.avi to mpeg-1 problems

jonz · Post by **jonz** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 7:57 pm

I'm using the trial version of VideoStudio 10 to convert/compress a short .avi file to a .mpg for use on a web site. I'm working on Windows XP Pro. The .avi file came from a client's camera - Pentax.

Through trial and error I can do the conversion and even edit the file a little. I do like the Ulead program, . . .

But - the client can't used Windows MediaPlayer (Version 10) to look at my .mpg file. She is getting "Windows Media Player encountered an unknown error - error message C00D11CD.

My own system can open the files fine in either RealPlayer or MediaPlayer. But my laptop can't open the files due to codecs missing. I'm guessing I have the required codecs on my main system due to my downloading quite a few video editing trial programs.

My question is whether Ulead is using a special codec for the conversion? Or something I did or didn't do. I searched the forums and the Knowledge Base with no luck.

TIA - Bea

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:41 pm

There was a detailed exchange on this a week ago, which you can read at http://phpbb.ulead.com.tw/EN/viewtopic. ... 8701#68701 Briefly, though, WMP does NOT get installed with an mpeg-2 codec, only an mpeg-1. It depends on other codecs installed by other programs, not all of which, however, are compatible with WMP. The Ulead ones, for some reason, are not compatible. In that other thread, you will also see an address to be able to download a small free testing program from Microsoft, which will tell you which mpeg codecs are installed and which, if any, are compatible with WMP.

jonz · Post by **jonz** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:54 pm

Well, thanks I'll check out the other thread.

But, I'm creating a mpeg-1, not a mpeg-2. And, as far as I could figure out the M/S program was only for mpeg-2.

Any other thoughts?

Bea

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:09 pm

That is strange. As I say, WMP natively uses mpeg-1. Moreover, the mpeg-1 codec is the rock standard one installed by Windows itself. So something has obviously gone wonky somewhere.

The only thing I can think of is that it has something to do with the original video you edited. From what I can see, it was labelled as an .avi file, but came from a Pentax, which I am assuming to be a still camera since I don't think Pentax produce video cameras.

If so, then the file would in fact have been an mpeg-4 video, but which uses the .avi extension merely as a carrier format. Now, I am not sure that the trial version of VS10 actually allows you to play around with mpeg-4 files (though the full version certainly does). We had another person here a couple of days ago trying to produce mpeg-4 using the trial version of VS10 and he could not find any reference to mpeg-4 formats in the usual places they are supposed to be.

Anyway, you don't tell us exactly what steps you took in your 'trial and error' conversion. But it could be that in fact you did not produce an mpeg-1 at all, but somehow or other produced another mpeg-4 file. (You may not be able to produce an mpeg-4 file from other formats using the trial version, but you may be able to open mpeg-4 files and produce another version of the same file in the same format, depending on what you did once it was opened...

) And then, if your other computer, or your client's, did not have the appropriate mpeg-4 codec, it would not play in WMP.

But this is merely conjecture. We need some hard information on the exact properties of the captured file, the converted file, and the exact steps you took.

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:12 pm

jonz · Post by **jonz** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:39 pm

It is an .avi file. The camera is a Pentax Optio E10 and it produces movies. VideoStudio didn't have any problems with it.

I wanted to make mpeg-1 files for the greatest availability to all browsers and platforms.

I did remove the audio on my last conversion and now my laptop will play the file with WMP. So, I'll wait and see if my client can use WMP without any problems.

My trial and errors were in learning the program, not in this conversion.

The steps in my conversion were drag and drop the avi into the program, edit the video with a video filter, add a title and then Share -> create a video file -> custom -> options -> General -> data track, frame size, Compression -> mpeg-1, quality 35, video data rate - variable, 750 -> OK.

Gspot says for the .avi file:
4CC - MJPG
audio - mulaw (0x0007)
video path - (S) --> AVI Splitter --> MJPEG Decompressor --> Color Space Converter --> (R)
audio path - (S) --> AVI Splitter --> ACM Wrapper --> (R)

The mpeg-1 file:
stream type and A/V interface - video/mpeg
video path - (S) --> MPEG-I Stream Splitter --> MPEG Video Decoder --> (R)

I think that is all you asked for.

Post by **Ken Berry** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 11:36 pm

Thanks for all that -- though it might be a little more useful if you could give the original file and converted file properties as seen by Video Studio, rather than GSpot. Right click the files in the timeline and copy the properties from there.

The GSpot stuff was, however, useful, as it indicated that the camera uses the Motion JPEG codec (MJPEG), which is an older format which predates digital video DV format. Normally, though, it is capable of quite good quality. Since you mention the Optio E10, though, I looked it up on Google and read a half dozen or so reviews, two of them fairly detailed. The camera is generally panned even for its still photographic abilities. On the video side, it can produce files which are a small 320x240 in size and a fairly slow speed of only 15fps with sound. The frame size is not a issue in your particular case, given that mpeg-1 is also a small frame format. But mpeg-1 usually uses a higher speed than 15 fps -- twice that if you are in an NTSC country. So it could be that something has gone wrong in the speed conversion -- though that wouldn't explain why the converted file plays OK on your main computer.

My problem is that I have never used or converted Motion JPEG files, so I think I should bow out of this one here, and hope that someone else who has might have some advice to offer.

Otherwise, the suggestion to convert to WMV seems to be a sensible one.

jonz · Post by **jonz** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 12:45 am

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Bea

maddrummer3301 · Post by **maddrummer3301** » Sun Jun 18, 2006 2:28 am