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Hello! I've been able to create a direct MP4 file in Media Manager before but now it is not working. In the past I had this problem but doing a clean install fixed it. I did a clean install this time upgrading the OS to 5.5c but it did not help. This is an HD project 22 minutes in length. The process:

Export Storyboard in the Archives Menu with quality at extra high and the MPEG convert box checked.
Plug in USB stick and switch to MM
Go to Film archives in MM, select HD film and select Video export.
Choose USB stick for export and select PC FIles H.264 direct MP4 for format
I get "An error has occurred, could not complete export"

I get it every time. I've tried more than one USB stick newly formatted in NTFS. I've tried backing up to external hard drive and DVD with no success. I used to be able to do this all the time, now it doesn't work at all. I can export to these devices with format PC Files MPEG direct avi. And the You Tube MP4 1920 X 1080. This works every time.

Just before trying the PC FIles MP4 the MM screen will tell me my project will take up 32% of my available space on the USB stick. But when I choose the You Tube MP4 it tells me it only will take up 3%. What is the difference between these 2 formats that would cause one to be 10 times larger than the other when they are both MP4? Bit Rate?

My client wants an MP4 that he can edit so it seems the larger PC Files direct MP4 would be the best choice. I've also tried converting the MPEG.avi to an H.264 MP4 with third party software but it keeps crashing after converting the first 25% of it.

Any suggestions on what to try next would be appreciated as well as knowing what the difference is between the You Tube MP4 and the PC Files MP4.

Thanks!

This was posted on the Cassie Tips List about a week ago. I don't own a Bogart system but this looks like it might shed some light on the situation:

I personally have had problems with using the PC-only NTFS file system. I format my USB devices for FAT 32 so that they work nicely between PC and iMac as well. Ever since doing this, I have not had any issues with my video files being accessed by other computers no matter which kind they have.

Secondly, I have not liked the limitation of the few file export choices in the "opt" button on the edit screen. I find I have some issues with one or more of the file compression types and sometime have an issue with a slight change in the screen aspect resizing. I will invest the time to save the video clips I want into "archives" to pass them into Media Manager. In MM manager there are better, more efficient export file choices there that allow me to choose a more compatible export file choice for specific client requests.

I like the quick scene export shortcut that the "opt" window has on the Bogart edit screen, but the choices of file types and quality settings are better in the USB Export in MM.

Thanks Craig. It's my understanding that formatted drives in FAT 32 will only allow files less than 4GB to be transferred to them, hence the reason I had them formatted to NTFS as usually files are larger than that. However since my file is only 3.83 GB I decided to try reformatting the USB stick to Fat 32. It still didn't work. UGH!