Encoded videos not showing information in Windows Explorer

[Track]

I've been re-encoding all my videos with XviD4PSP 6.0.

The software is great - it reduced my file size from 35GB to 10GB, it retains practically all the quality, it maintains the luma..

But there is one thing I've noticed that bothers me. In Windows Explorer.. the encoded videos don't show any information, such as length, size, etc.



Anyone know why this is?

[hech54]

it retains practically all the quality

Nonsense.

[Track]

it retains practically all the quality

Nonsense.

Well, I've taken screen captures with VirtualDub at 5 different times in both videos and I've run both videos at 300% on my 2560x1600 monitor and I couldn't tell one bit of difference.

Point is, if quality is lost.. I can't see it.

[DB83]

AFAIR MS only shows run length for certain codecs that it understands (or wants to understand)

Now, were'nt you the guy who was making vids from stills ? So you understand a bit about 'quality' when it comes to a photograph - a 3mp pic will have less quality than a 12mp one.

Now video works in a similar manner. Reduce the bitrate and the compression must throw away information. That is 'loss of quality'

You look at it subjectively. It may look fine to your eyes so that may be all that matters but real quality has been lost and can not be restored by higher bitrate (file size)

[Track]

AFAIR MS only shows run length for certain codecs that it understands (or wants to understand)

Now, were'nt you the guy who was making vids from stills ? So you understand a bit about 'quality' when it comes to a photograph - a 3mp pic will have less quality than a 12mp one.

Now video works in a similar manner. Reduce the bitrate and the compression must throw away information. That is 'loss of quality'

You look at it subjectively. It may look fine to your eyes so that may be all that matters but real quality has been lost and can not be restored by higher bitrate (file size)

No, that's obvious. But the video I took was captured uncompressed, so as far as I can see, the compression did not noticeably reduce the "quality" that you mention. Usually, I can notice the difference in quality, but not in the case of my captured videos.. which tells me that the bitrate was too high to begin with.. which is also why I wanted to reduce the file size, as it was unnecessary.

But can someone answer my original question in the OP?

[poisondeathray]

But can someone answer my original question in the OP?

If you use MP4 container instead of MKV, and the information will show

MP4 should be a container option in xvid4psp

You don't have to re-encode it, unless you used some incompatible formats for MP4 . You can re-wrap the videos you have already encoded with something like mkvtomp4

[manono]

But can someone answer my original question in the OP?

I think DB83 already did:

AFAIR MS only shows run length for certain codecs that it understands (or wants to understand)

Who cares what Windows says about them anyway? Use MediaInfo or GSpot if you want information about your videos. I just checked an MP4 XviD4PSP made and Windows says nothing about it either. An XviD AVI, on the other hand, has all kinds of information available about it in Windows, not that I ever use the Windows Summary for anything.

Edit: pdr says Windows can provide info on MP4s. Maybe I'm not checking the same thing. I right-clicked the video and went Properties-> Summary for information.

Edit again: I see now. Your picture seems to show the size OK. As does mine. I'm not seeing any length for the MP4s, but maybe that's because there are other kinds of files in the same folders.

[DB83]

But that is the answer to your original question. I have vids with other codecs and MS does not show the details of these. There will be a more technical explanation available but if you want proof just create a plain vanilla 'avi'.

You can argue a black man blue about the effect of compression on quality but ANYTHING that is not uncompressed will have less quality. And while we are at it, the video you took was NOT uncompressed. Every codec, even DV or HD has some compression. You can create an uncompressed video which will have a very high bitrate hence the large file size. Compression reduces the file size.........

[Cornucopia]

To append on this: MS Explorer media-shell-process problably only recognizes certain Directshow codecs AND certain containers. This can be expanded by superseding Explorer's default media-shell-process with a more capable one, but you'd have to search to see if anything is better. IIRC, this was mentioned in a past thread as utilizing an older version of Haali to provide expanded capabilities. Even then, you'll probably NEVER find a media-shell-process that covers everything.
But why try? That's why you use separate Media databases or tools such as Media Info.

Scott

[Track]

But that is the answer to your original question. I have vids with other codecs and MS does not show the details of these. There will be a more technical explanation available but if you want proof just create a plain vanilla 'avi'.

You can argue a black man blue about the effect of compression on quality but ANYTHING that is not uncompressed will have less quality. And while we are at it, the video you took was NOT uncompressed. Every codec, even DV or HD has some compression. You can create an uncompressed video which will have a very high bitrate hence the large file size. Compression reduces the file size.........

Yes, you're right, sorry. I guess I'll stop caring about the information.

About the compression.. it was running at ~50Mbps before, and about ~15Mbps now. If I don't notice the difference, why does it matter?

I also can't notice the difference between a Blu-ray and a ~10Mbps encoded 1080p video, and I have a 120" 1080p projector.

I don't know why everyone is taking offense to this. If you know of another way I can keep my videos from being 4GB for 2 minutes without losing any quality, do tell.

[DB83]

We do not take offense. We try to educate.

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is your own eyes.

[manono]

If you know of another way I can keep my videos from being 4GB for 2 minutes without losing any quality, do tell.

You said they were uncompressed. Rather than that, capture them originally as lossless. There's a big difference. They'll still be big, but nowhere near as big as uncompressed. I use the Lagarith AVI codec, but there are many others. Others might include HuffYUV, UT Video Codec, and the MSU Lossless Video Codec