Editing AVI, VirtualDub Error, Codecs not working.Can i delete afew scenes?

[UmmAddan]

Hi,

Im completely new at this and have read the forum but cant understand some things.
i have movies that are .AVI's. i want to take some bits out like commercials and gruesome stuff so my kids can view it.

i've read the forum and am i right in thinking that i needed to download VirtualDub-1.7.1???
I downloaded it and hit a problem straight away. i tried to open a video file and the following error came up.

couldn't locate a decompressor for format 'XVID' (unknown) ... VD requires a video for windows (VFW) compatibale codec to decompress video. Direct Show codecs such as thosed used by windows media player, are not suitable

i don't know what this means!

i've figured out how to convert and burn AVI files to dics as a DVD movie with WinAvi and Nero.
I just need to know now how to edit the AVI's so that i can take bits out of the movie.

PLEASE HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND.

[UmmAddan]

okay i tried Panasonic DV Codec but it sill didnt work so i uninstalled it. then i tried Cedocida but that didn't work either, so i uninstalled that too.
what more can i do???
here's a pick of my vieo codec properties. what am i missing? whats going on?
plz plz help. i rely want this to work!


video_codecs_properties.jpg

[träskmannen]

It looks like you should install the XviD codec. (You can find it here).

[UmmAddan]

thanks, it works!!!

can i edit afew scenes/clips in one go or do i have to do it one clip at a time.

for example... i have this movie and it has three commercials... i deleted one and then was trying to delete the other but the 'blue' bar that was at the bottom that showed the deleted commercial, disappeared... does this mean i have to do it one at a time... delete one scene and save it as an avi file and then open it up and do it again??

[träskmannen]

Something like it.

Set the in-and out points of the first segment you want to keep and save as AVI (make sure you have chosen "direct stream copy" under "Video" first, then it won't reencode. Set the in-and-out of the second segment and save under a new name etc.

Open the first segment and use File - append segment to append the other segments. Save the new file - you're done!

[BiggerJim]

thanks, it works!!!

can i edit afew scenes/clips in one go or do i have to do it one clip at a time.

for example... i have this movie and it has three commercials... i deleted one and then was trying to delete the other but the 'blue' bar that was at the bottom that showed the deleted commercial, disappeared... does this mean i have to do it one at a time... delete one scene and save it as an avi file and then open it up and do it again??

You could try using Cut Assistant. It is only a GUI for other programms like VirtualDub etc. but it is focused on editing and cutting out commercials. So maybe it's more comfortable to use.

In addition to that, you should try using "Smart rendering" in VirtualDub instead of "Direct Stream Copy". With Direct Stream Copy you can cut only on keyframes, while SmartRendering will allow you to cut anywhere, reencoding only the small part between cut and next keyframe. For setting it up in Cut Assistant, see here: https://forum.videohelp.com/topic328607.html