Problems with certain MP4 video files in PTE

[johnstonf]

I have a dilemma...

I copied all of my movies and photos (Movies are short .mp4 files from my Samsung Galaxy S2 Android phone) to my MacBookAir (then deleted them off my phone as i needed the room).

I backed them up onto my external hard drive (WD MyBook).

Any of these videos i try to use in PTE want to convert them, and if i allow, it creates a HUGE .avi file that doesn't work right either. If i keep them unconverted, they are choppy, the audio replays small parts 2 and 3 times, in short spurts, just random crap, and crappy video (short bursts all out of time, etc.)

Here's the clincher...

I created new video on my SGS2 phone, and copy them to my PC and and they pull into PTE perfectly. Its not the legth, as some of the videos i just created on my SGS2 are longer than the problem files.

If i play the problem files, on my PC using VLC, they play perfectly.

Why might PTE be so bugged about these files, yet they play fine on my PC using VLC?

Is there some kind of conversion I can do with some different converter, that really doesn't convert them, but just jerks something around so that PTE can be happy with them?

I have added two sample files... (go to the link to download them)...

My Test Files to Download

First one is video-2012-06-09-12-25-08.mp4 (problem file... compare by viewing in VLC or other media player)

Second is video-2012-08-14-13-29-05.mp4 (good file i just created today, pulls nicely into PTE)

HELP!

Thanks!

Fred Johnston, Canada

[coopernatural]

Fred,

Try 'Freemake Video Converter'.

As a starting point, select output as 'AVI' in Freemake.

No pte conversion.

Davy

[johnstonf]

Further info...

I realized that when i tested today (duh!) i used the front camera instead, and it is much lower resolution... you can see the screenshot below... shows the specs on the two files from my same phone, but different cameras (back/front)...

So, next question... what SHOULD I convert my .mp4's that are higher resolution to, to keep the best output, but allow PTE to work correctly... the large .avi it is auto-creating is not working properly... jerks, etc.

/Fred

[coopernatural]

Fred,

Try the convertor I mentioned.Lots of output variations available with it.

From crapola to HD.Your choice.Your show.

Take time to try it out for yourself.

Davy

[johnstonf]

Hi Davy,

Thanks... i realized i had paid for "Wondershare" video converter

so i did that... your suggestion of avi worked nicely.

Now when I include video, it works fine when I build it to

a dvd, but when I create a pc/mac version, it shows one of

the videos, but instead of being 16:9 it is 4:3 and it is jerky

for the first 10seconds, then smoothens out.

Not sure why it is different from one output to the other with

the exact same project file

Any ideas anyone?

Fred

Fred,

Try the convertor I mentioned.Lots of output variations available with it.

From crapola to HD.Your choice.Your show.

Take time to try it out for yourself.

Davy

[coopernatural]

Fred,

Try optimizing video at a very low quality setting within pte, to take the strain off your system.

If it plays ok, might be a limitation of your machine (ram, graphics, settings, horsepower etc).

Still get choppy playback, maybe files have been transferred in wrong backup mode.

Frame rate, aspect ratio and frame size for both files are different.

Might be worth a look at your Samsung settings/manual.

Other than that,you may need an expert.

Davy

[Conflow]

Davy and Fred,

I have been following this thread and although I am no Mac-expert ~something was bugging me~ so I delved into the Samsung-Galaxy Specs.

The output(s) from the Galaxy seem to be Windows compatible and not (natively) MacAir compatible. Some brief Galaxy details below.,viz:-

1920x1080.pixels in formats:- 3/Gpp ~ H263 ~ H264 ~ Mpeg4 ~ Wmv all at 30.Fps and in my opinion if these are imported into the MacAir it

must change the formats into something compatible with the MacAir like Quicktime or Mov.

Fred then tried to import these Mac-formats back into a Windows-PC and naturally enough they would not work (different format) and you Davy

then suggested a Converter which did work perfectly ~ Now Fred is trying to import a Windows video-product back into the MacAir and again it

wont work unless converted back into the MacAir-format. It seems Fred is using some form of Back-Converter but it not working properly and it

seems he is not using Bootcamp nor Fusion nor Parallels ~ but without details thats purely a guess !!

