CS4 - Adobe Media Encoder Crash

William Urschel · July 1st, 2009, 09:27 AM

As those of you with CS4 know, Adobe Media Encoder is now a separately available program for loading - but I am placing my query here, because it does not appear to be
treated separate from either Premiere or Encore, anyplace, including in the Adobe CS4 Forums!

Until very recently I had been editing on Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, then exporting to a Cineform generated file, and then importing that file into Adobe Media Encoder CS4, with
good results. Now, without ANY changes, suddenly, when I do so, and begin the render within AME CS4, the timeline indicates processing, but as I watch in horror, the memory utilized starts out at about 1.7 GB, and then quickly increases up to about 4 + GB, whereupon Encore shuts down, with a notice, "Stopped by User". I'd be most grateful if anyone has any suggestions as to a solution to this issue! I was going to uninstall and then reinstall Encore CS4, but find that it is not possible to treat this program separately.

My system is A Boxx, Intel Core i7 Extreme overclocked, 6 GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro CX, with everything up to date.

Alan Craven · July 1st, 2009, 10:23 AM

There was an update for Adobe Media Encoder released just over a month ago. If you have automatic updates, it may have updated itself to AME 4.1, and this could be the cause of your problem.

Jerry Porter · July 1st, 2009, 10:34 AM

I can't tell you what the problem is and the update did nothing for me, but my work around that I found on the Adobe site is to create a new user profile on you PC and open the project from that new profile and the media encoder works for me and others on that new profile. Yes THAT IS ONLY SOLUTION THAT I HAVE FOUND TO WORK!! Ridiculous I know, but as Adobe now treats its customers as Beta testers only to charge us for the next upgrade with the bugs worked out what do you expect. I uninstalled and reinstalled two times and the only thing that worked was creating the new profile.....

William Urschel · July 1st, 2009, 11:32 AM

WOW! I don't know if the work around will work - intuitively, it absolutely doesn't make an sense - but then sooooo much doesn"t. I'll give it a try later today, when I'm back in my studio. But thank you both so much for your unbelievably prompt response - and yes, come to think of it (and I hadn't before), the problem cited started right after I downloaded the referenced update!

What a shame - I don't use Premiere CS 4, only CS3, because of all the horror stories I've heard about Premiere CS4 - I paid all the money for the upgrade to CS4 just because I wanted to use what I thought was the stand alone Adobe Media Encoder CS4, since I wanted to use it to enhance my workflow, which it really did! I found when recently tried to uninstall it and reinstall it that I couldn't - so I may try to uninstall and reinstall Premiere CS4 (which I'm not using anyway, and see if that works - if not, I'll uninstall and then reinstall the whole CS4, with hopes that that doesn't mess up something with CS3 or leave something behind that defeats who knows what.

Brian Barkley · July 1st, 2009, 12:45 PM

The final version of CS4 has just been released. Please read the below message that I got from my tech on June 24. He probably knows more about CS4 than anyone in the country.

Brian -

Nobody on any internet forum has the final version.

Most of the bugs are out now, and we're starting to install it. Will have a "public beta" release tomorrow, and the final should not be far behind (maybe a week).

We could do your system anytime that fits your schedule.

Regards,

Devin Termini · July 1st, 2009, 01:17 PM

Do you mean final version of CS4 as in - this is the last significant update of CS4 until CS5?

Brian Barkley · July 2nd, 2009, 06:16 AM

Well I suppose there will always be updates to eliminate certain bugs, but the version that just came out this week should make most people happy that have experienced bothersome bugs in recent months.

This version should be rock solid. Personally, I am going for it.

William Urschel · July 3rd, 2009, 06:24 AM

Thanks for all of your responses. After two more reinstalls, and following the suggestions here, da nada. Crash Crash, with insane memory runup. CS4 Premiere with output to AME CS4 works fine, but with its current iteration, I cannot get Cineform AVI generated files into Premiere CS4, and for down rezzing to 720x480p from 1920x1080p from EX1 generated files, I will NOT be without Cineform, which does a better job of downrezzing than any of the other programs I have spent thousands on and since thrown out, including the apparently much vaunted Procoder 3. And apparently given Adobe's obdurate behavior, Cineform will not work with full functionality in Premiere CS4, even though I and thousands of others have been waiting for over half a year for a solution, despite shelling out over another $700 for upgrades to Adobe and Cineform. I must say I am disgusted with this baloney, and the dozens of wasted hours spent with no apparent solution.

