I need help

[Airjrdn]

In more ways than one. :P

Anyway...I've got a DivX AVI file That according to AVICodec has the following attributes:

File : 665 MB (665 MB), duration 1:48:33, type AVI, 1 audio stream(s), quality 62 %
Video : 545 MB, 702 Kbps, 23.976 fps, res. 640*272 (2.21:1), DIV3 = DivX v3 MPEG-4 (Low-Motion), Supported
Audio : 120 MB, 155 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 2 chan., 0x55 = MPEG Layer-3, Supported

I've tried converting it to an .mpg using Tmpeg but I'll be honest, I've RARELY used that POS (and I don't mean Piece Of Software) and had it work flawlessly.

When attempting to convert this particular AVI I get no audio, and the video gets to around 698M and Tmpeg just dies. There aren't any error messages, but when I come back to the computer it's no longer running, and the file it created is a little under 700M. This takes a long time, and I've already attempted it 3 times.

The AVI file is on a Fat32 partition, and I'm creating the MPG on an NTFS partition in case it grows to over 4G.

I'm not trying to perform rocket science here, I just want to burn this stupid AVI to a DVD using my Sony DVD Burner.

The software I currently have is:
Nero
Arcsoft Showbiz
DVDXCopy
DVDXCopy Express
Sonic MyDVD
Ulead VideoStudio 7
Windows MovieMaker 2

and that's basically it. I can buy more software if necessary, but if I can do it with what I have, that would be nice.

I'm looking for a simple solution if at all possible. I'd rather purchase something than spend time using 7 different apps to extract to format a, convert to format b, play it through my camcorder to my vcr, then uplink to a satellite to download it into a .xyz file so some freeware app that supports one particular filetype but will only read it if the filename is "xxhli88hh.jjh".

Do I sound a little disgruntled? heh heh Yeah, I am. I've been messing with this for 3 days now. With all of the technology out there, this is just way too freaking complicated.

I've been perusing the site for days now, and I just can't figure this out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[secretagent]

open the avi in goldwave 9unrestricted shareware). sav the file as .wav and use this as your audio source in tmpgenc. you can always check in tmpgenc to see if it can handle the audio by checking source range and then looking at the audio. if it is a flat line you will get no sound.

[Tommyknocker]

Okay, I hate to send you back to TMPGEnc, considering your recent experiences, but I may I suggest the following:

1. Play the file the TMPGEnc last made as a video output. Find the spot in relationship to the original where TMPGEnc stopped encoding, and make a note of it.

2. Open TMPGEnc, load the original video, rename your output to somthing other than TMPGEnc's last output file.

3. Select Load and select your template as normally.

4. Now, here's the clincher. Select Settings-->Advanced tab-->Source Range. When the Source Range window comes up, move the slider to the part in the original video where it stopped encoding. Select "Set start frame". Move the slider to the part of the video where you want to stop the encoding and select "Set end frame". Select "OK"

5. Make sure the Source Range box is checked, then select "OK".

6. Select Start.

When TMPGEnc is finished this time, you will have a video file that contains the part of original video that did not get encoded before. You can then either use TMPGEnc to Merge the two files together, or my favorite, Video Studio to merge then burn the video at the same time.

[Airjrdn]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll give each of them a try. I'd finally starting setting the source range for the first 250 frames or whatever which was enough for me to determine if TMPGEnc was getting any sound. I installed a new codec (which might not have even been right for this particular AVI), and that didn't help either.

Before going to bed (and before seeing your posts) I set TMPGEnc up once again to do the conversion, but this time told it to output video only. Right now, it's at 83% and the screen is totally black. It could be that it is having a problem with the video, or it could be that it's a transition part of the movie where it should be black. I'll know when it's finished. It's got about 2 hours left.

Once it's done, I'll start trying your suggestions.

As always, more comments are always welcome, I appreciate the helpful feedback.

[Nelson37]

Sounds like you may have two problems, an audio file TmpGenc doesn't understand, and a bad frame or series of frames towards the end of your AVI. Neither case is unusual for downloaded files from unknown sources, few if any encoders will deal with all of the possible provlems correctly.

To refer to TMPgenc as a POS in that sense speaks volumes about your ability to correctly use and evaluate software.

The following procedure, which has been laid out on this board several times, has always worked for me, except on extremely damaged files.

Open AVI in Vdub, use preview to check sound and playback capability. Run Scan for Bad Frames and eliminate them, you may need to edit out a range to maintain audio synch. Save the audio as a wav, then set Vdub to frameserv the AVI. Open the frameserved file as video source in TMPgenc, use the WAV file as audio source. If frequency conversion is needed on audio, as you do, use SSRC as plug-in.

In extreme cases, you could re-write as an edited AVI (Huffy) file and then encode, Ulead Video Studio will sometimes open and export a problematic file, though if Vdub chokes on it there will usually be a lot of damaged or missing frames, garbled audio, etc.

[Airjrdn]

Well, TMPGenc encoded the 1h 45m movie into a 4h 6m flick. I've tried using TMPGenc quite often over the last couple of years, and after my experience with it and looking at the overwhelming number of posts on numerous boards about it's issues, I'd say it's a good thing it's free.

To refer to TMPgenc as a POS in that sense speaks volumes about your ability to correctly use and evaluate software.

Be careful there. I've been a software developer for over 10 years. There's as much importance in a user interface and solid application as there is in features and functionality. IMO TMPGenc has a long way to go, and the sheer number of posts regarding it's pitfalls tend to add credibility to my opinion. The lack of a better alternative doesn't make a product good by default.

Right now I've got a ton of dead space at the end of the video. I'll use some utility to cut out the good part and resave it, but then I still have to deal with the audio.

I'm contemplating trying neoDVD as it's one of the tools on the site said to be an end to end solution. It'd be nice however if they offered a trial version. I'm not typically one to purchase software I can't try first.