MP3 deviation ... Help ... SOS ... Suicide Run

ekb606 wrote on 6/30/2012, 3:01 AM

Forgive the melodrama, but I just lost a week's work on a video that needs to be delivered in three days because of some unfathomable (to me) issue over a deviation in an mp3 file ...

It doesn't matter whether I select "continue" (there is no next) or "cancel", it shows rhew full file on the timeline for half a second than deletes everything but the final slide and stops. I've tried replacing the offending file in the source folder, deleting the file altogether and a number of other things and its all the same.

I have about 15 backups of the MVP file and they all do the same thing because they all have the same soundtrack, because I added the basic sound track before adding the approximately 30 custom slides, effects, the trims, the 12 voiceovers and everything else that is now missing.

Since I can't believe anyone would write an application that would just die and go belly up because one of 50-odd files in it has become inaccessible -- particularly an app that has served for years without the company behind it going broke -- I am forced to conclude that I am simply terminally stupid in not being able to figure out how to retrieve the project minus the offending "deviated" sound file.

Will someone please, please tell me what I'm missing here ... I promise to mention you in my will if you save me .... I can't promise to "leave" you anything because, to put a fine point on it, I don't have anything to leave to anyone, but I will give you a nice mention.

Thank you.

Comments

emmrecs wrote on 6/30/2012, 4:12 AM

Hi.

I have an uneasy feeling this has something to do with the fact that your audio file is mp3, perhaps at an "unusual" bit or sample rate. MEP can deal with mp3s but I suspect it requires them to be in a particular format.

So, using something like the free MediaInfo (google for it, download and install, if you don't already have it) and pointing it towards this audio file, report back here on what it says about bit and sample rate.

OR, having looked again at your message, I see the "problem" is being reported by the "HDP" file, which is the graphic representation of the audio. So, you could try the following: close MEP (which version?, BTW, always helpful), navigate to the folder where the files for this project are stored and delete ONLY the HDP file named in your screen shot. Re-open MEP and this project, the HDP file will now be re-built, hopefully with the correct data.

Please do report back on the outcomes of either approach (perhaps try the second one first); I'm rather guessing here what might be the problem.

HTH

Jeff

ekb606 wrote on 7/1/2012, 4:34 PM

Thanks for the advice ... version # is 18 pro

Deleting the HDP file doesn't help, the mp3 is 256k constant rate 16 bit file, you're right I probably should use wav or avi audio files here, but the thing played fine in preview mode for days. The other very annoying thing is that even deleting the entire mp3 file doesn't get me a simple "file not found" track error (note: there is nothing on the track in question except that one audio file.)

The error message clearly says click on cancel to remove inconsistant references and it lists only one inconsistant reference but what it does in reality is remove everything on every track except for one lone jpg slide at the very end.

emmrecs wrote on 7/2/2012, 3:50 AM

Hmm...

Do you have any method of converting the mp3 to wav on your computer? If so, I would try that - you will certainly not lose anything in quality terms, 256 CBR is already quite "low" for music, which is what I gather the audio is.

In the worst case scenario if you wanted to PM me and then send me the file I'd be happy to convert it for you and then send it back, BUT I'm only available today (for about the next 8 hours!)

It is certainly worth a try, though reading the second paragraph of your latest reply does lead me to wonder whether the whole project file has somehow corrupted. In which case, you would have no option but to rebuild it from scratch I'm afraid.

Jeff