Probably my mismanagement of software at DVinfo.net

Bob Hart · October 19th, 2008, 12:24 PM

I have been trying to convert long as in 18minute clips from an EX1 and ran into a bit of a problem.

The long clips stall Prospect 4K before conversion is complete or process through to completion but on playback the vision freezes at about 8 minutes, sometimes sooner sometimes later but the soundtrack continues to play on to end of clip.

I could not get Sony's clip browser to work so took a punt and copied the BPAV folder from the camera, then marked this folder as holding the files for conversion to cineform avi. The files all converted but the vision in the longer ones is truncated. Pulling in each file singly for conversion does not make any difference.

Any clues would be appreciated. My guess is that there is a better way of doing the conversion.

It is not the worlds greatest computer. SI2K cineform files work fine. However I have not tried to deal with a lengthy one of these.

Bob Hart · October 21st, 2008, 01:07 AM

Seems like this might be a problem unique to yours truly. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Having to revert to the realtime firewire 25Mbs capture route is vexing me no end.

Bob Hart · October 21st, 2008, 03:49 AM

Furthur to my post above, I have downloaded and installed the latest revision of P4K. I have also re-copied the clip to a computer drive with Sony's clip browser software which would have to be right up there with WordPerfect for DOS as being non-intuitive to manage. I managed to get a playback in clip browser of the complete clip and the original is intact as is the copy on the computer hard drive.

Clip Browser offers a conversion to .mxf option. I though right - Maybe I can go an indirect route to an intact .avi file. Forget it. The next cue clip browser puts up is "format not supported". One asks, why put it there if it doesn't work? Grey out the option if it is not there. Sony really needs to do better than this.

Back to Prospect 4K. - I lowered the quality level to "high". For other conversions from the Z1, this works fine.

I selected split scenes "on" this time round to see if that would help.

The vision truncation problem remains. So for the time being the camera and editing system is next to useless in terms of getting the best from the camera. If anybody can point me in the direction of where I am going wrong with this, the advice will be greatly appreciated.

Attached below is a copy of the cineform activity log for the last conversion attempt.

Bob Hart · October 21st, 2008, 07:29 AM

Still no luck after finding there is a version two of Sony's clip browser. Used that to copy the file across. Still no joy on a successful conversion but it did go furthur into the clip before it gave up.

Maybe the cockroaches on the circuit boards moved to the right.

Got this error message this time :-

szAppName : HDLink.exe szAppVer : 3.4.3.182 szModName : hungapp
szModVer : 0.0.0.0 offset : 00000000

Time for trouble ticket I guess.

Bob Hart · October 21st, 2008, 09:16 AM

After a period of seething, missed self-imposed deadlines and episodes of the red mist, the solution finally stuck its head up.

It seems it is a case of beware the ambush of the lone FAT32 formatted drive getting in among the NTFS flock. Pure carelessness on my part.

Now a trial at Filmscan to make sure the hopes are not too far raised.

FOOTNOTE:

The clip converts fine in filmscan as a 6GB file. Just goes to show how one can become blind to the obvious, like a file that unerringly stalls at 3.99GB.

October 19th, 2008, 12:24 PM	#1
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Probably my mismanagement of software I have been trying to convert long as in 18minute clips from an EX1 and ran into a bit of a problem. The long clips stall Prospect 4K before conversion is complete or process through to completion but on playback the vision freezes at about 8 minutes, sometimes sooner sometimes later but the soundtrack continues to play on to end of clip. I could not get Sony's clip browser to work so took a punt and copied the BPAV folder from the camera, then marked this folder as holding the files for conversion to cineform avi. The files all converted but the vision in the longer ones is truncated. Pulling in each file singly for conversion does not make any difference. Any clues would be appreciated. My guess is that there is a better way of doing the conversion. It is not the worlds greatest computer. SI2K cineform files work fine. However I have not tried to deal with a lengthy one of these. Last edited by Bob Hart; October 19th, 2008 at 12:27 PM. Reason: error

October 21st, 2008, 03:49 AM	#3
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Furthur to my post above, I have downloaded and installed the latest revision of P4K. I have also re-copied the clip to a computer drive with Sony's clip browser software which would have to be right up there with WordPerfect for DOS as being non-intuitive to manage. I managed to get a playback in clip browser of the complete clip and the original is intact as is the copy on the computer hard drive. Clip Browser offers a conversion to .mxf option. I though right - Maybe I can go an indirect route to an intact .avi file. Forget it. The next cue clip browser puts up is "format not supported". One asks, why put it there if it doesn't work? Grey out the option if it is not there. Sony really needs to do better than this. Back to Prospect 4K. - I lowered the quality level to "high". For other conversions from the Z1, this works fine. I selected split scenes "on" this time round to see if that would help. The vision truncation problem remains. So for the time being the camera and editing system is next to useless in terms of getting the best from the camera. If anybody can point me in the direction of where I am going wrong with this, the advice will be greatly appreciated. Attached below is a copy of the cineform activity log for the last conversion attempt. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by Bob Hart; October 21st, 2008 at 03:57 AM. Reason: errors

October 21st, 2008, 09:16 AM	#5
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Above - A Cronicle Of Operator Incompetence. After a period of seething, missed self-imposed deadlines and episodes of the red mist, the solution finally stuck its head up. It seems it is a case of beware the ambush of the lone FAT32 formatted drive getting in among the NTFS flock. Pure carelessness on my part. Now a trial at Filmscan to make sure the hopes are not too far raised. FOOTNOTE: The clip converts fine in filmscan as a 6GB file. Just goes to show how one can become blind to the obvious, like a file that unerringly stalls at 3.99GB. Last edited by Bob Hart; October 21st, 2008 at 09:47 AM. Reason: error

October 21st, 2008, 01:07 AM	#2
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Seems like this might be a problem unique to yours truly. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Having to revert to the realtime firewire 25Mbs capture route is vexing me no end.

October 21st, 2008, 07:29 AM	#4
Bob Hart Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: PERTH. W.A. AUSTRALIA. Posts: 4,477	Still no luck after finding there is a version two of Sony's clip browser. Used that to copy the file across. Still no joy on a successful conversion but it did go furthur into the clip before it gave up. Maybe the cockroaches on the circuit boards moved to the right. Got this error message this time :- szAppName : HDLink.exe szAppVer : 3.4.3.182 szModName : hungapp szModVer : 0.0.0.0 offset : 00000000 Time for trouble ticket I guess.