TMPGE works on one system, but not the other - same file.

[dadrab]

I've recently completed building a new desktop box and now I'm trying to create a simple DVD.

The problem I'm running into is quite confusing to me, but hopefully it'll be second nature to one of you and you can help.

On my old system, which is the family system and several years old, I've got TMPGE MPEG converter installed. I've also installed that program on my new system. I've chosen an old movie currently in .AVI format to convert to MPEG2 for eventual burning onto DVD.

On the old system, when I go into TMPGE, I'm able to select the file and begin the conversion. When I try the same thing on my new system, TMPGE pops a window telling me the file I've chosen in unsupported. I can go no further.

This is very frustrating to me as I've done a lot of reading around here, but apparently I have missed something. I just don't know what.

Any assistance you can give me would surely be appreciated as I built this new box for this very sort of thing and was looking forward to processing files much faster than with the old system.

[redwudz]

My first guess is that you are missing a codec that TMPGEnc needs to open or read the file. That's sometimes the error from a codec problem. Or you may have a corrupted codec. This should be easy to check. Just drop the file into Gspot 2.60 and see what it says about your codecs. It can also be an audio codec, but that is not as common.

[dadrab]

You're probably right.

I must admit. I'm seriously confused by this codec business. I understand that codecs are pieces of code that allow video players to do what they do, but when I go to the "codec" section under the Tools menu on this site, there are programs that perform specific functions.

Does the word "codec" mean more that one thing or are two meanings loosely used around the same word?

Anyway, anyone have a recommendation for a good codec pack?

Thanks for the help y'all.

[jimmalenko]

Anyway, anyone have a recommendation for a good codec pack?

That there is an oxymoron; I've never known ANY codec pack to be good, all things considered. They tend to do far more harm than good, and can be nightmares to troubleshoot and/or remove. You'd be far better off IMHO to use GSpot, AVICodec and/or MediaInfo and only install the codec(s) you need, as you need them.


As for your initial problem, try upping the priority of the DirectShow File Reader, as discussed at https://www.videohelp.com/tmpgenc.htm#problems .

[dadrab]

Thanks for the replies.

redwudz,
I took your advise and loaded Gspot which told me what codec I was missing.

jimmalenko,
I took your advise too and tried upping the priority of the DirectShow File Reader to no avail. But, also upon your recommendation, I Googled the codec recommended by Gspot, downloaded it on my internet machine and ran it on my video machine (not hooked to the internet) and viola, I could open the file in TMPGE.

I'm up and running. Thanks again.

[redwudz]

Good deal. Now you know what to do the next time around. TMPGEnc gives somewhat cryptic errors when it can't understand a file.

Just for general info, codec is short for COmpressor/DECompressor, a codec is any technology for compressing and decompressing data. Some are for playback, some are for encoding and some are for both functions. Adding too many or incompatible ones or overwriting good ones as a codec pack sometimes does causes all kinds of problems. Something to avoid.

Most encoding programs, such as VirtualDub or AutoGK or others are just 'front ends' for the codecs. The codec itself is what does the actual encoding. That's why you can have so many programs that can use the same codec. It's the codec settings that matter the most, not really the front end program.[/quote]

[Nelson37]

Try it this way.

You used to hang around a certain group of people. One of them could understand (decode) French. When a stranger approached, and their speech was in French (Encoded), the French speaker in your group could translate (decode). Then you moved (different PC). The French speaker was no longer present. When a stranger spoke in French, no one could understand.

This ain't Star Trek, there is no universal translator. You need to determine what language (codec) you need and find a translator for that particular one.

Saying "AVI" is like saying "language". No specific information, there are many possible dialects it could be.

[rkr1958]

Saying "AVI" is like saying "language". No specific information, there are many possible dialects it could be.

This is the best and most concise description of AVI that I've seen.