Virtualdubmod is lying

[zinc]

I have tried following this guide:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic241422.html

With Virtualdub i could not even open my mkv file, i then used Virtualdubmod which opened my file.
when i get to the step where i have to save the audio to mp3 i get this error message:
"Error initializing audio stream decompression: The requested conversion is not possible. Check to make sure you have the required codec.”

I have installed the LAME codec so i don't know what its on about.

i then used MKVExtractGUI and followed thisa guide: http://www.dvd-guides.com/content/view/157/59/
to get the job done but the "extract" button is shaded and nothing appears in the content box.

So what do i do now, apart from never use MKV files again?
thanks.
Oh and the file plays in VLC player but not in windows media player not even after i got this codec pack http://www.cccp-project.net/

[poisondeathray]

Give avidemux a try - it supports more formats, containers and codecs than virtualdub family.

You have not indicated what audio & video codecs are being used in your .mkv. Use mediainfo.

[jagabo]

I agree, AviDemux is probably better suited for working with MKV sources. I find MKV to be a PITA to work with.

[redwudz]

Agree about AVIDemux. With VD Mod, you would probably have to save the audio out as a WAV, then put it back in. VDM otherwise would have to convert from your MKV audio format then convert to MP3 within the program. It's probably choking on trying to do both at the same time. I've seen a similar problem with other audio format conversions.

And as mentioned, there are many 'flavors' of MKV. VDM can only handle a few. I dislike MKV also if I need to convert it to a different format.

[zinc]

Thanks for your help, i used avidemux but whilst it was opening it i get a message saying that a fatal error has occurred and when i press ok the program shuts down.
Mediainfo shows that the video is mpeg4 (Divx5) and the audio is MP3 i am able to support both of these.

[DarrellS]

I find MKV to be a PITA to work with.

Add me to that list. I would never create one of these files myself. A few members of the board praise this format but honestly, I can't see why. It is another proprietory format with very little hardware player support if any.

I would bet that there is nothing wrong with the DivX file or the MP3 file but with the MKV container itself.

EDIT: Good luck finding the right program to demux the audio and video files.

[poisondeathray]

If it's DivX video and MP3 audio in an .mkv container:

Just use mkvmergegui to extract audio & video streams, avi-muxgui to put it into an .avi container. No re-encoding, no quality loss, should only take a few minutes even on a slow computer.

Edit: Were you using the lastest version of avidemux? (r4081) If avidemux couldn't open it, I suspect there might be an error with your file. Is it complete? Does it play and seek normally?

[zinc]

I wasn't using the latest version of avidemux i updated to the latest version and when i open up my file with it the same error message comes up only this time it comes up quicker than before.

The file is complete and it play normally under vlc but seeking takes time and when it does the sound comes up the picture comes up in big squares but then it is normal.

I tried using mkvmergegui but that doesn't extract the files it simply makes another mkv and when i put that mkv in avi-muxgui that makes another one even though on the output i have selected avi.

thanks for your help so far.

EDIT: In order to extract the audio and video you have to use MKVEXTRACT but when i use it i do not get the track/attachment list as shown in this first screen shot here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic239995.html

In that screenshot they have stuff in the track/attachment list i do not and thats why my extract button is shaded out.
what can i do?
thanks.

[zinc]

I worked it out woohoo this is what i did:
1) open the mkv file in virtualdubmod and save is as an avi
2) this avi played fine in vlc player seeking and everything was perfect in windows media player though there was no sound
3) i took this avi and opened it in avi-muxgui and then created a whole new avi
4) this new avi plays in everything and works well
thanks for your contributions

[RickA]

Sorry folks, with all due respect I tend to disagree and think that MKV is a great and very flexible container which is easy to work with. Avi is an antiquated container and not readily up to the task of storing new codecs such as h.264. Where MKV can easily store just about any combination of video, audio and subtitle that one cares to put together.

So what if it is not currently as popular as MP4. Which for whatever insane reasoning they chose to not to include AC3 is beyond me. Considering every DVD, Blueray, HD-DVD spec on the planet uses AC3 audio for Dolby Digital and nearly every home reciever has built in DD decoder. They chose to endorse AAC instead, go figure.

As far as the claim to MKV being proprietary... I think not. It is opensource, check the Matroska homepage. My definition of proprietary would be more like iTunes forcing you to play the music you buy and download on their iPods only and nothing else. That was just an example - I do not have iTunes or an iPod.

The container is one of many tools available to us. It is not the containers' fault if you do not use it properly. If you try towing a loaded down 30ft trailer with a Porsche 911 and have problems keeping control... Is it the Porsche's fault or yours for not using a truck that is more capable for getting the job done? Choose the right tool for the job. Would I put my h.264 and AC3 5.1DD encodes into an AVI wrapper? No way. MKVToolNix lets me easily swap in / out audio and subtitles. Each to their own I guess, that's what makes the world go round.

Cheers,
Rick

Addendum - MKV is still a fairly new container and the tools for working with it are still somewhat new. It does not have the maturely developed tools that AVI, mpeg-2 and others have. Give it time and it will.

[freebird73717]

EDIT: In order to extract the audio and video you have to use MKVEXTRACT but when i use it i do not get the track/attachment list as shown in this first screen shot here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic239995.html

In that screenshot they have stuff in the track/attachment list i do not and thats why my extract button is shaded out.
what can i do?
thanks.

Sometimes I had to open the file twice in mkvextract to get the track lists to show up.

[Ai Haibara]

EDIT: In order to extract the audio and video you have to use MKVEXTRACT but when i use it i do not get the track/attachment list as shown in this first screen shot here:
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic239995.html

In that screenshot they have stuff in the track/attachment list i do not and thats why my extract button is shaded out.
what can i do?
thanks.

Do you have the latest versions of both MKVExtractGUI and mkvtoolnix, installed to the same directory? MKVExtractGUI requires mkvtoolnix, but doesn't include or install it.

[zinc]

Yes i have the latest versions of them and and they are both in the same directory but it doesn't matter know as i managed to solve the problem without them.
Thanks for your help anyway.