Invalid Video Asset in DSP4 (Universal Binaries)

I am just now getting this new error message - 2 years into using DVD Studio Pro (DSP4).

Last week I upgraded to the Universal Binaries version of FC Studio, including DSP 4.1.1 . (PowerMac G5), OSX 10.4.8.

I open a DSP project used previously (pre 4.1.1) and reuse some of the items, and add new items. Older items made in FC Pro (pre 5.1.2) and some new 5.1.2. My FC sequence settings are the same: basic DV NTSC 48k/16... and that is how I Export>QT Movie (Current Settings).

The error message is not on every new video file, and not on old video files (like copyright warining :30, website promo :30, or the menues :60 each), used in the project, BUT on the "Feature" which is 62:00.

That is the one file that is coming up "invalid video asset". The error message occured during the "Build" process... at that point clicking on the icon of the video file and choosing "Simulate" resulted in only the first frame of the video being show frozen.

Prior to the "Build" process, 'Simulate" played the video clip just fine.

I got the error yesterday on a 69:00 feature, so I exported it in two parts from FCP, so that the larger of the two files was less than 60:00 and it worked.

Now I am re-exporting the 61:00 feature from FCP and if I get success I'ill update this post later this afternoon.

Part of me is wondering if this new "Invalid Video Asset" error in 4.1.1 is our old friend "Bit Rate Too High" error from previous DSPs wearing a new hat.

I re-exported my feature, re-set the DSP4>Preferences>Encoding> at 7.0 (max 9.8) , and re-encoded old and new files alike at this setting, and the error went away.

I'm also going to create separate root directories fo 4:3 and 16:9 DSP projects, so common files are re-encoded to the 4.1.1 setting, and discretely between 4:3 and 16:9 material.

I am becoming very weary of DSP 4.1.1.

After 18 months of authoring 2-3 DVDs per week, I upgrade to 4.1.1 and I am now on my 5th export (from FCP) and encoding (in DSP 4.1.1), and each time I get "Bitrate too high" error.

Apple DSP programmers may get paid by the hour or salary commesurate with work performed, but I don't get paid for blindly tring to figure out what is suddenly wrong, after 18 months of everything going very well.

My productivity this week is shot to hell, and all I can do is keep trying... and that is much more of a PC/MS thing than an Apple approach to working.

I got it back working by basically "trashing prefs". This is an old FCP trick that I have never - or almost never - have done.

With DSP 4.1.1 , Prefs are not readily apparant. I trashed the whole /user/Library/Application Support/DVD Studio Pro folder (by replacing it with a backup copy)...

DSP 3 and 4 stored the same folder in a different path -- /bootdrive/Library/Application Support/DVD Studio Pro

When I upgraded with the Universal Binaries vers, the Installer application put the files in MY user homedirectory path. /user/Library/Application Support/DVD Studio Pro

I am concerned that this will be an on-going haunting problem.

In reviewing other posts on the related topics of "General Error" and "Operation Not Permitted" errors in FCP that started happening around the time as these weird DSP error messages...

I determined that my Applications drive was creeping over the 90% full area... so I might have been corrupting the Preferences files, because there was <10% drive space available on the Applications, and Library, drive.

Content drive has never flaked out in this way when at even a few percent free... so the boot/Applications drive must be behaving differently, or certain files wound up being stored in unsafe areas.

I suspect that I will have some recovery work left, but at least I have a plausible explanation and plan of attack.

Installing the FCP Studio Universal Binaries the other day, followed by Software Update finding a ton (literally) of new software, bombed me.

I wonder how much garbage is out there on the drive still?

Hi,
We in Holland have the same problems.
What we do is we throw away the video from the timeline.
Than import not your quicktime but your Mpeg-file (FCP has made an mpeg folder in the same folder as where your assets is in).

Drag that mpeg in your timeline and your problem is gone.
This has worked all the times we did it

But better is for Apple to make a GOOD NEW upgrade.

Claudia and Gerard - TV Coach Productions
the Netherlands

Has someone a better sollution please react.