How to convert .flv (flash video) to .avi or .mpg

slimpickinz · Member Joined: 05 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Why not just use VLC?
File..Wizard...Transcode...Save to File...
Next...Choose .flv
Transcode Video WMV
Transcode Audio MP3...next...
Encapsulate as MPEG TS
Worked for me..

DePutoMadre · **Banned** Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Location: Spain

also there's one more tool to convert flash to video, it costs 99.95, but i think that the quality is up to the price. it supports a lot of video formats and is very easy to use.

web_maven · Member Joined: 18 Jan 2004 Location: United States

Ulead Tools like video studio can import an SWF and output to any format

Ray

GTRBudda · Member Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Location: United States

Here are a couple of batch files I've used with FFMpeg to make DVD mpeg2 and avi. So far I've had no sync problems. If you have Riva or SUPER, or Gui4FFMpeg, you have FFMpeg.

"C:\PROGRAM FILES\FFMPEG\ffmpeg.exe" -i "c:\path\to\file.flv" -hq -target ntsc-dvd -b 6500 -aspect 4:3 -s 656x448 -padright 32 -padleft 32 -padtop 16 -padbottom 16 -acodec ac3 -ab 192 -ac 2 -mbd 2 -qmin 2 -async 1 -y "c:\path\to\newfile.mpg"

Paste this to a text file, renamed ".bat". Change the path to the location of your copy of ffmpeg.exe, the path to your FLV file, and the path of your output MPG. If you have Celtic_Druid's FFMpeg builds, take out the "-hq" after the file name. It may not work with SUPERs FFMpeg, it does work with Riva's. No other changes are needed, but you can make adjustments if you want, and all the quotes are required. "-b" is bitrate. You can insert "-maxrate" after it, something like "-maxrate 8000" or whatever you need. The "-pad" lines are to beat overscan. They can be changed or removed, and the "656x448" changed to compensate. "-acodec" is set to ac3, "-ab" is audio bitrate, "-ac" is number of audio channels. "-qmin" and "-async" I don't fully understand yet

This one is the same idea for two pass, also it makes it interlaced, top frame first (compatible with my Pani ES20 mpegs, for editing):

"C:\Program Files\ffmpeg.exe" -i "c:\path\to\file.flv" -hq -target ntsc-dvd -bf 2 -ildct -ilme -top 1 -dc 10 -b 6500 -maxrate 8000 -pass 1 -passlogfile "log_name_here" -aspect 4:3 -s 656x448 -padright 32 -padleft 32 -padtop 16 -padbottom 16 -acodec ac3 -ab 256 -ac 2 -mbd 2 -qmin 2 -async 1 -y "c:\path\to\newfile.mpg"
"C:\Program Files\ffmpeg.exe" -i "c:\path\to\file.flv" -hq -target ntsc-dvd -bf 2 -ildct -ilme -top 1 -dc 10 -b 6500 -maxrate 8000 -pass 2 -passlogfile "log_name_here" -aspect 4:3 -s 656x448 -padright 32 -padleft 32 -padtop 16 -padbottom 16 -acodec ac3 -ab 256 -ac 2 -mbd 2 -qmin 2 -async 1 -y "c:\path\to\newfile.mpg"

The top and bottom half are identical except for the -pass number, it's all one script. "-bf" includes B-frames (the first script above makes only I and P frames). "-ildct" and "-ilme" make interlacing. It's progressive without them. Both may not be required, not sure. "-top 1" for top frame first. remove it for bottom frame first or non interlaced/progressive. "-dc" for dc precission. "-passlogfile" doesn't need a name, but it doesn't hurt

Here's a couple to make avi:

"C:\PROGRAM FILES\ffmpeg.exe" -i "c:\path\to\file.flv" -hq -vcodec mpeg4 -g 300 -b 900 -aspect 4:3 -s 320x240 -acodec mp3 -ab 128 -ac 2 -mbd 2 -vtag xvid -qmin 2 -async 1 -y "c:\path\to\file.avi"

for mp3 audio, and this one:

"C:\PROGRAM FILES\ffmpeg.exe" -i "c:\path\to\file.flv" -hq -vcodec mpeg4 -g 300 -b 900 -aspect 4:3 -s 320x240 -acodec pcm_s16le -ab 900 -ar 44100 -ac 2 -mbd 2 -vtag xvid -qmin 2 -async 1 -y "c:\path\to\file.avi"

for wave audio.

I've tried SUPER and Riva but my machine isn't hot enough to run them (700MHZ just won't cut it). Gui4FFMpeg makes a batch file that gave me the clues to figure these out. Here's hoping someone finds this useful.

xxnatalie · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Okay. I need some serious help! Basically all I want to do is convert .flv to whatever will play in a dvd player. I've decided that SUPER seems to be the best way to go, but I have absolutely no clue what to do! My knowledge is extremely limited (I don't even have any idea what settings to use) but it's really, really important to me to convert these videos, so I was wondering if anyone would be willing to help me out? I don't care if you post here or email me or whatever, but a little bit of help would be AMAZING & I can't tell you how much I would appreciate it.

