unrecognizable format error message

[myxpykalix]

Using the latest version of Tmpg(?) and all I get is this error message "cannot open, or unsupported" when trying to load a a file listed as a file type of "video clip". The stats on the video file are listed as "video clip/avi, 352x240, 21204 frames, 14.985 frames/sec, unknown format. This is a avi file and i'm trying to converrt it to a vcd format so I can play it on my dvd player. Can anyone PLEASE help me figure out what the problem is or recommend a better program to use? Thank you!! Could you please email your answer to me...myxpykalix@hotmail.com

[KingJohn]

Right click the AVI and select Properties, see what Video/audio codec is being used....... Go get the codec

[myxpykalix]

Thanks for your reply BUT- The avi plays plays on my computer ok. I went and got the updated mpeg4 codec and installed it but I get the same error message. I think the problem is that Tmpge does not recognize the video format as described in the original post as "unknown format". and is listed as an avi. I guess I need to find out what program will convert an "unknown format" to one that tmpge will recognize or is there another program that will recognize this "unknown format" and process it? Also when I did get another large file into tmpge to convert (150 megs+) the time it told me it would take to convert it was over 12 hours! Is that reasonable?? THANKS AGAIN...

[KingJohn]

Hi

There are NO files that TMPGEnc will not convert, The only time you get a message saying "unknown format" is when the codec is missing, and it cannot decompress the AVI.

However the codec could be a MS V3 codec, which was locked to prevent anyone using it, then a hacked version became available so you could make AVI's with it, but then....

Well there is a lot more to it, First of all make sure TMPGEnc is set up correctly.

Go to Options > Environment settings
Now select VFAPI plug-in (TAB) Click your right hand mouse on the "DirectShow" and select higher priority, do this a few times until it reaches the top of the list with a value of 4

If you sure you have the codec, then load the AVI into Vdub, select File > File information. This will give you the exact name of the codec used i.e. "Microsoft MPEG-4 V3"

Try the "Nimo codec pack"

unknown format = missing codec

Also when I did get another large file into tmpge to convert (150 megs+) the time it told me it would take to convert it was over 12 hours! Is that reasonable??

You don't say what your CPU is, if its a 486, or Pentium, it sounds about right, but a Pentium 2 or above would be much faster.
150Mb Mpeg 4 v3, would be about 30 minuets with a P4, 1.6

[myxpykalix]

CONTINUED PROBLEM-- I followed your recommendations re: the setup of tmpge and found the nimo codec and installed and it worked!!! However after taking about 4 hours to convert I ended up with a file that went from 143 megs to 627 megs and was all black!! What did I do wrong and how do I correct it? Or is it there but just because I don't have a right codec I can't see it? Should I delete it and start over? THANKS AGAIN>>

[KingJohn]

Ok, well don't let it run for 4 hours, cancel after a minuet or so, and go play the mpeg.

Right, have you loaded the AVI into Vdub ?, does it complain about anything ? It may have bad frames, that need to be removed first, see my other posts.

The mpeg is going to get much bigger, the AVI is highly compressed, much more than a VCD mpeg is. For example a 700Mb AVI in MPEG-4 Slow motion, would produce a VCD mpeg in excess of 1.2Gb

p.s
If you have SMR (Angel portion) installed, un-install it, its full of bugs, then install the Nimo codec pack