Processing in 99% and never finishes, process CPU usage is zero

[Potaatti]

I've tried 3 different video files now, and the result is always the same: first few hours the CPU usage hits 100% and you can see the video being processed in Video Enhancer. Then Video Enhancer reaches 99% phase, and the Video Enhancer process CPU usage drops to zero. NOTHING SEEMS TO HAPPEN, AND THIS CAN TAKE DAYS!

Current videofile I'm processing, is a series TV episode 350MB size avi-file. I can edit this video in Virtual Dub just fine.

Compressing the video with DivX codec, which is updated (latest update just 28.07.2008) and sound with MP3 codec.

I chose not to resize the video. That is, the scale and output sizes were the same as the original size.

This time I chose speed over quality. The two previous attempts were quality over speed. The 99% phase started about after 4 hours, and has now lasted 32 hours. And the process CPU usage is zero.

Hardware configuration:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual 5600+
RAM: 2GB
Display: Radeon X1950 Pro

 

[Dee Mon]

This seems like an issue with audio processing. Techically, in this case Video Enhancer does not get a completion event from the codecs. If you kill VE, can you open the resulting file? Does it play ok?

By the way, there's no sense in using super resolution with output size same as input size, you're just heating the air by doing some work and then wasting it. Such approach will hardly give any quality improvement. You could do better with filters and not using SR.

[Potaatti]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! Your reply was most helpful!

You meaybe right that it's an audio problem. When I stop Video Enhancer and then play the video, it doesn't have sound at all!

ADDED: I just opened the file I was processing now. Also the video was corrupted, not only the sound.

I did use the same audio codec and same bitrate as I have used dozens of times with Virtual Dub.

Another thing, I selected the audio codec when starting the job, but then the audio compression selection window pops up again. After I choose the compression codec again, the processing begins. Is this audio compression window puopping up again maybe a sign of a problem?

What do you recommend me to do then? Would using some other bitrate of MP3-layer maybe help?

By the way, there's no sense in using super resolution with output size same as input size, you're just heating the air by doing some work and then wasting it. Such approach will hardly give any quality improvement. You could do better with filters and not using SR.

Ah! I didn't know that! The reason I chose same size as the original, was trying to cut down the processing time and the resulting file size.

[Dee Mon]

I can't know what is your original file and what codecs in your system are used to decode it, so I can only guess. Try using PCM as sound codec - that is basically uncompressed sound. If it doesn't help, the problem is clearly with sound decoding of your original file.

As for audio settings popping up again, this is because when you select them initially, chosen sound codec is not yet connected to the source file (codecs are chosen independently of the file), so it doesn't know what kind of sound it's going to compress. When you start processing, the codec is given the actual sound and if it can't apply originally chosen settings, it asks again with a smaller choice of actually available settings for this kind of sound.

[Potaatti]

The original file audio codec is MPEG Layer-3 Decoder and the video codec is DivX. All the 3 files that I've tried had the same ones. So I was using the same codecs as in the original files (at least same by the name).

I've used a lot Virtual Dub, and have found MPEG Layer-3 Decoder quite reliable for audio compression. And DivX is my preferred video compression codec. So I should be sailing familiar waters in here.

Alright, got the audio pop-up window thingy. Thanks for the explanation! So that was not a problem indicator. I'm trying different audio codecs right now.

[Dee Mon]

I recall VirtualDub had its own mp3 codec, but not sure..
If you could upload a problematic file to rapidshare or similar file hosting, I could check out why the problem happens and how to solve it.