Video Sync under Vista

[Outlaw94]

Okay here is my problem. I just installed vista on my dell 9300. Everything works great and I love the new vista. However when I try to sync up some recorded TV or most other video files to my PMC samsung yh-999, I get an error during the encoding. SOme files convert some don't. I even tried to do it manually with windows movie maker but the portable media pre-set encoder doesn't do a good job for my sammy.

Whay won't my video convert? What am I doing wrong?

[Jason Dunn]

It's hard to nail down the problem with multiple video sources. I'd move out all your video, the put the DVR-MS TV shows back in. Test that. If they work, then add in a couple of other videos until you narrow it down...

[Outlaw94]

Well I tried some recorded TV only in the sync list and I'm still having the same problem.

I'm just lost with this problem.

[Outlaw94]

I might have figured it out. Is there a way to set the preferred decoder. I tried the windows utility but its not working.

[Outlaw94]

Okay, nevermind that didnt work either.

[Outlaw94]

I've been messing with this problem for a while now and I went to using a xp computer with WMP11.. I think it's a WMP11 problem.

[Outlaw94]

OKay here it goes. After spending hours with this thing today I think I narrowed it down. It seems to be a problem with the decoder. I'm not sure why but It started when I upgraded to WMP11 on my xp machine and and continued with the other computer with vista which also has WMP11.

Can anyone piont me in a direction to download a workinbg decoder? I've tried the latest from powerdvd and intervideo but I am still getting the same errors. are there any others out there?

[Jason Dunn]

This thread has been pretty funny to watch with you replying to all your own posts. ;-)

First, run this:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=DE1491AC-0AB6-4990-943D-627E6ADE9FCB&displaylang=en

That will tell you what decoders you have installed, and which are compatible with what.

What I find strange though is that if you have Vista Premium or Ultimate, it will come with Microsoft's own MPEG2 decoder...tell me what the utility says.

[Outlaw94]

I ran the utility to check my codecs. Here is what I find funny. I had three compatible codecs. I tried all three. To no avail. I downloaded NVIDIA PureVideo Decoder and tried it. This decoder actually works. It allows me to convert my TV and video. However, there is a catc, isn't there always? It converts video very, very, very slowly. I listed about ten videos all around 30 to 60 mins in length and it took more than 8 hours to convert 2 of them.

I'm at work right now and don't have access to my computer but I will run the decoder again when I get home and list the compatible decoders on my system that I tried over the weekend.

If you think it funny me replying to all my posts you should here me talking to myself as I've been working on this problem. :lol:

[Jason Dunn]

Hmm. You're definitely in codec hell, it's not a fun place to be. :-(

I have the same Samsung PMC as you do, so I'm charging it now and will see what I can do with my own testing...

I find it frustrating that Vista has no "codec manager" or something similar to help make managing video codecs easier.

[Outlaw94]

Well I ran the checkup utility and here is what I got.

WMP 10 and MCE Compatible:
NVIDIA Video Decoder
Cyberlink Video/SP Decoder (PDVD7)
Cyberlink Video Decoder/(PDVD7 HomeNetwork)

I have tried all the of the above for trying to encode my videos and only the NVIDIA decoder works. However, like I had stated previously, the conversion for non DVR-MS files is extremely slow.

I did see Microsofts MPEG-2 Video Decoder but the check up utility says it is not WMP 10 compatible but it is MCE compatible. Again, this decoder would not work for conversion purposes.

It is like MS just stopped suppoting this feature. At least there is very little out there you can utilize to help solve the problem.

[Jason Dunn]

Ok, I connected my Samsung YH-999 to my Vista Ultimate machine, and it connected fine. I then selected a 2 hour TV show that recorded last night, and told it to sync to the file. On my AMD X2 5000+ system is finished the transcode in about 45 minutes (I think...I wasn't doing a hard-core timing).

So based on what I've seen, Vista transcoding does work with this piece of hardware. I think your problem might be related to all those codecs you have installed...how did you get them on there? If you have Vista Home Premium or Ultimate, you don't need any codecs for Media Center or DVD playback.

[Outlaw94]

Try and encode a video that isn't a DVR-MS TV show. That is where I am hitting my snag now. The non TV show took very long for me to convert.

It looks like I may have another project this weekend. I will get rid of those codecs and see whet happens but I won;t be able to do that until this weekend at the earliest. I'll keep you posted.

[Jason Dunn]

Try and encode a video that isn't a DVR-MS TV show. That is where I am hitting my snag now. The non TV show took very long for me to convert.

Ah, I see. What's the codec for the video file you're trying to convert? There isn't a Vista-approved version of Divx out yet, so pretty much anything that isn't DVR-MS or WMV is going to be a crap-shoot.

[Outlaw94]

Well I have been thinking of going to a more advanced PMP/PVP recently and this frustration just might push me to it. I would like something that plays for types of video files requiring me to convert less. I've been eyeing the Creative Vision W. The CF slot is a plus for my DSLR.

The most frustrating thing is that under xp and WMP10, the convert and sync process worked great. It's almost like MS took a step back with Vista and WMP11 in regards to their convert ans sync feature. :roll: I mean, I didn't encounter a video WMP10 couldn't convert. It was a really nice feature that saved me time. I could set it up and walk away as it converted 15 to 20 videos.

So, just a couple more questions Jason. How well do you like your Vision W? How does it compare to the Samsung in user experience?

[Jason Dunn]

Well I have been thinking of going to a more advanced PMP/PVP recently and this frustration just might push me to it.

This is one that I have my eye on. (http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1231)-SanDisk_Sansa_View__Pocket_Video_Player.aspx) Not sure about codec support yet, but it's a great size from what I can see.

The most frustrating thing is that under xp and WMP10, the convert and sync process worked great.

But here's the thing: it only worked great because you had codecs installed! :-) If you took a Windows XP SP2 system, loaded up a Divx file, but not install the Divx codec, then tried to sync your Samsung...it would fail. WMP10 and WMP11 on Windows XP will only convert video files that it has DirectShow codec support for. Since Vista is different, and requires new codecs in some cases, things are ugly and broken. I know you're frustrated, but the real problem here is the lack of Vista-ready video codecs from Divx, Xvid, etc.

So, just a couple more questions Jason. How well do you like your Vision W? How does it compare to the Samsung in user experience?

I didn't like it - I returned it:

http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11658

Hope that helps a bit!