It is kind of odd. I have a small (4 minute) video as a movie project and when I first set it up in PS25U I had no problem using the Razor tool to split clips on the timeline... just as I have thousands of times in previous versions of Pinnacle. I came back to the project about a week later and was unable to use the Razor tool (or any other method) to split clips. That was a little disappointing. There are 3 tracks, an MTS video clip on one, an MOV clip on another, and a WAV clips on the 3rd track. This is the same kind of method I have used for years with these files, so I have to believe that it is some kind of bug in PS25U.

One workaround was to recreate the various scenes, which was difficult because the sound needed to be synced on all three tracks... not a practical option. In fact, that method only worked some of the time. The common Control Panel settings are the same in PS25 as they are in PS20, and deleting the render files from their folder does not help.

So, before I go nuts, I thought I'd ask the experts... all of you. Any ideas? My computer system and configuration is the same as it has been for the past 5 years (see my profile). Hopefully it is something obvious I'm missing, so I'm counting on all of you to have some helpful suggestions. 

Thank you in advance!

Larry 

Larry, I haven't experienced your problem on my system. I use the "N" key to split clips on the timeline. So far, it's working. Using the Razor also works.

Maybe a reset? 

Tony P:

Maybe a reset? 

Thanks, Tony. Good to know that you have not encountered this problem on your system. I think you may be right about a Reset. I also tried the "N" key with no success, so then I was wondering about possible corruption in the project file. That would probably take a lot of time to figure out, so I will do a Reset and let you know the results.

Thanks!

Larry 

No problem Larry! I hope the 'reset" solves the problem and you can get back to editing!

After a little testing, Tony, I can give some helpful clues. You, Yann, and JJN all have good ideas about these things. The Reset did not solve the problem. I did a Repair (from the PS25U installer) but that did not solve the problem either. PS20U has been the version that I have been using for my production work, so this small PS25U project is for me to test the new software. Just for fun, I used PS20U to pull up the PS25U project file and, outside of the fact that the Basic Color effect that I used on the two video clips was not backwardly compatible, the splitting of the MTS, WAV, and MOV clips worked perfectly in PS20 with both the Razor tool and the "N" shortcut key. Now, back to PS25U, sometimes the MOV track will not split, and sometimes the MTS track will not split. Both have the Basic Color effect applied. There seems to be enough "quirkiness and "randomness" to this problem that I have to believe that it is either a bug in PS25U, or some kind of corruption in the project file caused by the use of the Basic Color effect.

I hope this narrative is not overly complex, but here is my workflow on this and other projects:
1. Place MTS file on track 1
2. Place MOV file on track 2
3. Place WAV file on track 3
4. The audio that will ultimately be used is only the WAV, but I first sync up all the tracks using their audio before turning off the MTS and MOV audio (although in PS25 I cannot hear the MTS audio due to copyright issues, so I do my best to sync).
5. Add any effects to the video tracks that they need (in this case the Basic Color effect added to the MTS and MOV files).
5. Then I parse the tracks (by splitting them) to arrive at the final timeline series of clips.
6. In this case I needed to adjust some of the individual timeline scene Color effects to correct for changing light conditions.
7. Finally, I export everything to (usually) an MP4 video file. 

So, that's the workflow. A week later, when I came back to make a couple of small tweaks to a timeline scene, is when I discovered that I was unable to split the clips (sometimes the MTS and sometimes the MOV). I lean toward ruling out any project file corruption since the project file timeline can be perfectly split when loaded backwardly in PS20U (except for the Color effect settings). My guess is that somewhere between version 20 and version 25 that methods of video file handling have been changed, or that in PS25 there is a bug involving video files and the Basic Color effect. However, if I delete the Color effect and attempt a split, it still does not work

Having said all of this, I have not been able to recreate the problem in a new project. I can go through my workflow in a new project and all seems to be well, except I haven't come back to the new project after a couple of days. Based on this, my thinking also leans toward some kind of project file corruption. As can be seen, I am running Windows 7, 64-bit and do not have a Windows 10 machine to test PS on. Maybe there is something to that. Also, Halloween is coming and maybe - just maybe - it has something to do with that. Ha!

Pinnacle may be able to make some sense of all of this in case it points to a bug in PS25U. I am glad to answer any questions anyone has since it is such a weird event.

I will continue testing to see if I can narrow things down a bit better. 

Thanks for your help!

Larry 

Shot in the dark.... have you deleted the rendered files from the problematic project?

Tony P:

Shot in the dark.... have you deleted the rendered files from the problematic project?

Yes, I have deleted them.

What I can do, since the project is small and the problem is so strange, is to recreate it in a new project file and see what happens to that one. It will only take about 2 or 3 hours, but may be worth it just to see what happens. What do you think?

Larry 

....and is it possible to get a package of the project to test, or similar?

Re-creating it, testing it along the way to see if you can split clips is also a good idea. 

Tony P:

....and is it possible to get a package of the project to test, or similar?

Re-creating it, testing it along the way to see if you can split clips is also a good idea. 

Yes, I have the project package created (12gb). It is being uploaded to my Google Drive for you to pick up... unless you have a better way to do that.

Thanks! 

That's fine.... just let me know when it's done.

Tony P:

That's fine.... just let me know when it's done.

Sent you the link in a PM.

 

I also had the same problem as you did. I was working on a project and all of a sudden nothing worked for me. After thinking for a while I decided to make a new project and everything worked well for me up to now without any problems at all.

R_Vera:

I also had the same problem as you did. I was working on a project and all of a sudden nothing worked for me. After thinking for a while I decided to make a new project and everything worked well for me up to now without any problems at all.

Thank you, R_Vera, for your experience. I have begun to recreate the project as a new file and - so far - it has been working fine.

I went back to the project backup file (BAK) for the project file that was not working, but it too does not work. The problem with corruption is how do you know when it happens? If it is not noticed right away even the backup file will contain the errors, and even my own external backups will keep backing up the bad file. It is the first time this kind of thing has happened to me in all the years I have been using Studio, so I am very happy about that. Hopefully, it is the only time.

If this was a large project I think the problem would still be contained to a relatively small project file for me since each of my large projects are made up of several smaller projects... so that is a good thing. 

Still, it would be nice if there was a "project file integrity tool" that could give us all some indication that something is not right with a project file so it can be addressed early on and the BAK file saved off to the side. My guess is that the reason for the existence project backup file (BAK) methodology is a sort of "poor man's" way of addressing that issue. But still, if I were King, I would make a tool that would check file integrity. Ha!

Thank you, again, for your response.

Larry 

I came about the same problem when working in a 2 minutes project, but because the project was short I did not pay attention.

I deleted and started again and the problem was not there anymore. I have not crossed with the problem again.

fidel47:

I came about the same problem when working in a 2 minutes project, but because the project was short I did not pay attention.

I deleted and started again and the problem was not there anymore. I have not crossed with the problem again.

Thank you, fidel47. That gives me confidence.

Larry

 

I was just contacted by Corel and said this problem should be fixed in the upcoming patch which will be released soon.

R_Vera:

I was just contacted by Corel and said this problem should be fixed in the upcoming patch which will be released soon.

Thank you! That is great!!!