Whats Best to use when mergeing avi?

[wak10]

hi
can anyone tell me whats best to use when mergeing avi's?
ive used virtual dub but it dont work on avi's with different structures.
can any one point me in the right direction please?
im looking for free software as well.
THANK'S

[rsquirell]

AVI's (and MPEGS) come in varying formats...and there are a scad of varying joiners (many of them freeware...many can be found on this site.) I haven't found any that'll join everything that's out there. If Boilsoft's AVI,MPEG,RM,WMV Joiner doesn't work I'll take it to ULead VideoStudio7 (a storyboard editor I picked up for other purposes)...and if ULead doesn't accept the AVI I'll convert it to MPEG with TMPGenc and take those into VS7...none of this is freeware...and I doubt I'd buy them for joining alone...but they are very useful tools in video.

[WildmanJoe]

Since VirtualDub doesn't accept different files, you could (could only) try to encode these avi files to a higher bitrate mpeg file and then join them using TMPGEnc, then finally encoding the created mpeg file back into avi.

This is a long process but unless you can get the same bitrate for the avi files (audio), there's no other simpler Freeware way.

[rsquirell]

Just pointing out that where there's a will there's way.

[WildmanJoe]

No offence squirrel, just suggesting a method that I used when all else failed... troublesome but it works.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

[wak10]

what about pinnacle studio?
ive been told thats not bad?

[rsquirell]

It has a story board...it should work. As Wildmanjoe pointed out...it may not work with segments with varying bitrates...or accept all AVI files....but that's what you use TMPGenc for....to give them a uniform, recognizable format.

[wak10]

thank's guy's!
youve been of great help.
dont suppose anyone could give me a talk through in instructions how to merge avi with pinnacle studio 8?

[rsquirell]

Import the segments one at a time and place each segment in its storyboard window in sequence. If studio8 refuses ANY file then you have to convert them ALL to MPEG individually in TMPGenc...and then load the MPEGs in sequence.