I attach the "Galaxy-Specification-Sheet" (Zip-File) which may be of help to both of you ~ best of luck with it.

Brian.(Conflow)

Samsung-Galaxy-8mP-Specs.zip

P.S...Should this topic not be down in the Mac-Pte Forum ?

[coopernatural]

Brian,

Video was H264. Compatible with and supported by Mac.

If backup mode was to mass storage device then no change would take place.

(if all was working ok)

There are software bugs,glitches and other unknowns.

It may take Fred to have another go with Video capture,to see if the

problem gets sorted.

Davy

[Picsel]

Fred,

as far as I know, PTE is using MPEG-4 part2 (MPEG4-ASP); your 3GPP format video file 1920x1080px seems to be encoded MPEG4 part10 (MPEG4-AVC), it should be better if you could convert it into MPEG4-ASP, then I can guess that PTE could use it without any other transcoding! Take care to hardware limitations as 1920x1080 transcoding is requiring powerfull machines.

Daniel

[johnstonf]

Hello... that is correct... it has NOTHING to do with my Mac at all.

I determined that above, by testing directly bypassing the Mac, and

copying from SGS2 to ExternalHDD. Then working on in PTE.

Thanks, Fred

Brian,

Video was H264. Compatible with and supported by Mac.

If backup mode was to mass storage device then no change would take place.

(if all was working ok)

There are software bugs,glitches and other unknowns.

It may take Fred to have another go with Video capture,to see if the

problem gets sorted.

Davy

[johnstonf]

WOW, all these terms!... can't ANYTHING be easy anymore? lol

I'll have to check all that in the conversion program. (too bad i have to

convert everything... then i need to set the dates on the files, so they

fall into place chronologically.

Would this be made simpler in a future PTE upgrade? (by supporting

MPEG4 part10 (MPEG-AVC). That would be REALLY NICE! There sure

are a TON of people using SGS2 phones (and now SGS3 also).

Thanks!

/Fred

Fred,

as far as I know, PTE is using MPEG-4 part2 (MPEG4-ASP); your 3GPP format video file 1920x1080px seems to be encoded MPEG4 part10 (MPEG4-AVC), it should be better if you could convert it into MPEG4-ASP, then I can guess that PTE could use it without any other transcoding! Take care to hardware limitations as 1920x1080 transcoding is requiring powerfull machines.

Daniel

[Conflow]

Picsel and Fred,

(Use full-page view)

Piscel ~ Yes you are correct about PTE and MPEG4-Asp and Igor had done some exhaustive Testing on that element in PTE-Development.

(See extract Image from a previous Igor-Post below).

Fred ~ The reason I posted the 'Tech-Specs' of the Galaxy-Android Phone was because quite recently I received some images from a friend

in Germany and these were MPEG-4/H264 and yes they came from his Galaxy-Android and yes you guessed it....I had a damn hard job trying

to get them to work on my XP-Pro ~ but that was my experience ~ yours could be different and thats the reason for the 'Tech-Spec' in the hope

that someone would 'pick-up' on the data and offer a "Fix"...and for that you have to thank Piscel..

Finding a Converter to do this job is like trying to find 'Hens-Teeth' and a similar topic is all over Google ~ but the following Program may help !!

Piscel if you are reading this you might like to give the Converter-Program a "try-out"......its called "MP4CamAVI"

Brian.(Conflow)

MP4Cam2AVI.zip

[johnstonf]

Thanks Brian

I just didn't want this getting tossed to the mac-pte forum, as it

is not a Mac Related problem.

Thanks for your info and the converter.

Fred

Picsel and Fred,

(Use full-page view)

Piscel ~ Yes you are correct about PTE and MPEG4-Asp and Igor had done some exhaustive Testing on that element in PTE-Development.

(See extract Image from a previous Igor-Post below).

