VS Pro X4 - Problem with .avi files

[venca]

Good morning everybody,
I have problem with .avi files. I can insert .avi video to library. That is not the problem, but when I want to insert it to the timeline, that show me error message, where is written: "The content of this file is unreadable." Have somebody of you some experience with this? I don't know, how to fix it. It's video from Google Earth recorded by Fraps.

And excause me please, if there is some similar Topic, but I can't find it.

Thank you very much for your answer!

[BrianCee]

Fraps can capture videos in a great variety of sizes and frame rates - just because it says it is an .avi file does not mean that it is a standard format that VideoStudio can work with - can you tell us more about the settings you used to capture the video.

[venca]

It is in definiton 1400 x 816 pixels
25 fps
recorded without any sound

[DVDDoug]

I've never used FRAPS, but the FRAPS website says something interesting:

The Fraps codec (FPS1) is put on the system when you install Fraps. If you've reinstalled Windows you will also need to reinstall Fraps in order to play back your movies.

That means that the "AVI" file has a special kind of FRAPS compression.* I'm guessing that Video Studio is not seeing the special FRAPS CODEC on your machine. It's possible that Video Studio is not simply compatible with that CODEC. Or, maybe you have to install Video Studio after installing FRAPS, or maybe the other way around, or something tricky like that??? (I assume your Video Studio machine is the same machine with FRAPS?)

You may need to convert the file to a different format (maybe a different "AVI" format) with a 3rd party conversion utility before loading into Video Studio. What format do you want? Or, what do you plan on doing with the edited video? Upload to YouTube? Make a DVD? Etc?

The FRAPS website also says:

...After you have finished capturing you can convert the clips into a compressed format using a video editing program. Probably the easiest one to use is Windows Movie Maker which is included free as part of Windows Live Essentials. It allows you to easily edit your clips and add text and other effects to your film. The end result will also be compressed into the Windows Media Video (WMV) format which can be played back in most media players.

* AVI is a "wrapper" of "container" format, and it can contain audio & video in any type of compression (uncompressed, DV from a MiniDV camera, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc.). The AVI file header contains a FourCC code that the play software (or video editor software) uses to determine the CODEC for decoding the file. fourcc.org lists 320 different video CODECS, and of course there are audio format options, framerate, bitrate, and resolution variations of each... and who knows what else! With all of the formats & all the variations of every format, unfortunately compatibility problems are common.

[Kingston]

You could always install the trial version of Fraps. That should install the Fraps FPS1 codec. When you uninstall Fraps, I think the codec gets left behind and isn't uninstalled.

Or you could install FFDShow, which includes the Fraps codec. During installation you can clear all the checkmarks and then check off (tick) the Fraps option.

[venca]

Ok, thank you for your ideas and advices! I have converted the .avi video to .wmv in Windows Movie Maker.
Converted video is in the same quality like before conversion.

So now I can insert converted video to the timeline without problem

Thank you!