New to AviSynth+, getting error that file "does not have a video stream".

[matyas]

Hi,
I'd like to ask for help. Like some of yourselves, I wish to use VirtualDub and AviSynth+ to enhance clips from old 8mm films. But after several days, and several hours of frustration, I feel no closer to the goal as I cannot achieve the simplest task: getting the scripts to open an AVI file. I am usually good at following Tutorials and don't know what I have done wrong.

First I saw Rob Mausser's video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TrLaDHu-M4] and tried closely to replicate his steps. I installed VirtualDub2 and AviSynth+ from the links in his notes. All on Windows 10, all 64 bit. I thought maybe the problem is I have spaces in the clip name/folder names so I tries substiuting with _ where the spaces are; no luck.

I dug some more and then I have seen Fred's excellent video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbZewfz-SA] so I thought, maybe I have installed AviSynth+ wrong, because Fred mentions the Universal Avisynth Installer. I uninstalled the AviSynth+ I had, checked that the entries were gone from the registry, then re-installed using the Installer. Some things have changed since he posted that: setavs.bat is now setavs.cmd, and AviSynth+ x86 is now Option 5 rather than 6, but I noticed this and proceeded accordingly.

And yet, all I get, despite all this, even the very simple one Fred proposes as a first AviSynth exercise [AVISource("C:\Film Clips\beachtest.avi")] is an error that my avs file "does not have a video stream". See screens below. The clips are fine in MediaPlayer, and I have tried more than one clip from more than one source.

Please help. What am I doing wrong?
Thank you.

[Attachment 70895 - Click to enlarge]

[Attachment 70896 - Click to enlarge]

[jagabo]

Post a MediaInfo report (Text mode) of your AVI source video.

[matyas]

Hi, does this work? I'm not sure why it is showing 'audio' data, the clip is mute.

[jagabo]

So you have type 1 DV AVI file -- DV encoded video in an AVI container without a separate audio stream (the video stream includes the audio). I didn't realize that MediaInfo would report audio for a type 1 DV AVI -- but it does, I just checked one here. I had no problem opening a type 1 DV AVI in VirtualDub64 here. Can you play the video? With which player? Can you open the video with AviDemux? Do you have a DV codec installed?

Another thing you can try is to open the video using a different source filter. In the Open Video File dialog there's a "Files of type" pulldown near the bottom where you can specify a particular source filter. Try "FFMpeg : video".

[matyas]

Aha! Interesting discovery. Taking your questions in (almost) reverse order:
* Yes, I was able to open that same file in VirtualDub2 with FFMpeg : Video
* I have DV-Codec Cedocida 0.2.3 installed
* I can play that video with MediaPlayer Classic or VLC
* BUT.... It will not open in AviDemux. What could this mean?

[davexnet]

Try DVdate
https://paulglagla.com/en/dvdate-2/

[jagabo]

* Yes, I was able to open that same file in VirtualDub2 with FFMpeg : Video
* I have DV-Codec Cedocida 0.2.3 installed
* I can play that video with MediaPlayer Classic or VLC
* BUT.... It will not open in AviDemux. What could this mean?

With the AVI source filter: 32 bit VirtualDub2 will require a 32 bit DV decoder, 64 Bit VirtualDub2 will require a 64 bit DV decoder. Make sure you have the right version of Cedocida (or both). Though if this was the problem you would probably get a "no decoder..." error.

I can't open the type 1 DV AVI I have here in AviDemux either. Viewing the video with a hex editor I see an "iavs" (a four letter label that identifies the data that follows) chunk where Type 2 DV AVI files have a "vids" chunk. I'm guessing "iavs" stands for something like "interleaved audio video stream". The stream of data that comes from a DV camcorder includes both audio and video. Type 1 DV AVI files store that combined data as a singled stream in the AVI file, marked as a video stream. Type 2 DV AVI files store the combined data as a video stream, but also make a copy of the audio data and save it as explicitly as an audio stream within the AVI file.

Anyway, It looks like some programs have problems with iavs chunks. If I remux it with ffmpeg I get an AVI file that will open:

ffmpeg -i "input.avi" -c copy "output.avi"

The iavs stream has become a vids stream.

[matyas]

Ok, let me see if I understand: you mean that rather than me installing a Plugin or something incorrectly, it may be that the scripts can only run on certain types of AVI files, and there is something wrong or weird about the AVI files I am trying to open, and this is what is causing the "does not have a video stream" error?

I have mp4 clips with a 2048 x 1535, and some with 1440 x 1080.

I generated a new avi file using convert/save in VLC, still will not open with these scripts in VirtualDub2.

I opened the mp4 in Avidemux, tried to save as avi using DV FFMpeg for video output, Output format, AVI Muxer, but this would not save: error message DV only supports 720*576*25fps and 720*480*29.97

So instead I processed as shown below in the screen cap. Now I have an all new avi with different qualities but... still will not open in these scripts in VirtualDub2

Sorry if these are silly questions, I am truly a newbie and when I first looked into this it seemed simple - open avi, run script, save. Now I am getting more and more confused about what I need to do to simply do what others have done successfully.

