Troubleshooting Compatibility Problems
The rapid march of technology has enabled software on home PC’s to deliver stunning graphics, high quality video and audio for a complete user experience. This has been largely possible due to technologies like DirectX, which enable high performance graphics and sound on your PC. Video Edit Magic Express harnesses the Microsoft DirectShow technology, a part of DirectX, to edit videos, display on-the-fly preview, add effects, and for most of its advanced features.
This technology is also highly extensible. Various software vendors develop filters (or plug-ins) to extend the capabilities of DirectShow for their own products. For instance, Video Edit Magic Express has its own Color Balance effect filter that manages the Contrast, Brightness and Gamma of a video. In the same way, other software vendors may write other filters like, say, an MPEG decoder to read MPEG files. While well developed filters cause no issues, some filters might overwrite DirectShow’s default filters, causing problems with other applications using DirectShow.
The single largest reason that video editing applications, including Video Edit Magic Express, behave unexpectedly is “incompatible filters”, usually installed by other providers.
How to fix incompatibility problems?
There are many problems that occur mainly due to incompatibility of filters. Choppy audio, no video/audio in preview, lack of synchronization between audio and video in preview, Video/ Audio missing after making movie, and incomplete conversion are some of them. You can fix most problems with incompatible filters by:
STEP1. Installing the latest version of DirectX; Reinstalling if already installed.
STEP2. Renaming the Incompatible filters
1. Installing the latest version of Direct X
The first step towards resolving compatibility problems is to install the latest version of DirectX. To know the version currently installed on your PC:
1. On the Start menu, click 'Run'.
2. Type in "dxdiag" to bring up the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.
3. The DirectX version is listed under the System tab.
In general; DirectX 8.1 comes pre-installed with Windows XP.
DirectX 7.0 comes pre-installed with Windows 2000.
You need DirectX 9.0c or higher installed to use the Compatibility feature of Video Edit Magic Express. Newer versions of DirectX also improve the graphics, security, and performance of your operating system. You can download and install it for your Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, or Windows XP-based system from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2da43d38-db71-4c1b-bc6a-9b6652cd92a3&DisplayLang=en
2. Renaming the Incompatible filters
If this does not work then you must identify the filter causing the incompatibility. Some filters known to cause issues are:
Some common filters which cause problems are:
1. iviaudio.ax: A filter installed by Intervideo WinDVD; causes problems in audio playback of WMV and WMA files in the timeline.
2. clmp3wrap.ax and claudiocd.ax: Filters installed by Cyberlink PowerDirector; you may not hear audio in files added to the timeline.
3. cmaudio.ax - from C-Media Inc. (sound card); Video Edit Magic Express may unexpectedly quit.
4. ac3audio.ax: This may cause Video Edit Magic Express to unexpectedly shut down when there are multiple audio tracks on the timeline.
5. divxaf.ax: 'Digital Anti-Freeze' - part of the Nimo Codec package - causes crashes when trying to preview or play effects.
6. nvviddec.ax and nvidia PVR demultiplexer: Installed by NVIDIA DVD Decoder; may cause problems while previewing video files.
If you face some unexpected problem, you might have to experiment with the installed filters to identify the filter causing incompatibility.
Try renaming the offending filter. Make sure that Windows Explorer displays hidden system files and folders. Then search for the filter and rename it. After renaming the filter, a part of the product dependent on the filter may not function. To use the product again, rename the filter back to its original name.
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