Encore still buggy?

[Urban Skargren]

Hi!

I have been working in previous versions of Encore - 1.5 and 2.0, and I found 1.5 very buggy and in 2.0 I had sync problems (not 100% sure they came from Encore). I have also wrestled with bugs in different versions of Premiere. I am therefore a little skeptic to the Adobe video programs.

I just wonder if you guys who have tried the CS3 Encore, are satisfied? Please answer only if you have used it for at least a couple of complicated projects.

I am in the choice of buying either the Adobe or Vegas packages. Vegas seemes to be stable, but I would have to learn it from scratch and it seems Encore can do more than Architect? I need them to be stable for professional HDV small-business productions but can't afford a complete Apple or Avid solution.
Thanks for advice.

[Urban Skargren]

No Encore CS3 user here?

[K.C. Luke]

"Professional HDV small-business productions but can't afford a complete Apple or Avid solution."

"Adobe or Vegas packages. Vegas seems to be stable, but I would have to learn it from scratch "

Yes you right...getting new soft to learn all from scratch is pain!!! Have been using Encore CS3 to burn my 1st HDV size into DVD+R and Slide show. So far I did not get any error yet. The error I came a cross is I used some photos with size 3200x1080 240dpi import into encore as slide show. After finished and made for encoding it crash. Guess I did not resize to what I need on viewing PAL system.

[Denis Danatzko]

just learned that I probably wasted over 4 hrs today because of what I'm convinced are Encore bugs regarding Chapter points. %#&@*!!! This camper is not happy and convinced Encore was either written by rookies, or purchased, and was poorly tested before distribution. Until I got it, I thought it was considered a top of the line product. Now that that's off my chest, here's my tale of woe:

I've imported multiple .avi's to my project, then dragged each .avi into a single, common timeline. Chapter points were automatically created as I dragged, but the first 2 .avi's need to be the same (first) chapter, so I deleted the point for Chapter 2, set my poster frame for chapter 1 to come from the 2nd .avi, and all looks well in flowchart.

I then created chapter playlists (1 for each chapter) from the single timeline in order to do scene/chapter selection. I then linked each submenu/scenemenu button to it's respective chapter playlist.

However, when I preview the DVD, and do Scene Selection of Chapter 1, it only plays the first .avi and stops there. It won't play the 2nd .avi, and I can't figure out how to make it do so.
Everything else seems to be working just fine.

Does anyone know of a way to set, or at least check, the specific end-point/time/duration of a chapter? Particularly the 1st Chapter, as I know that one is "special"?

Thanks to all who respond.

[K.C. Luke]

Denis

Are you saying that when you link up all menus and chapter points, after preview it from 1st avi video and stop playing the 2nd avi?

If YES, have you link the 1st avi timeline to 2nd timeline?

Have you check your specific end-point for the 1st avi link up?

[Christopher Lefchik]

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko

I then created chapter playlists (1 for each chapter) from the single timeline in order to do scene/chapter selection. I then linked each submenu/scenemenu button to it's respective chapter playlist.

If you only need to have a chapter button link to one particular chapter point on the timeline, you don't need to go to the trouble of creating a chapter playlist to do so. Just select the chapter menu button, and use the pickwip to select the chapter point you wish to link to on the timeline.

I'd suggest trying this out and see if it solves your problem. Perhaps something with the way chapter playlists behave is causing your problem.

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by K.C. Luke

Denis

Are you saying that when you link up all menus and chapter points, after preview it from 1st avi video and stop playing the 2nd avi?

If YES, have you link the 1st avi timeline to 2nd timeline?

Have you check your specific end-point for the 1st avi link up?

(Thanks for replying).

I'd have to reply "no, not exactly."

The DVD doesn't play any part of the 2nd .avi that I hoped would be part of Chapter 1.

I've imported .avi1 and .avi2 into the project as assets, then dragged .avi1 to a timeline. That generated a Chapter point for Chapter 1.

I then dragged .avi2 to follow .avi1 within the same timeline. That dragging generated Chapter point 2 at the beginning of .avi2.

I then deleted Chapter point 2, leaving me with only Chapter point 1 appearing in the timeline. When testing it in my set-top player, no part of .avi2 plays...not even 1 frame; all playing stops at the end of .avi1.

(It seems that somehow Encore is losing sight of the fact that Chapter point 2 was deleted and that the end of Chapter point 1 should be moved/changed to the end of the timeline, that is, the end of .avi2, rather than the end of .avi1).

Thanks, again.

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

If you only need to have a chapter button link to one particular chapter point on the timeline, you don't need to go to the trouble of creating a chapter playlist to do so. Just select the chapter menu button, and use the pickwip to select the chapter point you wish to link to on the timeline.

I'd suggest trying this out and see if it solves your problem. Perhaps something with the way chapter playlists behave is causing your problem.

have reared their ugly little heads.


(Thanks, also, for replying).

I tend to not use the pickwhip, only out of habit of dragging, not for any other reason, but will give it a try. That may follow a different logic path within the app. Will let you know what happens.

BTW, I've stumbled on another apparent quirk re: buttons. Seems that even after renumbering buttons on submenus, then testing in a set-top player, the buttons are not always accessible in the correct order. This may be dependent on the set-top player, but here's what happens:
Submenu1 has 5 buttons, numbered sequentially 1 thru 5. where buttons 1, 2, and 3 = scenes, button 4 = "main menu", and button 5 = "next".

