[Philip Hall]

Okay, I finally got around the error by making a few changes that shouldn’t have made any difference at all. I couldn’t understand it because the proect previewed perfectly and Encore found no errors with the project when it checked it. I used a different menu (both were from the Encore library), I didn’t import a picture to put on the menu (it was a .psd file, and I’ve done it on most of my projects) and I converted the mp3 to a wav file. But I’ve since authored 2 movies using mp3’s, so that probably wasn’t it. Anyway, Encore finally let me burn the project and it plays perfectly.

But now Encore has thrown a new curve at me on another project. I recorded 4 episodes of a half-hour TV show (all SP) and trimmed them to burn on DVD. Encore will allow me to import 2 of them, but when I try to import the other 2, I get the error message “Sorry, an abnormal condition has been detected. Before quitting, you have one chance to save your project (don’t use the same name as the original).”

I researched the error with google, and get a lot of answers referring to Matrox. I don’t have it, whatever it is. I have done the update and am running v 1.51 of Adobe Encore. I know this can’t be a rare error. Any ideas what might be the real cause of the error message and how to get around it?

Thank you,

Phil H.

[Philip Hall]

I got my final resolution on this project. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the resolution I was looking for.

Allowing Encore to transcode the project gets rid of file error 16019, but after almost 4 hours of transcoding, Encore gives me the error message that it can’t transcode the extras. I did it twice with the same results. What extras? There are no extras. All I did was put an mp3 on the menu to play while the menu is being displayed and drag a picture (.psd) out onto the menu; both of which I’ve done on almost all of my other projects authored with Encore. The movie is a straight-ahead recording of a movie from TV by my DVD recorder that shouldn’t need to be transcoded in the first place. It looks like I’m going to have to author it with Movie Factory. The menu won’t look as pretty but the movie will play the same.

Does anyone know why Encore might think it needs to transcode a 720X480 recording and what “extras” it might be referring to?

Phil Hall

[Philip Hall]

I think I’ve figured it out, although now I have a new problem. I remember reading somewhere that when creating a project in Encore, one should never transcode files that are already DVD-compliant, which mpeg2 files are. This program was recorded on the same DVD recorder with the same settings as all of the other videos I’ve authored. So I have always set all of my mpegs to “Do Not Transcode”.

Through trial and error, I discovered last night that, for whatever reason, Encore wants to transcode this mpeg. When I changed the transcode settings to automatic, the error message went away and Encore began to build the DVD. Unfortunately, it’s taking an eternity. I literally let it run all night (about 8 hours), and it was less than one-fourth of the way through. Is there some way to speed the process up?

Phil H.

[Philip Hall]

Thanks, Joe. I definitely wasn’t doing any of the things you mentioned in the first paragraph. I just ripped the program from my DVD+RW using Ulead Movie Factory like I always do; trimmed off the excess and authored the DVD the exact same way I’ve done it for 20+ other videos using Encore. I can’t think of even one minor thing that would distinguish the authoring of this DVD from any of the others I’ve done. The name of the mpeg file was a single word.

joe bowden wrote:

> You may also want to be sure that you are building your session to the top level of your hard drive as well.”

I’m not doing anything different than usual, but what does that mean, “building your session to the top level of your hard drive”?

Phil Hall

[Philip Hall]

2- encore automatically selects a button in the menu. can that be avoided?

It can’t be avoided, but you can change the default button by selecting the button of your choice; right-clicking on it and choosing “Set As Default”. I have a different way of changing the button. Instead of dragging the mpeg asset out onto the menu, I create a timeline by clicking on the timeline button at the bottom of the project window. After the timeline has been created, I can then drag the button of my choice from the library onto the menu and manually link it to the mpeg timeline by right-clicking on it and choosing “Link To”.

Phil Hall

[Philip Hall]

Joe Bowden wrote:

> It should accept the WAV files without error. MP3, AIF, and WMA are
> also supported. Can Windows Media Player open these MP3 (and WAV)
> files and play them correctly

Windows Media Player plays them with no problem. But I think I’ve discovered the solution. I had thought it might be DRM, even though that’s normally only associated with AAC and WMA files. Anyway, this morning, just before I shut the computer off to leave for work, I created one more bogus project. When I tried to import a non-DRM mp3 directly to the menu, I got the same error message. Putting it in the project window first and then dragging it onto the menu didn’t help either. But I happened to notice the project settings for the file said “Don’t Transcode”. And I couldn’t help thinking “Why not?” What have I got to lose on a bogus project? I transcoded the mp3 and it played perfectly when I previewed it. I assure you I’ve never transcoded an mp3 before. I normally never transcode anything unless I know it’s in a format that Encore won’t accept.

So I’ll try it again when I get home tonight, but I think the mystery is solved.

Thanks,

Phil H.

[Philip Hall]

Thanks, Joe. I don’t know how to change the properties of the mp3, other than to convert it to a wav. The mp3 is a 128 kbps 44 khz file, the exact same as all the others I used. Converting them to wav files makes no difference. Encore will not even accept the same mp3’s it accepted last week. The exact error message is: “The file(s) are unsupported and could not be placed.” I tried researching the error message on the internet with no luck.

My hard drive is filling up with videos I’d like to burn and I’m at wit’s end. For absolutely no reason I can discern, Encore has decided that none of the audio files I try to add are good enough for it. Is it possible that for some unknown reason, it will only accept AAC files or wma some other format? I don’t know how to convert to any other format, but if that were the case, at least I’d have a clue what to do.

Thanks,

Phil Hall

[Philip Hall]

Nate,

Thanks for your response. The first mp3 I used WAS a pretty large file; over 5 MB, but I certainly had a lot more than 5 MB left on the DVD, so I don’t know why that should make a difference. The 2nd mp3 I used was much smaller; a little over 2 MB. I believe it’s the shortest/smallest audio file I’ve ever used on a DVD menu, so I tend to think size isn’t the real issue here. All the files I’ve used have been new mp3’s. Generally, when I get ready to author a DVD, I send an e-mail to a friend who has over 50,000 songs in mp3 format. He can almost always send me what I’m looking for.

I was hoping that someone may have seen this error message previously and know why Encore suddenly (and for no apparent reason) decided that these are unsupported files. They were supported last week. Just for chuckles I threw together a bogus project last night and used an audio file I had previously used in a project menu. It too is now unsupported.

Actually, Encore seems to fight the user tooth-and-nail every step of the way. Even when you think you’ve got it figured out (to a degree), it still throws curves at you from time to time.

Phil H.

[Philip Hall]

Tim,

Thanks for your response. Do I just drag the audio file out on to the menu, or drag it onto the icon for the menu in the Project window? I tried creating a timeline for the audio file (without dragging it out on the menu) but when I previewed the project, the audio file didn’t play. Also, how can I make it loop, or continue to play?

Thank you,

Phil H.