Scorpion King · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2003 Location: United States

Download and install FLV Extract

Download and install VirtualDubMod.

Download and install HuffYuv codec.

Download and unpack these to the VirtualDubMod Plugins folder: . MSU Deblocking v2.2 filter and MSU Denoiser v 1.6.2 filter

**********

First use FLV Extract. This little program gives you an avi and mp3 in about 2 seconds from your .flv file. Simply run the program and drag and drop your .flv file onto it. It extracts the avi and mp3 to the same folder.

Load the avi into VirtualDubMod then go Streams - Stream list - ADD and load the mp3 audio file.

In VirtualDubMod go Video - Filters - Add - and add both msu deblocking and msu denoiser. The default filter values should be fine.

Again go Filters - Add - resize. Enter New Width: 512. New Height: 384. Filter Mode - select Lanczos3 or Precise Bicubic{A=1.00} . Check the box "Expand frame and letterbox image" then enter width: 720 and height: 480.

In VDMod go Video - Compression - select Huffyuv codec. I usually set huffyuv to 'Field Threshold = 480.

Go File - Save As Avi and save out the new file.

This will give you a filtered huffyuv avi file with mp3 audio with a 720x480 letterbox frame with a 512x384 video inside it. You can stretch the .flv to full screen but it will look like crap. The idea with the letterbox is to make the flv file look as good as possible.

Take that avi file to your mpeg2 encoder and use a DVD template.

Good luck.

you might also need ffdshow. Install and set it to decode flv1.
(With ffdshow I only let it decode what I want it to, nothing extra. In your case only FLV1)

xxnatalie · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Oh my gosh, thanks so much for the help!!

It's been working for me all the way up to the point where I'm supposed to load the video onto the VirtualDub. Hopefully I'm doing it right... I went File>open video file & selected the .avi file, but then I get this error message:

Couldn't locate decompressor for format 'FLV1' (unknown); VirtualDub requires a video for Windows (VFW) compatible codec to decompress video. DirectShow codecs, such as those used by Windows Media Player, are not suitable. Only 'Direct stream copy' is available for this video.

Did I do something wrong?

Thanks again for the help!

Scorpion King · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2003 Location: United States

Scorpion King · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2003 Location: United States

ffdshow is a very handy addition. I look at it like a bundle of encoders and decoders in one wrapper. It won't hurt to install it but like I said above - - - I only enable decoding for the file types "I" choose and when I choose them. When installing ffdshow I uncheck everything listed. AFter installed I then run the configuration boxes and enable what I need. In this case only FLV1. BUt you need to enable it in both the configuration boxes - VIdeo Decoder Configuration and VFR (video for windows) Configuration box.

The avi should then open in VirtualDubMOD
Good luck.

xxnatalie · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Okay, wait a minute. So... I go to the ffdshow vfw configuration and... select FLV1 at the top where it says "encoder"? And then click apply? What do I do for the video configuration one? *brain implodes*

Scorpion King · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2003 Location: United States

ffdshow settings.

Start - All Programs - ffdshow - VFW Configuration:
at the top - Decoder tab
scroll down to FLV1 = set to libavcodec (that is now enabled)
apply and close VFW Config.

Start - All Programs - ffdshow - Video Decoder Configuration:
at the top - codec
scroll down to FLV1 = set to libavcodec (that is now enabled)
apply and close Video Decoder Configuration.

The tabs labeled "Encoder" can be used in an application like VirtualDubMod if you were to ever wish to 'encode' video using one of the many available codecs included in ffdshow.

Good luck.

xxnatalie · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2006 Location: United States

Okay, awesome. I did both. You should seriously get an award for your patience! It's not working for me though, haha.

Scorpion King · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2003 Location: United States

If you now have ffdshow configured properly.
If you downloaded and installed the other programs I listed above.
then click here and try again.

http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1611052&highlight=#1611052

seijiro · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Location: Philippines

is there any another converter that could give the same quality you have for flv files. because i've tried Replay Converter, Super Converter, even Dr. DivX still the quality of the flv file shows many pixels. the reason that im looking for a same quality is that most of the flv video files i have has so many actions(movements). i tried the codec of PSP450KB for replay converter but of course the video size is for PSP only, i cannot resize it to a good resolution and the quality of the file is about 2/3 of the original quality. super is good but still the same when i convert flv files the quality is not retained it gives me to many pixel box again for most movements. i have'nt tried RIVA, or the VLC process, even scorpion king's decoding process. could it be my video card. im just using 64mb inno3d geforce 2 mx400. im not sure if its 32bit probably. but through my recent experiences, when i convert mpeg files is through Pocket divX or Dr DivX itself and its ok same quality of the original mpeg.
what i do now is i encode it through Dr. DivX then reencode to Pocket DivX but still it does not have the same quality from the original flv file

