Fixing Adobe Encore project corruption

This past weekend I used Adobe Encore for the first time to create a Blu-ray for an important screening. I'd previously tested the workflow and everything had worked well, but this was my first time using it on a project.

I initially had some issues encoding the Premiere Pro sequence to H.264 because Adobe Media Encoder told me it would take 42 hours, and after leaving it for a few hours it seemed to be making good on that promise. I eventually narrowed the problem down to a corrupt Dynamic Link cache which I trashed with CS Repair and got the more respectable prediction of 10 hours (it was a 90 minute feature with 10-bit RGB source files).

I then used Compressor to create a 5.1 AC3 file and brought both into Encore. I created the menus and timelines and then used the Preview function to check it. It went well until about three quarters of the way through the movie one of the character's lines started repeating over and over and over again for about ten minutes.

I checked the original source files and they were fine. I checked the AC3 and it was fine. I restarted Encore and the problem was still there. I cleared the media cache from within the preferences menu; no change. I thought it might just be the preview but the problem existed on a test disc that I burned.

I eventually traced it to project corruption. There is a file in your project directory called ProjectMedia.acx. This is what the end of the file looked like:

The file should end with the closing XML tag </EncoreProject> (and there should only be one) but extra data has been added at the end. To fix this, close Encore, open up the file in TextEdit and delete everything beyond the first </EncoreProject> tag.

Then trash your media cache. For some reason the button in preferences doesn't remove everything so I'd recommend removing all files from the media cache directories at ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common or by using Housekeeper.

I relaunched Encore, everything worked properly and I was able to create the disc and breathe a sigh of relief. I would definitely recommend keeping an eye on ProjectMedia.acx though because I just checked it again and more corruption has crept in.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 25 2012 to Adobe, Tutorials, DVD
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Preference Manager for Windows Beta 1

We're pleased to launch the first public beta of Preference Manager for Windows 7. This is a Windows port of our popular Mac tool for trashing and managing user preferences for your editing application.

The beta can trash, backup and restore preferences and other settings for Avid Media Composer, Symphony, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects.

Backups are stored in a new file format which is different from the Mac version so Mac and Windows backups cannot yet be shared, but it's something we plan to address in future.

Please be aware that this is pre-release software so it may have bugs and issues and we do not recommend using it in a production environment yet. Please report any bugs or feature requests here.

Preference Manager for Windows is a free application that requires Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4.0.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 24 2012 to DR News, Front Page News, Utilities
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Weekend Reads -10-19-12

Scarlet Deal of a Lifetime

RED is selling barely-used Scarlets at significantly reduced prices.

Get FCPX running faster by installing a PC NVIDIA Geforce GTX570 graphics card in a Mac Pro

How to benefit from the wider range of graphics cards available for the PC.

Resolve + BMCC 12-bit RAW color grading Tutorial

Detailed workflow for working with CinemaDNG footage from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

Adobe Upgrade Policy Changing Soon for CS4 and CS3 Customers

CS3 and 4 users can only upgrade to CS6 at a reduced price until the end of the year.

Free Aspect Ratio Overlays

A selection of mattes for various aspect ratios. I usually create my own in Photoshop so this is a useful timesaver.

Skyfall BTS

15 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the upcoming James Bond film.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 20 2012 to Weekend Reads
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Bugs of the Week - 10-19-12

Here's another installment of our weekly list of serious, interesting or bizarre bugs in various NLEs.

Premiere Pro

Blackmagic 9.6.6 drivers may reduce Premiere latency

Several users are reporting the inability to send clips to Audition after installing the latest Dynamic Link update

Workaround for Premiere not exporting to Media Encoder queue

Reference window will now update when RGB Color Corrector is applied to a clip

Workaround for audio clips turning red when loading a project

Audio channel limitations for various containers

Avid

OS X 10.7.5 and 10.8.2 now qualified for MC and Symphony 6.5

Media Composer 6.5 stability discussion

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 19 2012 to Bugs of the Week, Video Editing, Software
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Pro Maintenance Tools 2.0.11 released - improved Premiere Pro support and more

Last week we released Pro Maintenance Tools 2.0.11, a minor update to our suite of maintenance tools for Final Cut Studio, FCPX, Avid Media Composer / Symphony and Adobe Premiere Pro.

This version contains improved Premiere Pro support in CS Repair and Housekeeper. We've also added support for backing up Premiere audio channel layouts in Preference Manager for easy syncing between computers.

In addition to bug fixes, we've also added an option in Preference Manager to relink FCP 7 preferences to Motion 4 after trashing to prevent the error message saying it's incompatible with Motion 5.

A full list of changes is available here.

Pro Maintenance Tools is an essential toolkit for maintaining, optimizing and troubleshooting your editing system. To find out more see the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free trial.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 16 2012 to DR News, Front Page News, Utilities
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Weekend Reads - 10-12-12

Smart Rendering in Premiere Pro CS 6

Everything you wanted to know about Adobe's new FCP-style Smart Rendering feature (where it avoids recompressing the source media upon output) for certain formats in CS 6.0.1.

Mac, PC, Adobe and Resolve

Walter Biscardi on some of the problems of switching to Windows.

I am now mastering all PrP exports to OP1a AVC-I 100

On the same topic, Tom Daigon explains his reasons for choosing to master to OP1a AVC I-100 MXF.

GoPro ProTune firmware update

There's a new firmware update for GoPro HERO2 cameras offering better integration with professional workflows.

Dealing with Gamma Shifting [VIDEO]

How to use the Headroom feature in Smoke to control QuickTime color management.

FCPX magnetic timeline forum thread

Interesting discussion about FCPX's magnetic timeline and scenarios where the new paradigm isn't ideal.

How to build and use adjustment layers in FCP X

Here's a useful trick to use Photoshop / After Effects-style adjustment layers in FCPX.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 12 2012 to Weekend Reads
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Bugs of the Week - 10-12-12

Here's another pick of series, interesting or useful bugs we came across this week.

Weekend Reads - 10-5-12

Adobe Programs Explained

Ever wondered what each tool in Creative Suite does? Here's a great summary.

How to build a Thunderbolt Hackintosh

A guide to building a faster Mac Pro with Thunderbolt for half the price.

Smoke ConnectFX: Damage and Deform Nodes

Great overview of two useful nodes in Smoke 2013.

DNG 1.4 Specification Notes

This is an overview of changes in the new DNG specification. DNG is an open alternative to proprietary raw still image formats such as Canon CR2 and Adobe offers a free DNG converter.

Performance Enhancing Visual Effects Techniques

List of various VFX techniques to enhance an actor's performance or improve story clarity. I seem to do #7 a lot, often having to add establishing shots or remove entire characters from the movie.

What could the new Mac Pro look like?

I'm not convinced Apple will go for a modular Mac Pro design (and the jury's still out on whether the Mac Pro will ever be updated) but it's an interesting and well-designed proposal regardless.

Posted by Jon Chappell on Oct 5 2012 to Weekend Reads, Video Editing
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