I have a problem editing a video. Help!

[bluebear46]

Hi guys !
I want to cut a part of a 700 MB Xvid encoded movie and do some basic editing (insert an image for 5 secs before the movie starts, put some text in a corner of the movie..stuff like that ).... and than encode the movie with a good codec and upload it to a video sharing site.
So far I've been able to edit the movie with a software called Cyberlink PowerDirector, but after I encode it all I can see is a blank screen and I can only hear the audio. So far I've used Xvid and x264 codecs .

So why doesn't it work. Is is a codec problem ? I admit that I've played with some codec packs (installed and uninstalled ) them, but now I have only DivX, Xvid and x364 codecs installed, and I also use ffdshow as a decoder.

What other good video editing tools would you recommend ? Is there a way to edit movies without reencoding them ?

Thanks in advance !
BlueBear

[guns1inger]

You can do some editing with minimal or no re-encoding, however you need to use the right editor, and the right source. Xvid is not designed for editing. The method it uses for compression makes it very difficult to edit without at least re-encoding open GOPs (up to 300 frames). Also, Xvid hates being re-encoded, and very quickly degrades. If you start adding watermarks then you will have to re-encode the entire video.

The latest virtualdub and AVI Demux will edit using Smart Encoding, which will only affect open GOPs at the edit points.

[redwudz]

The blank screen could be related to codecs or overlay settings. Try playback in VLC player. If the screen is still blank, start a second instance of VLC using the same file and see if it shows video. If so, it's a overlay problem.

[bluebear46]

In VLC it doesn't run the blank screen. I can only hear the audio playing.
So what do I have to do to make it work ?

[bluebear46]

What do I have to do to make it work ?

[Cunhambebe]

Some thoughts only...
If I were you, I would learn how to edit with AviSynth. Of course the learning curve is a bit difficult but that's definitely worth a try. AviSynth can keep the same color space (no color space convertions = no loss of quality) and it's got a bunch of plug-ins that will give you full control on how to edit and encode your video (as XviD, DivX, MPEG2, etc.). The only one problem is that AviSynth works with scripts that in fact are nothing much than paths indicating where your files and your plug-ins are located. Some people love it, some others don't. If you're planning to re-encode the video as MPEG2, you could also try the HC Encoder that works with scripts, it's freeware and has an excellent quality that rivals the commercial encoders. You can find it at bitburners.com
Cheers and Happy Easter,
Mark

[Johnson Nguyen]

I surprsingly had the same problem with my VLC player where it would only show the audio and I wouldn't get a video feed at all. IT WAS REALLY FRUSTRATING. I couldn't figure out the problem until what redwudz said above to just close the program and reopen it again. It then worked fine for me.