I'm back to Adobe CS3, and will forget anything else that Adobe puts out. Adobe CS3 has been rock solid and a performer ranging from outstanding to adequate. Nuff said!

Jerry Porter · July 3rd, 2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Barkley

This version should be rock solid. Personally, I am going for it.

I will believe it when I see it. To the OP sorry it didn't work for you. It was the only solution that I have found for me. I agree that Cineform is to valuable to lose because Adobe still can't get it's act together.

Syeed Ali · July 21st, 2009, 12:38 PM

I recently rebuilt my machine with i7 processor, 6GB ram and lots of hard drives.

For the last few days, it's been crashing everytime I used CS3's Adobe media encoder. All I was getting was blue screen. Tried everything I could think of and was about to call an engineer to come round and try and fix it which would have cost £50 plus.

However, it did start working for a while when I removed 2GB of ram, but teh problem re-occured soon after.

I then came across a registry edit programme called Registry easy at Registry Easy - Registry Cleaner for Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 98. (You can probably use any other registry software as well, but remember to backup existing registry).

Paid £22 for the download version, installed and ran it and so far the AME hasn't crashed. I'm also now using it on CS4.

So far so good.

EDIT: Did contact Adobe for help last thursday. Haven't heard anything from them since!!!

Charles W. Hull · July 23rd, 2009, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Porter

I can't tell you what the problem is and the update did nothing for me, but my work around that I found on the Adobe site is to create a new user profile on you PC and open the project from that new profile and the media encoder works for me and others on that new profile. Yes THAT IS ONLY SOLUTION THAT I HAVE FOUND TO WORK!! Ridiculous I know, but as Adobe now treats its customers as Beta testers only to charge us for the next upgrade with the bugs worked out what do you expect. I uninstalled and reinstalled two times and the only thing that worked was creating the new profile.....

That's the strangest solution/work around I've ever heard of. But I've been having trouble with CS4 Media Encoder, and especially encoding Cineform; sure enough I created a new user account and this solved the problems.

My first problem, with any format there was a memory leak which limited the time line length I could encode before a fatal memory error (similar to the OP problem with Cineform). With Cineform, the latest version would just crash when I tried to encode from the time line. I was about to open a ticket with Cineform but this solution works. Thanks for the post Jerry.

Jack Kelly · July 26th, 2009, 01:54 AM

Hi folks,

I too had been experiencing serious stability issues with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. Other applications were rock solid. But then a friend recommended that I double-check that my hardware was functioning correctly. So I ran Prime95 (a free app which stress-tests the CPU and RAM) and it threw up some errors. So then I ran MemTest86+ which clearly showed that my RAM was faulty. I spent a little while narrowing the problem down to a single stick of RAM. Crucial UK offer a lifetime warranty so they replaced the faulty stick of RAM at no cost to me! Bargain!

The stable RAM fixed many of my problems but my system was still behaving a little strangely so I started checking Windows Event Viewer and found that the driver for my motherboard's SATA controller was causing issues so I loaded up the latest BIOS and drivers and all was well.

I've been running CS4 on Windows 7 RC1 for over a month and it really has been rock-solid. Highly recommended. I haven't tried Cineform on this system yet but I probably will do soon.

Anyway, the conclusions of my story seems to be: if your system miss-behaves then run a stress-test like Prime95 to make sure your CPU and RAM are stable. It doesn't take long and the tools are free.

Brian Barkley · July 26th, 2009, 09:07 AM

Jack, I understand the Cineform is not compatible with the Matrox Axio card, which I have with my CS4 package.

I'm not sure what Cineform accomplishes anyway.

Adam Gold · July 26th, 2009, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Barkley

I'm not sure what Cineform accomplishes anyway.

