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Solving Audio Speed and Synch Problems with Windows Live Movie Maker
Users who have purchased new computers with the Windows 7 operating system installed, and others who have upgraded to Windows 7, might have been dismayed to discover that Windows Movie Maker was missing -- even in the Ultra version. Microsoft's reason is that they want you to use their new editor -- Windows Live Movie Maker -- which they have tried to make easier to use than their earlier video editors.
Easier and better are in the eye of the beholder. If you're already comfortable using earlier versions of Movie Maker, you may find that you have to start over, to some extent, learning how to use the Windows Live version. On the other hand, if you love to send your edited movies straight to YouTube or Facebook, you might like the changes. In fact, in some ways Windows Live Movie Maker reminds me of FlipShare, but on steroids.
If you decide to use Windows Live Movie Maker to edit your Flip video, you might run into a common problem: When you drag your .MP4 clips into the editor and play them, the audio may speed up to a chipmunk pitch, and of course becomes completely unsynchronized with the video. I say "may," because it doesn't always happen.
One solution I found, just because it's the sort of thing video geeks play with, was that if you export your video and rename the export so that it ends in ".mov" instead of ".mp4" it will edit just fine in Windows Live Movie Maker. However, that is kind of a pain, if you're using lots of clips. So, I continued to experiment.
I finally found that if I begin by importing just one clip that DOES work in WLMM, like a .wmv clip, and then add in my unchanged Flip clips, that works fine, too. Even better, you can go ahead and delete the 'starter' clip after the others have been added, and it continues to work fine. It may even work fine for the next movie, without adding the starter clip. It may even work fine after you reboot. But at some point, the problem returns. No problem. Just keep your starter clip handy.
I created a clip for you to download and use in the described fashion. As far as I know, I'm the only one who has tried this scheme, at this point in time, so I would be interested in whether or not it works for you. If you're a member, leave a comment. If not, use the contact form to send me a note.
Here's the clip. Click on it to download:
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I spent much of the day yesterday trying to figure out why this issue seems to come and go; why a solution works for a while, and then doesn't work. I can't say that I have a definitive answer.
The only surefire-always-works solution is to convert the video. There is a good, free program for that, called "Any Video Converter." You can get it here:
http://www.any-video-converter.com/download-avc-free.php
The program is easy to use. Create a custom .wmv profile, make it 1280x720, and 6000 mbps. Use .WMV9.2 audio. You can batch convert, and even preview and do some minor editing of the clips before conversion. The resulting .wmv files retain full resolution and can be edited with any editor on any version of Windows.
If you're brave, you can try another solution. This turns out to be a codec problem, and whether or not a given solution works may depend on something as simple as what other software is loaded on your machine, or even what piece of software was last run. A given piece of software may have different version of the codec we need for WLMM. Over time, your machine can acquire incompatible codecs.
There is a package called K-Lite Codec Pack which I have just installed. Before trying this solution, set a restore point on your machine. I installed it, and everything is working again, including some other things that had ceased to work. The package is available here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm
I downloaded and installed the "basic" pack. I held my breath and took all the defaults, letting it fix broken codecs and make other changes (and even deletions) it suggested. So far, everything is working, including Windows Movie Maker 2.6, Windows Movie Maker 6.0, Windows Live Movie Maker, Pinnacle Studio, Sony Vegas, Windows Media Player, Real Player, etc.
That said, my recommendation for now is to use file conversion. It isn't terribly time-consuming or complicated, it works, and it is safe.
I'll report back if I find that anything is broken, or if the problem again rears its ugly head, in spite of this fix. In the meantime, we can hope that Microsoft will themselves get a better understanding of the problem, or that Flip releases a new version of its software that makes their .MP4 files a little less difficult to work with.
I don't know how it works for you, but for me this problem comes and goes. I will do something seemingly arbitrary, such as my suggested solutions, and they work... until they don't. Things get in a state in which I cannot reproduce the problem under any circumstances, and some time later the problem recurrs and I can't make it go away.
So, it's back to the drawing board.
In the meantime, pick up Any Video Converter, and convert your .MP4's to .WMV's, as in this article:
http://flipinfocus.com/article/how-edit-flip-hd-video-using-windows-xp-and-windows-movie-maker-21
It's an extra step, but you can convert in batch, and it's reasonably quick compared to other converters.
I tried the above technique and I stil sound like a chipmunk. I also tried renaming the file to mike.mov and still gives me a high pitched voice. Am I doing something wrong? Any Help would be greatly appreciated!