Can't open AVI clips

[sndfx69]

Hi All

A friend of mine gave me a CD with couple of AVI clips so I can use them with my school video project, but I can't open them, he told me I have to use a software called PICVideo, and I did but I keep getting a watermark on the clips, now my question is:

1- How can I open the Avi files without using PICVideo?

2- How can remove the watermark text on the clips?

3- Is their anyway I can convert them to other formats? then play them normally like any other clip?

4- Where can I find free clips on the internet?

Thank you in advance to all, and a spacial thanks to the owners of the website, this website helped me so much.

tyt

[Baldrick]

What video and audio codec in the avi? Open the avi with gspot and it will tell you what codecs and then post it here.

[guns1inger]

You could try SUPER to convert them to something else. It's free.

I guess it depends on what type of footage you need. Because good quality footage is expensive to shoot and store for download, most of it isn't free. A couple of places to look would be

http://www.archive.org/details/movies
http://search.creativecommons.org/

[redwudz]

Hopefully, the watermark is just with your version of PicVideo and not on the original files. You have to purchase the program to eliminate it for the output files.

If you wanted to edit them, try VirtualDub or VD Mod.

For a good all-around video player that will play most anything and doesn't need installed codecs, try VLC Media Player.

[DarrellS]

Get rid of the picvideo codec ( or buy it ) and use ffdshow's mjpeg encoder and decoder.

If you search the net hard enough, you can find a free mjpeg codec but almost all of them are payware now.

[dnix71]

Tell your "friend" that using payware codecs like that isn't doing you a favor, and ask for them in a codec already licensed for use in Windows.

There is a wiki article on this codec:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MJPEG

You might try CamStudio to force capture while playing the avi. Turn off hardware acceleration before doing the capture.