Audio/Video Sync Issues when creating DVD from project with proxy files

rjkowalski wrote on 1/18/2015, 3:19 PM

In an attempt to create a multi-cam project I could preview without stutter, I selected "Create Proxy Files Automatically". It ended up replacing the original audio files with audio proxy files on the timeline. I finally got the 4 camera edit complete (although I could only do 2 cameras at a time smoothly and had to use the 2014 version since the 2015 wasn't smooth no matter what I did). Everything was perfectly fine when previewing my completed project. However, when I burned the DVD files, the audio was out of sync with the video. I suspect it has something to do with the audio proxy files. So...I was going to import theoriginal audio again & re-sync it. I first wenmt to turn off "Create Proxy Files Automatically" but as soon as I did that, the project audio/video went out of sync even in preview. Ugh....

If anyone has ideas, I'd certainly appreciate them.

Thanks,

Rick

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 1/19/2015, 9:51 AM

I can't give you a definitive answer to your questions but I am wondering why it was necessary to create proxies of your audio files? The value of proxies is for smoother playback of video; I see no point whatsoever in creating proxies of audio. Any computer, even one that is considerably "under-powered" (by today's standards) should be able to successfully playback "raw" (non-proxy) audio.

Thinking about it, however, my suspicion is that "proxy audio files" = "mp3 files", which, by the nature of the format, do not work well in video editing applications. If I am "guessing" right, what you may have done is to edit/align your video files with mp3 audio files, which, when rendered (to mp2 audio or wav) whilst exporting your project have to be decoded and then re-encoded for the final output, hence the propensity to lose sync.

If I am right your only solution may be, as you suggested, to reimport the original audio; IME the "Create Proxy Files Automatically" should have no effect on audio-only files. (When you turned it off it sounds very much as if MEP reverted to using the original files, though that would surprise me.) You may then need to completely re-edit your footage in order to ensure audio-video sync.

rjkowalski wrote on 1/19/2015, 11:49 AM

emmrecs: Thanks . I suspect that's aso the issue. I had 4 tracks of video (with audio). I was having bad stuttering in MEP 2015 Multicam Preview (even when just using two video streams!); I never had issues doing the same thing with same computer using MEP 2014. Technical support recommended I try Proxy Editing so the video wouldn't stutter. I followed the "Help" instructions for proxy editing (which took a day to render) but the result didn't improve the preview stutter. I then noticed the audio file names on the timeline all had the word "proxy" in them but the word "proxy" did not exist in the video files. I have no clue why....I also would have expected the proxy to be the video tracks.

Since I have done all the editing and it's two complete cast shows each over 2 hours, I really hope to find a solution rather then re-edit the enter thing but it's not looking good. When I switched off & back on "Create Proxy Files Automatically", it told me not all files had a proxy and to click O.K. to fix. I did that overnight but now some sections of video are completely black....ugh.

I had also tried separating the audio from the video, deleting the proxy audio tracks & adding the original audio back in to align with the edited video. I had the audio perfectly aligned with the video but noticed that as I progressed along the timeline, the audio becomes more and more out of sync with the video. ugh again...

I've used MEP for years but the issues I've had with this version (and the DVD/Bluray creation in previous versions) have me considering other software unless a patch comes out very soon. :(

rjkowalski wrote on 1/19/2015, 12:47 PM

I just received this from Magix customer support:

"At the moment, I would hold on for the patch that should be released in the next week or so. There are a lot of performance enhancements for the 64bit engine and changes to the codec settings. It may help in this case."

johnebaker wrote on 1/19/2015, 1:20 PM

. . . . I am wondering why it was necessary to create proxies of your audio files. . . . "proxy audio files" = "mp3 files" . . . .

@ emmrecs

The proxy audio files are WAV files - which are not compressed unlike mp3, so they too take less processor power to play, so aiding smooth playback.

@rikowalski

What is the format of the video on the timeline?

If they are mpg files have you tried recreating the frametables - right click Create(new) frametable - for the video clips?

Then try burning the project again.

John

rjkowalski wrote on 1/19/2015, 7:44 PM

What is the format of the video on the timeline?

If they are mpg files have you tried recreating the frametables - right click Create(new) frametable - for the video clips?

Then try burning the project again.

John: The video format is .m2ts . I'll try what you suggest...it certainly can't hurt. Thanks for the response.

Rick

Scenestealer wrote on 1/19/2015, 9:40 PM

Hi Rick

Make sure Proxy settings dialogue Alt+R has the "Extract audio" box ticked :-

Extract audio when creating proxy files: In addition to the proxy files for videos, separate audio files (*.wav) are created in order to improve playback performance.

Try checking sync during preview, with the "Improve performance during preview (P) > use proxy objects during preview" ticked and unticked, to see if that gives you a clearer picture of the situation.

Peter