@matttk

Welcome to the Magix user to user forums.

As @CubeAce (Ray) says, there are a number of users who do make quite extensive use of TMA in their videos. Unfortunately, I am not one of them but I will tag @browj2 because of his experience of this software.

Also, I think you are being a little "harsh" in your criticism of the software you were able to buy for $25! VPX alone, full price, costs well in excess of $300!

Jeff
Forum Moderator

Hmm the only sticky I see is that this is not the vegas forum... in any case, my PC specs are:

• Windows 10 Pro (10.0.18352)
• Intel Core i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40 GHz
• 8 GB RAM
• NVIDIA GeForce GPU

I could post a screenshot of the loading bar being almost at the end but I don't see how that would help much. As for the map itself, it's a GPS route from Marseille to the border of Italy. When there are the 2 default points, it exports (just tried it again). When I do practically anything else, it doesn't export anymore. I did confirm now at least that I can change one option and still export, which is have the camera follow.

Also, I think you are being a little "harsh" in your criticism of the software you were able to buy for $25! VPX alone, full price, costs well in excess of $300!

Hi Jeff, thanks for the response. I don't think it's harsh to expect the program to function at all, though. Within minutes of use, I found it didn't work, and can't find any way to make it work almost at all. I guess it's possible I have some very special case but it seems very suspicious to me that this software is so discounted and then doesn't function in a basic use case.

Maybe I just came at a bad time, when a new bug was introduced or something. Let's hope it's fixed soon.

@matttk

Hi Matt.

That helps a bit.

So are you running a laptop? If so are you also using an external drive?

Which nvidia card?

What type of internal drive does it have and how much free space is on it?

Do you put the project folder on the C: drive? If you are using an external drive for the project, what type is it along with read / write speeds and reported unused space on the drive please.

As others are using it without issue I doubt it's a bug in the software.

Ray.

@matttk

Hi

. . . . Hmm the only sticky I see is that this is not the vegas forum . . . .

That is because you are only looking at the Video Pro X (VPX) section of the forum - turn on the Movie Edit Pro (MEP) section as well this may also help you see further issues which may be relevant to you - MEP is the 'little brother' of VPX, same engine however none of the professional broadcast features and only one preview monitor, most issues that apply to MEP also apply the VPX.

Please out your computer specification in your signature - it helps us, when you post, to know what system you have without having repeatedly ask or go digging for it - see my signature for an example.

Are you using external USB hard drives?

. . . . Every time I export to video, it gets stuck almost at the very end . . . .

Did you add a custom point, image or anything else near the end if the route?

John EB
Forum Moderator

I am using a Microsoft Surface Book. As for the GPU, it really just says GeForce GPU, even in the GeForce Experience program and on the product page for this laptop.

I am using the internal 256gb SSD, which has 62 GB free.

Everything is on c, which is the only drive.

Did you add a custom point, image or anything else near the end if the route?

Yes, when I add custom points, I can't export anymore, and one of the custom points is Monaco, which is right before the border with Italy. Actually, my last point is just over the border, half way to Ventimiglia. The points I add are Toulon, Saint Tropez, Cannes, Nice, and Monaco. When I add those, I can't export anymore.

I guess I missed the sticky from the other forum but I did at least search for this issue in all forums and in google. I even checked the German forums.

@matttk

Hi Matt.

Then as mad as it may sound, you are probably running out of drive space. This is often the cause of shutdowns or freezes of such programs. Because you are only using 8GB or ram a lot of the information during the program running will be put into temp files on the drive and they can get huge. Add to that you are trying to export a file to the drive at the same time and it is easy to run out of available space.

I suggest if it's possible to attach a second drive. If you try to use an SD card instead it may still give you problems.

Short of that transfer files you don't need on the Surface Pro to another medium and free up as much space on your hard drive as you can.

Creating video or animations on a computer of any description is very resource hungry.

Ray.

Sorry but this makes no sense. I can export a video in Video Pro X11, which results in a 32 GB file, no problem... but if I add 5 map points onto a small map, 62 GB is not enough to export to video? There is no possible way drive space is the issue. Don't forget, I can export just fine without those 5 extra points. I would assume that the length of video is actually identical and that the size, is, therefore, quite similar.

Just an update to my previous post. I tried creating a new file, loading the gpx, naming the two points, and setting the camera to follow (as described above). Export works. I then added the 5 extra points described above. Exporting is broken (as described). I tried deleting Monaco (second last point). Export is still broken. I tried deleting another point. Export is still broken. I tried deleting all the extra points to get back to the working version. Export is still broken.

I don't see how this behaviour can be the result of anything other than a bug...

@matttk

I don't see how this behaviour can be the result of anything other than a bug...

Possibly so, but unless anyone else can reliably reproduce it it is highly unlikely it will ever get squashed!

