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I have used Camtasia Studio for creating videos for the last 2+ years. The software gives me lots of problems. Here's the latest:
This week I edited these two YouTube videos in Camtasia Studio: https://www.youtube.com/qlikview#p/a/u... and https://www.youtube.com/qlikview#p/a/u....
* During the creation of these two short videos, Camtasia Studio hung about 50 times. Often, I would have to restart the app using CTRL+ALT+DELETE and then use the Task Manager.
*Vvery often when I went to render the videos, I would get an "out of memory" error. I'd have to restart Camtasia Studio to get the video to render properly.
* Very often, fade transitions appear as fade to black transitions. Even though Fade is selected, I'm getting Fade to Black.
This is a few of the issues I'm having that make me think I've hit the wall with the product.
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I’m
frustrated
Camtasia studio hanging and crashing + issues with fades
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EMPLOYEE
1Thanks for including those sample videos! I am able to see exactly what you are trying to accomplish.
A few thoughts:
1. Camtasia Studio's bread and butter is screen recording and enhancing the video so the viewer can better access the information with things such as a ToC, hotspots, captions, etc. That said, many people use it for live video editing in a manner perhaps better suited to something like Final Cut or Premiere. Your live video wasn't especially complex so I think it should have worked better--which brings me to point 2.
2. What kind of live video did you bring into CS? For example, if it was a huge AVI off an HD camera with high resolution it's a lot harder to work with than if it was a smaller MP4 off a Flip camera or Kodak Zi8. I would recommend to anyone trying to work with live video to first re-encode it down. It's analogous if you've ever seen someone insert a 10 megapixel photo into a word doc or PPT. It sort of works, but hurts performance and is overkill.
3. When in doubt, our support team (http://support.techsmith.com) is always the best resource for things like this because they are the most familiar with the formats, bitrate, video card drivers, and can often work with your particular project to get to the root cause and solution.
Thanks again for posting the samples and provided level of detail. We love it when people can include screenshots or little videos of the issues they're having.
Hope this helps...Comment-
Eric Cavanaugh April 20, 2012 19:01I'm trying to make a simple video with just some slides. I have a few hot spots and transitions. It hangs up on every transition. This is a minute and a half long project. I upgraded it when it started and it doesn't work as well as it did months ago. I'm using the same hardware I had when making a much longer and complex video. The product was not improved with the upgrade.EditDeleteRemove
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I’m
okay with it.
Thank you very much for this response. It confirms that I have "hit a wall" with Camtasia Studio. I'll look at other video software like Final Cut or Premiere for editing live video.
I used a Flip camera to record the video I linked to above.
Regards,
Erica -
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I’m
waiting for a final fix
Hi, Perhaps my post solves your problem? click here to see a solution I use. I think I have a temp fix that solves this problem. Please let me know if this works for you. http://feedback.techsmith.com/techsmi... -
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1I'm having the same problem and have been dealing with support for the past week with no help as of yet. I make simple how-to videos, and have used Camtaisa for about 9 months. About three months ago it no longer recognizes my Mic. It does in record voice narration, but not in record screen. This makes my videos sound like I'm recording in a subway. Unacceptable, as I'm running a business and need quality recordings. Then about two weeks ago Camtaisa started freezing. Now it freezes as soon as it opens. I've spent hours reading forums and hours more dealing with support. I've lost so much time, and need to be working on other things. I'm at the end of my rope...
All my drivers are up to date, other screen recorders work just fine, but I'm unable to edit any videos. Any ideas? -
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Chuck, edriver1 noted their problem was solved by the work around I posted in the comment above. It sounds like you may have several issues. You said. "it no longer recognizes my Mic. It does in record voice narration" That seems like a mic is working, if voice narration is recorded... If you do not like the sound of a recording. Try this tip. Open up Camtasia, and also open up Audacity. Playback your ,and as you listen to your voice, re-record what you have said while recording your voice again with Audacity. If you prefer the Audacity recording, export this as and MP3 file from Audacity, and import into Camtasia to replace your first recording. This gives you a second voice track option to use. Perhaps you need to expand the description of your problem and PC & Mic you use. There might be something else to improve. Hope this helps for now.