Fred ~ The reason I posted the 'Tech-Specs' of the Galaxy-Android Phone was because quite recently I received some images from a friend

in Germany and these were MPEG-4/H264 and yes they came from his Galaxy-Android and yes you guessed it....I had a damn hard job trying

to get them to work on my XP-Pro ~ but that was my experience ~ yours could be different and thats the reason for the 'Tech-Spec' in the hope

that someone would 'pick-up' on the data and offer a "Fix"...and for that you have to thank Piscel..

Finding a Converter to do this job is like trying to find 'Hens-Teeth' and a similar topic is all over Google ~ but the following Program may help !!

Piscel if you are reading this you might like to give the Converter-Program a "try-out"......its called "MP4CamAVI"

Brian.(Conflow)

MP4Cam2AVI.zip

[Picsel]

Thanks Brian,

this Mp4Cam2AVI works fine and very easy to use (for this particular job it works better and faster than Main concept, Vlc, XMediaRecode, Avidemux, that I tested with Fred's video file conversion).

I will spend a bit more time to test it cutting and joining h264 files without reencoding , I will test it also for exporting avi file to Virtualdub,

Coming back to Fred's problem, I ve made two tests

At first I ve converted Fred's H264 (MPEG4-AVC) keeping the original size (1920x1080) using Mp4Cam2AVI Xvid encoder at 12000kb/s, PTE v7.0.7 accepts the file without notice, the main window viewer plays the video quite smoothly but preview and exe file are frozed and jerky on my PC (ASUS K70IJ-Win7) however the video file is read smoothly by my video players : MPC-HC,VLC, WMP

Then, as Igor restricted PTE use to 1280x720 video size, I've made the conversion still using Mp4Cam2AVI Xvid encoder but at 6000kb/s and 1280x720 but the result was exactly the same. So, from where the problem is coming from? : PTE? : PC ?

(PTE archive zip file here attached)

Project1_Aug19-2012_12-32-06.zip

Fred,

I full agree with you, it is a pity that PTE does not support H264 but only MPEG4-ASP, all the major companies of video industry have agreed several years ago on the same standard for HD video (H264 for UIT-T<=> MPEG4-AVC (part10) for ISO/CEI). All people who want to insert their video clips inside PTE slideshow have to convert their video files!

I hope that asap, PTE will be able, to support H264 with both options (european and US) in order to avoid hazardous conversion on video files, but Igor said not yet for PTE 7.5!!.

Daniel

[Picsel]

....

Then, as Igor restricted PTE use to 1280x720 video size, I've made the conversion still using Mp4Cam2AVI Xvid encoder but at 6000kb/s and 1280x720 but the result was exactly the same. So, from where the problem is coming from? : PTE? : PC ?

(PTE archive zip file here attached)

Project1_Aug19-2012_12-32-06.zip

Apparently, the problem is solved with v7.5.0 i played the video file smoothly with mini-viewer or preview and exe file as well.

Daniel

[johnstonf]

What problems exactly? Does v7.5 accept H264? What about resolution? (still 1280x720)?

And when is v7.5 available?

Fred

[Ken Cox]

Fred

better start reading the forum -- and practice RAT's -- read all threads)

http://www.picturestoexe.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14948-download-picturestoexe-deluxe-75-beta/

ken

[Picsel]

What problems exactly? Does v7.5 accept H264? What about resolution? (still 1280x720)?

And when is v7.5 available?

Fred

Fred

Refer to my previous post where I put an attached file including your h264 video clip converted into MPEG4-ASP with Mp4Cam2AVI converter provided by Brian.

The video (MPEG4-ASP) playback was still jerky with PTEv7.0.7 it is smooth now with v 7.5 beta 1. Unfortunately, v7.5 does not support H264!

In order to find v7.5, follow the link provided by Ken

Daniel

[fh1805]

Unfortunately, v7.5 does not support H264!

I do not understand this comment. I have just successfully added a H264 video file (previously created using v7.0) into a slide in v7.5 beta 1 and it has played successfully in the mini-player.

