Puzzle of Camstudio AVIs

[terrypin]

Occasionally I fire up CamStudio to make a short movie of my screen actions, to illustrate something in a newsgroup or forum. Camstudio records it all OK, and plays back video and audio correctly directly afterwards. But I always hit problems in the subsequent stages of preparing my movie if I forget that there's only one editor that processes it OK.

I'd really like to get to the bottom of it with help here please. I've always been in a hurry to get the task finished, so this time I'll step through a small example methodically and show all the details.

This capture was in a typical application (Memory-Map) and is only 7 secs duration. The file is CamStudioTest1.avi, at:
http://www.speedyshare.com/714779974.html

Even so, it's still over 9 MB in size. (The typical movie I tried to make earlier this morning was 2:40, 138 MB, which of course is why I cannot simply upload it as it stands.)

It plays fine in all the players I tried.
VirtualDub reports the following:
Video stream
Frame size, fps (us per frame) 1024x768, 25.000 fps (40000 uS)
Length: 181 frames (0:07.24)
Decompressor: CamStudio Lossless Codec v1.0 (CSCD
Number of key frames: 7
Min/avg/max/total key frame size: 1109913/1110148/1110234 (7589K)
Min/avg/max/total delta frame size: 0/4939/13643 (840K)
Data rate: 9537 kbps (0.05% overhead)

Audio stream
Sampling rate: 44100Hz
Channels: 2 (Stereo)
Sample precision: 16-bit
Compression: PCM (Uncompressed)
Layout: 91 chunks (0.08s preload)
Length: 317961 samples (0:07.21)
Min/avg/max/total frame size: 1764/13976/14112 (1243K)
Data rate: 1411 kbps (0.17% overhead


GSpot reports the following:
--- Video Information ---
Video Codec Type(e.g. "DIV3"): CSCD
Video Codec Name(e.g. "DivX 3, Low-Motion"): RenderSoft CamStudio lossless Codec (LZO & GZIP compression)
Video Codec Status(e.g. "Codec Is Installed"): Codec(s) are Installed
Duration (hh:mms): 0:07.240
Frame Count: 181
Frame Width (pixels): 1024
Frame Height (pixels): 768
Storage Aspect Ratio("SAR")" 1.333
Pixel Aspect Ratio ("PAR"): 1.000
Display Aspect Ratio ("DAR"): 1.333
Fields Per Second:
Frames Per Second: 25.000
Pics Per Second: 25.000
Video Bitrate (kbps): 9536
Quality Factor (bits/pixel)/frame: 0.485"

--- Audio Information ---
MPEG Stream ID (e.g. "0xbd"):
MPEG VOB file Substream(e.g. "0x80"):
Audio Codec (e.g. "AC3"): PCM Audio
Audio Codec Status (e.g. "Codec Is Installed"): No Codec Required
Audio Sample Rate (Hz): 44100
Audio Bitrate(kbps): 1411
Audio Bitrate Type ("CBR" or "VBR"):
Audio Channel Count (e.g. "2" for stereo): 2

But here's what happened when I opened it in the following programs:

Womble MPEG Video Editor (DVD)
Imported OK. Played the audio OK, but no video (black monitor window).

MAGIX MovieEdit Pro 11 e-version
(Just started learning the very basics of this new purchase.) On importing the AVI, hung solid. Had to be terminated via Win XP Home Task Mgr.

MemoriesOnTV Pro
Imported OK. Played but the video seemed to be about 3 seconds ahead of the audio. Rendered DVD MPEG naturally had same flaw.

Windows MovieMaker
Success! Imported OK. Previewed OK. Rendered OK. (To a 490 KB WMV.)

So: why does it give all 3 programs problems of varying severity, yet MovieMaker handles it fine? And how can I get those others to like it too?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Krispy Kritter]

Have you tried possibly capturing in a different format(codec)? I would expect Cam Studio to allow you different capture format choices. I wouldn't expect that you need to capture lossless either, especially when your final output will be a smallish file for web use.

Bottom line, it's easier to capture in a format that your other program(s) can accept and use properly.

[Ai Haibara]

CamStudio does, but the performance during capture can depend on the codec you choose, of course. As for CamStudio's own capture codec, in my experience, it's worked okay enough for capture, but has given me headaches when it comes time to convert it to something else. I'd say that if you have a powerful enough system, choose a codec that'll be easier to convert or view later.