Unable to convert to Windows Media

Discuss about generic usage of MediaCoder.

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Steerpike
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Unable to convert to Windows Media

Post by Steerpike » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:26 am

You know, I am STILL unable to get a WMV out of MediaCoder! I've been trying since mid-last year, and tried again last night with the current version. Using the same sources that work for H.264/Mpeg4 above (a canon AVI and a MOV from the Lumix), I choose Windows Media Video/ASF, Windows Media Audio, and cannot get past the 'test' phase (which runs for several seconds). I get the message that says 'The testing phase has failed. Do you still want to process the whole file?'. I've tried disabling audio; no change. Thinking this may be due to my use of Vista Biz, I installed the same MC version on my old Dell XP Pro setup, and got the same result. I then downloaded the 'last stable' version (0.6.1.4045) (7zip version) of MC and ran it standalone; I get the 'blocking' problem I was getting back in August. This is not a big deal as I use VideoLan to convert to WMV, but I'd love to know what is causing this!

Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike » Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:56 pm

Oh, the inconsistency of it all :)!

I launched MC, did a File/Revert all settings; Then did a File/Load Preset, and pointed to the xml file I created from your settings above; cleaned up the temp and output locations. I then added my test MOV file (from the Lumix LX3), and - it converted! It took a LONG time - 620 secs, whereas the H.264 and MPEG4 conversions are taking <2 minutes for same short (32 sec) clip.

Thrilled by this, I chose my second video - identical settings, just a second video taken that same day with same camera - and got the dreaded 'The encode thread seems to be blocked... If you are not running ... do you want to interrupt the task?'. CPU utilization is low at that point.

So I reloaded the first movie, reverted settings, reloaded your preset file, cleaned up paths; re-ran - this time, got the same 'appears to be blocked' message.

I then re-ran the conversion to H.264, which worked, and then re-tried the wmv conversion - 'blocked...' again.

So ... using your preset, I no longer get the 'failed testing phase', but now I seem back to the old inconsistent results - very occasional success but mainly 'blocked' ... .

I'll give it a try on my old XP Dell Latitude using your preset and update here ...
===
Update - tried the same sample video on my old Dell latitude XP Pro (single core), where I run as a local admin (unlike on vista, where I run as a non-admin). Same 'blocking' problem even on the first attempt. Then I randomly selected an AVI from my old canon S45 camera, and it worked. I tried several files at random, and to the very best of my knowledge, I'd say the results were 'random/inconsistent' - I could get a file to convert, then try that same file again a few minutes later and get the 'blocking' condition. So I'm mystified!

Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:34 pm

Disabling Audio seems to give 100% consistent success, on both machines. I note that the time taken does not reduce - the same 600+ seconds. In fact, running the same conversion on both my old XP Dell Latitude, and my new(er) dual-core vista laptop, yielded almost identical results.

If my results are 'off the wall', I'll happily give up on this since I have a very repeatable process to transcode to wmv using VideoLan. If, however, others are experiencing similar problems I'm more than happy to pursue this. I'm a former software tech support guy and know the ropes when it comes to reproducing and tracking down obscure problems ... there is a perverse sense of satisfaction in getting this stuff working. I have access to several machines, XP/Vista, Dell/Lenovo.

Thanks!

Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:12 pm

Can you tell me why 'your' xml options file has a lot more in it than one I just created? comparing the two, we both have entries for: ui.optionTab; audio.encoder; video.format.
Yours includes additional settings for: generic.ignoreBuild; ui.mode; ui.param; ui.nowelcome; task.destdir; task.tempdir; preview.render; videofilter.frame.enabled

Am I exporting them in the correct way - File/Save As Preset? It seems odd that 'destdir' and 'tempdir', at the very least, are not exported on my system.

Steerpike
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Post by Steerpike » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:53 pm

So - any suggestions or ideas as to what I can try next?

Thanks!

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