Vegas 12, missing frames when rendering mpeg2

[Stephen Mann]

I still can’t duplicate the problem. I did a “render as”, Main Concept MPEG using the DVDA template. The last frame is 09:24.

Steve Mann
MannMade Digital Video
http://www.mmdv.com

[Antoine Van de cruyssen]

Hi Stephen,

I guess there must be something wrong with my installation then I guess. I will probably have a unique problem… :-/ that is really strange. Since it is a clean install on a fresh Windows.

Going to uninstall and reinstall this evening (European evening, that is ;)). Hopefully that will solve the problem.

Thanks!

[Antoine Van de cruyssen]

Hi Stephen, all who is reading,

Just installed Vegas 12 (build 367) on a laptop. Exactly the same thing as on my own system. This is probably really something from Vegas. Just saw that there is an update (editing system not connected to internet, laptop is :)). Going to see if that helps.

[edit]
Just updated the laptop to 12.0.726. The problem is changed. Now when I render the same clip (black solid, 0s0f ~ 9s24f), with the default template, I get everything, till 9s21f, then 9s24f. So 9s22f and 9s23f are missing (?). When I change the template to “two pass”, it renders out nicely and complete.

Still this is strange… I anybody has a clue, then please. Because I lost faith a little.

[Tom Savell]

I’m having a problem with the MainConcept encoder where it’s skipping frames throughout the entire rendered file. At first I didn’t know that was the problem until I saw this thread and thought to insert a timecode display so I could see it on the output. Sure enough, it skips frames. The first frame is frame 2! It’s not just at the beginning and end, it’s throughout the entire file.

If I render with the Sony AVC codec, it works great. The problem is that I have to deliver a 60 second commercial to Comcast and their system rejects the Sony AVC file. They have guidelines specific to Vegas, and it says to use the MainConcept MPEG2 codec with very specific settings. I’ve tried all sorts of variations of settings with no luck so far.

I have Vegas Pro 12.0 build 726 installed.

BTW, I’ve been sorely disappointed with the MC codec for a long time – even at “high quality” settings, the output looks pretty crappy. I’ve had versions of Vegas since at least 6.0, I may have even purchased older ones; I don’t remember.

[Antoine Van de cruyssen]

Yeah, the Mpeg2 codec sucks, and not little. I have found that when rendering VBR single pass, it also skips frames in build 726. When I put it in CBR or VBR 2-pass, it renders fine. At least, it renders all the frames. 2-pass is definitely better quality, but hey, you can not compare 576i with 720p.

Is there a (free?) and better MPEG2 codec? I have the idea that Mainconcept is the only provider.

[Gary Nargiz]

The exact same issue as you describe it here is occurring with me. I have never had this issue with any other version of Vegas. Someone mentioned to disable CPU rendering but I don’t believe that is an option with the mpeg 2 rendering templates. Please correct me if I am wrong and demonstrate. I am using 12 build 726 and it is skipping frames randomly in the render output. BTW. Sony has about the worse tech support service I have ever experienced. My dog knows more about their products then their so called tech support people do. This problem is occurring on my state of the art $5000 dedicated quadcore editing station. The same exact file rendered on my $800 Dell laptop with the same build of Vegas has no mpeg 2 skipping issues with the rendered file. That is why I believe you may be on to something when someone said it might have to do with the CPU or other rendering settings that a more advanced machine would be able to access. I have to deliver mpeg 2 files every single day to clients so this is a fricking nightmare.

Update: Since posting this problem I believe I have discovered that the problem is not with the render but with the windows media player installed on my production computer. If I play the file back that was skipping on the production machine in windows media player it does not have the same skipping glitches when played back on another machine such as my laptop in power DVD or another playback program that can properly decode mpeg 2 files. So the issue no surprise here is with the support or should I say lack of support windows media player provides for mpeg2 playback. In the past I have installed 3rd party codecs to deal with this issue but I have often had mixed results and also am not a fan of the lack of control you have over being able to control which codec is used to encode files once you install those 3rd party packages. Anyway perhaps this will help someone else resolve this issue if they experience it.