No sound in one avi - trying to fix - help!

[mlee11]

There is a group that rips tv shows that I regularly download from, who's files have always been good, this is the first time I've had a problem.

First off, I'm on a Win XP SP1 box, using WinMediaPlayer 9 to view.

When I try opening the file in Media Player, it wont open, and just gives me and error message "WinMediaPlayer has encountered an unknown error". I clicked on the "Web Help" button, and it gave me the error code which I Googled, but found nothing.

For kicks, I converted the file into an MPG using TMPGEnc, just to see what would happen. (I think this worked for me once before when I had a problem file.) Well, that gave me an mpg where I DO get video, but no audio.

Please understand that I have only the vaguest understanding of all of this - I have learned how to do what I NEED to do, but don't really understand the mechanics and concepts behind the actions.

I tried making a new avi file using VirtualDub, but that didn't work either.

I found a tutorial on the net that talked about taking the audio and uncompressing it into a new PCM WAV file, and then I guess 'putting it back' (??) They kinda lost me. I followed the steps to make the WAV file I think, but I'm not sure a) if I even did it right, or b) what to do with it next!

So I dug around the net some more, and found GSpot.

Here's a link to the screenshot, but basically GSpot said I have multiple compatible codecs, the file length is correct, but it won't render.

http://www.njtoys-n-things.com/shopthisway/Gspot%20Avi.jpg

For kicks, I tried loading the mpg, which WILL render, but again no sound.

Do I try to salvage the mpg? Or the AVI? Whichever one is easier works for me!

I'm hoping someone can tell me what to try next, and how to do it!

I did read the sticky post above, but I don't have a clear enough understanding to go further on my own.

Thanks!

[anonymez]

stick with the avi files. i don't think you need to encode anything, just try this:

download & install the latest version of 'ffdshow' (its free) from http://www.free-codecs.com

then play your file

i recommend you ditch windows media player, and instead use 'media player classic', which is also free, and can be found at the same site

[LT. Columbo]

i've seen another member with this same problem (tag 0055) installing the fraunhofer mpeg 3 codec solved it

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/MPEG_Layer_3_Codec.htm

[mlee11]

Holy cow it worked! *Doing the happy dance* It worked! It Worked!

WHOO HOOOO IT WORKED!!!

Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!!!

You guys ROCK!

Thank you for your quick response, too.

I installed the ffdshow thing, and also used media player classic like you suggested - and BAM, it WORKED! (I'll keep the fraunhofer codec in mind in case I need it later...)

Okay, just so I understand - what exactly IS ffdshow, and how does it "fix" the issue? You don't have to go too deep, I just would like a general knowledge of what it is so I don't feel totally ignorant! LOL

THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!!

[Taelon]

glad to hear it worked for you mlee11

Ripped from the ffdshow project page

ffdshow is DirectShow and VFW codec for decoding/encoding many video and audio formats, including DivX and XviD movies using libavcodec, xvid and other opensourced libraries with a rich set of postprocessing filters.

[anonymez]

no problem mlee11

yup, like what taelon posted, its like a swiss-army knife for video playback

it can play many, many different types of video and audio, takes minimal cpu usage when compared to other decoders, and has settings to further improve picture quality.

i let it play every single type of video on my pc, except for dvd's/hdtv (because it has no hardware acceleration, and takes a lot of cpu). truly one of the best programs ever IMO, and every pc (and especially every htpc) should have it.