Solution to audio encoding problem achieved

I was using clips from my Sanyo Xacti Camcorder, imported into iMovie as mpeg 4 files and unable to finish the project in iDVD as the error would come in the audio encoding stage.A quick test is to export the iMovie files through Quicktime and it would stop cold, saying something is wrong with the file.
Going through the forum here,many had posted reasons is because iDVD cannot handle audio files with deviations from sampling rate of 48k, and somehow the audio files may work if it is converted to aiff , with sampling rate of 48k.I found a way to do it last night.
Export the imovie to GarageBand. When GarageBand finished the video track and sound track imports, adjust the volume of the sound track as desired.
Make sure the GarageBand preference to set export movie in full quality, not ipod or email quality. Then export the movie to disk, and the resulting Quicktime movie must have the original audio tracked enabled before it is used in iDVD. Check the Quicktime movie by quicktime player, and under movie property, you can check that enable box.
The finished product is a Quicktime movie that has both video and audio files that iDVD can handle and use.And it saves time in audio conversion by doing it in GarageBand first.

I was unable to export the imovie to quicktime, as the error message came within seconds , saying about something wrong with the file. The only way I could export the file to quicktime format is through GarageBand.
GarageBand is the application to add another sound track , and it preserves the whole imovie and could be exported directly to iDVD, instead of exporting to
Quicktime format first. The only reason I did this "extra" step was because I already knew if the Quicktime movie would not fail in iDVD, and it is quicker to check it this way then to wait 10 hours for iDVD time.
It was already recognized that iMovie does not do audio conversion, and when the audio files are not native to iDVD(i.e. 48 Hz sampling), the iDVD would crash.
See
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=800972&tstart=30

Similar Messages

Has Apple fixed the audio encoding problem?

As many other people seems to have experienced before me, iDVD6 stops working when encoding audio. Everything works before that step but when it reaches the "Audio Encoding" sequence iDVD stops working. Did Apple fix the problem? What else can we do?
Thanks for any reply.
Frank
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) PowerMac G4

I followed your advice and restarted at 6:00 pm last night - this morning it was still going on - over 13 hours! The funny thing this time is that I got the 'rainbow ball' encoding audio at the beginning of the 3rd step, 'Processing movie' after only 1-1/2 hour. The last time I burned the same project, I got the 'rainbow ball' encoding audio message at the end of the 3rd step - in other words, it had processed the entire movie (which took 6 hours) and then began the encoding audio phase. I'm letting it run while I'm at work, but do you think there might be something else going on?
Here are some facts which apply to both times that I have tried burning the DVD project:
1. I have iMovie project (26Gb) on my external drive with about 15 Gb available space
2. and the iDVD project is on the internal hard drive with about 50 Gb of available space
The reason I moved the iMovie project to the external drive was because I would have only had about 24 Gb of available space if I left it on the internal drive (less than the movie itself).
Which drive is doing all the encoding and needing the most space - the internal or the external? I was assuming it was the internal drive. Should I move the iMovie project back to my internal drive and start over?
Thanks again - I'm a new member of this site and so far, it has been very helpful and informative!

Audio encoding problem

Hello,
I've successfully burned a half dozen iMovie projects with no problems but this time I am having a new problem.
Each time I attempt to burn an iMovie project to iDVD it progresses fine through the various stages, but when it gets near the end to the "Audio Encoding" stage it just sits there and never seems to finish.
I've been seraching through earlier postings but haven't found this specific issue.
Any ideas?
Much obliged.

I am also having this problem. iDVD gets to the end of the audio encoding and stops responding. If I leave it for a few hours it does finally finish but there is an error "timed-out" message on the screen. Very annoying. I've read elsewere that the problem may be caused by the latest QuickTime update (7.1.0) which I did install this week. Several threads suggest downgrading QT. I tried it via the suggested links, it mildly crashed the OS. I was able to recover after reinstalling the lastes QT. Coincidentally, I've since read the downgrade does not work with Intel iMacs. Come on Apple, let's get this FIXED.
Which version of QT are you running?