Peter

[nobeefstu]

Picsel,

Unfortunately, v7.5 does not support H264

PTE does and has been supporting H.264 since v7.0

The problem with H.264 is that it is very demanding and heavy for decoding. Alot of the average users PCs cannot play this format efficiently. Your PC may handle it ... but whom you distribute it to maynot. Thats why Igor doesnot recommend H.264 for optimal playback in PTE.

*Its incorrectly to assume PTE should playback the video just because your media player may play it correctly.

*Also when a software supports any particular video format such as H.264 ... you cannot expect all the different variations that are produced in the market day to day to be fully supported.

Read Here:

Video formats supported by PicturesToExe 7.0 For video clips

[Picsel]

Peter, nobeefstu

please read the posts of Fred, make the expereince with his H264 video file and you will understand the reasons!

There are several video profiles and levels which are specified by H264(MPEG4-AVC)standard, PTE supports some of them but not all of them in particular it does not support High Profile Level 4,0/4,1 commonly produced nowadays (and since 4 or 5 years) by most of digital cameras and camcorders, some 3rd generation of wireless phones and most of european HDTV broadcasters.

I would be very happy if I could say that PTE is supporting H264 but unfortunately it is not yet the case.

Daniel

[fh1805]

There are several video profiles and levels which are specified by H264(MPEG4-AVC)standard, PTE supports some of them but not all of them.

So the complaint really is that PTE doesn't support every possible flavour of every possible video format?

To do that would probably require a much larger team of programmers in order to research each new variant as it was introduced and write the support for it. That, in turn, would mean the purchase price of PTE would have to increase, possibly very dramatically.

If anyone is dissatisfied with the features that exist in PTE they can always open a new topic in the "Ideas and suggestions..." part of the forum. We all know very well indeed that Igor takes all our suggestions into account when deciding what features to add in each new release of the product. In each new release he includes many ideas that were put forward by users plus some that came from within the Wnsoft team.

regards,

Peter

[Picsel]

Sorry Peter that is not a complaint but a technical fact !

I personnally use PTE mainly for photos/slideshow I have never asked for videos clips before Igor offers this possibility with v7.0.

Neither I asked for Youtube and Vimeo support !

But knowing PTE for its high quality in photos processing I was very surprised that HD video clips were not supported.

That is a problem of commercial target and priority for Igor.

But you cannot say PTE is supporting H264 without mentionning the technical restrictions. Having say that I recognises that a lot of improvement have already been achieved by Igor team.

Wait and see...

Daniel

[johnstonf]

Peter,

Please keep your comments to helping with the problem, as other

are doing (thanks to all!, i really am valuing and learning a lot from

your (non Peter) posts.

The programmers, and company, I'm sure, are most able to

think and speak for themselves.

Fred

So the complaint really is that PTE doesn't support every possible flavour of every possible video format?

To do that would probably require a much larger team of programmers in order to research each new variant as it was introduced and write the support for it. That, in turn, would mean the purchase price of PTE would have to increase, possibly very dramatically.

If anyone is dissatisfied with the features that exist in PTE they can always open a new topic in the "Ideas and suggestions..." part of the forum. We all know very well indeed that Igor takes all our suggestions into account when deciding what features to add in each new release of the product. In each new release he includes many ideas that were put forward by users plus some that came from within the Wnsoft team.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

Your problem does not seem to be a "bug" - i.e. it does not seem to be a piece of PTE code that is working incorrectly. What you seem to have discovered is something - a particular flavour of H264 - for which there is currently no support within PTE. Therefore the PTE solution to your problem will require a change to the code of PTE. The correct way to request an enhancement to PTE is via the "Ideas and suggestions..." part of the forum. Starting a new topic in the "Ideas..." part of the forum will put your request onto Igor's radar and give you a much better chance of getting the code changed once the team have time. However, the company and programmers are fully committed to the v7.5 beta programme and don't have as much time as they might like to monitor and respond to forum posts.

respectfully yours,

Peter