FIRST, WHY THIS ARTICLE JUST HAD TO BE WRITTEN...

I've been writing these pages for over ten years now, and not surprisingly, in that time I have had numerous - many thousands - of emails asking for help. At first, I was quite happy to provide it, but then many of the help requests began to be very repetitive and quite frankly, in a few instances, plain stupid. It seemed some people weren't prepared to even start thinking for themselves.

So, I did the obvious thing. I created a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). And requested people read it before emailing me.   Did that make a difference? 

Not really. People still ignore the FAQs ...However, this is no longer a problem ... as stated with the FAQs, I now ignore those who ask them. Sorry, but life is too short, and this is all done in my 'free' time, remember (free being the operative word here!)

However, I also get a lot of questions from people with problems like "I can't capture sound", and "Sound isn't recorded with my video". These are typical examples, of course, but are almost impossible to answer without sitting at the PC and exploring. Usually - most often - it is something silly that has been done - or not done. Silly, but easily missed or overlooked.

Hence this article - to try to help people solve their own problem by methodical, intelligent investigation.

As an aside, and out of curiosity, how would YOU have answered this email I received a few months back ...

"I know you have already written the answer in your pages, but I can't be bothered to read them. Could you please email me directly how to...etc"

Yeah, right!  I’m really going to go out of my way to help someone who can’t be bothered!

In this example, consider all the things that could be wrong. Incorrect audio PC settings. Incorrect/poor connections at PC end. Bad leads. Incorrect or poor connections at the recorder. Incorrect settings on the recorder.  And so on…

"I can capture sound and video, I can see and hear it all when I edit, but when I make tape, there is no sound on the finished tape. What is wrong?"

What is wrong is sound isn't getting to the finished tape. Obvious? Of course. Sound is 'in the PC' for the edit stage. So the problem (probably) lies between the PC and the recording system. (Like those Christmas tree lights - identifying the area where it's all going wonky is the start of solving the problem).

Easy?  Well, solving problems with your Video editing set up can be equally as obvious, though perhaps not as simple. For example, here's an actual question, typical of those I am constantly being asked

Start at the beginning...

You get out last year's Christmas tree lights - a chain of 80 multi-coloured lamps.  Four of the red ones don't work. What are you going to do? (No - you are not going to email me asking which ones should you change, you naughty person!).  Depending on the way they are wired, the likelihood is that only one of the bulbs has blown - and, chances are it's the first one in the series of those not lighting. So how do you go about finding which one it is?

Try to narrow down the problem area

One has to hone in on the problem by becoming an investigative detective. Try to isolate the problem area, by making a 'midpoint' check. For instance, in the example just given,  what happens if the audio leads from the PC to the recorder are connected to the input of a HiFi set up: can the sound be heard then?

Yes? Looks like the problem lies in the Recorder - maybe the connections/settings are wrong. Read the manual. You know sound is getting to the far end of the leads from the PC. You've narrowed down the problem area to the Recorder.

No? Still no sound? Well, are you sure the leads are OK? I know they're new. But are they OK? Try different leads - do they work?

Yes - the new leads work?  Oh dear. Looks like you had bum leads after all.

Take nothing for granted

Do NOT assume because they are brand new the leads must be OK. I had three S-Video leads, all purchased at the same time, and I had a problem transferring stuff. The problem existed with all three leads - so I assumed that they were not the cause of the problem and spent a lot of time searching elsewhere (software/hardware settings, etc). But on further, more stringent testing, it turned out ALL the leads were dud. All came from the same manufacturing batch. Back at the store all the other leads of the same type were also found to be faulty. So test the leads, do not assume. In the example we're using, connect the leads from a sound source you know works, to a HiFi input you know works. Do the the leads work?

No - still doesn’t work even with proven good leads? Then the problem lies in the connections and settings on the PC. You've narrowed down the area to investigate further.

THE

BEST OF

ALL OF THE

THE AVAILABLE

METHODS IS TO CHECK

EVERYTHING VERY CAREFULLY

Don't miss the obvious

It is very (very) easy to overlook an error/mistake, even to check it and think that it is OK. Take a quick look at this (rather simple, and silly) statement ...

How many times will you read it through before you spot the mistake? (If you really can't spot it, go to the end of this sequence - but do read it through once again first!). The point is this: it is unbelievably easy to overlook the obvious. That example of the problem with the sound - there are several places in Windows, and in Video Editors, where the audio output can be muted/switched off. Check them all. Carefully! Be sure there isn't one you've missed (How? Well, check all the options, check the volume controls, check the help files, check the manual… I know you’ve read it, but ….)

The problem goes deeper...

If the problem persists when everything, absolutely positively everything has been checked umpty-nine times and then some, then you have a problem. I had an email from a poor chap who listed all the things he had tried, in his efforts to solve an analogue problem with Pinnacle Studio. He really had tried everything, (though I can't say that he hadn't overlooked something during those checks, of course). I checked his list several times, could find no test or check that he'd missed out, and could come to only one conclusion ... the problem was in the input capture ‘break-out box’ itself. This is pretty rare. But there seemed to be no other conclusion. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to offer any help at all - the Unit is sealed, and its inner workings known to only a few (me not being one of them).

Similarly, it has happened that people have had dud sound/video cards, or that some Motherboards do not always work well with the Studio set-up (PLEASE don't ask me which - I really, honestly, genuinely don't know!!). When it happens, it is very frustrating, and there is a tendency to believe that it is the editing software/hardware that is wrong, rather than the PC. Could be the case, of course. In these instances, one must then contact the PC supplier or editor manufacturer. However, it has to be said that, of all the problems, I'd guess that most will be solved by correcting a simple mistake with settings and corrections, many will be solved by replacing dud leads, and only a meagre few will be caused by hardware problems..

Happy editing - and may all your problems be little and curable!

*Did you spot it?

THE

BEST OF

ALL OF THE

THE AVAILABLE

METHODS IS TO CHECK

EVERYTHING VERY CAREFULLY

Performance problems

I get occasional queries about poor performance of the Studio package.  I can only say - check your PC’s spec against the minimum requirements - and remember, the minimum requirements are just that -  if your machine just meets the minimum, then it is at the very lower limit of working properly.

Nailing down the cause of reduced performance - below the product's capabilities - can be difficult. But it can be tackled in the same way that you would try to locate a malfunction - try to isolate the area causing the problem first.

For example, jerky finished (NLE) movies could be the result of a PC that is not able to devote sufficient CPU time to the Make Movie process. You could examine what resources are being used during the process - but you should know that the process is extremely demanding of CPU time, and that on 'border line' systems, anything else encroaching on that time is going to upset the apple cart. Closing background programs, keeping the hard drive defragged and similar measures can all be beneficial on all but the blazingly fast machines with tons of power and capacity. Remember that codecs reduce the quality, each pass/rendering can further reduce the quality. And you'll never get out any better than you put in - don't expect Video 8 to produce the same kind of quality VHS tapes as a DV source. Oh yes, I've had an email about that too ... "I have a (Video 8) camcorder and ...etc etc..., and my results with DC10+ are nowhere near as good as my son's. He has .....(Sony Digital 8)  ...etc etc. What am I doing wrong?".  The answer can only really be 'Nothing ... except expecting the impossible".