In the set-top player's remote control, button navigation is selected using a circular control, i.e. up, down, left, and right.

When I get to that submenu, the "pointer"/highlight first appears on button 1 (as expected). Pressing "down" on the remote then highlights button 2 (also as expected). However, pressing "down" again on the remote, doesn't highlight button 3 (which is what I'd expect)...it highlights button 5 (which is "main menu"). When button 2 is highlighted, I can only get button 3 highlighted by pressing the "left" button on the remote control. Similar quirks occur in subsequent submenus in the same project. Bottom line is that the buttons are not being highlighted in their numeric order. (I have no idea how to control that other than thru how I number the buttons).

I've triple-checked the button numbers in the menu and they correspond correctly re: number and placement within the submenu.

This is particularly annoying, as the project is for a paying client and the "skipping" of menu buttons like that looks sooooo unprofessional.

Thanks, again.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko

BTW, I've stumbled on another apparent quirk re: buttons.

Have you deselected the "automatic route buttons" in the "basic" tab of your menu? The way you set up your button routing can then easily be performed by clicking on the "show button routing" icon under your menu window. Untill now I didn't have any problems with this since each button is configurable and it has worked flawless on several dvd players.

About encore in general, after using it now for several weeks I"m very satisfied with it, I just leave encoding setting to automatic and the output (dvd, have not used blue ray yet) is allways great. I only have some issues with stability because it has crashed a few times, last time was when I was linking everything with the pickwhip when suddenly it stopped responding and I heared my harddrive rattling and next thing I saw was my desktop :D. All the work I had done before that and after I last saved it was gone. don't know if it has to do with my pc (2 years old) but now I save my projects every minute while working on them

[Denis Danatzko]

and I'm pretty sure I have "automatic route buttons" deselected, but will check that when done.

Haven't used "show button routing"; sounds liek it s/b helpful. Thanks for that tip.

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Have you deselected the "automatic route buttons" in the "basic" tab of your menu? The way you set up your button routing can then easily be performed by clicking on the "show button routing" icon under your menu window.

About encore in general,... All the work I had done before that and after I last saved it was gone. don't know if it has to do with my pc (2 years old) but now I save my projects every minute while working on them

Dontcha' hate when that happens??

I've learned to save my project after almost every change I make.

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by Christopher Lefchik

If you only need to have a chapter button link to one particular chapter point on the timeline, you don't need to go to the trouble of creating a chapter playlist to do so. Just select the chapter menu button, and use the pickwip to select the chapter point you wish to link to on the timeline.

I'd suggest trying this out and see if it solves your problem. Perhaps something with the way chapter playlists behave is causing your problem.

When I did that, and selected a single chapter using the pick whip, what ended up playing was more than the single chapter. Play STARTED with the chapter I selected, but continued on for the remainder of the DVD. I need it to stop at the end of that single chapter.

Looking at the "Specify Link" dropdown, it displays every chapter of the timeline, just like it was a chapter playlist. I don't find that surprising, but it gives no hint as to where play might stop.

The only way I've been able to get the navigation I want is to create a chapter playlist for each individual chapter, (13 chapters = 13 playlists), then link each individual chapter menu button to its' respective chapter playlist. That seems to be the only way I can get play to stop after a single chapter has played.

I think I've finally got that working the way I want it, but it was certainly something I didn't think I'd have to do, and was, in my mind, entirely counterintuitive.

I'm beginning to suspect I may have somehow got either an incomplete or "test" version of Encore (though it came from, and was even installed by, an authorized dealer who delivered my PC with everything already installed, so that's unlikely - but still possible), or, perhaps some Windows software update may have screwed me somehow. I don't know how to check for that, but the quirks I'm running into are just too extremely odd to think that Adobe would have released something this quirky. (After 28 yrs in IT and DP, I suspect would have been fired for releasing something this quirky).

If you have any more suggestions, I'm certainly willing to try them out, especially if it will prevent future occurrences of delay.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko

Haven't used "show button routing"; sounds liek it s/b helpful. Thanks for that tip.

That's the only way to manipulate the way the navigation works, reading now that you didn't use it before explains why you had the navigation problems.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko

I'm beginning to suspect I may have somehow got either an incomplete or "test" version of Encore

What versionnumber do you have?

[Denis Danatzko]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Have you deselected the "automatic route buttons" in the "basic" tab of your menu? The way you set up your button routing can then easily be performed by clicking on the "show button routing" icon under your menu window. Untill now I didn't have any problems with this since each button is configurable and it has worked flawless on several dvd players.

I was wrong...I did NOT disable auto routing of buttons. A BIG lesson learned there, thanks to you. At the moment, I'm happy enough about knowing how to thoroughly control button navigation that I'm willing to overlook the chapter/playlist dilemma (at least until the next time).

Thanks so much. Now I think I can burn the final master and put this baby to rest.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Denis Danatzko

I'm willing to overlook the chapter/playlist dilemma (at least until the next time).

If I understand right you want chapter 1 end were chapter 2 begins?
Let's say the clip's name is "test"
First select "chapter 1" and set its "end action" in the "properties" tab to "chapter 2". Just use the pickwhip here to connect the end action directly to the chapter point on the timeline.
Also check the end action from the clip "test", just click on the timeline with name "test" in the "project" tab and set its "end action" and "menu remote" to the menu you want it to go to. Here it's also best to drag the pickwhip from "end action" to the menu in the "project" tab.

Let's hope this solves your second problem as wel :)