VST plug-in compensation?

Joe-Berg wrote on 5/19/2023, 3:13 AM

Does Movie Studio 2023 Suitev.22.0.3.172 (UDP3) have VST plug-in delay compensation?
If I use my VST plug-ins in Movie Studio the audio track goes out of sync with the video.
I have a very large collection high quality VST plug-ins which I need to use in my music video work.

My setup:
Digital Audio Workstation / Movie Studio 2023 Suitev.22.0.3.172 (UDP3) / Cubase 12 Pro / Windows 11 Pro x64 / Intel Core i9 11900KF @ 5GHz / 32GB RAM / RME HDSPe AIO Audio card / all SSD based / Radeon RX 580 Series graphics

Joe Berg

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 5/19/2023, 4:06 AM

@Joe-Berg

Strange as it may seem the issue may be with your source video not with the VST's.

Download and install MediaInfo and analyse one of the clips, see this tutorial on how to setup MediaInfo and analyse a video clip for all the data required.

In the Video section of the analysis if you see this line:

Framerate mode: Variable

then this may be the cause of the audio going out of sync. Try converting the source video to Constant Framerate using a video converter such as Handbrake and import this to the timeline.

If this is not the cause of the issue:

do all VST's cause the issue or specific VST(s)?
is the imported audio samplerate 48kHz ? If not try converting the audio to 48kHz - this is the standard for video, and import this into the project.

John EB
Forum Moderator

emmrecs wrote on 5/19/2023, 6:19 AM

@johnebaker

Hi John,

On this occasion I regret I have to somewhat disagree with you, sorry! I have experienced delay in the audio signal when using a range of VST Effects (sometimes with as few as one, sometimes with a chain) during the export of projects, primarily using Video Pro X (various versions) but also Movie Studio. And the video footage is always CFR and 48kHz.

@Joe-Berg

No, there is no plug-in delay compensation that I am aware of, sorry.

However, although additional steps in the process, what you can do is complete your project in MS, save it but do not export it. Instead, choose the option to File>Export movie>Audio as wav. Open the resulting audio file in your installation of Cubase and insert your VSTs. Export this to create a new audio file. Import this file to your video project, checking that it is completely aligned with the video and original audio tracks; right-clicking on the original audio track and using the option "Align other audio objects with this track" can somewhat simplify this process. Mute the original audio and export your project.

Yes, it is rather a hassle but is a method I have used on the, admittedly rare, occasions when a specific project has required the use of audio plugins.

HTH

Jeff
Forum Moderator

browj2 wrote on 5/19/2023, 6:30 AM

@emmrecs

Hi Jeff,

That is rather disconcerting. Have you raised this with Magix?

John CB

emmrecs wrote on 5/19/2023, 6:47 AM

@browj2

Hi John,

To be honest, no I haven't! Partly because I suspect very few users are actually impacted by this (?maybe I'm wrong!!) and partly because I've only ever needed to follow that process maybe twice in five years or more.

@Joe-Berg

Since you clearly are more impacted by this than I, as John CB suggests, please do create a Support Ticket to at least ask the question! Use the Support link at the head of any page and always choose the option to Ask Support.

Jeff

Joe-Berg wrote on 5/19/2023, 7:14 AM

Thanks, everyone!
I'll try Jeff's suggestion, "choose the option to File>Export movie>Audio as wav" etc. and see how that works.

Thanks again.

CubeAce wrote on 5/19/2023, 8:21 AM

@emmrecs @Joe-Berg @johnebaker @browj2

I have to agree with Jeff on this one and why one of many reasons I will use an external audio program to mix down audio if this problem arises. I appreciate that is not an ideal solution for all situations and only really works for me if I have finished the video side of editing first so I can adjust the audio tracks to the video shown in the external audio editor (Cubase, whatever) and then re-import those full length files back into MEP / MMS / VPX.

I'm not sure this can be fixed as it seems on my system at least to be proportional to the amount of buffers and samples used in the audio section of the program settings. When using a DAW the audio seems to be read directly from disc whereas in MEP VPX the files seem to increase the amount of motherboard ram in use.

Ray.

johnebaker wrote on 5/19/2023, 11:35 AM

@emmrecs, @Joe-Berg

To clarify, are you adding effects to multiple audio tracks such as you would normally do in the audio editor, eg post recording mixing, compression, normalisation etc, using Movie Studio?

John EB

emmrecs wrote on 5/19/2023, 1:53 PM

@johnebaker

Hi John,

Not multiple audio tracks; effects used (if I remember correctly) would have been something like iZotope Ozone Advanced, one of the mastering presets, possibly slightly tweaked.

Jeff

Joe-Berg wrote on 5/20/2023, 1:17 AM

@emmrecs, @Joe-Berg

Hi

To clarify, are you adding effects to multiple audio tracks such as you would normally do in the audio editor, eg post recording mixing, compression, normalisation etc, using Movie Studio?

John EB

I'm trying to enhance/clean up the stereo audio track of an old video using one stereo channel in Movie Studio mixer. I get the same result in both the Master channel FX and the Mixer channel FX.

I've worked in music production for a very long time but I've had very to do with video editing, just looking at the plethora of formats and rendering options freaks me out! ;)

For me the issue is really not relevant now that I learned to process the audio in Cubase.

Great forum, I appreciate the help I've received here and through support, thank you everyone!