[Graham Jones]

Hi Jeff, (also emailed)

Thanks for your help on this… I made the button highlight layers a rasterized solid black with no effects, and still no luck. I’m beginning to think it is a bug on the Mac version of Encore, especially since the highlights do work when I play the discs in a computer, implying that they are indeed on the disc, just something in the code is preventing my set tops from seeing the highlights.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Graham.

[Graham Jones]

Hi,

Thanks for testing that out.

1. This started out using Photoshop files from a previous DVD Studio Pro project, and when I brought the overlays in to Encore and used semi-transparent color overlays they previewed well, so I just left them. I will try changing the overlays as you suggest.

2/3. As mentioned in #1, I apply a semi-transparent color overlay to make the gray blob look good. I’ll blobbify them in PS as you suggest.

4. I’ve tried using Encore to burn it, and also using Encore to create a disc image and burning from that with Roxio’s Toast. Both ways produce the same result.

5. I’ve tried Verbatim branded and non-branded 16x media – I never burn faster than 4x.

I’ll test and post back. Thanks for all your help and feedback.

– Graham,.

[Graham Jones]

Hi,

Thanks for your post. I wish it was that simple, but no, the buttons are nowhere near each other.

Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Graham.

[Graham Jones]

Just an update:

Tried on my Macbook Core 2 Duo 2 GHz, also with a freshly formatted boot drive, OS 10.5.1, QT 7.3.1, Final Cut Studio and Adobe Production Premium at the latest updates.

Started with a fresh project, simple Photoshop menu with overlays. Tests perfectly on the computer, but when I check on a set top player the button highlights do not appear.

Back to DVD Studio Pro… I can’t afford to waste time on this with a pressing deadline. It’s a shame, because when I have to take this project to Blu-Ray I’ll need to bring it back to Encore.

– G.

[Graham Jones]

Hi Andrea,

have you considered pre-rendering any of the nested comps? It’s amazing how much faster renders go when you pre-render stuff that doesn’t need to change very often.

Even if you get a render farm going, pre-rendering what you don’t change that often will help you work much more quickly… that and lower resolution proxies.

Hope this helps,
Graham.

[Graham Jones]

Hi Andrea,

Thanks for your kind comments. I’m glad you were able to get good use out of my findings.

Cheers,
Graham Jones.

[Graham Jones]

Hi,

We’re talking about running the Mac version of AE 7 on an Intel Mac.

– Graham Jones.

[Graham Jones]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the comments. Pre-rendering, as you suggest, is a good habit in many situations— not just when the app is crashing. You can often transform a 1 hour render into a 15-20 minute render by keeping an eye on the most challenging layers and filters, and nesting and pre-rendering elements that won’t change much.

For myself, I can’t wait for CS3— though I have no idea how I’m going to pay for all the CS3 apps, Final Cut Studio 2, Leopard, and the Intel-native MS Office. Yikes! It will cost more than my Mac Pro. Oh well, at least my apps’ performance will be a lot faster then.

Cheers,
Graham.

[Graham Jones]

Hi Jim,

If you have followed all of the advice here (make sure you look at all of the thread and try everything mentioned) and you are still having crashes, it might be an offending plugin— try rendering with effects off, then try rendering enabling one effect at a time. Otherwise, you may have to try the AE 8 beta. Luckily, the full release version is coming soon and this thread will be moot.

As for quitting the other PPC processes, you need to open Activity Monitor (located in your Applications/Utilities folder) and use that to quit any PowerPC processes listed there.

I thought that was covered somewhere else in this thread…?

Hope this helps,
Graham Jones.

[Graham Jones]

Hi,

just curious… did it ever work? If it worked even once, it could be a corrupted workspace issue. You may want to try deleting all AE prefs (including AE 6.5 ones), and also clearing all cache files (use something like Tiger Cache Cleaner), and then trying again.

Just a stab in the dark…

– GJ