Damaged MP4 (h264) File - Need expert help

[TubeBar]

This is my last hope since everything I tried has failed. I recorded my brother's wedding via Skype using some free software. I got a file but it's useless. I have tried everything and nothing can fix it, play it or extract it.

Does anyone have any ideas? You can download the file from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2kHvVnZTUdRcWdIZmI4czZ5eDg/view?usp=sharing

I am pretty sure it's corrupt beyond repair, may not even have a video stream in it.

[Baldrick]

Do you have a working file with SAME video/audio codecs and recorded with same software as the broken one?

Then try Video repair tool, select the broken mp4 and a working reference mp4 file. It will try fix the headers that seems corrupt in your file.

[aazerty]

Hi ,

Below my try ( using Firefox ) => unable to watch the video .

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2kHvVnZTUdRcWdIZmI4czZ5eDg/view?usp=sharing
===
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B2kHvVnZTUdRcWdIZmI4czZ5eDg
===
2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4 (192M) dépasse la taille maximale que Google peut analyser. 
Voulez-vous vraiment télécharger ce fichier ?
=====
E:\1_Aides_Process>FOR %i IN (2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4) do CALL mp4box "%i" -raw 1

E:\1_Aides_Process>CALL mp4box "2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4" -raw 1
Error opening file 2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4: Invalid IsoMedia File

E:\1_Aides_Process>FOR %i IN (2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4) do CALL mp4box "%i" -raw 2

E:\1_Aides_Process>CALL mp4box "2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4" -raw 2
Error opening file 2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4: Invalid IsoMedia File
=====

Regards .

[El Heggunte]

At least you should name that "some free software",

otherwise, people will not start avoiding it.

[ndjamena]

F:\>mp4box -diso E:\Downloads\Video\2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4
Truncated file - missing 0 bytes
Error opening file E:\Downloads\Video\2014_09_27_14_35_19.mp4: IsoMedia File is
truncated

[ndjamena]

I can see using a hex editor that it was encoded using x264, what's really odd is the mp4 header is only 30 bytes long before it gets to the video stream and most of that is text. I don't know much about MP4's but either there's nothing but a pointer hidden those few bytes that are left or that's not really an mp4.

Can you even open it with the program that made it?

I'm wondering what would happen if I simply removed the first 30 bytes...

[ndjamena]

I removed the first 30 bytes and resaved it as .h264, then remuxed it with MKVMerge.

I have video but no audio. Is that what's supposed to be in there?

[ndjamena]

I'm not sure what the hell the frame rate is supposed to be, I've reduced it down to 10fps, which seems about right but the thing moves like crap.

The MKV file size is about the same as the MP4 file size so unless MKVMerge inadvertently added the audio frame data to the video frame data I'm pretty sure what I've got is all there is. 4697 frames of video.

[TubeBar]

Hi Ndjamena,

Thank you so much as anyone I asked was able to get anything done. I even tried MP4repair.org and they told me it could not be fixed at all, I don't recommend ever using them as you proved it isn't true!

I used "Free Video Call Recorder for Skype" http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/products/dvd/Free-Video-Call-Recorder-for-Skype.htm#.VDM9HsKBGUk

I set it to 1080, h264, aac and I think auto fps so not sure what it is supposed to be? Even if I can view it that would help. Yes there should be audio but not at first as the sound was off but during the actual ceremony it should be on.

As I said I could NOT demux that file at all and I tried every repair app I could find on here and on the web. You're my best hope if you can tell me how to fix it? Not sure we can get it 100% but be nice as long as it works so I can upload it to YouTube.

[ndjamena]

I had to wait for Mosu to answer a question I asked. All I did was use a hex editor to remove the first 30 bytes from the file, saved it with a .h264 extension, then re-muxed it with MKVMergeGUI.

The file size after muxing was pretty much exactly the same as the original source, but upon playing the file I wondered if something had gone wrong in the process, it just looked terrible. Apparently that really is all it is. The file you posted was nothing more than a h264 elementary stream with some kind of idiotic header attached to it, if it had been anything else MKVMerge (or MP4Box) wouldn't have recognised it as anything and even if they did the h264 private data is usually stored separately from the actual stream inside a container and without that nothing on earth would be able to play the file I made.

I don't know what the frame-rate is supposed to be, if I compare the bit rate with the nominal bitrate it comes down to about 5fps. I was wondering if maybe the bad motion was caused by it skipping the B and P frames and displaying only the I-frames but after looking at the thing through MKVInfo and FFInfo() the actual frames all add up. Basically, what I have is all that's there, I'm not sure what use it will be...

[TubeBar]

Ah so it looks like it's just the elementary stream and no mp4 container. Yes it seems to play to fast, but at least it should work for YouTube. While it may not be perfect this is better then nothing.

I'll have a play with it and see if I can do anything more but I think you got it the best anyone could. Thank you very much Ndjamena.

[TubeBar]

I can't edit the fps to 5 using mp4box only does 15, is there an something I cab use to get it to 5fps? I think that should be about right.

[TubeBar]

nevermind I updated MKtoolnix and this version let's me set the correct fps, 5fps looks about right so I'll leave it. Thanks again.

[TubeBar]

Here's my finished uploaded YouTube video, 5fps seems to be right. 15 min sounds correct from what I recall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdzuMEDpSsY