I’ve been using Shotcut for the last 2 or 3 years and the reason why I’m not active here in the forum is because I’ve never had issues that cant be solved. But it seems like i have some issue now that is a bit more buried under too many similar issues.
As the short explanation hints it has to do with videos that are freezing when played back. At first i thought it had something to do with the distortion i use. Later i tried to restore my CPUs defaults in the the bios. I also read that it could be interpolation and tried different settings there. I do believe it might be a hardware issues or maybe corrupt registry values since my other two computers have no issues processing the exact same projects. It is just that this computer makes the best heat for the winter so the room is nice and warm and doesnt leech on the electricity bill like the heater without giving something back. Hilarious i know. In simple terms i would just like to keep using this computer otherwise i need to sell it.
Would be nice if someone could help me narrow the problem down.
The CPU is an i7 3820 and I am still on windows 8.1 here because of expensive expired CAD software which I am too poor to renew and/or update. I tried to use the default export settings as much as I could and also played around with stock profiles like H.264 Main and High + Lossless. My RAM is 32GB DDR3 Quad @ 1600hertz. The computer froze a bit previously so that is why i went back to stock bios settings. The RAM also gave me some issues previously since the motherboard was struck with lightning back in 2014. Everything still worked fine until recently because it was only the South bridge that got damaged through the network peripherals. The whole computer traveled around the globe in a suitcase and has been through a lot. I bought the the computer with money i inherited after my mom died so it is very sentimental and why I don’t want it to divorce from Shotcut.
How could i know if the problem is hardware or software related? I have no idea what it could be at this stage other than problematic memory. It does seems like a clutch slipping somewhere in processing…?
It sounds like you’ve been encountering freezing issues while working with Shotcut on your computer. Given the complexity of your setup and potential hardware history, here are steps you can take to narrow down whether the problem is hardware or software-related:
Monitor Resources: Check CPU and RAM usage during Shotcut usage.
Memory Test: Run a memory test with Memtest86.
Temperature Check: Ensure CPU and GPU temperatures are within safe limits.
Update Drivers: Ensure graphics and chipset drivers are up-to-date.
System Updates: Ensure Windows 8.1 and Shotcut are fully updated.
Shotcut Version: Use the latest version of Shotcut.
Safe Mode: Test in Safe Mode to identify third-party conflicts.
Event Viewer: Check for critical errors in the Windows Event Viewer.
Hardware Health: Use diagnostic tools like CrystalDiskInfo for hard drives.
Reset Shotcut Preferences: Reset Shotcut preferences to default.
Shotcut Settings: Experiment with export and hardware acceleration settings.
Professional Assistance: If issues persist, consult with a professional technician, especially considering the computer’s history and sentimental value.
Given the history of your computer, it’s worth considering the possibility of hardware issues, especially with the RAM and the computer’s past exposure to lightning. If all else fails, you may need to consult with a professional technician who can perform a more in-depth analysis of your hardware.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for these suggestions. I should probably try them one by one before I do them all at once and it works without really knowing which one helped. I would not have thought to check if windows is updated since I’ve gotten so used that in W10 all updates are basically forced on you automatically unlike W8.1. So I did notice that i havent updated this computer since Sep 2018 when I started to use W10 on another computer. One of the reasons why W8.1 was one of the best operating systems in my experience. (would not give W8 a bone though)
I do however believe i use the latest version of Shotcut since I recently downloaded it from the website. Just to double check, i see in help>about that it is 22.12.21. This is the one for W8.1 as far as I can see. Also as mentioned before, it was previously working without issues. I was quite spooked to find this issue after I’ve already deleted most of the original videos. Shotcut has worked so well up until now that i never double check the processed videos.
I will do these updates and see what happens. The process will be slow because my videos are a strange 3840x1080p resolution that is made for stereoscopic content that is watchable in virtual reality. When I distort them up to 3840x2160 to make it compatible for 4K 3D televisions and 3D projectors the processing takes forever and it is super annoying to wait 8 hours and find these static freezes.
A good friend of mine in the mean time recommended ffmpeg to do the exact same job which takes less than 10 minutes. He coded a batch to remux the aspect ratio/resolution in mp4 from 32:9 to a 16:9 in MKV format. It is done at the speed of the SSD which is a hundred times faster. So it doesnt bother me too much to do it on my 9900k now. The editing side can still now be transferred to this PC that is having issues to narrow down this issue. Slicing and blending sounds/videos is not too hard on the CPU. Distortion appears to be very draining.
Maybe there is a much better and faster way to do it in Shotcut. To convert 32:9 3840x1080p frame sequential recordings up to 16:9 3840x2160p that does not require you to distort the resolution/aspect ratio?
I have also kept CPUID Hardware monitor open to see what happens with the CPU. There was nothing strange with the temperatures or the clocks of the cores. But I do think i might not have overclocked it properly. Simply used OC presets in the BIOS. The voltage might have been too low or something. I went back to factory settings after i noticed the PC freezing and the issue was still present. So I dont think the issue was on the BIOS or the CPU. I will try the memory test after the update was done and the issue still present.
Just wanted to give an update on this. So far Ive managed to process 3 videos that were more than an hour long ranging between 6 and 10GB and had no issues after updating Windows. It is looking very positive. The OC profile in the bios is at 4200 and also running stable. Nice to have this trustworthy PC back in the game =) Not even lightning could break its spirit.
The updates seems to have been along the line of security and .NET.
Sincerely hope this was the issue. But still a bit on the doubting side since the processing previously worked fine. The only strange thing I did was to update Shotcut since i saw some nice features on the latest one in W10 that was not in W8.1. But it should also be logical to also make sure Windows is updated at the same time I guess.
There are a few bugs in the latest one in W10 where a message would pop up to notify you of inconsistent frames. It does not come to the most front window and always falls behind the explorer. And you can only access this popup window by clicking in the Shotcut bar at the top. Since it freezes the explorer window with a bell chime.
Shotcut has grown on me and I really started to like this program. You guys are doing a great job! I am not a video editor by profession but the learning experience has been lots of fun.