FTLOSM · Member Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: United States

I am using Riva FLV encoder and have 1 FLV file I want to convert to an avi or mpg, I followed the directions given at the top of this thread yet once I change the output name to file.avi or file.mpg and hit encode teh The FFMPEG window doesn't pop up,

Instead I get this popup

The encoding of your video file has failed.
This can be caused by a not supported combination of parameters or by a not supported video codec.

I only have one file I want to convert from flv to avi or mpg (doesn't matter) not a ton or future files, and was looking for a way to just convert quick and free here, but is there something I am missing or not doing correctly here?

Also have one other question, if I have this flv file, what is the easiest way to embed it to play on my webpage.

Hoping I can upload the flv file then use some html coding to make it play sorta like you can do with youtube videos (use the embed code) and bam it's on your website.

Thanks for any help on this, just want to get this one flv file converted to avi or mpg and then learn how to also embed a flv file into a webpage.

celtic_druid · Member Joined: 07 Dec 2004 Location: Australia

To play a flv file, you would need to embed a flash player.

seijiro · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Location: Philippines

@Scorpion King
Thanx dude virtual dub really rules!! you too by the way. ^_^ Thanks dude i got the quality really good. another question though. Is it normal when i play the avi converted file from virtual dub to any player ms dos pops up showing the buferring stats of the file even the frame stats is that normal and if i re encode it to avi still like DivX, Xvid etc. which codec would be better to optimize the good quality i have but make the file size lower. Thanks dude your suggestion was really good. And what converter would it be thanx

Baldrick · Administrator Joined: 09 Aug 2000 Location: Sweden

FTLOSM: I use http://www.jeroenwijering.com/?item=Flash_Video_Player , add it and the flv on your home page. Read the readme. I'm working on a guide also, http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1615666#1615666

Baldrick · Administrator Joined: 09 Aug 2000 Location: Sweden

Online flash flv to avi converter, http://www.vixy.net/flv_converter

FTLOSM · Member Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: United States

Baldrick,
Thanks for the link, i tried it a few times and each time it gave me a download popup after processing, yet when i hit SAVE it says there is an error, will try this later in the day in case there is something temporarily down, really hoping this works cuz sure looks neat and easy.

Bill

_________________
HP m7760n, Vista Premium w/ media center, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz, 2 Gig Ram DDR2, Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT, 2- 250 GB wd 7200 rpm, Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 NTSC/ATSC.

Not the fastest but gets me online

FTLOSM · Member Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: United States

Ok here are two main things I want to do that I can't figure out

On this page I want to grab this video clip
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/myfox/pages/News/Consumer?pageId=3.6

I use wm recorder and can grab it as a FLV flash file, but I want that FLV in avi or mpg format. I did try the vixy thing entering the url in to hopefully convert but it just errors out on me.

Second thing I want to do, there is a video on a myspace page uploaded by the owner that I want to download to the computer and save as a mpg or avi, I can grab it with wm recorder as a flv to my desktop but again with vixy entering the url it errors out vs converting it
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.showvids&friend ... 2373ead71a

In most cases I can grab the videos as flv's with my wm recorder program, but I want to get the flv versions coverted for portable creative zen player.

I would also would like to learn more about how to embed an flv file into a webpage so I will be looking into that flash video player mentioned above too.

Thanks to everyone here who might be able to help me figure this stuff out.

Bill

Baldrick · Administrator Joined: 09 Aug 2000 Location: Sweden

Converting:
Tried convert with Super?

Downloading:
Have you tried firefox together with a video download plugin?
Install the Firefox browser http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ then install the VideoDownloader plugin https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2390/ or
Unplug plugin https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2254/ ,
Ook? Video Ook! plugin https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2584/ ,
DownloadHelper https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3006/

FTLOSM · Member Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: United States

I just downloaded super and am giving it a shot, the reviews were some good some bad, heck I only need a few flv's converted so if it works even halfass I will be happy with that.

Next is to do some reading on how to embed a flv into a webpage, thanks again for the link and info above on that.

I got alot of reading and goofing to do with these but hopefully I can get it all workin the way I want to.

Bill

_________________
HP m7760n, Vista Premium w/ media center, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz, 2 Gig Ram DDR2, Nvidia Geforce 8600 GT, 2- 250 GB wd 7200 rpm, Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 NTSC/ATSC.

Not the fastest but gets me online

FTLOSM · Member Joined: 24 Dec 2004 Location: United States

UGHHH I was hoping