So, you need to give us, step by step, the process you are using to create your TMA export. Then , others can test this by following every "step" you took in order to see whether it can be reproduced.

By definition software "bugs" must be reproducible on a variety of hardware combinations.

Jeff

@matttk

Hi

if you have no objections, could you upload the GPX file to a file sharing site like Dropbox and post a link for us to test.

John EB

@matttk

You may want to specify the exact version number of Travel Maps. I have found that reinstalling it as an add-on to another program (like MEP or PhotoStory) it actually installs the less recent version over the newest. So I need to apply the latest patch again.

@matttk

Version of Travel Maps (TM)? I have 1.0.1.385.

I only found out two weeks ago that one could add points to a GPX route. Couldn't in earlier versions. The program is quite new and has gone through several patches to get it to where it is - very good.

I have not seen many users on the forum mention using GPX files, let along GPX files with many points, added points, and View follow map, so the problem may have been missed.

I tested on my Surface Pro 4.

Test 1

GPX file with 2788 points, total distance 2651m (short route). Used 1 avatar, 3 points added with icons and text, adjusted duration between added points to make it smooth, did not have camera following path. Exported wmv file without problems.

Saved, exited, route on VPX timeline.

Test 2

Reloaded TM from VPX. Changed to view follows map. Zoomed in to maximum (it's a short route). No other changes. Exported. It hangs at about 95%. Cancelled.

Test 3

Switched back to not follow map. Zoomed out to see full route. Exported. Worked.

Test 4

Switched back to view follow map. Zoomed in but not fully. Exported. Hung at about 95%. Cancelled.

Test 5 - Compressed GPX - 84 points

Used GPS Utility to reduce the number of points to 84. I used the compress feature to eliminate points within 2m of each other.

I added 3 locations with titles, view to follow map, zoomed in max. at start, exported, no problem.

I'll play around a bit more with this file by adding some locations.

It may be that the number of points combined with View follows map causing the export to hang.

@johnebaker

Hi John EB,

Here is my GPX file that you can try.

Here is the compressed file with 84 points.

John CB

@browj2 @johnebaker @matttk

I downloaded the files that @browj2 posted and tested a variety of exports of both files, both with and without "View follows path" and the export completed successfully each time.

Jeff

@emmrecs

Hi Jeff,

Did you add in some points along the route, zoom in and use View follows path? How long was the route (duration of output in number of frames)?

Hypothesis: Looking at the duration that I had, 763 frames output, vs 2788 points, it may be that the output cannot figure out what to do since the image would move with every point and the number of points exceeds the number of images.

However, if you successfully can export, then there is a problem elsewhere. I'll try on my desktop.

John CB

@browj2 awesome! I am on my work pc and don't have the GPX file right now but looks like you have exactly reproduced my issue. Yes, my GPX file is actually a combo of 4 days of cycling, from Marseille to Italy, so probably there are a lot of points. I just tried some random website to reduce the points and data and then made a new Travel Map with that GPX and added my 5 points and customised 1 icon. I set the camera to follow and it failed at around 95% (earlier than the normal fail). I unchecked follow and the export worked.

I'll try some other combinations, including reducing the points further, but it does seem to be related to the camera follow (which for me is quite crucial - I'd rather have fewer points than no camera follow).

OK, just an update... I loaded up the original file on my home computer and added the 5 points and could export successfully. I also zoomed out to fit everything, so I can't rule out the zoom is related. However, I would assume if I now clicked camera follow, it would not work anymore.

@matttk

The problem with many points and camera follow is having the camera move at each point. This does not really make for a smooth video, thus reducing the number of points would be much better. That said, the program likely has a bug.

This is the GPS program that I use. There is a free version but there are limits to the number of waypoints and points. I use the full edition. The map helps identify points that go off the track, particularly useful with GoPro that seems to wander off the track once in a while. Simply remove the bad points. Compress allows you to define the minimum spacing between points and tells you how many points will be left. You can combine tracks, etc.

TM is somewhat rudimentary but very good at what it does for the price. Of course, the Rolls Royce is Vasco da Gama. In that, you have full control over the camera so you can smoothly follow the action.

About to try the tests on my desktop.

John CB

I'm using some free thing I googled that seems to do the job but even though I reduced just now from 24,700 points down to 308, I still get stuck on exporting, when I check camera follow. In fact, now I get stuck at 85 or 90%.

@browj2@browj2

Hi John

Have tried your test 2 with the full GPX file and TM 1.0.1.385 starting from VPX and as stand-alone several times - both exported and returned to VPX with no issues

What Animation duration value did you set? I used 100.

John EB

FYI: I use the default animation duration (0) and I forgot to mention that I just installed this program yesterday. It's version 1.0.1.385.