Here are a few selected and recommended methods of converting a non-playable AVI (XVID) file to one which can play on standalone Divx/XVID Players and hence possibly PS3 as well.

-MULTIPART VIDEO-


You may have a movie that plays the first few seconds of the movie, or, it acts like it is going to play, but just hangs there. Not locking up the PS3, but just sits there. Or you may have just re-encoded a file because it was unsupported, and it now only plays the first few seconds. This is because it was a file that had an unsupported file format that was also Multipart..

First you should verify that it is by opening it up in Gspot, but it will not always show as multipart. If the audio is AC3, then you will need to use NANDUB. If it is mp3, then you will need to use VirtualDub. Gspot will also tell you what codecs are used, if they are installed on your computer, the size of the file, audio codecs used, bitrates, and a whole plethora of info. If this is a MULTI PART video, re-encoding it alone will not work. YOU MUST RUN IT THROUGH VD OR ND. If it is a multipart file and you try to re-encode using only ARC, only the first few seconds of the source file will be encoded. If it is a multipart with the wrong codec, you will have to run it through VD or ND prior to re-encoding the file in ARC. If you have confirmed that this is a MULTIPART video, do the following.

***Note*** If your video has AC3 audio, virtualdub will not work. You will have to download NANDUB. The steps below work the same for NANDUB.

***Note*** I am using hotkeys in this example, you may do the same thing by using the tool bar at the top of Virtualdub.

1. Start VirtualDub (should be in a folder, since it is not installed on your computer), and open the file using hotkeys by hitting Ctrl+O, and leading it to the path of the file. If you get a message saying "VirtualDub has detected an improper VBR audio encoding in the source AVI file.............", use NanDub instead, opening it in the same manor.
2. Once it is loaded, hit the “home”. This will set selection start of the file.
3. Next hit “Ctrl+Right” keys. This moves to the end of the file.
4. Next hit “End” key. This will set selection end of the file.
5. Now goto the tool bar and click on the Video tab, and select “Direct Stream Copy”.
6. Goto the Audio tab and verify that “Direct stream copy” is also selected here. If it is not, do so….
7. Finally hit the “F7” key, and save as. It is ok to save as the same file name if you wish, as this doesn’t change the format, encoding or anything, just combines it… But if you would rather change the name to have a duplicate, you may do so…. Hit Ok, and it should only take a few minutes, depending on the size of the file…..


This should have been all that you needed to do. Check by trying the file on your PS3. If not, it may still be a codec that is not supported by the PS3, and you should try the following.


-SUPER-


If your movie comes up with an error saying that it is unsupported, you may skip to the AVI ReComp procedure below and try re-encoding it, or try the next steps which should only take a few minutes start to finish and save the quality of the Video. Most of the time it is as simple as the audio. By doing the next steps, you may save yourself lots of time re-encoding, and end up with a lossless Video. If when you analyze it with Gspot, and all the codecs look like they should, try this. I am going to outline this using SUPER, as it is the simplest and most user friendly way to do it. You can use Virtualdub to do the same, but it is not set up to do it in such easy steps… Sometimes this is the only step you will need to make, and because it only takes a few minutes versus re-encoding the whole movie (which can take hours), it is best to try this first. It is NOT overkill.... It will not harm the original file, so I suggest that before trying to re-encode it with ARC, you should first try this.



1. Open SUPER and drag and drop your AVI to the window at the bottom.
2. Select Output container as AVI, Output Video Codec as XVID, and Output Audio Codec as mp3, although you aren't going to be converting the video.
3. Check mark “Stream Copy” for the Video, and for the Audio “Sampling Freq” set at 44100 or 48000 depending on the source file, and Bitrate at 128kbps.
4.
Click “Encode” at the bottom of the window. All this is going to do is COPY the video without changing it, and re-encode the audio. This sometimes works, and only takes a few minutes....

If your resulting file has skew, it may be because virtualdub within the program saw the audio as having an improper VBR audio encoding in the source AVI file, and basically changed the header. It will not throw up this message. By changing from ffmpeg to MEncoder, it will ensure that it will not change the header and keep the resulting file in sync with the video.... I am sorry but at this time, I have not tested MEncoder on all files to see if it will work, with all files. But I do know that it does with those very few that have skew problems....