AC3 audio encoding problems

Have been encoding ac3 without any problems until recently. Now all ac3 encodes just play back as digital "noise", and the problems exists with default as well as modified versions of the standard ac3 preset.
I'm using latest versions of Compressor and Quicktime. Anyone seen this issue and know how to solve? I'm considering reinstalling Compressor, but that seems to entail a complete FCS2 reinstall...

UPDATE: I rebooted my mac using my backup system disk, which has quicktime 7.1.6 installed. I found that under this configuration my ac3 files could be played back. So it's NOT an encoding problem after all. It seems to be a decoding problem. So next up I'll try reinstalling my current version of Quicktime on the main system disk (that's QT 7.2 of course.) If that doesn't work, I'll have to try reverting to Quictime 7.1.6 I guess...

Audio Encoding problem at burn step...

working at high school...fair newbies here, have had about a half-dozen successful movies completed so far..
Issue right now (end of year so help is appreciated)...
all is good to go, but the process gets hung up up at the third stage..."Process Movies" where it appears to work to the end about to finish, and the burn icon ceases to move, the time signal comes up spinning and nothing happens.
Go to hit alt, open apple and esc and the window comes up saying iDVD quit..
at one point, the first attempt thru...something said an "audio encoding" issue...
so close to burning...any idea what is going on???
thanks...
Larry

Hi Larry!
This question is one of our 'most popular'!
It is probably not 'hanging'. Disregard any messages that iDVD is not responding. It is. Ignore the spinning beachball of death. Do not force quit.
Encoding audio is the slowest part of rendering, and can take many hours. Great patience, even an intermittent alternative hobby, is called for.
Make sure no other application is running, make sure you have not set the hard disk to go to sleep and that the screen saver will not come on. Leave it overnight, or have a 36 hole game of golf.
Sooner or later iDVD will finish!

Audio encoding problems

When my burn gets to the end of encoding, the process seems to freeze up and I get the rainbow disk that doesn't stop turning. This starts to happen as soon as the video encoding stops and goes to encoding audio. All my audio brought in for the project is from within i movie. Can anyone tell me what may be happening? Thank you.

Hi
Three things comes to mind.
- Long audio parts deleted (but still fragments left far away at right end of timeline) but residues that iMovie can't handle
- under 10 Gb free space on hard disk
- moved from iMovie to iDVD by Share/Export to iDVD from within iMovie.
Close iMovie and drop project icon (Star on it) into an new open iDVD theme
window. Might help. iDVD doing the rendering better.
Yours Bengt W

Audio Encoding Spinning Beachball

I have had the same problem for over a month now. As I am typing there is a spinning beachball going during the audio encoding process. What is a reasonable amount of time? I started to burn a DVD at noontime , it is now 7:00 pm and still spinning. The project is 48 minutes long with chapter markers, ten transitions, a slow motion clip, sound effects, and a song in the drop zone. I have even upgraded to 10.4.6, purchased Quicktime Pro 7.1.1 and reloaded the latest iLife update 6.02. I used to burn a DVD with the same content in about six hours before the update. I don't know what else to try other than a new Mac........ I even re-imported the original movie from my camera-but the same beachball is spinning!!! I have tried every solution that was offered in the discussion area but the beachball keeps spinning. I'm at my wits end-somebody please help. After twenty years with Apple, this is the first problem I have ever had-I hope they fix this bug soon..... I am ready to drink heavily.......Have easily spent a hundred hours trying to fix this problem....

