Convert WMV to ??? with no re-compression

[shulthise]

Hi,

Haven't been here for a while, but I'm sure this is the best place to ask:

I got myself an Archos gadget that would not play certain WMV files because they are "WMV 8". I want to damn device to play the video, but I have these issues:
1. I don't really know exactly what WMV features are not supported, i.e. if I convert the file to "WMV 9" will it keep the "bad" properties that will prevent the device from playing the video ?
The only spec Archos have at their site reads "WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution)"

2. I really don't want to re-compress my entire video collection - this will take time and will again reduce the quality.


My questions are:
1. Is there a way to convert WMV files to other WMV version or other video formats without re-compressing the entire file ? e.g. something that will replace the header but leave the actual video data the same ?

2. Is there a way to remove whatever video properties that prevent me from displaying the video without re-compression ?
and other way around, will converting the WMV to WMV 9 remove the bad properties ?

3. If i have to re-compress then
(a) what is the best format to convert to considering time and quality
(b) what FREE program can I use ?

Thanks

[shulthise]

Can anybody help with this?

If nobody can help with this, can someone refer me to some other web site/forum that will ?

I've searched the web for such info targeted at laymen such as I but couldn't find one.

[Chewy]

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5691ba02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&displaylang=en

microsoft might be the best source for wmv, I'll pass myself

[shulthise]

There's nothing that answers my questions on the Microsoft website.
But thanx.

It's a funny thing how nobody really gets to be an expert on the WMV formats. Especially when there's so much of it on the web and CDs.

Happy New Years everybody

[Chewy]

I guess one of the best analogies would be wma's vs mp3's, why go with a ms format when you can go with a more open universal format like avi's

I see little use of wmv myself

have you looked at super?

I had a few friends that worked forever archiving their music with media player into protected wma's, for one reason or another they started over from scratch and abandoned MS's formats.

[shulthise]

Somethings you should know:

AVI is an MS format - AVI is a container file format.
It can contain the data of lot's of video stream types...

MP3 is a proprietary pattented format! - you don't pay for it when you rip CD because you don't know you should! If you have support for decoding it on your PC (i.e. listening to music) is because MS already payed for it!

WMA is better format than MP3 - speed and quality over size wise!

WMA is supported by just about any so called "mp3 player". (unless the distributer have a thing against Microsoft)

WMA can - but don't have to be DRM protected! mine aren't. It's the same as ripping my CD to MP3.

WMV video format is an MPEG4 video - just like DivX and Xvid

WMV is playable on most state-of-the-art PMP (with the exception of my damn archos who won't play certain "WMV 8" )

DivX is also a proprietary format which you should pay to encode with.

The first DivX codec to make it big with Kazza and Morpheous was actually a hacked Microsoft MPEG4 codec....

So - there's no good reason why anybody will get to be an expert on any mpeg4 format and skip WMV, and same for MP3 and WMA.

[Chewy]

Thomson has stated that individuals using free MP3 encoders are not required to pay fees. Thus while patent fees have been an issue for companies attempting to use MP3, they have not meaningfully impacted users, allowing the format to grow in popularity.

In short, with Thomson, Fraunhofer IIS, Sisvel (and its U.S. subsidiary Audio MPEG), Texas MP3 Technologies, and Alcatel-Lucent all claiming legal control of relevant MP3 patents related to decoders, the legal status of MP3 remains unclear in countries where those patents are valid.

The DivX codec and DivX Player are available for free at the DivX website.

most common avi's are xvid based

[lindagreen28]

I think you'd better find a video converter.

If nobody can help with this, can someone refer me to some other web site/forum that will ?

I've searched the web for such info targeted at laymen such as I but couldn't find one.

I think a video converter which can custom video parameters can help you.
Because you not only can convert WMV to other formats ,but also can adjust WMV video parameters .

See the reviews about all popular video converters.

Share with you.

[judy]

Any Video Converter can convert wmv to wmv with different version. You may have a try

[shulthise]

Thanks you all for trying to help

I feel I didn't come out clear with the issue I'm trying to solve:

WMV8 is an encoded video data + header.
WMV9 is an encoded video data + header.

What I'm asking really is can I move the encoded video data from the WMV8 as is - with no re-encoding it - into a WMV file with the WMV9 header ?

If the answer is Yes then what tool can do this ? All the converters i tried just re-encode the video, which takes forever and re-encode the video for no reason.

Again- thanks for helping



Thanks