I am using divx 6.1 codec to keep avi files small in conjunction with the use of filters in VirtuaDub.
The thumbnail and storyboard look ok on input to ULEAD VS for my files.
The original files were captured as dv type2.
ULEAD VS inverts the input in the preview panel and garbles/truncates the output as a saved clip/trim file.
This still happens when i drop all filters and just run with the codec in VirtualDub. RealPlayer, WMedia Player read the files ok.
If i use other codecs the problem doesn't occur (but the files are big).
Hardware & S/W....
I just obtained a firewire card and bundled ULEAD s/w V7 SE. (That it is an old version is a separate issue i am taking up with the retailer).
Is this problem peculiar to v7...i don't want to upgrade and find i still have the same problem.
divx codec not handled properly
Moderator: Ken Berry
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Ken Berry
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I am not sure if I fully and correctly understand your problem, but think it is this: you are capturing (via your new Firewire card) in DV/AVI format but the files are large, so you convert them using the DivX codec to a smaller file in what you think is AVI format, but the result in Video Studio is terrible. Is that essentially it?
If so, then you are taking the wrong approach. I am afraid there is no getting around the fact that high quality DV/AVI is large: 13 GB per hour. But it is something you have to live with if you want to produce high quality DVDs.
The problem is that you think you are producing a similar, but much smaller, file using DivX and/or the other programs you mentioned. But you aren't. 'AVI' is a carrier format used by a variety of codecs, and in the case of DivX, it is actually producing, I believe, an mpeg-4 format file but using the AVI extension. VS 7 and 8 simply can't deal with mpeg-4. VS9 can, with a free plug-in you can download with a registered copy. But the results with it are mixed, to say the least.
My advice, in other words, is continue to capture DV/AVI via Firewire -- change the Encoder to Type 1 if you have any problems with Type 2 (it often makes video and/or audio choppy on less powerful computers), and forget about the rest. Do your editing in DV/AVI format, and only then go to Share > Create Video File > NTSC or PAL DVD, and this will produce a much smaller mpeg-2 which is what is required to be burned to a DVD (Share > Create Disc > DVD).
And by the way, if you expect the retailer to upgrade the version of Video Studio which came with the card, you might have to think about that again since it is not the retailer who bundles the software, but the Firewire card manufacturer. It is moreover the usual practice to bundle outdated and crippled software (which is what the SE indicates) with hardware, though the version bundled usually at least works with that specific hardware.
If so, then you are taking the wrong approach. I am afraid there is no getting around the fact that high quality DV/AVI is large: 13 GB per hour. But it is something you have to live with if you want to produce high quality DVDs.
The problem is that you think you are producing a similar, but much smaller, file using DivX and/or the other programs you mentioned. But you aren't. 'AVI' is a carrier format used by a variety of codecs, and in the case of DivX, it is actually producing, I believe, an mpeg-4 format file but using the AVI extension. VS 7 and 8 simply can't deal with mpeg-4. VS9 can, with a free plug-in you can download with a registered copy. But the results with it are mixed, to say the least.
My advice, in other words, is continue to capture DV/AVI via Firewire -- change the Encoder to Type 1 if you have any problems with Type 2 (it often makes video and/or audio choppy on less powerful computers), and forget about the rest. Do your editing in DV/AVI format, and only then go to Share > Create Video File > NTSC or PAL DVD, and this will produce a much smaller mpeg-2 which is what is required to be burned to a DVD (Share > Create Disc > DVD).
And by the way, if you expect the retailer to upgrade the version of Video Studio which came with the card, you might have to think about that again since it is not the retailer who bundles the software, but the Firewire card manufacturer. It is moreover the usual practice to bundle outdated and crippled software (which is what the SE indicates) with hardware, though the version bundled usually at least works with that specific hardware.
Ken Berry
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gerryj
Ken, thankyou for your fulsome response and guidance.
I have new questions appended at the end.
I take your implicit point that AVI files have more detail and therefore afford higher quality.
My motivation as a beginner with video was to experiment with what filters can help with in editing, hence using VirtualDub which has several built-in.
The actual problem posted was that the divx 6.1 encoded file was inverted on input to VS, ie upside down, literally, and the output had only a few audio frames in it (ie it wasn't just the preview that was wrong). I managed to get hold of a backlevel Divx 5.2.1 codec, and the output was readable and processed ok in VS.
So, since i can read the VirtualDub Divx6.1 output ok with other players, it seems the problem is with V7 of VS.
Now back to my motivation: I had the idea that if i worked with smaller files and tried filter settings to improve those and it worked ok (and saved time), then i could go back to the larger AVI and get an even better result.
Does this make sense, or is it waste of time, and are are there no codecs for which the trade-off is reasonable?
I have new questions appended at the end.
I take your implicit point that AVI files have more detail and therefore afford higher quality.
My motivation as a beginner with video was to experiment with what filters can help with in editing, hence using VirtualDub which has several built-in.
The actual problem posted was that the divx 6.1 encoded file was inverted on input to VS, ie upside down, literally, and the output had only a few audio frames in it (ie it wasn't just the preview that was wrong). I managed to get hold of a backlevel Divx 5.2.1 codec, and the output was readable and processed ok in VS.
So, since i can read the VirtualDub Divx6.1 output ok with other players, it seems the problem is with V7 of VS.
Now back to my motivation: I had the idea that if i worked with smaller files and tried filter settings to improve those and it worked ok (and saved time), then i could go back to the larger AVI and get an even better result.
Does this make sense, or is it waste of time, and are are there no codecs for which the trade-off is reasonable?
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jchunter
Inverted Divx playback? I can't imagine what you are doing...
Ken is right about upgrading to VS9 if you want to do Divx. I use the 6.1 codec for high definition video with no such problems. Note that I edit in the format that the video was captured - either Mpeg2 or DV (Digital Video) and only use Divx in the final Create Video stage. Divx is too highly compressed to get smooth playback if edited directly.
IMHO, you would be much better off experimenting with the entire workflow, sticking with DV or Mpeg2 in standard definition, up through the point of making DVDs. This will help you to explain where in Video Studio you are having problems. Start by following the procedure that is recommended in the sticky post at the top of this forum. After you have made a few successful DVDs, you will be in a much better position to experiment.
Ken is right about upgrading to VS9 if you want to do Divx. I use the 6.1 codec for high definition video with no such problems. Note that I edit in the format that the video was captured - either Mpeg2 or DV (Digital Video) and only use Divx in the final Create Video stage. Divx is too highly compressed to get smooth playback if edited directly.
IMHO, you would be much better off experimenting with the entire workflow, sticking with DV or Mpeg2 in standard definition, up through the point of making DVDs. This will help you to explain where in Video Studio you are having problems. Start by following the procedure that is recommended in the sticky post at the top of this forum. After you have made a few successful DVDs, you will be in a much better position to experiment.