Vista / Virtualdubmod - Audio Compression Problem

[JMMac]

Under XP, I used virtualdubmod to convert DV/AVI files to xvid/AVI, with the audio encoded as MP3. I just upgraded to Vista (Home Premium), and while all the tools seem to RUN, encoding to MP3 simply doesn't work. The most notable thing is that when you go to the compression window and select the Microsoft MP3 codec, the right hand box that usually shows the various bit/sample rates is EMPTY, and while the dub completes, the output file has PCM audio...

Same basic problem with Virtualdub.

So.... any thoughts on how either a) I can make this work again (please, no suggestions to role back to XP), or b) use a different set of tools to do what I want. Without vdub/vdubmod, I don't know how to make a xvid video file...

One method I thought of is to use vdubmod to demux the audio, use an external compressor like LAME, and then remux it somehow. Even assuming I could do that, it seems like a lot of work per file.

[JMMac]

Sigh.... Nothing like posting a problem on a widely read forum to focus your mind on solving your own issue...

The SOLUTION was to install a new codec. Virtualdub/vdubmod use ACM (Audio Compression Manager) codecs. I had been using a Microsoft MP3 ACM codec to do the work. For some reason, it appears to be not fully Vista compatible . I installed the LAME ACM MP3 codec (3.97, it if matter), and tried that one. Voila, the bit rate selection is there, and the encoding works like a charm.

Once again, a piece of readily downloadable, free software solves a video editing problem.

[redwudz]

I'm guessing the version that comes with Vista is just a decoder, as MP3 plays fine in VDM. It's a little confusing when you go the the site linked to the LAME MP3 page. Just have to find the ACM version to download, which the latest is: LAME 3.98 alpha 11 ACM. Works fine in Vista and VDM.