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Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

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Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby lingyai » Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:05 pm

Hi all,

I seem to have newbie's bad luck -- in my first project after installing MS13, the first files I've tried to add to it do not import properly. It is very odd because
these files -- purchased for royalty free use from the company Video Blocks -- are mp4 files which play fine on both Windows Media Player and GOM Player.

But when I add them to MS13 (which plays the pre-loaded Sony demo files fine, by the way), they just appear as solid green.

I read online that it's a good idea to have G-Spot check the codec. Here is a screenshot of the G-Spot results.

http://tbf.me/a/BNwuOP

Again, strange that the other programs play it fine.

Any advice? Otherwise, I'm stuck at Square 1... :-/
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby lingyai » Tue Sep 08, 2015 3:13 pm

Update: just checked, the file works fine in Windows Movie Maker as well. It seems that the culprit is somewhere within Movie Studio.
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby lingyai » Tue Sep 08, 2015 4:11 pm

Update... the clip plays fine in Movie Studio 12, but not 13.

Does anyone have any ideas what I can do to make 13 work with it?

I'd be really grateful for any advice.
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Sep 09, 2015 7:20 am

Remember that playing a file isn't the same as editing a video file. So the fact that your media players can play a file and Movie Studio can't import it does not necessarily indicate a failure on Movie Studio's part.

That said, based on your G Spot report:
1) Your video is 1820x1080, which is a non-standard size for a video. It also uses a pixel aspect ratio of 1.77 -- so this is not a standard video file. It may be a professional cinema file that's been converted to mp4.
2) Your G Spot report indicates that the codec status is undetermined. This could that your computer doesn't have the proper editing codec installed. I assume you've got the latest version of Quicktime on your computer. But it could require another decoder that's not yet on your machine.

Beyond that, it's hard to say much more without actually having the video file onhand. If you'd like to hand a sample of that file off to me via Google Drive (share it to steve@ this web site address), I can kick it around on my computer and see if I can get it to load in Vegas and/or Movie Studio. That would tell us if it's the file that's the problem or your system configuration. (You don't say what operating system you're using but, if you're using a new computer or you've just upgraded to Windows 10, you may not have all of the necessary components installed yet.)

But it's difficult to get more specific than that without having the file in hand.
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby lingyai » Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:13 am

Thanks for your reply. I've sent a link to the file at what I think is the correct address -- steve@ [name of this site] -- if that doesn't reach you please let me know.

Maybe I am missing something, but the fact that I can play and edit the file in MSP12 and Windows Movie Maker, but can do neither in MSP13, tells me something is not right with MSP13, or at least on my machine.

Quicktime is up to date on my W7 PC.

So weird that the file is fine in MSP12 but not MSP13 -- I installed the latter immediately after installing the former (no problems reported with either installation), and if it were a matter of a missing necessary codec, why did MSP12 apparently find it?

A google search shows that a number of people are having the same, or similar problems with Vegas / MS, and the only solution I've seen is to convert the "problematic" file in question. This indicates to me there's some mystery at Sony that hasn't been cracked. If conversion really is the only answer, maybe I should start a thread about recommended conversion software / output formats to use...

Anyway, thanks again!
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:49 am

Well, lingyai, about all I can tell you is that you've got one weird file there.

Yes, indeed it does load into Movie Studio 12 as well as Premiere Elements and Premiere Pro CC. But it does not load into Movie Studio 13 or even Vegas Pro 12!

I also should point out that, although it did load into a number of these programs, it always loaded up with an indicator that the file didn't conform to standard specs and that the timeline should be rendered before edit.

So I'm not sure what's up with it. According to Media Info, it uses a standard MP4 codec, so Quicktime is providing the decoder for editing. But that odd resolution -- 1820x1080 with non-square pixels to make it 16:9 -- is giving some of these programs fits.

I'm not sure what to recommend. Rather than messing with a video file converter, I'd recommend just dropping it on the timeline in Movie Studio 12 or some other program that it does load into and then outputting a standard 1920x1080 AVC file from there. Then you'll be able to use the file in any video project.

As I've said, I recommend staying away from video file converters unless you really know what you're doing. If you're trying to convert a difficult to edit file into an editable file, it's very easy to make things worse rather than better.
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby lingyai » Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:59 am

Your time spent checking this out is much appreciated, thanks Steve. Yeah, the weird stuff always seems to happen to me :-({|= but what can you do... One question -- is that format you suggested pretty much lossless? Is there something else which might keep things more pristine?
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:04 am

An MP4 is pretty lossy by nature -- so the original file is already pretty compressed. Using Render As Sony AVC with the AVCHD 1920x1080 60i template to output an m2ts from it from Movie Studio 12 shouldn't cause a noticeable drop in quality.

And, yes, I know that takes it from 24 fps to 60i fps, but Movie Studio should blend the frames well. Especially if you've set up the Video Project Properties Deinterlace Method to Interpolate Fields.
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Re: Help: MS13 can't play mp4s which other programs can

Postby Steve Grisetti » Wed Sep 09, 2015 11:25 am

Ken, I just went ahead and output the file myself as an m2ts file, and it loads easily into any editor.

I'm posting it now to Google Drive, and you should receive a link to it soon via e-mail. Hope that helps you out!
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