Why This Happens: It's a Frame Rate Problem
The root cause isn’t Movie Edit Pro or Snagit being buggy – it’s a frame rate mismatch.
Most video editing software expects incoming footage to run at a standard frame rate, typically 24 or 30 frames per second (fps). Snagit, however, often captures screen recordings at a much lower and less consistent rate – somewhere around 9 to 15 fps – depending on your system’s performance while recording.
When you drop that low-frame-rate clip into Movie Edit Pro and composite it with other footage (like an intro clip running at a standard frame rate), the timeline math doesn’t line up. The result: when you export your final video, the audio track and the video track are no longer in sync.
The Fix: Convert Your Video to 30fps with HandBrake
The solution is to convert your Snagit-exported MP4 file to a consistent 30fps before importing it into Movie Edit Pro. This is done using HandBrake, a free, open-source video transcoder.
Here’s exactly how to do it:
Step 1: Download HandBrake
Search “HandBrake” on Google and download the free application. It’s available for Windows (a Mac version may also be available).
Step 2: Load Your Source File
- Open HandBrake.
- Click Source and select the MP4 file exported from Snagit.
Step 3: Set the Picture Settings
- Resolution: Match your original capture (e.g., 1920 x 1080 for Full HD).
- Aspect ratio: Keep it consistent with your source.
- Cropping: Set all cropping values to zero – you don’t want HandBrake cutting into your frame.
If you recorded at a lower resolution, adjust the width accordingly, but always keep the height consistent.
Step 4: Set the Video Encoding
Go to the Video tab and configure:
- Video codec: H.264 (standard HD encoding)
- Framerate: 30 frames per second, set to Constant
- Quality: Set to maximum/lossless to avoid extra pixelation
Note: HandBrake isn’t magically recovering frames that were never captured – it’s effectively interpolating/padding extra frames to bring the clip up to a smooth, consistent 30fps. But the result is what matters: a video file with the correct frame rate metadata that syncs properly on import.
Step 5: Encode (and Batch Multiple Files if Needed)
Once your settings are in place, hit Start Encode. If you have several clips to fix, you can add each one to HandBrake’s Queue – just make sure you apply the same settings to every file before adding it – and encode them all in one batch.
The Result: Perfect Sync
After transcoding, when you drag the new 30fps file into Movie Edit Pro, the audio and video line up correctly through scrubbing, editing, and final export. This same process has been used across multiple published tutorial videos with consistently synced audio and video.
Quick Recap
- Problem: Snagit records at 9–15fps, but Movie Edit Pro expects ~30fps, causing audio/video drift.
- Tool: HandBrake (free, open-source transcoder).
- Settings: Match resolution, zero cropping, H.264 codec, constant 30fps, max quality.
- Result: Audio and video stay perfectly synced after conversion.
If you run into any issues following these steps, it’s worth double-checking that your cropping is set to zero and that the frame rate is locked to “Constant” rather than variable – those are the two most common trip-ups.