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/cineform-...-cineform.html

Alan Craven · July 26th, 2009, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Barkley

The final version of CS4 has just been released. Please read the below message that I got from my tech on June 24. He probably knows more about CS4 than anyone in the country.

Brian -

Nobody on any internet forum has the final version.

Most of the bugs are out now, and we're starting to install it. Will have a "public beta" release tomorrow, and the final should not be far behind (maybe a week).

We could do your system anytime that fits your schedule.

Regards,

Could you tell us more about this update? The last update for Premiere Pro CS4 listed on the UK Adobe website is dated 29 May 2009 - over 1 month before your post! Similarly for AME - 2 June.

Is it a North America/NTSC only upgrade to which you are referring ?

July 1st, 2009, 09:27 AM	#1
William Urschel Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bee Cave, Texas Posts: 151	CS4 - Adobe Media Encoder Crash - Memeory! As those of you with CS4 know, Adobe Media Encoder is now a separately available program for loading - but I am placing my query here, because it does not appear to be treated separate from either Premiere or Encore, anyplace, including in the Adobe CS4 Forums! Until very recently I had been editing on Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, then exporting to a Cineform generated file, and then importing that file into Adobe Media Encoder CS4, with good results. Now, without ANY changes, suddenly, when I do so, and begin the render within AME CS4, the timeline indicates processing, but as I watch in horror, the memory utilized starts out at about 1.7 GB, and then quickly increases up to about 4 + GB, whereupon Encore shuts down, with a notice, "Stopped by User". I'd be most grateful if anyone has any suggestions as to a solution to this issue! I was going to uninstall and then reinstall Encore CS4, but find that it is not possible to treat this program separately. My system is A Boxx, Intel Core i7 Extreme overclocked, 6 GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro CX, with everything up to date. Last edited by William Urschel; July 1st, 2009 at 09:28 AM. Reason: Spelling! Memory, mot Memeory!

July 3rd, 2009, 06:24 AM	#8
William Urschel Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bee Cave, Texas Posts: 151	I Give Up On CS4! Thanks for all of your responses. After two more reinstalls, and following the suggestions here, da nada. Crash Crash, with insane memory runup. CS4 Premiere with output to AME CS4 works fine, but with its current iteration, I cannot get Cineform AVI generated files into Premiere CS4, and for down rezzing to 720x480p from 1920x1080p from EX1 generated files, I will NOT be without Cineform, which does a better job of downrezzing than any of the other programs I have spent thousands on and since thrown out, including the apparently much vaunted Procoder 3. And apparently given Adobe's obdurate behavior, Cineform will not work with full functionality in Premiere CS4, even though I and thousands of others have been waiting for over half a year for a solution, despite shelling out over another $700 for upgrades to Adobe and Cineform. I must say I am disgusted with this baloney, and the dozens of wasted hours spent with no apparent solution. I'm back to Adobe CS3, and will forget anything else that Adobe puts out. Adobe CS3 has been rock solid and a performer ranging from outstanding to adequate. Nuff said!

July 26th, 2009, 01:54 AM	#12
Jack Kelly Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: London, UK Posts: 243	Hi folks, I too had been experiencing serious stability issues with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. Other applications were rock solid. But then a friend recommended that I double-check that my hardware was functioning correctly. So I ran Prime95 (a free app which stress-tests the CPU and RAM) and it threw up some errors. So then I ran MemTest86+ which clearly showed that my RAM was faulty. I spent a little while narrowing the problem down to a single stick of RAM. Crucial UK offer a lifetime warranty so they replaced the faulty stick of RAM at no cost to me! Bargain! The stable RAM fixed many of my problems but my system was still behaving a little strangely so I started checking Windows Event Viewer and found that the driver for my motherboard's SATA controller was causing issues so I loaded up the latest BIOS and drivers and all was well. I've been running CS4 on Windows 7 RC1 for over a month and it really has been rock-solid. Highly recommended. I haven't tried Cineform on this system yet but I probably will do soon. Anyway, the conclusions of my story seems to be: if your system miss-behaves then run a stress-test like Prime95 to make sure your CPU and RAM are stable. It doesn't take long and the tools are free. __________________ Jack Kelly's filmmaking website AfterCarbon.org

July 1st, 2009, 10:23 AM	#2
Alan Craven Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: York, England Posts: 518	There was an update for Adobe Media Encoder released just over a month ago. If you have automatic updates, it may have updated itself to AME 4.1, and this could be the cause of your problem.