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"Try this tip. Open up Camtasia"
If I could open up Camtaisa without it freezing, that would be fantastic! My mic works fantastic in Audacity, and Smart Screen Recorder Pro, (a cheap screen recorder), as well as CamStudio. I use a Samson CO1U mic.
"If you prefer the Audacity recording, export this as and MP3 file from Audacity, and import into Camtasia to replace your first recording."
I prefer things to work correctly without band-aid fixes or work arounds. Not to sound crispy, but I'm really at my wits end with this.
I'm on a HP Pavilion DU7. Thank you for your quick responses. -
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1I'm having these same issues and quite frankly, I don't want a workaround, I want a damn piece of sopftware that works. 7.1 has been out long enough to have the bugs fixed. We paid good money for this, for God's sake make it work. I have lost days opening and closing this stupid software trying to edit. My videos are so simple, they are used to train my overseas contractors. I don't use much pan and zoom, I rarely if every use transitions. It makes no difference, it freezes constantly, preview is black and often just won't play at all. I have had to rerecord so many times because hte files are corupted. Get your act together techsmith, this is just not acceptable.-
see notes below
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Victoria,
Is your Camtasia software up to date?
There have been updates. Did you apply this update?
1. MP4 files can cause hang in Camtasia Studio when on the timeline or produce black video Answer ID 2441 03/31/2010 08:52AM Updated 10/20/2011 12:50PM
Click here:
http://techsmith.custhelp.com/app/ans...
2. Some of updates were needed due to past methods Windows had used to handle some video formats. You may also want to read this notice:
http://techsmith.custhelp.com/app/ans...
If the above updates do not solve your problem, you may want to open a support ticket. -
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John I tried what you said and for a while it worked. But then I started having problems again. I've since tried uninstalling and reinstalling 7.1.1 and tried to uplaod the memory patch, which I did before as well which helped, but this time when I try to copy across the patch I am getting a message saying I do not have permission to do this, and so it won't over write the existing file.
What's happening is the program seems to be chugging. As I perform tasks like spliting in the file, deleting sections or adding pan and zoom, anything really, my hard drive sounds like it's turning over, like a car engine, trying to do something. This does not happen with any other program, only camtasia.
As a result of this, the program goes into "not reposnding" mode and locks up.
I make a practice of saving after every edit step to ensure if this happens, I can close down the program and reopen hoping to open the file again, but now it won't even open files.
I am at a loss. I cannot find anything online that advises what to do. I use camtastia daily to train my contractors, it's a lfeline in my business. I cannot do without it. Any help you can offer woul dbe greatly appreciated.
regards
Victoria -
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Sorry meant "Not responding".
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Victoria, could you tell us a little about the PC setup you are using? From your earlier post, I assume you are screen capturing with Recorder?
You mentioned projects are "simple"; but what are clip dimensions, editing dimensions, how long, many callouts, etc?
I've used CS7 full time for 2 years; I've seen many times when Editor can slow down, etc., but I've found the freezes were usually caused by my impatience when editing.
Most causes of non responding when editing [in my experiences] are precipitated by initiating one edit while a previous edit is still processing [in the background]; this goes for timeline navigation too; so I always use Task Manager to monitor CPU activity, and wait for each edit to finish before proceding. The more edits in a project, the longer each edit can take.
Things like timeline cuts and adding splits exaberate this behavior. Saving often is prudent, but I get better performance with manual saves and with auto save set to 10 minutes. Risky, but, like you, I often save after every change.
Also, it helps a lot if, after you do a bunch of edits and things slow down, that you save, close CS7, relaunch. and reload the project; that zeros out the undo stack.
Also, you can produce to AVI after a bunch of edits, and use that AVI to start a new project and continue editing. This can substantially improve editor behavior.
Finally, you can break your project into sections by using the Library to hold the sections as assets so you can edit each section by itself. Save the edited sections in Library, then assemble then into a final project and produce. -
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I’m
sad
I still have the same problems with Camtasia Studio hanging, one year later. I'm on version 7.1.1 build 1785 (which my automatic updater tells me is the latest version). And it's not always with projects that contain video. Sometimes it's just ordinary projects that contain screen captures. It doesn't matter which laptop I'm using. And it's not just me; my colleagues have the same problems. Sadly, the only solution that works is to save my work after every single edit.
