finishing project in DVDas 5.0

[AllieB]

I run a project in DVDas which has now 3 -avifiles and a few foto´s in picturecompilations. According to DVDas the DVD is 3,1GB. The designed DVD is 4,7 GB. The project will be made in 720 x 576 25 fps (PAL). I don´t succeed in finish the project.

The steps so far:
The project had 3 .mpg-files coming from PRE. The .mpg was chosen because, according to Steve Grisetti´s book, this would be the best format for DVDas.
As usual after optimize disk I choose the Make DVD button which ends up with the message that "a track was too big to render". The maximumsize I used in PRE was 1920x1080.
I recompiled the files to .avi-files and re-imported them in the project. Made the menus again and so on. Now the program runs faster so I did for the other two files the same.

Again choosing the Make DVD button no other problems than recompressing, pushing the next-button results in a screen remarking there are no messages.
The next step then is pushing the finish-button. This results in a hang of the program with a non-determined error.

If I choose burning a disk the message will be low on memory. In fact the program uses 1,6 GB where I understood that a 32-bit program can manage about 2,1 GB und W7 64 bit.

I removed the program completely and reinstalled. I did twice but nothing changed. In june I reinstalled the complete computer because I changed 32 bit for 64 bit therefor the system should be very clean.

My machine:
Processor Intel Core Quad Q9300 @ 2,50Ghz
Memory 8 GB
Disc C (SSD) 64 GB, free 26,2 GB
Disk D 113 GB, free 85,3
Disk E 472 GB, free 368 GB
Disk F 475 GB, free 430 GB

All projectfiles are on disk F (which is the fastest one), including the AVI-files, the pictures and the sound. Only the program and the temes etc are on the C-disk.

I don´t know what to do more, i hope someone has any ideas to help me out of this.

Thanks a lot for reading this so far and I am apologizing for my bad English,

Greeting from Portugal,

Allieb

[Steve Grisetti]

Hi, Allie. You should not be using 1920x1080 video files to create a DVD.

You should be using DVD-quality MPEGs as source video for your DVD Architect project -- which are 720x576 (PAL)..

To export these types of files from Premiere Elements, go to Share/Computer/MPEG and select, from the Presets menu, PAL DVD Standard or PAL DVD Widescreen.

These files should work in a DVD Architect Studio project with virtually no re-rendering.

[AllieB]

Hello Steve,

thanks for your answer.

To make thing clear: the message came from DVDas; I exported the mpg-files with these settings: MPEG2-DVD, 720 x 576, 25 fps, PAL. In the Optimize disk area this gave indeed no problems, the files shouldn´t not to be recompressed. But I got that message therefore I recompiled the file to a avi-filewith the settings AVI-file 720 x 576.

The presets of the slideshow in PRE are: PAL-Hard Disk, Flash Memory Camcorders-Full HD 1080i 25; could this be the source of the problems although I made the output file als described?

Another issue I see now is that the properties of the project in DVDas are set as 704 x 576 (PAL). Could this be responsible?

I checked a file I made earlier this month with the same settings (except the 704 x 576 issue) and again no problem came up.

Thanks a lot for helping me out of this trouble,

AllieB

[Steve Grisetti]

It sounds like you've got a number of issues going on, Allie -- and I think you've identified most of them.

1) You should not recompile your video as an AVI. The DVD-MPEG is the ideal format for DVD Architect.
2) I'm not sure what you're telling me about the slideshow. It really doesn't matter which project settings you used in Premiere Elements, as long as you output it as a DVD-MPEG. (Though using the standard 720x576 DV settings would be the most efficient project settings, since it would be closest to your output resolution.)
3) Your DVD Architect project settings should not be 705x576.

Though ultimately I think something deeper may be going on with your computer. You're using some very inefficient project settings -- but that shouldn't kill your program. But the real test would be to open a new project, add some some DVD-MPEG footage to it and see if it will create DVD Prepared Files.

If it does, then you know your problems are unique to your current project. If it doesn't, then it's something at an operating system level or hardware level that's wrong with your computer.

BTW, have you done any maintenance on your computer? Try running the free program Advanced System Care. Do a Deep Care on your computer. It often fixes buggy behavior with a single mouse click!
http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.html

[AllieB]

Steve,

I was worried about the message from DVDas which says that the mpg file had a track to big. After recompiling that problem was solved. I mean that messages disappears but of course I have now to recompress the file completely.

