I think I messed up my VirtualDub, can't open any files now.

[IAMMADASHELL]

I wanted to open a .asf file, but virtualdub said missing codec when opening it.
I searched on the forums & read that there is no plugin for it & that I need to download ffdshow. I did but that did nothing, so I uninstalled ffdshow since it didn't work for me.

Now NO videos will open in VirtualDub. Trying to open a .avi file I get this message:
"Couldn't locate decompressor for format 'xvid' (unknown) VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VFW) compatible codec to decompress video. DirectShow codecs, such as those used by Windows Media Player, are not suitable."

Opening mp4 files, I get a missing codec message.

I have VirtualDub-1.10.3-test13-AMD64 & i downloaded all the known plugins like WMV64.vdplugin, MPEG264, FFInputDriver_64.vdplugin etc... but no video will open anymore after I uninstalled ffdshow, even though they worked fine before I downloaded ffdshow (I can still play videos on video players just fine).

How can I get it to work like before? Can I just delete & re-download VirtualDub & everything will be fine?

I'm on Windows 7 64-OS btw.

[Baldrick]

Try the 32bit version of virtualdub with 32bit plugins. And skip the test version.

[IAMMADASHELL]

I still get the error message. Can't open any video file.

Did downloading ffdshow somehow uncheck codecs that must have been on the system?

I didn't install any 3rd party codecs before that & I did a fresh install of Windows 7 just a month ago.

[redwudz]

FFDshow does have a default Xvid codec, but you can easily disable it. FFDshow seems to work well alongside all my other codecs, so I'm not sure it's your problem. I don't see ASF listed in my version of FFDShow 64. You could add FFDshow back in to fix Xvid, if you wanted. Or you might uninstall VirtualDub and start over. I use VD 1.10.4 B35491-AMD64, along with the 64bit version of FFDshow.

If you do try the VD ASF plugin, there is a 32 and 64 bit version. However the plugin never worked that well for me.

ASF is really old and not much will open those type of files. I usually just convert them to a more usable format with a program like Any Video Converter Free or similar. http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

[IAMMADASHELL]

FFDshow does have a default Xvid codec, but you can easily disable it. FFDshow seems to work well alongside all my other codecs, so I'm not sure it's your problem. I don't see ASF listed in my version of FFDShow 64. You could add FFDshow back in to fix Xvid, if you wanted. Or you might uninstall VirtualDub and start over. I use VD 1.10.4 B35491-AMD64, along with the 64bit version of FFDshow.

If you do try the VD ASF plugin, there is a 32 and 64 bit version. However the plugin never worked that well for me.

ASF is really old and not much will open those type of files. I usually just convert them to a more usable format with a program like Any Video Converter Free or similar. http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/

How can I uninstall Virtual DUB? It's not in my Program files to uninstall in Windows.
I just deleted the old one & downloaded the new one.
Do I need to download FFDshow? I was fine without downloading a codec pack & did so just because I couldn't find a ASF plugin anywhere.

[redwudz]

Sorry, I should have said, 'remove' VD and update it with a different version. It's a .exe, so not installed. You may not need FFDshow. Try without it. I have it around for a few odd codecs that I don't want to install.

The ASF plugins are at the VD tool page. Just scroll down a bit. https://www.videohelp.com/tools/Virtualdub
And if you need some VD filters, this site has a few: http://www.infognition.com/VirtualDubFilters/

[IAMMADASHELL]

I did that & still can't open any files. A fresh download install.
I get missing codec for every file type.


When I download FFDshow, I think I checked some boxes that associate itself with VirtualDub, might that have been the problem? There was no reset option when I uninstalled it.

The tutorials for FFDshow are non existent, all I wanted from it was asf support in VDub & nothing else, but it somehow ended up messing everything up for me.

When I go to compression options, XVID is nowhere to be seen, did FFDshow somehow permanently removed it from VDub?

[davexnet]

Download a fresh copy of xvid, remove the old version from the control panel,
and reinstall the new version.

[hello_hello]

When I download FFDshow, I think I checked some boxes that associate itself with VirtualDub, might that have been the problem? There was no reset option when I uninstalled it.

The tutorials for FFDshow are non existent, all I wanted from it was asf support in VDub & nothing else, but it somehow ended up messing everything up for me.

When I go to compression options, XVID is nowhere to be seen, did FFDshow somehow permanently removed it from VDub?

The screenshot shows available encoders, not available decoders, which are 2 different things (although some codecs can both encode and decode).

Video files can contain different types of audio and video so you need to be able to open a particular file type (ie asf) and then you need to be able to decode whatever type of video and audio is contained within. Plugins for opening different types of files with VirtualDub often do both. There's a list of VirtualDub plugins on this page. The Windows Media plugin should allow you to open asf files. Download the plugin, unzip it if need be and put it in the VirtualDub\plugins folder (I see redwudz already mentioned it).

As far as I know the VirtualDub reference when installing ffdshow lets you choose whether to install the ffdshow-VirtualDub plugin. It's called "ffvdub.vdf" and should reside in the VirtualDub plugins folder. It lets you use ffdshow's filters with VirtualDub but shouldn't have any effect on the ability to decode video/audio. ffdshow may have messed up the ability to use other codecs when it was uninstalled, but that'd be unusual (I think). I'd install ffdshow again (follow this link in case you installed a really old version). If the installer asks, make sure you include the vfw (video for windows) part of ffdshow. If you still have trouble decoding certain types of video (ie if you open an AVI and VirtualDub complains about not finding a decoder), open the ffdshow VFW configuration from the start menu, and click on the Codecs menu on the left. Not all video types are enabled by default. You can enable/disable the decoding of certain types of video there. For MPEG4 video decoding if you enable "Xvid", "Divx", "Other MPEG4" and "h263" you should be pretty much covered.



