Problem with Mp4cam2avi converting to XviD AVI

[twister6]

My digital camcorder saves files in AVI format. I'm using Mp4cam2avi for conversion and when I set my output to XviD MPEG4 to convert to AVI (to play this video clip on my Philips DVP5990/37) I get an error message "idx1 data not found". What does it mean and how to fix it? Any other suggestions what to use (freeware) to convert to a format so I'm able to watch it on standard XviD devices? Also, when doing this conversion, do I loose quality of the recording? For the reference, here is info about my AVI file, using MediaInfo:

Video
ID : 0
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L4.2
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Format settings, GOP : M=3, N=15
Codec ID : H264
Duration : 19s 720ms
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 7 871 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 8 801 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.127
Stream size : 18.5 MiB (98%)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version : Version 4
Format profile : LC
Format settings, SBR : No
Codec ID : FF
Duration : 19s 712ms
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Stream size : 308 KiB (2%)
Alignment : Split accross interleaves
Interleave, duration : 21 ms (0.64 video frame)

[Ai Haibara]

Are you sure you don't have any files with a .sub extension present on the disc/USB drive?

If they are indeed AVI videos to begin with, you might try AutoGK, installed with ESS compatibility mode. As is, the video information you've posted won't work on the 5990. Aside from the video and audio encoding, the video resolution can't exceed DVD resolutions (no HD video), and I'm not sure about the bitrate, either.

[twister6]

Sorry, I tried AutoGK and it doesn't work. I load the file, start up processing, it load VirtualDubMod program to process it, than I get an exception of unsupported audio type and resulted output file is 90kb (versus original being 78MB) with no sound and no video. PLEASE, help!!! How do I convert my original file into XviD compression format?

[Ai Haibara]

You likely need to have the necessary VfW codecs installed so that AutoGK/VirtualDub(Mod) will know what to do with the input video. Is the video you're trying to convert like the one you ran through MediaInfo, above?

[twister6]

Yes, the info from MediaInfo output is of the file I'm trying to convert. and I did installed the latest K-Lite codec pack.

[twister6]

another thing that is weird, i just send this video clip to a friend who has Sony Vegas Pro (and swears its a swiss knife for video editing and file processing), and he can't open this file. Is there something weird about this specific format? Or a special way to open this file? I actually wanted to buy Vegas Pro, but if it can't recognize the format, than I'm not sure what to do. I can still return back my video camera but will not be able to return back software. Any ideas? Please help!!!

[Ai Haibara]

I believe Vegas is also dependent upon the codecs you have installed on the system.

Try this: since you have K-Lite installed, and I'm assuming it includes ffdshow, find the ffdshow folder in your Start menu.

First, open "VFW configuration". Make sure "Codecs" is highlighted in the left pane, then find the entry in the right pane for "H.264/AVC" On my setup, it's the first entry, but it could be different for yours. Under the Decoder column, make sure it's not set to 'disabled'.



(apologies for the wavy highlighter line - always fun trying to draw a quick, straight line with a mouse )

Once that's done, close the window by clicking the OK button.

Next, open "Audio decoder configuration". Select "Codecs" in the left pane, if it isn't selected, already, and find the entry for "AAC" in the right pane. Make sure the decoder isn't set to 'disabled', and click OK when you're done.



After that, try re-encoding the video again with AutoGK (or even just open the copy of VirtualDubMod that's included with AutoGK, then load the video there and see if VirtualDubMod complains).

[twister6]

uh, now we are getting somewhere In video encoder config I had those disabled. Enabled it now. But in audio decoder config when I select AAC, drop down box doesn't have any option to enable. Is there a special codec for audio? Really appreciate your help!

[twister6]

still gives me errors BTW, I didn't istall K-Lite as I mentioned before, but rather XP Codec Pack 2.5.1 (since I'm running WinXP). Maybe something in missing in there and there is another complete codec package?

... downloaded and installed the latest K-Lite code pack. Made sure everything is configured per your suggestion. Rebooted and checked to make sure all the setting are still there. And still getting an error message "couldn't locate decompressor for format H264" and "VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VFW) compatible codec to decompress video. DirecShow codecs are not suitable" - that's an error message from VirtualDubMod. I can play video clips without a problem in MCP and FMP players through...

[Ai Haibara]

Odd. VirtualDubMod shouldn't have a problem with 'finding' a VfW h2.64 decoder if you enabled it in ffdshow's "VFW configuration" settings.

I don't normally recommend codec packs. It sounds as though you installed K-Lite over XP Codec Pack, which could theoretically cause conflicts. You might try using the K-Lite Codec Tweak Tool to see if it finds any problems with the installed codecs and filters.

What version of ffdshow do you have installed? Open one of the settings windows like I mentioned above. For "VFW configuration", you'll need to click on the Encoder tab at the top, then scroll to the bottom of the left pane to find the About entry. "Audio decoder configuration" and "Video decoder configuration" will have "About" at the bottom of the list, already.

[twister6]

I think part of it was due to some incompatibility with my laptop (and integrated video card). I installed all these programs on my PC and didn't see that error. But still audio part wasn't working. The error message was due to VBR audio format not being supported. Vegas Pro having the same issue. I'm returning this camera (Best Buy's Insignia brand) and just ordered Panasonic HDC-TM55k. That one uses standard MTS (H.264 compression) format, so hopefully I will have better luck.

[Ai Haibara]

Probably a good idea. AVC video isn't often a good idea in an AVI container, anyway. I'm surprised a camera would be creating HD AVC video using AVI, and not MP4.