Vexing Bad Frames Problem

[Aielman]

The Problem
I am trying to convert an AVI file to VCD. I know the avi file has a few bad frames because it freezes at three diferent points when I play back using Videolan or BS Player. However, the picture quality is excellent otherwise, and the file has no sync problems. So I have spent the last two weeks trying to remove the bad frames.

Basic File Info
Video:
Length: - 161,372 frames
x:y - 576 x 320
Bitrate: - 764 kb/s
Fps: - 25.000
4cc: - Xvid Mpeg 4
Qf: - 0.166 bits/pixel

Audio
Bitrate: - 138 kb/s (69/ch x 2ch) VBR
Fs: - 48000 Hz
- Mpeg Layer 3

What Have I tried So Far?
(i) I have read every guide I can lay my hands on that discuss how to convert avi to (s)vcd, on this site and on other sites such as Doom9 and Digital Digest (for example, I read your guide, Lee Bear, and I see you are on this forum helping out newbies like me);

(ii) I read all the available methods I could find on fixing bad frames, including DivxAntifreeze, Tender's Bad Frames Guide, DivXFix, How to Correct Bad Frames Without Losing Any Audio, etc.;

(iii) I searched this forum using the keywords "Xvid bad frames" and read just about all the responses that came up; and

(iv) I asked for help on this forum about two weeks ago, and received no responses - perhaps my initial question was unclear.

Why Has All This Reading Not Helped?
The one important constant in many of the guides I read is that the first step is to identify the bad frames using Vdub MP3 Freeze. My problem is that when I try to search for bad frames Vdub Mp3 crashes during the search, with an error message saying "integer divide by zero". Unfortunately, the program also says it cannot produce a crash log, for reasons beyond my comprehension.

Next, I tried scanning for bad frames using Virtualdub. First I ignore the message that says VBR is unacceptable and do I want it to rewrite the header?. The program scans all right, but then it informs me it has masked all frames, 1308 for being bad frames and the remaining frames as being undecodable!

Nandub can handle the VBR problem, but it doesn't scan for bad frames. No help there.

Next, I tried VdubMod. First, a glimmer of hope. It scans without crashing, but then it reports bad frames at 10185-10263, 29223-29255, and 29277-161,371. Essentially, VdubMod thinks the whole movie is just bad frames! Further, when I try to go to the specific bad frame chunks listed by VdubMod so that I can mask them (as advocated by the guide on how not to lose any sound) or cut them out (as advocated by Tender) Vdub or VdubMod both just crash, and close.

The Cry For Help
I am really at my wits end about how to get around this problem. Am I the only one who has come across such a problem? I would very much doubt it. Is it the Xvid codec causing these problems in Vdub and its variants and, if so, how do I replace the offending codecs with the right ones? If some knowledgeable person has found a solution, please would you share it? Thanks.

[ZippyP.]

Sorry, I'm not going to be much help but....

Some files are just too corrupted to recover. I think you've tried just about everything anyone can suggest, that may be why you haven't got any responses before. You may have hit a dead end with this one.

[Aielman]

Thanks, Zippy. Looks like you are the only one bothering to respond. I appreciate it.

Further reading of the forum suggests that a solution to the problem might be to change the Fourcc of the file from Xvid to DivX (using a small freeware program called AviC). The advocates of this solution indicate that it has worked for them in the past with no problems, so I am happy to give it a shot. However, when I tried it a few times today I always got the error messages "Couldn't locate decompress for format 'DivX' (unknown)."

Do you have an idea of what I might be doing wrong? I get the impression that it is not finding the right directory, but how do I get it to find the appropriate DivX codecs?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[ZippyP.]

Get Gspot from the Tools section and test your file for proper codecs. You may not have the needed XVID codec installed.