I have tried every solution that was offered in the discussion area
Well then this is probably stuff you've heard before but here goes anyway -
Audio Encoding problems come in three flavors:
1) Vanilla - This is the most common - the "freeze" when encoding audio is normal, you get a spinning beachball, and even when looking at activity monitor iDVD and its helpers are "not responding." Solution? WAIT....and WAIT some more, wait at least as long as it took to encode the video, and iDVD will still often produce a great DVD. I agree it shouldn't work this way, but that's the way it works.
2) Chocolate - Still pretty common, but a bit more trouble. Often caused by 12 bit audio, iDVD needs 16 bit audio. Try "extracting audio" in iMovie or export and reimport to tape after setting the camcorder to 16 bit.
3) Pistachio - much less common. Could be other problems with your audio, such as CBR MP3s or who knows what....this is sort of the catch-all for other audio issues. Again, try extracting audio and/or exporting your iMovie to full quality DV. Convert CBR MP3s to AAC format.
Check other things in your project against this list:
http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=-1&messageID=2466511
What is a reasonable amount of time?
As I said above wait at least as long as it takes to encode the video. But if I were you, I'd wait overnight just to rule out waiting as a solution. Definitely look at that sound file you dropped into the iDVD menu, make sure it is not a CBR MP3, and that your CMs and transitions follow the rules in the link I provided. Make sure you are using "save as disk image" and have 20GB for free space..........
And since you do have transitions & special effects(slow mo) and sound effects, you might try exporting your iMovie back to your camera or to full quality DV. This will render all the sound and effects, and then you can re-import to iMovie, add chapters, and use that movie in iDVD. This simplifies iDVD's and QT's job during encoding.
I am ready to drink heavily
Well just skip the heavily part, and this is a good activity to do while waiting on the beachball.......
John B.

Audio Encoding and iTunes update

iTunes has just released an update. Maybe it will fix the audio encoding problem???

Hi Milton
If you create an iMovie, e.g., 1 hour movie, and insert audio, such as music from iTunes, then take the project into iDVD, and then begin the "burn" process, it will take many hours to encode the audio
Not on every machine, not for everybody. This afternoon I finished 'assembling' a 102 minute iMovie project which included 3 music tracks imported in AIFF format via iTunes, and 13 chapters. I imported this into iDVD, picked a theme, and burnt it to disk image.
I burnt the disk image at 2x to DVD using Toast. The entire process (from saving the iMovie project to ejecting the DVD) took a little under four and a half hours.
Search the iDVD forum, you'll find lots of discussion on this audio encoding problem.
I don't need to search, I read all the threads, and I am mystified, and very sympathetic, to those people who have a really bad experience, like the guy who took 4 days to complete a project with music.
But I don't think we should generalise about how long these things take. We all have our own modus operandi. What works for you, works for you. What works for me works for me.
We should all try to find out what works for the others - or why it doesn't.

Audio Encoding Error--Solution!!!

Hi. I have a solution to the problem of "audio encoding error". I went through the same frustration that has appeared on this forum. I even let iDVD run for 3 or 4 days with the hope that the spinning rainbow actually meant that something was working. After trying all the stuff on the forum, my answer finally came from one of the geniuses at Apple Store, Walnut Creek, California.
I hope this works for all and saves you many hours/days of frustration. If my answer is not clear enough, email me at [email protected]
Solution:
-Do not use iDVD to encode your project.
-Use iMovie to encode the project.
-Export the iMovie as a quicktime. I chose to make my quicktime project 'best quality'.
-Once the quicktime movie has been made, the new quicktime file has all of the transitions, audio, etc. encoded as one giant clip.
-If you wish to make individual "chapters" from your main clip, you will need to import the main clip to iMovie each time you want a chapter. Edit each clip to the length of each chapter. Then export the chapter as its own quicktime file. If you want many chapters, do this many times. If you want just one long file, you don't need to do any further editing.
-Open iDVD and set up your project themes, audio, etc.
-Once your iDVD is ready, import the single or multiple quicktime files into iDVD. When you process the iDVD, it will still take some time but it should not freeze since the most complicated encoding was done by iMovie.
-iDVD will take a several gb quicktime file and compress it to a smaller file once it places it into iDVD.
A few additional comments:
-quicktime files need to be on Mac HD and not on external harddrives.
-encoding the iMovie may still take a long time depending on the complexity of the movie.
I hope this works for you all. It took me a few days to figure out all the details even after I finally got on the right track. Yes, I agree, Apple should fix this obvious problem. Merry Christmas everyone and good luck with your projects.
Andy

Nice try asw, perhaps the genius at the Apple store forgot to mention that this solution only applies if the footage imported into iMovie was shot in 16 bit audio if not you will have massive out of sync audio throughout the entire project getting progressively worse at the end. 99% of the time people shoot at the default camera 12 bit audio. Quick time encoded from 12 bit audio in Imovie is definetely not the way to go. Apple are you listening.??? Merry Christmas to all !