When you try to open a file with VirtualDub, what's listed in the "Files of Type" drop down list in the windows which opens for selecting a file? If "FFMpeg supported files", or "Windows Media files" etc isn't in the list, the plugins aren't being loaded correctly. It's probably best to stick to the 32bit plugins, but if they're not loading try changing the name of the VirtualDub plugins folder to "plugins32". Or "plugins64" for 64 bit plugins. Plain old "plugins" works for me, but I'm using XP so everything is 32 bit. You can choose which plugin opens a particular file by selecting it from the drop down list. Any file types which it doesn't support should no longer show in the list of files when you navigate to select a file to open. That way, you can have both the FFInputDriver and Windows Media plugins installed, and while they can both open asf files (probably) you can pick which to use if one doesn't work for some reason.

If the plugins are installed correctly, the "Open" menu should look something like this;



And I've got to ask.... what's the objective once you open the files in question? Editing, converting? Unless you have a specific need to use VirtualDub, there might be an easier way to go about it.

[Budman1]

Virtualdub can be a little intimidating if you have problems with it but it's not too bad. First of all it uses the VFW codecs (that's the Olive Drab Green color icon NOT the red icon.

The easiest way to test is open the VFW codecs list and also open VirtualDub. Drag and drop a video to the VirtualDub and select file --> File information and you should see like the following. I have captured all together to show my codec AVC1 is missing and FFDShow set to disabled.


Then set the codec to Libavcodec AND CLICK APPLY. Thjen redrag and drop the video into VirtualDub and check the file information again. You should see:


Otherwise, hello_hello has great information there especially the part:

if you enable "Xvid", "Divx", "Other MPEG4" and "h263" you should be pretty much covered.

MPG can be tricky so make sure the mpeg, other mpeg, mpg in avi, etc are all checked.
Some aspects of MP4 can be affected by Windows media Foundation also but usually this is not a problem except maybe icons or thumbnails.

The only time I've seen this is when I try to install a program or converter that messes up my codecs and I need to reinstall them. There are several here that, by themselves cause no harm, but if installed with others can cause settings and merits to get hosed.

AND YES 64 BIT AND 32 BIT VERSIONS CAN COEXIST AS SEEN ABOVE.

[hello_hello]

As I still use XP I tend to forget about the changes to DirectShow and the addition of the Windows Media Foundation in newer Windows flavours. Is the VFW system still the same?

Anyway, I wondered if maybe this might help? I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet. Win7DSFilterTweaker

[Budman1]

Win7DSFilterTweaker can be used to fix codec use and Media Foundation but it is not recommended for anyone unless you know what you are doing. You can really mess up things unless you are careful. If you do not know what a registry is, how it works, or are ready to alter it. BE CAREFUL. FFDshow is the easiest way to get VirtualDub working because it contains VFW codecs which VirtualDub uses as show in my example above.

Anyone interested can go to Budmansite.com where I posted some VirtualDub articles especially a Word document on many of the problems and their fixes as well as links to most of the plugins and filters. I tried to incorporate everything I could think of including external encoders and scripts and how to import them and set up the encoders. Lots of pictures and examples. If it's missing anything, send me a PM. The site is a GoDaDDY site so if it isn't perfect... I set it up wrong.

[IAMMADASHELL]

Thanks for the help everybody, I been trying everything in the past few days, BUT IT'S STILL NOT WORKING!

I downloaded the latest version of Virtual DUB & downloaded the latest ffdshow
Selected these options on install



Then set the codecs to Libavcodec , hit apply & o.k.


I checked & IT WORKED! I was able to use VDub properly. I later restartedmy PC that night after a unrelated software update.

The next day I try opening VirtualDUB again & opening any file & IT DOESN'T WORK AGAIN!
I get this message whenever I try to open a file



I checked & ffdshow codecs are all set to libavcodec
I have all the additional plugins in the plugin folder.
Yet again, not one single file will open!

Somehow VirtualDub is being reset, deleting the proper codecs or ignoring ffdshow?
What a nightmare.

[davexnet]

Did you try the 32 bit versions of Virtualdub and FFDshow ?

[IAMMADASHELL]

I redid a clean install of the 32 bit versions of ffdshow, virtualdub & all the 32 bit plugins & now it works... for now.
I checked & see I don't have XVID installed. I might have accidentally uninstalled it before & that might be the problem with my not being able to open any .avi files.

Should install it just to be safe? I don't want to clutter my PC with useless stuff if it's not needed.


Last thing, I STILL CAN'T OPEN any .wmv or .asf files

When I open them with VDub, I get a box loading them saying "constructing .asf index block" & then when it finishes, I get a Missing Codec screen.
I have the 32 bit WMV.vdplugin in the plugin folder with the rest, what am i doing wrong?

[davexnet]

You only need to install the Xvid codec if you want to encode with it.
FFDshow does a perfectly good job of decoding those types of video.

Perhaps you have to enable some more decoders in ffdshow codec config
for all the WMV types

[Budman1]

What does the message say exactly when it says codec is missing and what is the MediaInfo for that wmv file. It will help in case it is audio and not VFW video codecs in ffdshow at all that is the problem. Is it WMA audio by chance? Also go to File->File Information and what does the audio and video information shown there say as far as codec?

[IAMMADASHELL]

What does the message say exactly when it says codec is missing and what is the MediaInfo for that wmv file. It will help in case it is audio and not VFW video codecs in ffdshow at all that is the problem. Is it WMA audio by chance? Also go to File->File Information and what does the audio and video information shown there say as far as codec?

In the video stream it says the VCM codec (fourcc): missing codec (WVC1)
Under audio stream it says ACM codec (tag): missing codec (0x0162)