Minimize hard-to-solve video editing problems with Defraggler

Sometimes, video editing problems are easily solved by removing one or two plays from a cutup. While it may be difficult to understand how one (or a few) plays out of 100 or so in a game could be the source of such a problem while the rest of the plays are trouble free, there are at least a couple of common causes of this type of problem.

The first type of problem results from DVD “ripping” software that uses an approach that is likely to create a “bad spot” – almost like a skip in a record or CD.  Some DVD rippers work only on the VOB files from a DVD, and since its common for a game on a DVD to be “split across multiple VOB files, it is ossible that on a particular play, there will be a “skip”, so to speak. The reason for this has to do with the way the DVD stores and plays back video, and the only way to avoid the problem is to either capture the DVD as if it was a VHS tape, or to use DVD ripping software that reads the DVD’s index and correctly “splices” together the VOB files. (for more details on DVD’s file structure, see this article).

The second type of problem is caused by severe file fragmentation, a condition that computer manufacturers can’t seem to eradicate, because its plagued PC’s for over 25 years.  The problem has become more serious as hard drive capacities, and in turn file sizes have increased in size.   Since video files by their very nature are HUGE in size when compared to the other files on a computer’s hard drives, they are the most prone to fragmentation.

The Disk Defragmenter utility in Windows removes file fragmentation temporarily, but since it works on entire drives, can take hours and hours to do its thing.  A relatively new program called Defraggler offers a time-saving alternative because of its ability to defragment specific files. 

In the illustration below, we show a "file defrag” in process – notice the arrow pointing to a very large (4.5 GB) file. At 4.5 GB, the file is actually smaller than the typical DV-AVI files that are used by many editing programs. Notice how serious the level fragmentation is for the file that the arrow above is pointing to ... 1605 fragments, or pieces. In the illustration, the Yellow blocks reveal that this file is splattered" all over the hard drive.

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Defraggler makes it quick and easy to determine the seriousness of the fragmentation of any individual file on a computer ... and then fix (defrag) only that file.  Defraggler also works on a series of files or an entire drive. 

Since a disk drive reads data in manner that has similarities to the way a "needle" on a turntable plays a song, a seriously fragmented file makes the disk drive jump back and forth extensively. When a video file is highly fragmented, parts of a video can become unreadable, the video file can be prone to unexplainable errors and lockups, or the video playback can become slow and choppy.  The solution in this case is usually to Defrag the drive, but since External Hard Drives often holds hundreds of gigabytes of video, the process can take many, many hours.

For this reason, we think a file-based defragmentation tool is an essential part of a coaches “toolkit” for keeping any video editing system performing reliably. Defraggler is made by the same folks that make CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) and, like CCleaner, is free to download.