Premiere CS4 - Audio sync problems, Encoding Problems

Hi,
I've been using Premiere CS3 for encoding 20-25 minute videos to deploy on a Flash Media Streaming server.
Today I upgraded to CS4 and everything that I render to FLV/FV4, H264 or Quicktime format has serious audio sync problems when I use AAC as the audio codec. Unfortunately for me, AAC is the codec that I need to use for the streaming server. The audio is synchronized to begin with, but it gets progressively unsynched as the video progresses.
Has anyone else had this problem? I'm using bitrates of 256 kbps, 512kbps for the video and 24 kbps / 32 kbps for the audio.
Another thing that I've noticed is that many of the options that I used when encoding videos are no longer available!! For instance, I cannot generate hinting tracks for Quicktime, and most of the audio frequencies are gone for Quicktime as well.
What a disappointment:(
-Chris

Seems to be an on going issue with no response from Adobe. Have the same issue with the audio running ahead of the video. (Cool if this was an old Japanese monster video).
Running CS4 PP & AME all updates are current. Nvida Quardro CX (current drivers 4.20.006) used several formats (Elemental h.264 to MPEG-2) same issue.
PC Intel Xeon CPU 3.20GHz 16GB RAM – Prof Win XP x64 Ser Pack 2
Any help from Adobe would be appreciated.

Audio Encoding & Ken Burns Problems Persist - More Help Please.

My previous thread (10/27): Encoding Audio in iDVD for 41 hours. Is there any hope?
--72min iMovie, many high res photos, iTunes music, voiceovers, sound effects (20.9G)
Since then:
I reimported Music Store songs from CD and tried iMovie to iDVD again , menu took 50min, video encoding took 4.5hrs, audio encoding went 12 hours till I force quit. (Should I have waited longer?)
I then was able to create a Quicktime Movie (Full Quality) in 36hrs, but the Ken Burns photos were so horrific (shimmering) that I decided to try creating a Disk Image. Is there any chance the results will be better? (Burn w/Toast6)
I also tried exporting iMovie to my JVC GR-DVP3 video camera. Only got colored checkerboard patterns.
If the Disk Image approach doesn't work, I'll be back at square one. Anything else I might try?

Wow, this sounds like a long time. Is this DV? Or
H.264?
The extension is .dv What is H.264
Remember that iDVD will create standard resolution
video, even if you are feeding it HD material. So
use Export> Quicktime> Full Quality DV.
I did.
The shimmering might improve once it is burned to
disk, but it might not. I also find it is different
on different players. PhotoToMovie does a better job
than iMovie/iPhoto of avoiding shimmers.
I heard that, but it took me 2 weeks to make my movie and at present I can't bear the thought of redoing all my KB photos.
I also tried exporting iMovie to my JVC GR-DVP3
video camera. Only got colored checkerboard
patterns
Check the iMovie forum for this one, but it sure
seems that something must not be hooked up right.
Was it in VCR mode?
I have a post on the iMovie forum, iMovie recognized the camera and it recorded, but all I got was sporadic patterns. The manual shows DV to DV operations but no computer to DV. Maybe my camera isn't compatable.

No progress bar during audio encoding

Since the lack of a progress bar causes many users to think that iDVD has frozen (and forces us to resort to look into the package contents to see if this is the case,) I think that anyone who has had this problem should post a feedback enhancement request to Apple so they realize how important a feature this is.

I filed a report and I'll bet a lot of other Apple users have filed a report. In Dec. 2005, Apple released a bulletin on this encoding problem - their solution was to just wait it out.
A recent post in this forum indicated that the person called Apple Care and received the standard answer - wait it out.
In case you haven't read the other posts, you can do one of the following:
1. From iMovie - export as a Quicktime movie, then reload into a new iMovie project OR.
2. Export iMovie to a video camera and then reload back into a new iMovie project.
These work arounds combine the added audio to the existing video clips so when you reinsert the movie into iMovie, audio and video are combined. Then insert chapter markings, export to iDVD and you'll have your burned DVD in an hour or less - depending on your Mac's horsepower.

