Fixing old AVIs with audio glitch only in some playing software.

[bizzybody]

In 2009 I made 20 AVI videos for a video screen saver. I found them looking through an old hard drive and when I played them in Potplayer, some of them wouldn't play the audio all the way through. I made these for a PC for a convention* which was setup just for playing Portal, with the AVI screen saver as an attract mode.

I tried them in Windows Media Player, all fine. Same for MPC-HC and VLC. Movies and tV in Win10 can't play the video but does play the audio completely. FormatPlayer plays it all but with snaps and crackles in the audio.

AVIdemux glitches out on the audio with an early stop just like Potplayer.

Here's a folder link with the AVI files and the AVI screen saver to use them with. https://file.io/RVkNM4bgIMsZ

*Of course whomever was in charge of PC gaming that year had a problem with it and screwed it up instead of finding *me* who had put together all the retro PCs that year for the Starcraft LAN and other PC games. "I just turned it on and it was like that!" Yeah, sure it was. I had restarted it three times after I got it all set up, to be sure Windows wasn't going to do anything hinky. It didn't just change the wallpaper, delete desktop shortcuts and move others around, and bollix up some other things all by itself to where Portal wouldn't run.

[Alwyn]

file.io says the file has been deleted.

[bizzybody]

Here it is in a RAR file https://file.io/665VG2wIev5X

[Alwyn]

Still getting the Deleted message:

"The transfer you requested has been deleted.".

[bizzybody]

Maybe thins one will allow it. Auto delete in 6 days https://filebin.net/vbogx3r2i9g783e5

[bizzybody]

This one will keep it if it's downloaded often enough, or 7 days https://uploadnow.io/f/NbTsT8y

[bizzybody]

I set this one to expire in 90 days https://oshi.at/VfgQ

[Alwyn]

Both of those are causing Malwarebytes to have a fit. I'd suggest Google Drive.

[bizzybody]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12mntOvJJSqAE9M-ObXYa16WJVCgGeeKz/view?usp=sharing

Edit: File replaced with archive containing the fixed videos.

[Alwyn]

That Google Drive file/folder works. That audio isn't good, is it. I have no suggestions on how to fix it.

[davexnet]

Many of the files have a section where it is just a buzzing sound, and the rest is OK.
For example, this highlighted section in Audacity

[bizzybody]

The buzzing is deliberate, it's a sound effect from the Portal game. The problem is with some of the video files in some playing software, the audio stops playing before the end of the video. 00, 03, 08, 13 are the ones with the problem.

[Selur]

I tried them in Windows Media Player, all fine. Same for MPC-HC and VLC. Movies and tV in Win10 can't play the video but does play the audio completely. FormatPlayer plays it all but with snaps and crackles in the audio.

AVIdemux glitches out on the audio with an early stop just like Potplayer.

"Movies and tV in Win10" would require a cinepak directshow decoder to playback those files.
"FormatPlayer" (never heard of it) probably has issues with mono audio.
Convert the video to something other than cinepak if you want more players to support it.
Convert the audio to stereo if you want more players to support it.

[Alwyn]

What video format do you want them in? I am able to open 03 in Virtual Dub and I encoded it in H264 and AAC Stereo.

[bizzybody]

I want the ones with the audio issue to not have the issue so they'll work with the AVI Screen Saver without the audio stopping early.

[Alwyn]

Try this one. All I did was make it Stereo.

[bizzybody]

Same issue in Potplayer. Cuts off in the middle of proceed. AVIdemux on the glitchy files cuts off sooner, only plays the starting buzz.

I don't remember what software I used to put the audio together. I just put the buzz in followed by another sound from the game and apparently it didn't seamlessly join on the four files, left something which *some* players see as an end of file while others will just ignore it and play through.

IIRC the software I used to make the AVIs played them all fine and whatever other playing software did too.

The AVI Screen Saver does work in Windows 10 and it plays the four AVIs without a problem on my system. I don't remember if it had this issue on XP, which is what I put on the PC I put together to play only Portal.

Anyway, they have a bug and it bugs me that they do.

[Alwyn]

Done. I recoded them "back" into Cinepak and MS ADPCM in Virtual Dub2. The video was causing the issue with AVIDemux, and interestingly, those 4 files wouldn't display thumbnails in Windows Explorer, whereas all the others do.

[bizzybody]

Thank you very much!

[Alwyn]

My pleasure. I had a chuckle at some of the "instructions" in the clips!