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edriver1 I have the same problems, regardless of computers, and I have the latest equipment, I upgrade regularly because of my business.
kayakman I have 64bit PC and I use my webcam as the recorder. It's a logitech. My clip dimensions are generally almost full screen, I'm using camtastia to train contractors so I edit and keep the capture dimensions and when the videos are embedded they are at 1000 x 563 and almost fill the screens so the contractors, most of which speak English as a second language, can see exactly what I'm doing in the video. Pan and zoom doesn't always work when you're doing detailed training, it's very easy to lose track of what's been instructed.
I don't use many callouts and rarely use narration. I try to make the videos as if the contractor is sitting beside me watching what I am doing.
Your advice is good though and I will try some of those. Some of my videos are quite long as they are task briefs and a lot fo information needs ot be covered. I will try some of your suggestions and see how it goes. Thanks for taking the time to reply and give advice, it is much appreciated.-
Victoria, what are the full screen dimensions you are capturing at with the web cam?
I don't use a web cam, just use Recorder to do my screen captures, but I seem to recall other posts where issues with large format web camera captures were discussed?
Anyway, if you use editing dimensions that are larger than about 1280x1024, Editor performance can be adversly affected.
If you are producing at 1000x563, that is what I'd set my editing dimensions to.when working on the project.
FYI, CS7 is a 32 bit app, it does not run 64 bit code, but it can take advantage of more than 2 GB RAM [my limitation on Vista]. -
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Kayakman I don't use the webcam to record vision, just the audio through that. I think the editing domensions are 1280 x 1024 then I produce as 1000 x 563, so that could be an issue I will change that. I know it's not a 64 bit program but I have previously run the patch to extend the memory, which worked, but then I started having problems and so reinstalled the software, and tried to add the patch again, but I keep getting a permissions error. I've spoken to my techy and he thinks he can fix that. If I can increase the memory, hopefully that will help. I'll try all this and see what happens. Thanks again for your advice, much appreciated.
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G'day Victoria,
Kayakman has some good pointers for you.
Which Logitech webcam are you using? I've had very good performance from the new C920. This converts video in the camera to h.264.
Below is a repeat but there could be something in my comments to help you.
I. System Check
1. Are you running Windows 7 with a Dual or Quad Core CPU?
2. RAM - Do you have 3 gigabytes or more of RAM?
3. Hard Disk - Do you have reasonable free disk space on your Hard Drive?
4. Windows is up to date and you have Camtasia 7.1.1 installed?
If answer 1,2,3,4 is yes, observing the Windows CPU Meter desktop Gadget for changes in CPU & RAM activity during production may provide general system operation feedback that could help. See image tip:
5. Might other software running on your PC be accessing your hard drive or slowing things down? You might test shutting off other software temporarily that might be running in the background. For example, do you have any always-on backup software constantly running in the background? Check the lower right System tray. See image tip: This shows my always-on backup software.
II. Production Check
Assuming 1,2,3,4 Ans. = Yes. Could you describe, or show in more detail, the production elements you are using? If you share screencaptures, or use Jing or Snagit 11 to record a screencast of your Camtasia activities, this will help others see what you see.
1. Are all elements on the Time Line Editor, Camtasia made screencapture Camrec.AVI files?
2. If you are attempting to edit multiple videos from different sources, which may be in different formats, and/or if these video files were not rendered by Camtasia, you could get into some wobbly areas as not all .MP4 video files are the same. Best editing results are had when all source video is in .AVI format.
This tip described before is no longer needed with version 7.1.1, but you may want to test again. If you edit .MP4 video on the timeline, when you want to add a Transition at the end of the edited .MP4 video, before it transitions to another edited .MP4 video, as a test, insert a .PNG Screen capture of the end of the video, before and after the Transition.
The sequence to try is: Video>PNG>Transition>PNG>Video.
1. Use Snagit to take a .PNG screencapture of the end of your video.
2. Insert this screencapture.PNG at end of the video, before the Transition.
3. This .PNG when inserted, may have a default duration setting of 5 seconds.
4. Shorten this duration to 00;01 seconds. Left Click your Mouse on the Right Edge of the .PNG, dragging it left to shorten it to 00;01 seconds.
See image tip.
Repeat in front of the video after the Transition.
What production results do you get?