Audio Sync Problem When Playing on iPod

I just got my video iPod and have been encoding some .avi's using Xilisoft. When I play the output as a .mp4 it's fine on my laptop, but when I play them on my iPod there's a distinct audio sync lapse that gets worse as the players goes. Many videos also freeze at 1:51 (even though the time indicator shows the whole file time).
Anyone else having this problem and found any solutions?
Thanks.

having problem......................no solusion

Audio encoding hang work around

After scouring this discussion and the internet, it seems the following is true:
1) The source of the audio encoding delay is the conversion of the audio to an iDVD friendly format;
2) There is indeed progress being made even though the activity monitor may say not or you may get a not responding message;
3) There are two work arounds that work well, but with a properly debugged iDVD we should not have to do this nonsense. Here's to iLife '07 fixing this mess, hopefully.
So, as to #1, even if you first convert the audio and then lay down the audio to the iMovie project there are still delays, especially with longer movies. It is quite apparent that this is an iDVD bug as other programs convert audio files quickly. (As to camera audion, you have to make sure you are in 16 bit with your camera.)
As to #2, by looking at the package contents (Command I) you can see the progress of the audio encoding even when you think it is hung and even if you get a not responding message. To do this open your local disk, go to documents which is where iDVD puts them, and look for the title of your project, highlight it and hit Command I. Note the bytes, close the info dialog, and then reopen again. You may need to do this a few times depending on RAM, clock speed, etc., but you should see a change in bytes after awhile. If so, there is progress being made, as painstakingly slow as it may be. (A 1h53m movie took about 40 hours on my G5 with 1.5MB RAM! Not acceptable!)
As to #3, the same thing is being accomplished, by different means. In both case you are creating a new file that handles the audio encoding on the way out and then reimporting with audio encoded. In the first, you export to your camera and then turn around and import into a new iMovie project. Add your chapters and then open from iDVD. Save as a disc image and then burn from the Disc Utility application which can be found under Utilities.
The other work around is sharing to Quicktime and then reimporing to iMovie as a new project, and do the same as above. Following the latter, it took me 40 hours plus before took about 5 hours.
I hope this saves you all some time.
iMac 20" G5 iSight Mac OS X (10.4.7) 1.5GB RAM, Ext HD 250GB

I think I may have found a solution to my problem. It seems
to be related to how much resources(RAM) I have available to the
program. If I try a lower resolution setting it works fine. If I
set the priority of the program high I can use higher
resolutions.

Audio Encoding Hang

I'm having troubles getting passed the "audio encoding
started" in the log when I start streaming. After about 10 seconds
of it staying there, the program crashes. It doesn't happen all the
time. I try to close any program that could be using the audio
device that it is capturing but I can never isolate the issue.
Here is what the log says before it either crashes or does
nothing:
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:28 : Selected video input device:
VHMultiCam
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:28 : Selected audio input device:
Logitech Mic (Pro 9000)
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:29 : The selected audio device
"Logitech Mic (Pro 9000)" doesn't allow setting volume intensity.
Disabling the volume slider control.
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:34 : Primary - Connected
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:35 : Primary -
Stream[live_2005305_jKc5JtDY] Status: Success
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:35 : Primary -
Stream[live_2005305_jKc5JtDY] Status: NetStream.Publish.Start
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:35 : Session Started
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:36 : Session Started
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:36 : Audio Encoding Started
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:36 : Audio Encoding Stopped
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:36 : Session Stopped
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:37 : Session Started
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:38 : Session Started
Wed Mar 18 2009 23:47:38 : Audio Encoding Started
I can't understand why it works sometimes and other times it
doesn't.

I think I may have found a solution to my problem. It seems
to be related to how much resources(RAM) I have available to the
program. If I try a lower resolution setting it works fine. If I
set the priority of the program high I can use higher
resolutions.

Solution to audio encoding problem achieved

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for