Video Playback Too Slow

[Sacrifice]

Hello all,

This is a generic question that didn't seem to fit in any other category, so I posted it here. I've tried looking all over the place for a solution, and this is my last straw.

I recently received a bunch of divx video files. Most of the video files work fine, except two of them. For some reason the default play speed of the those two files are too slow. The audio and video is still in sync, but the whole video is playing too slow.

Now I don't believe the problem is with my computer. My computer is more than powerful enough to play video files. Considering that the other video files work correctly, I also don't believe the problem is with any codecs installed on my system. I think the problem is with the video itself, for one reason or another the video was encoded with the wrong playback speed.

Now I've been looking around for a program that will allow me to change the playback speed of a divx video file. Unfortunately I have not been able to find anything. So my question is, does anybody know of any program that will allow me to simply increase/change the default playback speed of DivX videos? Does anybody have any other possible solutions to this problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sacrifice

[Baldrick]

Test first play with vlc media player, it has builtin codecs. Same problem?

[Sacrifice]

Yeah, same problem in VLC player.

I've downloaded several media players over the past few days. As a temporary solution I thought I would try and find one that allows me to adjust video playback speed. Unfortunately, none of them seem to give that option. Windows Media Player has the ability, but for some reason the options are greyed out.

[Ai Haibara]

It would probably help to know a little more information about the problem videos, such as which codecs they're using for audio and video. Use GSpot, AVI2Clipboard (or even use Ctrl-I ("Stream and Media Info..." under the View menu)) and post the results (blanking out the file and path names if you prefer).

I'm guessing, offhand, it's probably due to DivX 3(.11)-encoded video, though. Although several codecs claim to be 'backward-compatible' with DivX3 (quotes used because DivX3 was an entirely 'different' codec), things don't always play back as well as they should.

[Sacrifice]

Here is the video information exported from Gspot:

Filesize.....: 1,403 MB (or 1,437,490 KB or 1,471,989,760 bytes)
Runtime......: 01:30:01 (161,880 fr)
Video Codec..: XviD
Video Bitrate: 1724 kb/s
Audio Codec..: ac3 (0x2000) Dolby Laboratories, Inc
Audio Bitrate: 448 kb/s (6 ch) CBR
Frame Size...: 720x480 (1.50:1) [=3:2]

I did some checking around, and the video is suppose to be about 1 hour and 25 minutes. A 5 minute difference may not seem like much, but it is definitely noticeable (especially the audio).

[Ai Haibara]

Well, I'm stumped. I don't know why the file would be playing slow, if it's an XVid video with AC3 audio. Maybe someone will see something in the information I've missed. (BTW, which version of GSpot did you use? The 2.52 beta (if you can still get it, as they've just released a more limited 2.6 beta) is best, and you can post a window screenshot in these forums (of course, it's a bit more work to blank out information from a screenshot... ))

Also, are you using the latest version of XVid?

[Sacrifice]

I used the latest stable release of Gspot: 2.21. I don't see how a screenshot will be much help in determining a problem with video speed.

I am using a fairly recent build of FFDShow, however I did download and test the video with the latest build of the xvid codec.

I think the problem is simply with the original encode. All I need to find is either a player that allows you to play a video at a faster playback speed, or an encoder that does the same. Anybody have any suggestions?

[Ai Haibara]

The 2.52 beta adds a lot more information in the main window over 2.21, and more information always helps people on this forum determine why someone's having problems with their AVIs. There's a 2.60 beta that was just posted, but apparently (according to the changelog), it has a lot of not-yet-enabled functions, so I'm not sure about it, yet.
With all the additional information, a lot of people seem to find it easier to post a screenshot of the window rather than try to copy all of it.

Oh, I don't doubt the issue is with the original encode, but it's always helpful to know why.

[Sacrifice]

I discovered that Zoom Player has the ability to "Fast Play" a video,
you can customize the speed of the playback. It has basically solved
my problem, though it hasn't fixed the video.

I will check this thread every so often. If anybody comes across a
solution where you can permanently alter the playback speed of a
video, let us know.

Another possible solution I was looking into was pitch control. If
you change the pitch, the dialogue in the video can still sound
natural despite the play speed. The talking is where the slow
playback is most noticeable. Unfortunately I was unable to
find a utility or plug-in that worked for video. They seem to be
mostly for audio.

Thanks for trying to help Ai Haibara.