Hmmm... What does a video "fixer" really do?

[kschang]

So what does a video "fixer" actually do?

But first, a little history.

I have a 400+ meg RMVB file. I was able to play it with no problem with MPC. However, I want to convert it to say, AVI or DVD video. So I decided to follow my own guide and open it in VDubMod. I got an Exception Error in Line 2, the "DirectShowSource" line.

I then tried to load the file into SUPER. Tried converting to MPEG2, crashed. Tried converting to XVID/AVI, crashed. Got that generic SUPER error that doesn't really say anything. Tried it both with and without DirectShow. Tried ffMpeg and Mencoder. Nothing worked. They all died at about the same spot.

So I downloaded Video Fixer (video-fixer.com), and gave it a try. Told it to fix the RMVB file. After that, I checked the file: the output file has the exact same size as the input file, down to the byte. However, this "fixed" file CAN be processed by SUPER or opened by VDubMod.

So what exactly did it do? One wonders.

[teegee420]

Consider yourself lucky. Rarely have I used a so called "fixer" and it actually fixed the file. I'm not too sure about the process for Real Media, but for avi files, the program usually rebuilds the index and/or cuts out bad frames. The same is probably true for Real.

[edDV]

If the program doesn't explain what it is fixing, it might just be fixing the delete process.

Their FAQ says:
"The repaireded files can skip the damaged data block, and continue to play.
When palyers such as Mediaplayer and realplayer hint that the multimedia file can't be played or it has been damaged,you can try to use the Video Fixer to repair the file."

"Note: Our company shall not be responsible for the damaged file in the course of fix."

[kschang]

So it just marked certain frames "blank; skip this", and that's it?