AVI format issue
DabblingDan
Posts: 39
I have run into this a couple of times so thought I would ask if others have experienced a similar problem and/or have a suggested solution.
Using CP8.5 I have rendered a 45 second animation using the Windows AVI format. The process runs to completion but after the last frame is rendered I get an "error occurred" message. The avi file is then corrupted and can not be viewed.
I am using a fast setting since I only want to use the footage as a backdrop. It is an outdoor scene with a lot of trees so the render ran for about 12 hours. This happened 2 times (the first time I used a "good" rather than fast - so attempted again using the fast setting).
Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated.
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Comments
I don't have Windows or C8.5, but generally there are a few possible culprits. First off, the fast and good options and the pixel and shadow accuracy settings are anti-aliasing settings, so I doubt that is the issue. The higher settings will increase the render time.
My guess is that it's the codec you're using for the AVI since it happens after the render is complete and Carrara is converting the file to the the AVI. You could try changing the compression to none and see if the process completes. You can always compress the file later as long as you have a video editing application or your AVI viewer allows you to export your movies.
The other possibility is to render the movie to an image sequence. You won't lose anything if Carrara gives you an error on the last frame. Well, maybe the last frame would be lost. ;-) You could compile the image sequence into an AVI, or you could load the image sequence directly into Carrara's Backdrop.
Kind of thinking out loud here, so I may be off base, but if you're using the 64 bit version if Carrara and the codec is an older AVI codec that is 32 bit, it might cause Carrara to have an error. I know that since Quicktime is 32 bit, it won't work at all with Carrara 64 bit.
I nearly ALWAYS have that happen with every version of Carrara
if lucky can fix the avi in temp folder wuth virtualdub
size is main culprit very short ones uncompressed usually work
I now just do image file, if I use random mimic convos do a second tiny 1x1 pix avi and save wav file from vdub add to first
those tiny ones always work so is size.
Might be your codecs are corrupted. I just ran a 12 hour avi video render and it had no errors.
No, different reason for that. I have had it several times. I know what it is, but have no solution. It is because a certain combination on enabling render settings gives this error. If you select all from the top (shadow, etc) or none, you don't have this problem. If you select a few (don't know which ones) you can get this error.
I also regularly have this error message and with all the versions as Wendy (the worst version for that was C7 but since C8, it is better).
I believe that it is especially when one makes renders of scenes requiring many calculations (particles, physics, ligths…) at the same time.
For this reason I for a long time started to make sequences of images and since I saw there a lot of other advantages.
In all way, the format .avi is not the best in quality (except uncompressed, but... very big files).
I also get this error - often enought that it has become a real nuisance. And that is on two different W7 computers. I recently did an animation that took nearly 24 hours and it ended with "An error has occurred." I reran a portion of this very same sequence and it worked fine - no other changes made.
I am not so sure it is related to the codecs, unless it is in how Carrara interacts with the codecs. I use several video editing packages that compress and convert formats, and they've never crashed. Also, I have done .AVI in uncompressed mode, and still get the error. I've tried 3-4 different codec's and multiple settings. I could never find any relationship between the codec/settings and frequency of the error. It just seems random to me.
I have now settled on doing the following:
1) I never bite off more animation than what can be rendered in 2-3 hours; otherwise, I run the risk of losing everything.
2) I now use the batch mode more often, add the same .CAR file multiple times, and then change the start and end times for each entry so it renders in chunks. Sometimes the render crashes, but at least I don't lose everything. I then integrate the final sequence using one of several video editing tools.
3) An alternative to batch mode is to generate .BMP sequence files and then use a video editing tool (e.g., virtualdubmod) to integrate the sequence. At least I've never gotten the error in using this approach. :)
It's a real pain, but with so many things not working on Carrara, any problem that has a work-around I've learned not to complain (too much) about.
I use C7.2 on my Mac and haven't had that error. I've had other issues occasionally, such as Carrara going into zombie mode if a switch back and forth between the Texture room and Assembly room, or close a volumetric cloud editor without letting it complete its preview render. All in all it has been very stable on my system.
I tend to render long sequences to image sequences. If I do have a crash (usually it's a node) while rendering, I can pick up where it left off. If you need an alpha channel, or a lossless format, use .png or .tiff or photoshop, etc. It really takes no time to compile them, plus if you have a photo editing application that can handle batch processes, such as Image Ready (or some such) you can apply filters and effects to the whole sequence at once.
@DabblingDan: You can render your scene as an image sequence. In VirtualDUB (which is FREE! Yay!) you can compose it into a compressed AVI such as Xvid.
Moreover, in VirtualDUB you cann add a filter such as "resize" and add that ther should be a codec compatibility x4.
That resolved all my problems.
Running CP 8.1 on Win7, it won't show me most of the codecs I like (DivX, wmv) , just a few very old ones. So I end up just doing full frame avi renders (very large files), then compressing them in a second step with my video editor. Sometimes image sequences are preferred, but the 2 step thing works OK. I don't usually render more than about ten seconds anyway, then use another cut/camera angle.
Most codecs are 32-bits which will not work on the 64-bit version of Carrara. Therefore, export the image sequences. :)
Ah, that's why. Interesting that the codecs that are offered by CP8.1 are Microsoft Video 1 and Intel IYUV, both of which strike me as ancient (altho I admit I don't know much about either, but neither give very good results). I do use image sequences sometimes, but I have had no problem with full frame avi, and compressing in a second step in the video editor. A little quicker for me in some cases, important in contests like the 48 Hour Film contest.
And yes, many people tell me to use image sequences. They're not wrong ... ;-P
Ah, that's why. Interesting that the codecs that are offered by CP8.1 are Microsoft Video 1 and Intel IYUV, both of which strike me as ancient (altho I admit I don't know much about either, but neither give very good results). I do use image sequences sometimes, but I have had no problem with full frame avi, and compressing in a second step in the video editor. A little quicker for me in some cases, important in contests like the 48 Hour Film contest.
And yes, many people tell me to use image sequences. They're not wrong ... ;-P
This screen shot from one of my Final Cut Pro set-up dialogues explains a bit about YUV and why you don't get good results out of Carrara, since Carrara's output is 8-bit RGB (there should be another letter in there as Carrara can do alphas, but it slips my mind).
I don't think Carrara supplies the codecs- At least on a Mac with Quicktime. For my part, I suspect that Carrara references Quicktime and it's codecs. The Options dialogue when selecting to render to QT is the exact same window I get when using QT to export a movie using it's codecs. Do you have codecs available to your other video software that Carrara does not show?
Yes. Magix Movie Edit Pro MX shows many more codecs, like DivX for avi and wmv. That is what I use to compress the C8P 8.1 (64 bit) full frame avi output to something a lot smaller (and just as good, mostly). And BTW, CP8.1 is not giving me any Quicktime options, just animated GIF, AVI (with the old codecs I mentioned), and a bunch of image sequence options (jpg, targa, tiffs, etc.) I do have Quicktime installed on this W7 machine.
I have the same problem with Vue 11 Complete. I contacted their support, they said they only support codecs that work for animations. I said "thank you." Sheesh.
Thank you all for the comments. I am glad to see that it isn't probably something I am doing or can do to fix. I have, up to now, rendered my animations as sequenced files and assembled them in Adobe Premiere Elements (APE). Since I only wanted a "rear screen" moving backgounrd I thought the avi would be easier than 1000+ stills (which I recall having problem loading into APE sometime in the past).
I have opted for returning to the sequenced render and, again since it will merely convey the impression of movement in the background, am using a .jpg file format.
The actual character animation will use alpha channel and be sequenced .png.
Thank you all for sharing your insights.