project.
I understand that ULead is not the greatest but they must be able to function or nobody would use them. There must be some kind of troubleshooting for a skipping/frezzing problem.

Thanks again for any help with this problem. Without the help of this site I would not have gotten this far.

[winifreid]

It still isn't clear to me where you notice the problem. Do you see the problem when you watch the video on the computer after you convert to mpeg? In other words. You capture the DV. After this is completed, you view the file on the computer and it plays fine. Then you load it into Ulead and create a video file mpeg. You then watch this using something like Media player or powerdvd and you get skips and freezing? You are therefore certain that your captured file is fine and that the problem is with encoding to mpeg?

[Mister Mike]

It still isn't clear to me where you notice the problem. Do you see the problem when you watch the video on the computer after you convert to mpeg? YES In other words. You capture the DV. After this is completed, you view the file on the computer and it plays fine. NO Then you load it into Ulead and create a video file mpeg. You then watch this using something like Media player or powerdvd and you get skips and freezing? YES You are therefore certain that your captured file is fine and that the problem is with encoding to mpeg? No I am begining to think the captured file is not fine.

Here are my steps.
I capture the DV in the Ulead program. My next step is to view it while I am adding the titles & I notice the problem in this step. When I preview it after I have edited it & prior to converting and burning a disk I notice skipping/frezzing also.
Can I be creating the problem when I fast forward and reverse the footage during the edit step?
Is something going wrong during the capture step? I have followed the instructions from Ulead to the letter. I have not changed any properties.
I am transfering the footage from a Sony Digital Camcorder to the pc using a firewire. (Note: Some of my tapes are Reg 8mm some are Hi8mm but the problem is noticed on both.)

[winifreid]

I am not real familair with DV -I use avi capture. Try saving the file before you do anything to it and view it in either Media player or some other viewer. You might have a ram problem since you use XP (usually needs > 256 to do good video). If it sis possible tranfer at a lower resolution. Like I said, I don't know much about DV.

[winifreid]

Maybe try this with a short clip. Capture/tranfer your DV file. Save it. View it. Load into Ulead. Do your editing. Create video file mpeg. Then view your file with media player or whatever you like to use.

[Mister Mike]

How can I capture/transfer a DV file to my pc with out using a program like Ulead or Roxio. (The two I currently have) If I open to my desktop and plug in my camcorder via my firewire card can I transfer to a new folder?

[winifreid]

http://www.dvd-guides.com/content/view/33/59/
http://www.digitalfaq.com/capture/dv.htm
http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/dv/guide.html
http://www.jonesgroup.net/media/videostudiodvcaptureone.htm

[redwudz]

A couple of questions.

I assume when you view the video just after the transfer, it is in DV (AVI) format? Or is it encoded to MPEG at this point?

You can try using WinDV (Free) for the Firewire transfer and see if it works. I'm not sure if Ulead uses type 2 or Type I DV. I use Type 2 as I usually edit with Virtualdub and encode with TMPGEnc.

Here's a guide for WinDV and camera transfer:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?link=566

If the DV file from WinDV still has the same problem, then you look to your Firewire card, (Some on-board cards have problems) or your Firewire cable (Unlikely) or something that is running in the background on your computer that is really hogging resources. DV is not CPU or HD intense, compared with video card capture.

[Mister Mike]

A couple of questions.

I assume when you view the video just after the transfer, it is in DV (AVI) format? Or is it encoded to MPEG at this point? It is in DV format at this point but it was still skipping .
You can try using WinDV (Free) for the Firewire transfer and see if it works. I'm not sure if Ulead uses type 2 or Type I DV. I use Type 2 as I usually edit with Virtualdub and encode with TMPGEnc. I am using Type 1 DV during the capture phase. and then edit in Ulead. From what I read Type 1 looked like the way to go, is that correct?

Here's a guide for WinDV and camera transfer:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?link=566

If the DV file from WinDV still has the same problem, then you look to your Firewire card, (Some on-board cards have problems) or your Firewire cable (Unlikely) or something that is running in the background on your computer that is really hogging resources. DV is not CPU or HD intense, compared with video card capture.

In addition to my comments within your quote. I contacted Ulead last night and they had me download a patch. They were not sure if it would solve the problems but I had to erase all my video files and recapture new footage so I don't know the out come. But during my edit phase I did notice some skipping/frezzing. If this does not work out I will try another method. Which stinks because I have invested so much time learning the Ulead program. I know its not the best but you have to start somewhere.

One more unrelated question. How much Hard Drive do I need to perform the rendering and burn phase? I downloaded about 3 hours of footage and only have a few gigs of HD left. I wanted to split up the footage of two different length tapes.