Your description does sounds a bit like a hardware problem...
If none of the above helps, I recommend opening a support ticket with TechSmith. -
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John I'm using a Logitech C905 which is a great webcam and haven't had any issues with it. Just to answer dome of your questions...
System Check
1. Are you running Windows 7 with a Dual or Quad Core CPU? Windows 7 and Quad
2. RAM - Do you have 3 gigabytes or more of RAM? I ahve 8
3. Hard Disk - Do you have reasonable free disk space on your Hard Drive? 3TB
4. Windows is up to date and you have Camtasia 7.1.1 installed? Yes
Have checked CPU usage and it's all normal. Have closed all other programs except camtasia and still get the problem. No backup software running while I'm editing.
All vision is camrec files, but I also use screen capure images and images created in photoshop. I only use camrec files for editing. I record the videos and edit straight away. Only .png or .jpeg files used in addition.
I don't use transitions at all, I only use pan and zoom and some captions but very few.
One thing I have noticed is that when I'm editing, my hard drive does seem to chug, like an engine trying to turn over. Invariably at the same time the sogtware locks up or doesn't respond. This only happens when I'm using camtasia. -
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Victoria,
I have Logitech C920 & C905 webcams.
For a side-by-side spec comparison of these webcams & their CS7 settings options, click here: http://bit.ly/CS7LogitechWebCamSettings
You will see why I upgraded to the C920 webcam.
The C905 used to be called the QuickCam for Notebooks Pro. Logitech verified these are the same cameras; they simply changed the product name.
My Logiitech settings are for NTSC. In Australia you will want to use PAL settings.
A comment on "your note" above:
"I don't use the webcam to record vision, just the audio through that."
How do you record video? Audio via webcams is handy as a back up, but as these are are often far from a speakers mouth, the use of proper microphones closer to the source typically sounds better.
Current best practice is to use 1280x720 or smaller format video sizes.
Try recording video with your Logitech webcam & CS7.
I understand trying to edit video in sizes larger than 1280x720 is not recommended
and perhaps not currently supported.
If you show the details of production elements you are using via screencaptures, or by using Jing or Snagit 11 to record a screencast of your Camtasia activities, this will help others see what you see.
Hope this helps. -
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John I have a full production studio in my home office for all my presented videos. I use Sony HD cameras for my cooking and chroma key records. I only use CS7 for tutorial screen capture, I'm not recording my vision, only my voice instructing. I use Adobe Premiere for any editing I do with my vision, or better still, I send it to one of my editors.
I use the full screen capture so I can use less pan and zoom etc and my contractors can see exactly what I want them to do. It might not be the optimum but it is quick and works. I need to be able to punch out up to 5 tutorial videos a day. I'm the only one managing 25 international contractors and every task I give them every day is given using a camtasia tutorial, so speed is the essence for me.
I will however do some screen shots of my presets etc to show you shortly. -
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I’m
totally frustrated
OK guys, now I have another issue. God I can't wait for version 8. Now when I porduce a video, it won't play. It won't show in the browser as normal, instead I get this message...
I notice the controller file is missing from the production folder also.
I also have latest versions of java and flash, so this message telling me I need to install them is crap. Any ideas, yet again my work is held up by this frustrating program. -
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I’m
going mad here...
Just to throw something into the pot, I am having issues with CS7 too. I have tried rendering a simple screen recording numerous times and I end up with a 4.5 minutes audio track (correct) but only a 3 minute video track. The split occurs where I have edited out an "urm" from the timeline by using the cut tool (scissors).
I have re-tried this 4 times now and it simply will not render past that cut...what gives? Is this a bug that others have reported? How can I sort this?
Thanks,
Nick Stubbs
www.all-things-photography.com -
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I’m
going mad here...
...and yes, I did delete both the video and audio : )
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Hello,
Great news! We've just released Camtasia Studio 8, which we've redesigned from the ground up for better stability and performance.
We think there's a good possibility that many of the issues referred to in this thread have been resolved in the latest version.
You can download a free, fully-functional 30-day trial of Camtasia Studio 8 here: http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia-wha.... There's no need to remake the project files -- Camtasia Studio 8 will upgrade projects from version 6 or later.
Thank you again for your feedback! -
CHAMP
EMPLOYEE
