# Problems with ImageMixer 3



## Karlijn (Apr 11, 2011)

Hi, 

I am experiencing some issues with ImageMixer 3. I am trying to edit some of the video-material downloaded from my Canon Legria. 

The first problem is that the clips don't always play all the way through. The audio keeps playing but the image 'freezes'. This makes editing tricky.

The second problem i encountered was putting audio with a video clip. I had downloaded some songs from iTunes to go with the video clip but when i select the song as said in the user guide it doesn't show up in the editing panel. Any ideas? i have already converted the song into MP3 but still no change.

Hope someone has a solution.

Thanks!


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

Karlijn said:


> The first problem is that the clips don't always play all the way through. The audio keeps playing but the image 'freezes'.


This may be because your computer specs aren't up to displaying Hi Def (HD) video in the editing software - post back with your specs: 
RAM
Processor
Video Card

Are you recording in full High Definition 1920x1280? even 1280x720 HD video coming down from the camera is most likely encoded with a higher bitrate than your computer and the Image Mixer software can handle smoothly. Canon uses mts file format too which not all software loves.

A couple of things to try:

1) check Image Mixer's settings for display - most editing software allows you to change the definition of the display monitor - some have settings such as full, half, quarter etc. If you can change the setting there you may be able to see the preview of your footage more smoothly.

2) transcode your footage to a more editing friendly format and codec first before importing - I have a Canon HF S21, film in 1920x1280 and use Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 which usually accepts the HD footage and plays it reasonably smoothly once rendered. At times I have transcoded to .avi first using the free version of Prism to do it and the Matrox I Frame HD codec. This has resulted in much smoother playback in Premiere for editing.
This article explains the steps taken to do this - it uses .mov source files but the same process applies to mts source files.



Karlijn said:


> The second problem i encountered was putting audio with a video clip. I had downloaded some songs from iTunes to go with the video clip but when i select the song as said in the user guide it doesn't show up in the editing panel. Any ideas? i have already converted the song into MP3 but still no change.


I know audio downloaded from iTunes used to have DRM encryption but I had thought Apple decided to move away from that - are these tracks you have bought recently or ones you bought pre 2009?
Another issue may be the audio codec used to encode them when you converted them to mp3's - try using a different converter - Format Factory does a good job usually - link is in my sig.
Hope this helps


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## Karlijn (Apr 11, 2011)

Thanks for all your help. I have started editing again on our laptop now which seems to have no problem with the resolution. I think or desktop is too old for HD videos. 

Still having problems with the audio. Have downloaded the conversion program and have converted the audio files into .wav but mediamixer still does not recognise them. I have downloaded the music files only this week off iTunes. Any other ideas? I did save the audio files from our desktop onto memory stick to transfer them to the laptop, could this be the problem?

Thanks again for your help!


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

You have tried transferring the files from your memory stick to the laptop's hard drive then re-import them to the project?
When NLE's (Non Linear Editors) import clips (either audio or video) they don't actually bring that file into the project, only a link to it. This is so the process can be non-destructive - any changes to the file are not changing the original file. If the original location of the file is changed, or the name is changed the NLE doesn't know where to find it anymore and it appears as blank or some software uses an "Offline" placeholder.


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## Karlijn (Apr 11, 2011)

Thanks for your quick reply.

Not sure I completly understand though, does this mean that I have to change the original audio file before transferring to memory stick? Or should i download the file again from iTunes? 

When in ImageMixer i also can't seem to op Windows Media Player, is this normal? (tried this to access the audio files)

Thanks Again!


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

No you don't need to download the file from iTunes again, just copy and paste them from your memory stick to the laptop's hard drive then open your Image Mixer project, delete the audio you had imported and import the files you transferred to your laptop.
If you are still having problems it will most likely be a codec issue - try downloading GSpot (link in my sig) to your laptop then open one of the files from your laptop in GSpot - this will tell you what codec has been used and if you have that codec on your laptop.

As for the other problem - I know that if I have Premiere Pro open and try to play a file in WMP Premiere instantly crashes :sigh: obviously some sort of compatibility issue with WMP and any other player open at the same time (video editing software has its own player for the editing monitor). Not sure if there is a fix for that.


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## Karlijn (Apr 11, 2011)

Hi, Well, i nearly finished this movie (thank god!). Turns out that i didn't realise that format factory saves converted files in another folder that is not your 'music' folder. Once i worked that out (with more help) it was easy.

The last problem i now have encountered is that image mixer won't open. I get the start screen, click video editing and nothing happens. I have un-installed the program, reinstalled it whilst anti-virus is turned off, downloaded the updates (2x) but same problems is happening. 

Any idea? really appreciate your help, I'll put you on the credit roll at the end of the movie


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## zuluclayman (Dec 16, 2005)

Just for future reference - when using Format Factory you can specify where you want the converted file to be saved:
In the second window (after having chosen what file format you are converting to in the first) go to the browse button at the bottom of the window and select a folder to save the converted file to - you can create a new one from there if necessary.

I'm not sure what the other problem is being caused by - have you tried updating the software? Have you installed any other video editing software recently? Do you allow Windows to update regularly?


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## Karlijn (Apr 11, 2011)

Hi, Yes i have updated image mixer and update windows regularly. I haven't installed any new programs, just quit the program after i saved the file and wanted to reopen for some more editing and it stopped working. Have asked some IT friends but they are not sure either...


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