Having problems with my AVI videos that once worked. Help!

[Khelt]

Hello,

I've been searching everywhere on the internet for a solution to this but could not find one single good answer.
hence my desperation of making an account here, just to seek direct help.

My problem is whenever I attempt to open one of my Videos in Windows Media Player (they're all AVI format), I get varying results, but none of them good.

1. I get the message "An audio codec is needed to play this file. To determine if this codec is available to download from the Web, click Web Help."

2. the the Video plays with no Image and only Audio.

3. The Video freezes at the first frame and can't go any further than that.

now from all of my research, It seems like Codecs are the issue, so going with what everyone else was doing, I used a program called GSpot that determines what codecs are used in specific videos, and I got this

I continued searching for a solution concerning the results of GSpot and was told that "BI_RGB Raw Bitmap" is not a codec, but a format, there for no Video Codec is needed, and that PCM Audio is a built in Codec for Windows XP (which is my computer)
So I kind of got stuck on what to do from there.

for what might be useful information, I believe the videos stopped working when my computer crashed and I had to switch to a different Hard-drive and re-install Windows, then get the Drivers back, and I'm on a old Dell Desktop with Windows XP.


Please help If you can

[Baldrick]

Post the details from mediainfo instead, open video, view->text.

You could always try play your video with VLC media player also. It supports mosts formats.

[sanlyn]

BI_RGB Raw Bitmap is not a video codec. It is standard RGB graphic format. Are these videos something like an RGB image sequence?

Sounds as if you had some sort of codec/player other software on your previous installation that you haven't reinstalled. How were these AVI's originally created?

VLC Player and MediaInfo are two good suggestions.

[Khelt]

BI_RGB Raw Bitmap is not a video codec. It is standard RGB graphic format. Are these videos something like an RGB image sequence?

Sounds as if you had some sort of codec/player other software on your previous installation that you haven't reinstalled. How were these AVI's originally created?

VLC Player and MediaInfo are two good suggestions.

Yeah I got that BI_RGB Raw Bitmap isn't a codec, I mentioned it in the thread

the AVI's were created with Macromedia Flash Player 8, and If possible I'd prefer to keep Windows Media Player as my source for viewing videos.

[Khelt]

Post the details from mediainfo instead, open video, view->text.

You could always try play your video with VLC media player also. It supports mosts formats.

Here's the MediaInfo details

[IMG][/IMG]

Hope this will help

[Cauptain]

The problem: Various players not will play AVI BITMAP file if use strange resolution (320x233)

The solution: Install avisynth, go to video folder and create a new avisynth file using this script below:

DirectShowSource("Mages Guild Scene 3.avi").ConvertToRGB32()

Magic, your video is full playable in any player now. Remember, its will work to preview file. Open .avs file in Virtualdub, filters, resize to 320x234 or 320x240, save avi or use any codec to compress save.

I have a big problem on MAME "MORTAL KOMBAT" in recording videos, because the games are 399x253.




Claudio

[sanlyn]

The point is, the O.P. claims the videos played properly before the reinstall. Got a feeling some FlashPlayer codecs are missing. Anyway, the MediaInfo text says the video sampled is only 3.5 seconds long. It says nothing about Flash Video format.

Windows Media Player is one of the worst players around. But suit yourself. To use it for the video described above, you need codecs or you need the software that created the video. WMP won't play Flash video with its default codecs.

[Cauptain]

The point is, the O.P. claims the videos played properly before the reinstall. Got a feeling some FlashPlayer codecs are missing. Anyway, the MediaInfo text says the video sampled is only 3.5 seconds long. It says nothing about Flash Video format.

Windows Media Player is one of the worst players around. But suit yourself. To use it for the video described above, you need codecs or you need the software that created the video. WMP won't play Flash video with its default codecs.

On my PC only VCL/MEDIAPLAYER play correctly video AVI BITMAP using strange resolution. Others players (MPC,VIRTUALDUB,POT PLAYER, KMPLAYER) fail (this happened on my old VISTA and , now, 7).


I will put a video show this problem. Wait...




Claudio

[Cauptain]

sanlyn, take look:

Video: BMP Error.avi





Claudio

[sanlyn]

Cauptain, that's news to me about WMP playing any video created with Flash Player, as I've never been able to do that with XP. But see the original post. The error message is that an audio codec is needed to play the file. MediaInfo says the audio is PCM. PCM is a default codec in Windows. So there's something wrong with the re-install. If this is an "old" Dell computer, I'm thinking the install was done with Dell's system CD's. If that's the case, the O.P. might be missing some chipset drivers, which on older Dell CD-based setups are not installed by default. But can't say anything about that, because the O.P. gives no PC info in his profile.

[Khelt]

you people seem to be missing the point, the Video's aren't Flash player, they are Exported FROM Flash, they're AVI format videos

and cauptain, I can simply just change the Dimensions directly from exporting the video from flash, but that doesn't seem to be the problem because It still doesn't work with the dimensions you suggested.

These dimensions have been the same since the videos were working, WMP didn't have a problem with the video's until, like I said, replaced the Hard-drive, re-installed windows, and all the Drivers.

but you did remind me that I usually use 550-400 on my newer videos, I was wondering why the quality was horrible on the other computer.

and sorry about having no computer info, I forgot how to find the information on it.

All I would like is to have the video's working the way they did before
I don't plan to try playing Flash format videos on WMP, just AVI.

