Strange video file

Myouh · Post by **Myouh** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:03 pm

I have a video file I can read only with VLC, the other programs can't open it.
I've tried to convert it to some other format using adobe premiere, VirtualDubMod, river past video cleaner, but none of these can open it.

message I receive when I try to open it using VirtualDubMod:
Cannot determine file type of "C:\..........................avi"

the summary in "properties" of the video file are not accesible, so I can't even know what codec or what bitrate it has.

I can only view it using VLC.

I want to edit the video, any idea what I can do to open it with a video editing software?

Kariudo · Post by **Kariudo** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:21 pm

sounds like it's a codec that you don't have
get gspot and drag+drop your file into it

it'l tell you what codec it's encoded with so you can download and install it. You should then be able to convert it with vdubmod so you can edit it

Qyot27 · Post by **Qyot27** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:03 pm

It may not even be an AVI, which is why the Summaries page does what it does. Usually, as long as the AVI is correct, and not corrupted, and truly is an AVI file, then the summary page will show up.

Heck, go into VLC and look at its properties. That should tell you flat-out what it is. In the newest versions (0.9.x branch) of VLC, that would mean Tools->Media Information, and look at the Codec Details tab. I seem to remember the info dialog was in a different place in the 0.8.x versions, but it should be roughly similar what you're looking for.

Myouh · Post by **Myouh** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:13 pm

I used gspot, it's avc1 codec.
Codec Status Undetermined.
I downloaded ffdshow, which supports that codec, and enabled it following an advice I read on a blog.
still doesn't work.

here's what I get from VLC:
codec:avc1
language:japanese
type:video
resolution:
display resolution:
frame rate: 23.976

Qyot27 · Post by **Qyot27** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 11:39 pm

'avc1' is the ID tag for H.264 when it's stored in MP4. The file has the wrong extension. Rename to .mp4 and use either DirectShowSource or FFmpegSource to serve with AviSynth into VirtualDub.

Other things to consider:
A) Which version of ffdshow? You'll want a recent build from the ffdshow-tryouts project, and you want to make sure you install the VFW interface.

B) You'll want to make sure that in the 'VFW configuration' dialog, that H.264 is set to libavcodec (setting that in the Video decoder config dialog only makes it work in DirectShow, i.e. Windows Media Player - at least provided you've got Haali's Media Splitter installed so that the container can be parsed). This is only a precautionary measure, as VirtualDub can't open MP4 files, but some reports are that avc1 can in fact be used as an AVI FourCC, although usually the FourCC used with AVI is H264.

If you want to use FFmpegSource to open the file in VirtualDubMod but don't want to mess with writing a script, it is possible to create a new template for VDubMod to call it (this does entail having AviSynth installed and FFmpegSource in AviSynth's plugins directory - you can find FFmpegSource here). All you have to do is copy and paste this into a text file:

Code: Select all

#ASYNTHER FFmpegSource
[FFmpegSource("%f",atrack=-1)]

and save as ffmpegsource.avst in VirtualDubMod's templates folder. Then, just use the 'Use AviSynth template' dropdown when you go to open the video (to see MP4 files you will need to select 'All files' in the Open dialog). Note: that instruction is for VDubMod 1.5.10.2 and 1.5.10.3, earlier versions have the Open function split in two; for those you'll want the 'Open with AviSynth' menu option and then use the dropdown to select FFmpegSource.