DVD GUI SLIDESHOW doesn't render anything!

[congogirl]

I downloaded the latest version of DVD GUI Slideshow from their website and when I put some JPG images in and hit Preview to watch my slideshow the Windows Media Player said it doesn't recognize .avs files. Huh? I was putting in JPG images, not AVS files. I had used older versions of this program on previous computers with no problems, but maybe when Windows Media Player 12 came out it no longer will play files with .avs extensions? I have spent literally 3 hours trying to find a fix for this problem but nothing works. Please, I could really use some constructive advice, with links that would get me an .avs codec for Windows Media Player 12. Thanks.

[Nelson37]

That's an AVISynth script, you have to have avisynth installed to play it.

[congogirl]

Thanks, I understand, but when I downloaded the program it said AVISynth was included in the bundle of programs. That's why I don't understand why it didn't work.

[tin2tin]

I only have WMP11 installed so I can't confirm if that is somehow related to wmp12.
What happens if you export to avi or mpg? Are you on DSG 0.9.5.2?

[congogirl]

Yes, the latest download from their website. I can't even export at all, it says I need an .avs extension. Very frustrating.

[congogirl]

Well, I uninstalled the one from their website and redownloaded the current version from this site. Once again it won't render anything and says I need an .avs extension! I can NOT be the only person this is happening to! I even went to the latest versions of AviSynth and installed that separately even though the original package says it's included already. Always the same problem. I have been working on this for hours and hours. Same bad results. The program is totally unuseable. I downloaded the latest version of their video player, Home Cinema. No changes. I have never been so frustrated in my life! This program is useless. Anyone have another suggestion for an intuitive slideshow creator that is freeware?

[vidyarathne]

did you try using VLC player ? it's perfect player

[congogirl]

It's not what they have bundled in their program. They have Windows Media Home Cinema. When you go to render it won't do it at all, it says I need an .avs extension. Well darn it, if you need it to run this program it should be included in the latest download. My next step is to uninstall again and then try a much older version and see if the same thing happens. Grrrrrrr...................

[Nelson37]

Try opening an AVS script in Vdub. Verify the basic functionality.

I can tell you that if you are looking for an extremely capable slide-show program, this one is the best you will find for free, and better than anything I ever tried, and I tried many.

If the export also failed, the problem is almost certainly in the AVIsynth installation. Different versions or the wrong path are often the problem, might be a problem in the installation package.

Fairly simple to verify that it works. The problem is very narrowly limited to the inability to open the AVS script, this is not a codec installation issue. Get AVIsynth working and you'll be fine. Verify this OUTSIDE of the slideshow prog, Virtualdub is excellent for this task.

What EXACTLY is the error msg you see? What you are reporting is slightly different from what I would expect.

[congogirl]

This is what I see. When I click YES the Home Cinema player pops up and says Cannot Render File.

In all older programs of GUI on older computers I've used in the past this never happened.

[congogirl]

I went to GUI's FAQ's and I see why I have not been the only one to complain about this. lol

Media Player Classic complains over a missing codec?

Install Ffdshow(free) and make sure that avisynth is enabled under the video settings. If there is a problem with previewing try to install Xvid or Divx. Or read up on the Avisynth instalation FAQ.

So after trying the same sample set up, it flickered a bit but then suddenly the program started using Windows Media Player to play the resulting rendering file instead of Home Cinema. Don't ask me why! lol.

It seems to be working now with just JPG files, so I think I solved the problem by downloading FFDshow and Xvid. I feel those should both be bundled into GUI by default so I wouldn't have wasted hours trying to figure out what was wrong. Not everyone will look at the bottom of an FAQ page for their answer.

[tin2tin]

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. I'm the coder of DSG, but I'm limited to testing DSG on my computer- an old one with Vista and wmp11, as the OS develops new problems arise apparently.

Originally ffdshow and XVID was included in the installer(that FAQ is actually very old - before those two where added to installer), but then a user suggested just using the Helix codes instead. So far Helix has worked fine - and had the advantage over ffdshow that ffdshow opens an instance for each running avs script, so when importing avs scripts instead of jpg as slides you would end up with an extreme number of ffdshow running.

Could you inform me which one did the trick ffdshow or XVID - since I can't reproduce your error - I would have to take your word for which one is necessary to include in the install(btw. did you reboot your computer between installing dsg and getting the error?).

[congogirl]

Yes, I rebooted, but only after both ffdshow and xvid were installed, so I am unsure which one "did the trick". I do know I had some ffdshow windows shoot up as I tried to render the same slideshow in GUI but you had some choices to make: do you want to use ffdshow all the time, only this time, or never. I chose only this time, but for some reason that was enough to keep it from hassling me again after I closed the program and then re-opened. I read that .avs files originated from China? Maybe there's something unique to that which can cause problems because of the language barriers between coders? Only guessing.