July 1st, 2009, 10:34 AM	#3
Jerry Porter Major Player Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Satellite Beach, Fl Posts: 784	I can't tell you what the problem is and the update did nothing for me, but my work around that I found on the Adobe site is to create a new user profile on you PC and open the project from that new profile and the media encoder works for me and others on that new profile. Yes THAT IS ONLY SOLUTION THAT I HAVE FOUND TO WORK!! Ridiculous I know, but as Adobe now treats its customers as Beta testers only to charge us for the next upgrade with the bugs worked out what do you expect. I uninstalled and reinstalled two times and the only thing that worked was creating the new profile.....

July 1st, 2009, 11:32 AM	#4
William Urschel Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bee Cave, Texas Posts: 151	WOW! I don't know if the work around will work - intuitively, it absolutely doesn't make an sense - but then sooooo much doesn"t. I'll give it a try later today, when I'm back in my studio. But thank you both so much for your unbelievably prompt response - and yes, come to think of it (and I hadn't before), the problem cited started right after I downloaded the referenced update! What a shame - I don't use Premiere CS 4, only CS3, because of all the horror stories I've heard about Premiere CS4 - I paid all the money for the upgrade to CS4 just because I wanted to use what I thought was the stand alone Adobe Media Encoder CS4, since I wanted to use it to enhance my workflow, which it really did! I found when recently tried to uninstall it and reinstall it that I couldn't - so I may try to uninstall and reinstall Premiere CS4 (which I'm not using anyway, and see if that works - if not, I'll uninstall and then reinstall the whole CS4, with hopes that that doesn't mess up something with CS3 or leave something behind that defeats who knows what.

July 1st, 2009, 12:45 PM	#5
Brian Barkley Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 233	The final version of CS4 has just been released. Please read the below message that I got from my tech on June 24. He probably knows more about CS4 than anyone in the country. Brian - Nobody on any internet forum has the final version. Most of the bugs are out now, and we're starting to install it. Will have a "public beta" release tomorrow, and the final should not be far behind (maybe a week). We could do your system anytime that fits your schedule. Regards,

July 1st, 2009, 01:17 PM	#6
Devin Termini Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mount Pleasant, MI Posts: 177	Do you mean final version of CS4 as in - this is the last significant update of CS4 until CS5?

July 2nd, 2009, 06:16 AM	#7
Brian Barkley Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 233	Well I suppose there will always be updates to eliminate certain bugs, but the version that just came out this week should make most people happy that have experienced bothersome bugs in recent months. This version should be rock solid. Personally, I am going for it.

July 21st, 2009, 12:38 PM	#10
Syeed Ali Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 161	I recently rebuilt my machine with i7 processor, 6GB ram and lots of hard drives. For the last few days, it's been crashing everytime I used CS3's Adobe media encoder. All I was getting was blue screen. Tried everything I could think of and was about to call an engineer to come round and try and fix it which would have cost £50 plus. However, it did start working for a while when I removed 2GB of ram, but teh problem re-occured soon after. I then came across a registry edit programme called Registry easy at Registry Easy - Registry Cleaner for Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 98. (You can probably use any other registry software as well, but remember to backup existing registry). Paid £22 for the download version, installed and ran it and so far the AME hasn't crashed. I'm also now using it on CS4. So far so good. EDIT: Did contact Adobe for help last thursday. Haven't heard anything from them since!!!

July 26th, 2009, 09:07 AM	#13
Brian Barkley Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Overland Park, KS Posts: 233	Jack, I understand the Cineform is not compatible with the Matrox Axio card, which I have with my CS4 package. I'm not sure what Cineform accomplishes anyway.