Be sure to save this file, as sometimes it is both the audio and the video that is not supported, and at this time, it is very difficult to distinguish which is the problem with any given video. If you tried the last step and it did not work for you, loading this new file into ARC and re-encoding it will.



-AVI Recomp-


AVI ReComp is good for one thing, and that is to convert AVI to AVI and a format that is useable for the PS3 and other stand alone DIVX/XVID players…. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for this use!!!!

1. Open ARC, and open your "Source File". You will notice that it also tells you what codec is used and if they are installed on your computer. Also the bitrates, resolutions, frames, frames per sec, etc.
2. Select your "Output file" and destination. Also select the "New AVI size". If the source file is for example 700mb, then you should use 800mb. Rule of thumb here is that your destination file should be slightly larger than the source file. Increasing it by a great number will not make the video look better, and will be over kill. Just try to keep it one larger than the original. It will insure that the new file will keep it’s quality….
3. Now click on the “Additions” tab. Here you can change the resolution and audio. You need not change the resolution or resize it. Just leave this alone. Click the "Audio" tab and choose “convert audio streams”. Select CBR and use 128kb/s or higher... Be sure to click “Use”….
4. In the Settings tab, I like to checkmark “delete temporary files”, so that you don’t clutter up your HDD…. These setting go back to default after each job, so you will need to do this every time, if you wish to…
5. And finally the Queue tab. Pretty much just what it says. You can queue many files back to back and let them run over night, or just this one. Then click start…

This may take an hour, two, or even three, so just leave it for a while and come back later. Check to see if it works on the PS3.




-AUTOGK-



AutoGK for some reason does not convert the audio of an AVI, and I am sure it is something wrong with the GUI and Lame (the audio converter). For this reason I would only suggest using AVI ReComp, as I went back and fourth between SUPER and AGK with one file that I could not get to work, no matter what I tried, and then after trying ARC, I was able to get it to work… In fact the only file(s) I was not able to get working with ARC alone was the MULTI PART video. I listed AutoGK because it is a VERY good program for other uses, and you will get unmatched quality converting to XVID with any other program, PERIOD!!! If you are converting from DVD/Vob it is the easiest and close to the best program to use for people that are not Converter savvy… Just be sure to use the hidden settings after you have loaded a source file by hitting Ctrl+F9, and in the bottom right hand corner you will see "compatibility" (global option). Enable the stand alone support, and select ESS. I will probably outline a how to for AGK later...

Here is a list of it’s feature copied from their website:



Program features support of:
- DVD/VOBs(unencrypted from hdd), MPEG2, MPEG1, transport streams (including multi-program ones) and AVI/DV input sources
- XviD or DivX(5/6) output formats
- AC3, DTS, PCM, MPA input audio tracks
- AC3, DTS, MPA, CBR/VBR MP3 output audio tracks
- two audio tracks in AVI
- external (vobsub) or internal (burnt-in) subtitles (with support of forced subs)
- HDTV input/output resolutions(upto 1920x***) and frame rates (50/60fps)
- automatic crop and resize based on compressibility of the source to achieve best results
- automatic detection of input source: PAL, NTSC, FILM, HYBRID
- automatic deinterlacer and IVTC
- automatic split into CD-sized chunks for main video and external subs

SUPER has been upgraded to Super 2008! I have mentioned in past threads that Super didn't do a great job at ecoding XVID or DIVX. The Video was choppy (skipped every 1 second), and the quality wasnt' there. Well, 2008 is a different story. It is a very good program and you can convert FROM just about any format TO any format. It is a stand alone program, meaning that no codecs are needed to be installed on your computer. They are contained within the program. Best of all, it is FREE.
Here is a link to all the features, codecs and what you can do with it.

Hope a couple of experiments would render playable files. Please inform and post me about your individual experiences and the most optimal and succesful method tried out.

UPDATE 02nd-Apr-2008 :

I have tried converting a non-playable AVI (XVID) with AVIRecomp which took around 1 hour on my dedicated desktop PC ( Dell Optiflex P-IV Hyperthreading 3.6Ghz , 80GB SATA, 2GB RAM). Now it is running fine on my PS3 connected to the LCD with no degradation in Sound and Picture quality. I guess different methods would work for different people.

Will post my further findings as well.