Encoding quits in XP 64

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gridsleep
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Encoding quits in XP 64

Post by gridsleep »

Using Windows XP 64 on Athlon 64 X2 4600 platform, Asus M2N-E mobo, 2GB PQi PC6400 RAM, Sapphire X1800XT video, and K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 1.55 for MPEG-2 and DVD decoding/encoding, the encoding of an edited video always quits below 10% complete. I have tried every video format including Raw. It doesn't quit, specifically, but just stops with the programs becoming unresponsive. I am going to be experimenting with different RAM settings and voltages to see if that is the culprit. I never had this problem in Windows XP on a single core computer. Is anyone else having this problem? I got this new computer particularly for faster video editing with Multiquence and this is turning out to be quite a disappointment.
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Re: Encoding quits in XP 64

Post by GoldWave Inc. »

Do you get any error messages at all?

There could be a thermal problem or a bad RAM module. Does encoding stop at exactly the same place every time or does it vary? Have you tried disabling one of the processor cores to see if that makes any difference?

Chris
gridsleep
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TTD

Post by gridsleep »

That's Test To Destruct. Anyway, I've been running tests all weekend (mine is Friday and Saturday). I found the following:

No error message occurs when the program stops. It just stops. If I click on the Multiquence window or encoder window a couple of times, the header says Not Responding and it must be closed. No other damage done. Partial m2v file written to disk.

One or the other or both processors does not matter. The unexpected halt occurs in any case. Single or combined processor usage during encode is between 50% and 75% nominally.

The problem occurs regardless of other programs that may be running

Input .mpg file 740x480 48KHz recorded from TV using Theater 550 Pro
Output .mpg 740x480 44.1KHz, 224kbps audio stepped up 6dB, SVCD mpg2 (I would use DVD format but it complains about the 44.1KHz)

On a ten minute file
An unaltered track encodes flawlessly.
A split track halts at various places between 2% and 71%; the length of the file or place of the first split appears to have an effect but I have not had the time to run exhaustive tests
The split only matters in the video track: a split only on audio causes no problem; a split only on video causes a halt
A halt occurs when there is a split regardless of whether a section has been removed or not
If the split is in the last 2 minutes or so (about 2:10) of the track, the encode continues to the end without flaw, although the encode speed slows (normally about 15fps, fluttering down to about 10)
The closer the split is placed to the last 2 min cut off point, the farther the quit percentage is, 91% to 97%, above which the encode actually completes without error

On a five minute file
Pretty much the same results, although the cutoff point may be less than 2 min; it could be proportional; again, exhaustive testing is needed

On videos previously recorded using Radeon AIW 7200 card in 32 bit XP
The encode fails pretty much every time at random places, except for one file that was split into three tracks; the last track had no splits and encoded by itself without flaw; the first two tracks, which have several splits each, fail to finish encoding

On a new hour long track recorded from television in 64 bit XP
The encode so far has not failed with no split, a split 2:10 from the end, and currently with a split 5 min from the end (still encoding: it takes about two to three hours to encode an hour track, even on the dual core system); will continue to adjust split until track fails to encode

I will continue to test. I may have to transfer the older files (recorded under 32 bit Windows) to my laptop for encoding. If you need more information, let me know. It takes time to gather.

I hope this is more informative than it is confusing. And remember, these results are not precise; I can gather precise information if you need it

Thank you for any assistance you can render

Kurt Faasse
Walden, New York
gridsleep
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Post by gridsleep »

I should mention the system is using ffdshow with libmpg2 to decode the original video and bbmpeg to encode the resulting file, latest versions
gridsleep
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Post by gridsleep »

The one hour video track with split five minutes from the end stopped encoding at 96%.
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Post by GoldWave Inc. »

Can you save the video in a different format at all in Multiquence (such as AVI or WMV)? If the problem occurs only when saving in MPEG format with bbMPEG, then try saving as AVI in Multiquence first, then use the AVI2MPG2 program (which should be included with bbMPEG) to see if that works.

Chris
gridsleep
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Post by gridsleep »

The stoppage occurs in all codecs and formats, no exceptions.

On an unrelated issue, I have never been able to get XviD to work with Multiquence. The XviD encoder window comes up but it just stops. I use the Koepi binaries downloaded from xvid.org. Killing that process also completely kills the Multiquence.
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Post by GoldWave Inc. »

The only other thing I can suggest is to try Multiquence on a different Windows XP 64 system (if you have access to one) to see if the problem is hardware related or not. Hopefully others will post their experience on a dual core 64 bit system.

I believe there is a multithreaded glitch in XviD, possibly related to sending window messages to a thread that does not have a window. That is something that has to be changed in XviD.

Chris
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