Did I understand you right that the PRE-presets doesn´t matter as long as my output is in 720 x 576 PAL?

Why I have a projectsetting according the propertiespanel of 704 x 576, I don´t know. Perhaps a wrong setting done by myself. Is this what you means by: "but that shouldn´t kill the program".

I looked after all the drivers, they are the latest, so is the Apple Player (7.6.9). On June 21 I reinstalled my computer with W7 64 bit and after that on July 15 I finished another project on that machine. So I would think it should be in the project itself or the setting 705x576 kills the project.

I tried earlier this evening the older project and that runs fine.

I just downloaded the program you mentioned and I will it run next morning.

Thank you so far,

AllieB

[Steve Grisetti]

Your Premiere Elements project settings should match your source footage. But your output, if it's going to be used to create a DVD with DVD Architect, should use the DVD-MPEG (720x576 PAL) settings.

[AllieB]

As the source footage is a slideshow from my own fotos I made copies within PSE on max 1250 x 1000 which in PSE are placed on videotrack2. On videotrack1is a background photograph to fullfill the screen as the photograhs on track2 do not cover the whole screen. Some titles on track 3 and/or 4 and some music completes the project.

The three projects we are talking about are circa 10 minutes long and are now both available in mpg and avi. Later this day I will try to create a new project with one of these mpg´s to look what´s happening when I use the proper 720 x 576 format as projectsettings.

BTW I tried the Advanced System Care, although this progam came with a huge number of errors in tmp-files and so on, after correcting there was no change in attitude of DVDas.

After trying a new project later this afternoon I will be back to you.

Thanks so far,

AllieB

PS: Making a new project wouldn´t be the biggest thing but remake the picturecompilations would be. Do youmknow if there is some way to copy these compilations into another project?

[AllieB]

Hi Steve,

I looked a bit around and found a file in c:/user/AppData/Roaming/sony Creative Software inc/DVD Architect Studio/Prefs.xml.

In the file I find these lines ( see attachtment) regarding a NTSC-project with typical settings. I never use NTSC as I live in Europe.

Is this a possible errorsource?

Thanks for looking,

AllieB

[Steve Grisetti]

It's possible, Allie. I can't say.

Simply put, if you're outputting from Premiere Elements a DVD-MPEG (PAL) and using that in a DVD Architect project set up for a PAL DVD, nothing else should matter. (Assuming your computer is up to snuff.) Nothing else should matter.

[AllieB]

Hi Steve,

As promised before I tried a small section of the project as a new project.

I started from the beginning with removing all the DVDas-stuff, next reinstall all. In PRE I compiled to be sure the project (about 10 minutes slideshow) as MPEG2-DVD (PAL).
Next I started a new project in DVDas, first with only the new compiled mpg, later with 3 menus as in the original project. All works fine, even to burn a DVD. Next I put an intro-file, which is a 30 seconds AVI into the project: all works fine. I ended up with the closing-file, abour 60 seconds AVI in the rpoject. All works fine.

The only thing I didn´t test so far are the picturecompilations because I have to grab these fotos again. But in the original project they weren´t the problem as the renderingprocess aready stopped with the first file, which I extra took in the test.

My conclusion so far must be that the project settings in DVDas, 704 x 576 PAL, did result in the problems. Nothing changed otherwise, I had already reinstalled, recompiled and so on.

Do you agree?

I will later test with the picturecompilation but I do think that the problem is solved (for now?)

Thank you very much for helping out,

AllieB

[Steve Grisetti]

Sound like you found the problem, Allie. Great research! Happy DVD making!

[AllieB]

A short update on the earlier post.

I added two picturecompilations and a playlist to the project and the program works still fine. When I put the last two quartals into it the project will be finished.

I don´t agree that I found the solutions only by myself. Your help and listening ear helps a lot to make things clear for oneselves.
In that meaning thanks a lot,

AllieB.

[Steve Grisetti]

But of course!

[AllieB]

I finally found the reason why the program crashed.

As told before it works fine untill I again add the last two(!) photograhs to the project. Immidiately everything was blocked, no possibility to render or whatsoever.

I removed the pricturecompilations (147 photos, in 3 compilations) none bigger than 1250x1000 but all made as a .tiff-file. I changed with PSE the files in .jpg and see the whole project is already burned to disk.

There is somewhere in the program a limitation, I can´t find, but then it´s over. The jpg-files are a lot smaller and don´t give problems.

AllieB.

[Steve Grisetti]

Good detective work, Allie!