Troubleshooting Compatibility Problems in Video Edit Magic

The rapid march of technology has enabled software on home PCÆs 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 higher performance in graphics and sounds on your PC. Video Edit Magic harnesses the Microsoft DirectShow technology, a part of DirectX; to edit videos, display on-the-fly preview, add effects, add transitions, 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 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 DirectShowÆs default filters, causing problems with other applications using DirectShow.

The single largest reason that causes all video editing applications, including Video Edit Magic to function unexpectedly is ôincompatible filtersö, 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. Using the Compatibility feature in Video Edit Magic to disable 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. 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/search.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=2 

2. Using the Compatibility Tab

DirectShow chooses a filter by examining all filters registered under a category. It then uses the first filter that meets the requirement. This causes problems as you might have an incompatible filter being selected while running Video Edit Magic.

Video Edit Magic has a unique Compatibility feature, which allows you to disable certain incompatible filters. The user can define which filter ought to be used. These settings do not effect other applications outside Video Edit Magic. The filters are in a disabled state for only Video Edit Magic. The other applications, which might be using the filters, work just fine.

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 may unexpectedly quit.
4. ac3audio.ax: This may cause Video Edit Magic 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 transitions and 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.

Disabling a Filter using the Compatibility feature:

Click on Tools > Options > Compatibility to access the Compatibility feature. The list under the compatibility tab displays all the filters that are installed by other programs on your computer, which might be a possible source of incompatibility.

To disable a particular filter:

1. Uncheck the filter. This will disable the filter only in Video Edit Magic and not affect any other video program installed on your  PC.
2. Click 'Apply' to disable the filter in your current timeline.