Adobe Bridge CS5 Crash with Cineform Installed

[Jay Bloomfield]

David,

Do you have any way of telling whether Bridge CS5 uses the Cineform VFW or DirectShow route for decoding? I installed CS5 on a 2nd PC and I was then able to reproduce the thumbnail bug, but not with all Cineform files. I couldn't see any pattern with regard to frame rate, interlaced/progressive or resolution. Bridge CS5 did take forever (literally 30 seconds per file) to generate each thumbnail (along with a high CPU load). In some cases, whole folders would display thumbnails properly, almost to the last avi file and then Bridge would crash.

I did find a work around, so maybe other people can try it. I used the compatibility troubleshooter under Win 7 x64 (right click the Bridge exe to start it). Interestingly, it found that Bridge was incompatible and changed the settings to Windows XP SP2. Once I saved this setting and reran Bridge CS5, it worked perfectly with Cineform files.

It's definitely a weird Adobe bug of some sort.

J

[Galen Young]

I tried Jay's suggestion of changing the compatibility setting on the Bridge executable; instead of getting an error message -- Bridge just vanishes from sight! Anyway, I sent a bug report into Adobe and got a reply today. Here it is, for entertainment purposes only:

Originally Posted by Adobe

Thank you for contacting Adobe Technical Support. My name is Shaily.
This is in regards to your concern posted on Adobe web support portal
regarding an issue with Bridge.

Based on the information provided by you, my understanding of your
issue is that Bridge is crashing while extracting thumbnail preview of
CineForm Codec.

I understand the importance of your time in getting the issue resolved
and we assure you that this will be taken care of with utmost
importance. We appreciate your cooperation with us.

As per this issue I suggest you to that crash report says that fault
module name is "CFHDCodec.qtx". It means that there is some problem
with this particular module or file so move this module or file to
desktop and then use bridge with other features and see what happens. If
issue is still there then update the driver for Cineform codec or else
contact to the vendor of CineForm Codec.

This should resolve your issue. If it does, please let us know, however
in case it does not; please revert with any new information that you
might want to add which will help us in resolving your issue.

Oy vey.

[David Newman]

Very assuming.

Release 5.0.4 will help with Bridge, but it doesn't explain Bridge's insistance to using QuickTime over, a native importer, or a Video for Windows codec or a DirectShow codec -- QT should be last on that list.

[Ann Bens]

Will do.
Ann

[Jay Bloomfield]

If the Windows XP SP2 compatibility setting doesn't make the Cineform thumbnails appear in Bridge CS5, go "earlier" to the Windows 2000 setting. Once all the thumbnails have been created in the Bridge CS5 cache, turn off the compatibility check box on Bridge.exe. The restart Bridge in the normal Win 7 mode.

[John Rich]

Jay,
On a clean install in a new computer win7, Bridge just shuts down whenever I open a file of .avi's made with NeoHD (Too bad, since Bridge not only would display thumbnails, but allow me to play them in the Preview window ie on another computer with CS3 and ProspectHD).
I tried your fix with xp and sp2, but it still shuts down.

I'm not sure what you meant by the "Bridge CS5 Cache" and "Restart bridge in normal win7 mode.

Also, does the video preview work in Bridge work like it did in CS3?

The other weird thing is Bridge CS5 will display thumbnails (without the video display), in a bunch of files I had previously converted with HDlink without AC3 filter, so the audio was nonfunctional.

Thanks in advance for your help.
John Rich

[David Newman]

We have patched as much of the odd Adobe Bridge behavior in 5.0.4 which will be out in a few days. In the meantime do I what do, and never use Bridge. :) One day someone will have to explain that tool to me and how it is useful, and I sure it is, but not for my projects.

[Jay Bloomfield]

Originally Posted by John Rich

I'm not sure what you meant by the "Bridge CS5 Cache" and "Restart bridge in normal win7 mode.

Also, does the video preview work in Bridge work like it did in CS3?

The other weird thing is Bridge CS5 will display thumbnails (without the video display), in a bunch of files I had previously converted with HDlink without AC3 filter, so the audio was nonfunctional.

Since David Newman wrote that Cineform is working on a fix for this, I suggest that you wait.

But to answer your questions, the Bridge CS5 cache is a folder location set in the program's Preferences Section. This is where Bridge stores the thumbnails of various resolutions for future use. You can either clear the cache within Bridge for all files (This makes Bridge rebuild all the thumbnails from scratch.) or your can right-click on any thumbnail and there's an option to rebuild the cache just for this file. Sometimes, this "right -click" approach will fix a missing thumbnail. You might have to restart Bridge and use the method a few times to make it work, though.

The preview in Bridge CS5 can either be set to use either the internal previewer or to launch an external program that is associated with the file type (AVI, MOV, MP4, etc.).