[Gavino]

I read that .avs files originated from China?

???????????

As already mentioned, .avs files are Avisynth scripts.
Nothing at all to do with China.

http://avisynth.org/mediawiki/Main_Page

[jman98]

I read that .avs files originated from China? Maybe there's something unique to that which can cause problems because of the language barriers between coders? Only guessing.

Your first question is not a question. I know it's become cool to just put a question mark on whatever the hell puzzles people this day (I've got co-workers who are over 40 who do this now) but technically speaking this is quite wrong from a grammatical standpoint. Your second question actually is a question although an English teacher would hopefully dock you some points on format.

Anyway, don't believe what you read. AVS is simply a scripting language. It has nothing to do with China. Here's a very simple example of an AVS script:

directshowsource("C:\mytv\TVCapture.mpg")

That uses Direct Show to open the file TVCapture.mpg. Presumably you would be feeding this AVS script to an encoder that uses AVS scripts (ie. HCenc) or perhaps putting other lines in the script to do various things like deinterlace, upscale, downscale, etc. This has nothing to do with language. I suppose it's arguable that perhaps the error message could be better and that it's somewhat misleading, but it's easy to be critical of such things when you're not the author.

[congogirl]

"The fully Intellectual Property of second generation Source Coding-Decoding Standard – AVS is owned by China."

http://www.avs.org.cn/en/

[Gavino]

"The fully Intellectual Property of second generation Source Coding-Decoding Standard – AVS is owned by China."

http://www.avs.org.cn/en/

That refers to Audio Video Standard, a Chinese competitor to H.264/AAC.

According to the relevant Wikipedia article, the media files use a container format with the .avs extension, and the widely used open-source libavcodec includes an AVS video decoder.

This is a totally different thing from Avisynth (which has been using the .avs extension since 2000).
I can see that problems may arise using Avisynth if you also have software (players or installed codecs) that expects .avs to contain the Chinese format. I wonder if that is the root of your troubles.

[congogirl]

I wouldn't have a clue. I just expect to download a fully functioning program from the main website, and not to have to go looking for fixes, but I guess it's sort of like everyone's monitors showing jpg and gif images in different ways. What works on an older system may no longer work on a brand new system, which is what mine is, an HP right out of the box all in one with huge touch screen monitor. GUI always worked b4 without all the pop up screens on older computers that I had from a few years ago.

[Nelson37]

Looks like there is, or was, at least a player issue.

The box that comes up is clearly identified as Windows Media Player, NOT Home Cinema. It is important to get the details correct in order to nail down the problem. If you are not clear on what program is running or producing the error, diagnosing it becomes difficult.

Many progs run and install somewhat differently on Win 7 as opposed to XP.

[congogirl]

Until I applied the fix the screen came up and said Home Cinema and said it could not play the file. Then when I applied the fix it THEN opened Windows Media Player.

Bottom line, I am not going to be the only one who has this problem when downloading the GUI that is on their website right now as the newest download. Anyone with a brand new HP computer like I have is probably going to have the same problem. Whoever has put it together should test it on new computers and not just old ones. The programmer even admitted, above, that he was testing it on an older machine.

[tin2tin]

... but it is still not clear what solved your problem. Was it rebooting after the original installation, the installation of XVID or the installation of ffdshow? That's 3 different possible solutions, but without knowing exactly which one did the trick, it makes no sense to add a fix. I have no possibility to find out which one solved the problem, because I can't reproduce it here on my computer. I wish I could, but I can't. So if anyone could inform me on which one of the solutions actually solves this problem, then I can do something about it.

[congogirl]

Maybe just do one at a time and see. I just followed the directions on the FAQ page that said to download both of those if I had trouble. Since it's working now I don't want to risk uninstalling everything to do it all over again. Good luck.

[Nelson37]

All you have to do is read the title bar on the error message that YOU posted, before the "fix" was installed. It clearly, plainly, and unmistakeably says "Windows Media Player".

If you can't reliably tell what program is giving you the error message, that makes it difficult to resolve the problem. It also raises an element of uncertainty for any comment you make.

Something as simple as running Media player for the first time, or running it after an update, and not changing any of the default program settings to have it manage AVS files, could very well be the problem.

[congogirl]

It originally tried to do it in WMP but didn't work, consistent errors, then it wouldn't start at all and popped up Home Cinema instead. I have no idea why, obviously it's a very buggy bundled program.

I have not been placed on this planet to do your work for you, buddy. I fixed the problem myself, no help from anyone here. I suggest if you are having problems too you find your own way to fix it. I'm done with the issue. Toodles.