PE4 chokes on small project

I can't get even put together a six-minute project made up of low-res avi files and images. Every time I try to edit the movie, within minutes PE uses up over a gig of RAM and freezes.



My Vista machine seems to meet all the requirements--Intel Core Duo, 2.2 Ghz, 3G RAM, defragged, etc.



clues?
PE4 chokes on small project
Let me elaborate: If I simply open the project and play it from the timeline, I can sit and watch Task Manager as the PE memory usage piles up until the system is depleted.
PE4 chokes on small project
More info...



Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH

Application Name: Adobe Premiere Elements.exe

Application Version: 4.0.0.0

Application Timestamp: 46df9114

Fault Module Name: StackHash_fd00

Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0

Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000

Exception Code: c0000005

Exception Offset: 14e4edbc

OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3

Locale ID: 1033

Additional Information 1: fd00

Additional Information 2: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160

Additional Information 3: fd00

Additional Information 4: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160

I have PE7 so don't know... is PE4 certified for Vista?

Yes, versions 3.02, 4 and 7 are Vista capable.



I think the bigger question is about those ''low res'' AVI files.



If you open those files in Windows Media Player, then go to File and select Properties, what codec does it show?



Most likely those AVIs are not DV-AVIs, which is why the program is sucking up so much power. Where did those AVIs come from?

Hey, I appreciate the responses. If I inspect the files in WMP it doesn't tell me the video or audio codec. The line is blank. These are straight from my Canon Powershot digital camera, a source I have used before.

Steve C,



A little freeware program, G-Spot (www.headbands.com/gspot) will likely tell you all you need to know about those files, especially with regards to the CODEC's used to create them. It will also tell you if you have all necessary CODEC's installed properly on your system.



Also, your owner's manual should give you some info on how your camera creates and saves these files, though some mfgr's. are less inclined to give full specs. Do not know why that is, but it is common.



Chances are great that you can do one of two things to help you with your Project:



1.) start your Project with the proper presets for your footage



2.) convert your AV files to DV-AVI for smooth and seamless editing. Note: if your camera does compression, when creating the files, you will likely have already taken a quality hit.



Also, what is your intended Export medium?



Good luck,



Hunt

Again, thanks for the help.

Okay, according to g-spot, these files use motion jpeg, which is installed.

So what would be the proper preset and do I still need to convert the files? If so, what would I use?

(Sorry for the newbie questions)

As we anticipated, that's exactly at the root of your problem, Steve. You can't edit MJPEGs in Premiere Elements.



You can in Windows MovieMaker -- and you can use MovieMaker to convert them to a file format Premiere Elements can work with, per the FAQs at the top of this forum.

http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc247e2

I do some editing of MJPEGs, others have had similar issues which were resolved after loading a new MJPEG codec. You could try downloading the trial version of the LEAD MJPEG codec here. It is $10 if it solves your problems.

http://www.leadcodecs.com/Codecs/LEAD-MCMP-MJPEG.htm

Thanks Paul. For $10 I was able to save my project and avoid a lot of work in the future.

:)

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