[jagabo]

Ok, let me see if I understand: you mean that rather than me installing a Plugin or something incorrectly, it may be that the scripts can only run on certain types of AVI files, and there is something wrong or weird about the AVI files I am trying to open, and this is what is causing the "does not have a video stream" error?

Yes.

error message DV only supports 720*576*25fps and 720*480*29.97

That is correct. HDV supports 1440x1080 and 1920x1080 but uses MPEG 2 compression rather than DV compression.

So instead I processed as shown below in the screen cap. Now I have an all new avi with different qualities but... still will not open in these scripts in VirtualDub2

AviDemux uses its own built in codecs. AviSource() in AviSynth uses system installed VFW decoders -- which apparently you don't have for the FFV1 codec. So you need to install one. Or use a different source filter in AviSynth. ffMpegSource and LSMASH have build int decoders for FFV1. But you'll have to download and install them (copy he DLL files into AviSynth's plugins folder(s).

http://avisynth.nl/index.php/FFmpegSource
http://avisynth.nl/index.php/LSMASHSource

Your simple AVISource script would then look like:

ffVideoSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtest.avi")

or

LWlibavVideoSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtest.avi")

Note those do not include the audio. If you need the audio too you need something like:

a = LWlibavAudioSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtest.avi") # get the audio
v = LWlibavVideoSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtest.avi") # get the video
AudioDub(v,a) # join the audio and video together into one A/V stream

The partial script you show in your first post doesn't show where the file is being opened. It just shows the line where the file name variable "file" is being set. Presumably later in the script is the AviSource() that uses that variable to open the file.

[matyas]

Wow.. Ok, thanks, this gives me a lot to think about. At first I was so sure I had simply unpacked/installed something in the wrong place, and that was why the file 'did not have a video stream', it never occurred to me that quality or variety of AVIs may be an issue. I will try your suggestions above and report back.

[matyas]

Ok, some progress. I definitely have some AVI file with "issues", but that is a separate problem and not a huge one.

I reinstalled AviSynth Plus along with all the other goodies included in AMVpack [https://www.amv101.com/software/amvpack] I think maybe part of my problem was, doing it piecemeal I was not sure where to put some dlls, plugins etc.

Now in VirtualDub 1 I have successfully run some 32 filters like Infognition Film Dirt Cleaner and MSU Old Color restoration. And in VirtualDub 2 I have finally succeded in opening my test AVI with the most basic of scripts: [AviSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtestvlc.avi")]

But I have a new problem, when trying to run some of the scripts showcased in that video by Rob Mausser [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TrLaDHu-M4] I run in VirtualDub2 and this one just shuts down, ie. VirtualDub2 vanishes. It doesn't crash my computer or anything, the program just shuts down.

What can cause this behavior? I set the Cores and Threads to match my PC and the path for the avi is correct and all the plugins are there, in a plugins64 folder in the same directory as the .avs and the clip. I added the .avs contents (2. autolevels and HDR x64.avs) to this post below.




AviSource("C:\Film Clips\beachtestvlc.avi")


Import("plugins64\contrastmask.avs")
Import("plugins64\lce.avs")
Import("plugins64\highlimit.avs")
Import("plugins64\autocontrast.avs")
Loadplugin("plugins64\FFT3dGPU.dll")
Loadplugin("plugins64\fft3dfilter.dll")
Loadplugin("plugins64\plugins64\AutoAdjust.dll")

SetFilterMTMode("DEFAULT_MT_MODE", 2)
#SetFilterMTMode("AviSource", 3)

cores=2 #Change to the number of cores and threads you have
threads=4 #Change to the number of cores and threads you have


#Contrast and Gamma

AutoAdjust(auto_gain=true,gain_mode=0, dark_limit=1.5, bright_limit=1.5, gamma_limit=1.1, temporal_radius=30, use_interp=true,use_dither=true, avg_safety=0.0, chroma_process=0, high_quality=true,high_bitdepth=false,threads_coun t=8)


#Levelling and Color Balance


AutoAdjust(auto_gain=true,gain_mode=1, dark_limit=10.0, bright_limit=4.0, gamma_limit= 1.0, temporal_radius=30,auto_balance=true, chroma_process=100, avg_safety=0.0, chroma_limit=1.6, balance_str=1.0,use_interp=true,use_dither=true, high_quality=true,high_bitdepth=false,threads_coun t=8)



ContrastMask(enhance=2)

HighlightLimiter(gblur=300, gradient=true, threshold=110, amount=50, softlimit=false, method=2)

# Enable MT!
Prefetch(8) #Change to the number of cores and threads you have

[jagabo]

I don't know what's causing the problem there. But you can use the basic debugging technique of reducing your script to something minimal that does work. Then add a line or two at a time until you find what is causing the problem.

Or from the other end, remove a few lines at the end until the problem stops occurring...