Dropouts at DVinfo.net

Robert Wiejak · February 10th, 2009, 10:34 AM

I was using friend’s computer with the latest Vegas Pro, when viewing certain video files (NTSC SD, XDCAM) the preview window showed a lot of dropouts in them. I could go back and forth in the file, come back to these frames and the dropouts were there. Yet when viewing the same files in other NLE the exact frames were just fine. In all cases I was using the same source, USB external drive. Any thoughts why?

Rob

PS. The other NLEs were Premier Pro and Edius.

Seth Bloombaum · February 10th, 2009, 02:37 PM

Assuming you mean that you're not getting full framerates on playback, Vegas depends on raw processor power for preview performance. An older machine is going to have difficulty with full framerate playback of heavily compressed codecs, such as XDCAM.

However, DV25-SD in an AVI wrapper should be pretty good, even going back to a medium speed Pentium 4.

The most frequent cause of dropped frames on preview is the project properties not matching the media properties. If this is the case, using one of the DV presets in project properties should clear it up.

XDCAM is a full 1920x1080, isn't it? I'm not that familiar with it, but here again, matching project properties to media is a first step.

Robert Wiejak · February 10th, 2009, 05:30 PM

Seth

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

...XDCAM is a full 1920x1080, isn't it? I'm not that familiar with it, but here again, matching project properties to media is a first step...

XDCAM is just a tapeless recording system. It uses Sony’s professional blue-ray disks to store SD or HD video in: DVCAM, IMX and MPEG HD formats.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

...Assuming you mean that you're not getting full framerates on playback, Vegas depends on raw processor power for preview performance...

No, when I say dropouts I don’t mean framerate. I mean dropouts like attached at the bottom.
I see the dropouts when paused, so the CPU horsepower has nothing to do with it.

Honestly, I don’t see any logical explanation, though I was hoping for one.
Thanks for responding.

Rob

Eugene Kosarovich · February 10th, 2009, 10:21 PM

If you are talking about XDCAM (DVCAM-mode) with Vegas Pro 8.0c, there is a significant bug that can cause what you describe. It also causes your audio to go away if you have a clip longer than 17 minutes 40 seconds.

SCS has two dlls that can fix the problem. Otherwise, you need to go back to Vegas Pro 8.0b for XDCAM (DVCAM-mode) to work right.

Robert Wiejak · February 11th, 2009, 02:18 AM

So there is a problem...
Thank you, I will pass the info to my friend.

Rob

Eugene Kosarovich · February 11th, 2009, 10:29 PM

The specific dlls that need to be replaced by new ones from SCS are the following two:

mxfplug.dll

smdkwrap.dll

With the fixed version of these two dlls replacing the original ones in Vegas Pro 8.0c, both XDCAM SD (DVCAM-mode) and XDCAM HD work fine, I've been using the replacement dlls for months with both formats.

Robert Wiejak · February 11th, 2009, 11:02 PM

Eugene

Now that you mentioned the sound, I just remembered that there were issues with sound as well.
I was not sure it was related, now I know.

Thank you again.
Rob

February 10th, 2009, 10:34 AM	#1
Robert Wiejak Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alberta Posts: 61	Dropouts I was using friend’s computer with the latest Vegas Pro, when viewing certain video files (NTSC SD, XDCAM) the preview window showed a lot of dropouts in them. I could go back and forth in the file, come back to these frames and the dropouts were there. Yet when viewing the same files in other NLE the exact frames were just fine. In all cases I was using the same source, USB external drive. Any thoughts why? Rob PS. The other NLEs were Premier Pro and Edius.

February 10th, 2009, 10:21 PM	#4
Eugene Kosarovich Taken away too young... rest in peace Eugene Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 161	If you are talking about XDCAM (DVCAM-mode) with Vegas Pro 8.0c, there is a significant bug that can cause what you describe. It also causes your audio to go away if you have a clip longer than 17 minutes 40 seconds. SCS has two dlls that can fix the problem. Otherwise, you need to go back to Vegas Pro 8.0b for XDCAM (DVCAM-mode) to work right. __________________ Scorpio Productions PDW-F335, PDW-U1, Vegas Pro 9.0b

February 11th, 2009, 10:29 PM	#6
Eugene Kosarovich Taken away too young... rest in peace Eugene Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 161	The specific dlls that need to be replaced by new ones from SCS are the following two: mxfplug.dll smdkwrap.dll With the fixed version of these two dlls replacing the original ones in Vegas Pro 8.0c, both XDCAM SD (DVCAM-mode) and XDCAM HD work fine, I've been using the replacement dlls for months with both formats. __________________ Scorpio Productions PDW-F335, PDW-U1, Vegas Pro 9.0b

February 10th, 2009, 02:37 PM	#2
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Assuming you mean that you're not getting full framerates on playback, Vegas depends on raw processor power for preview performance. An older machine is going to have difficulty with full framerate playback of heavily compressed codecs, such as XDCAM. However, DV25-SD in an AVI wrapper should be pretty good, even going back to a medium speed Pentium 4. The most frequent cause of dropped frames on preview is the project properties not matching the media properties. If this is the case, using one of the DV presets in project properties should clear it up. XDCAM is a full 1920x1080, isn't it? I'm not that familiar with it, but here again, matching project properties to media is a first step.

February 11th, 2009, 02:18 AM	#5
Robert Wiejak Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alberta Posts: 61	So there is a problem... Thank you, I will pass the info to my friend. Rob

February 11th, 2009, 11:02 PM	#7
Robert Wiejak Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Alberta Posts: 61	Eugene Now that you mentioned the sound, I just remembered that there were issues with sound as well. I was not sure it was related, now I know. Thank you again. Rob