[Cornucopia]

I've seen videos similar to this format having problems before. IIRC, it goes kind of like this (your specific process may have been somewhat different)...

1. User has Flash file (not necesarily standard compressed video like FLV, but more like SWF animation)
2. Plays ok in Quicktime. QT Pro can convert this, so user converts to "MOV" using BMP sequence and then remuxes to AVI, or converts to "AVI" using BMP codec. "BMP codec" exists/ is understood by QT, but not understood as such by standard Windows/Directshow.

FIX: Open in QT Pro again and export to AVI using a more standard codec, or as Uncompressed/None (will be large). Then everything will work ok.

Scott

[Khelt]

I've seen videos similar to this format having problems before. IIRC, it goes kind of like this (your specific process may have been somewhat different)...

1. User has Flash file (not necesarily standard compressed video like FLV, but more like SWF animation)
2. Plays ok in Quicktime. QT Pro can convert this, so user converts to "MOV" using BMP sequence and then remuxes to AVI, or converts to "AVI" using BMP codec. "BMP codec" exists/ is understood by QT, but not understood as such by standard Windows/Directshow.

FIX: Open in QT Pro again and export to AVI using a more standard codec, or as Uncompressed/None (will be large). Then everything will work ok.

Scott

I don't have Quick-time

If it helps anything, playing the video in WMP isn't the major concern, but It's the same problem as the video's not being accepted in Windows Movie Maker, and Sothink Video converter, all telling me there's a problem with the codecs, which is my major concern.
since it's more likely that these problems are connected to one thing, Fixing the WMP problem should fix all the others.

[Cornucopia]

It's not WMP that's the problem, it's Windows Directshow itself. Even though under the hood it is clear what this is and is staring them in the face, it doesn't know how to deal with it (mainly because Windows doesn't really use BMP sequences).

You could try to fix Directshow/Windows, but WHY? Since this is a bastard/orphan codec, the only way to truly fix it would be to create a codec plugin. Barring that, it won't ever work in WMP, nor in any other app that supports DShow.

Simple answer: buy QTPro! It's only ~$29USD.

Of course, I wouldn't want you to buy something you wouldn't ever use, so to check on this, I'd suggest trying out THIS CLIP (see attached below). If it acts just like yours, it's likely something that could be fixed by QTPro.

Scott

[Khelt]

It's not WMP that's the problem, it's Windows Directshow itself. Even though under the hood it is clear what this is and is staring them in the face, it doesn't know how to deal with it (mainly because Windows doesn't really use BMP sequences).

You could try to fix Directshow/Windows, but WHY? Since this is a bastard/orphan codec, the only way to truly fix it would be to create a codec plugin. Barring that, it won't ever work in WMP, nor in any other app that supports DShow.

Simple answer: buy QTPro! It's only ~$29USD.

Of course, I wouldn't want you to buy something you wouldn't ever use, so to check on this, I'd suggest trying out THIS CLIP (see attached below). If it acts just like yours, it's likely something that could be fixed by QTPro.

Scott

Can't buy anything either way, i'm not a very privileged 17 year old
and I can't even download your video, I already got my parents close to the end of their bandwidth downloading things to help figure this thing out in the first place, and yeah, I've known WMP wasn't the problem, kind of gave hint to that a few times.

and I'm actually very skeptical about those being the only solutions, considering...

1. The same video's I speak of now, with the same exact format, used to work perfectly using WMP, like I mentioned about 3 times by now... NO WAY!! ----><----- Surprised face

2. I tested the video's, again, same exact format, on another computer in WMP... wow, Super happy fun time! it worked.

Now, even if just watching the video's was my full complete goal, which I mentioned above you that it wasn't, I would still be quite stuck animating a series and not even being able to import the video's to a Video maker / Editor due to this codec Issue.

now sorry for being a douche, but I can only really accept a solution that would return my computer to how it was when it came to using these video's.

Sanlyn seems to have the relevant Idea, my brother is the one who re-installed Windows XP and I was missing all of the Drivers after that, I wouldn't be surprised if I was missing Chipset drivers.
I'll still wait for a correct solution from here til I see my brother again, he should know what to do.

Thanks for your peoples effort so far

[Khelt]

Also, I put my computer details on my profile page, in case that is required later on.

[Khelt]

Well this was grand, seems this site can't live up to it's own title.

you guy's won't have to worry about seeing me here again...

[Baldrick]

Maybe try quicktime alternative.

[betwixt]

Khelt, please don't critisize the people that are trying to help you. Please remember that YOU created the videos, not them so any problem playing them back is due to something you have done.

It seems you misunderstand what an AVI file is. AVI stands for "Audio Video Interleaved", it's a container that holds alternating blocks of video data and audio data but it doesn't define how the audio or video are encoded. An AVI file can contain hundreds of different types of video and audio from different CODECs, only the way they are bundled into one file is in the AVI specification.

When ANY program plays an AVI file, it has to dismantle it first and feed the audio to the audio Codec and the video to the video Codec. For it to do that sucessfully it has to have a suitable Codec installed on your computer. The letters CODEC are a contraction of "CODer" and "DECoder". If you don't have a decoder that understands how the data was encoded it cannot recover the audio or video.

When you installed the program that originally made the AVI it almost certainly installed it's own encoder and decoder and that's why your AVI was able to play back in the past. The situation now is you no longer have the required decoder so you have two alternatives, either install a Codec that CAN decode the file or use some other program that can convert the file into a more standard format. Both of these methods have been described to you.

Brian.