Latest version of Flaskmpeg will not load

[nebby_]

Heya guys =) I'm new to the DVD-scene

Yeh well, the topic is pretty self explanatory. Flaskmpeg will not load, says something like "abnormal program termination, couldn't execute instruction blah blah at memory blah blah"

I believe I have all the correct codecs installed incl. Divx Pro 5.02
I am running Microsoft Windows XP SP1 for the OS, which my mate uses and runs the program fine.

If anyone has any suggestions then please tell me

look forward to hearing from ya's =)

adios.

[Hansiman]

Do you by any chance have a Intel processor ?? Cause the default IDCT is Athlon 3dnow ! Those routines are not supported by an Intel processor. You could try backing up the amd2.idct.flask to a subdir and retry Flask07.

Seeya,
Hans.

[nebby_]

Negative. I am running an AMD Athlon XP 2200+ chip

[mnfesq]

I can solve this one because it has happened to me many times. Go into the program file -- In the directory called settings, there is a single file. Delete it and Flask will open for you. Don't worry about the file you deleted because a new one will be created from the settings you select. This seems to happen when the program crashes. After that, unless you delete the settings file, the program doesn't open. Hope this works for you.

[Big Jake]

I know this is an old post, but I have the same problem and the solution offered won't help. I was excited when I first read the post, but my problem Dialog box appears when I try to launch the executable, and I get the error message before anything installs, so I have no Program File entries for Flask.
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By way of background, I have been using FlaskMPEG 6 preview to successfully convert VOBs to AVIs. I uninstalled FlaskMPEG 6 and tried to install FlaskMPEG 078-39 and get a dialog box titled "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library". The dialog box contains the path to the Flask executable, and the message "abnormal program termination"

I have Googled for this and found several references to the problem but no solutions. There was one German site that I think said "go muck around the registry and see if your can fix the problem" but I'm not that brave.

I have searched this forum and this is the only reference to the problem I've found. Can anyone offer a solution?

Thanks

Jake

[UncasMS]

big jake

do yourself a favour and use something decent but stay away from flask!

take a look at StaxRip for example

[anonymez]

flask is extremely slow & horribly outdated. as uncas said, try something newer and more robust, such as staxrip or gordian knot.

[MaximRecoil]

There is nothing wrong with FlaskMPEG. It doesn't seem to have been developed in quite a while, but the latest version that I know of, 0.78.39, works pretty good with minimal effort. I still have the first encode I ever did, which is dated November 06, 2002, and it was done with version 0.78.39 when it first came out, because that was the first program I stumbled across when trying to find out how to turn a DVD into an AVI.

Some of the things it did automatically without me having an understanding at the time:

- IVTC (29.97 FPS NTSC Video ---> 23.976 FPS Film)
- Auto crop (not extremely precise, as there are narrow black borders around it still, but not bad)
- Auto resize (it selected 544x304, which is a good, clean, divisible by 16 resolution for a 16:9 video file, and particularly well-suited for the 938 kbps bitrate)
- Fit it to a 650 MB CD (came out to 651 MB actually)

Oh, and it took less than two hours (about a 90 minute video file). I was particularly surprised at how fast it went considering I had heard stories of encoding a DVD to an AVI taking all night before I ever tried it. The file plays fine, seeks fine, has the type of image quality that you would expect from its bitrate, no trace of interlacing artifacts due to the IVTC that it did automatically, no jerkiness from poor IVTC'ing either, like you would get from VirtualDub's IVTC methods (which is why no one uses the IVTC function of VirtualDub). So what is the problem?

It is unfair to compare FlaskMPEG to StaxRip or Gordian Knot, since those programs don't do anything at all. They are simply big GUIs that [semi] automate a number of separate programs from other people to get the job done. So you are really comparing an all-in-one program to DGIndex + DGDecode.dll + AviSynth + VirtualDub + BeSweet + whatever else they are throwing in there these days. Why bother with them at all? Just use each program by yourself, i.e. decrypt with whatever, run the VOBs through DGIndex, load the .d2v into Vdub via AviSynth (applying whatever filters you want in AviSynth), select your compression for video and audio in VDub and let it run.

[anonymez]

flask may have been good for its time (though not imo), and completely free. but would you recommend somebody to install windows 95?

Oh, and it took less than two hours

depends on length/system/codec/output res, etc. but i wouldn't call the quality acceptable unless encoded at a fixed low quant. at less than 2 hours you'd probably get nothing more than coloured macroblocks!

So you are really comparing an all-in-one program to DGIndex + DGDecode.dll + AviSynth + VirtualDub + BeSweet + whatever else they are throwing in there these days. Why bother with them at all?

because they're the best tools available-- GUI's like GK and staxrip make them more user-friendly. most newbies aren't familiar with avisynth

[MaximRecoil]

flask may have been good for its time (though not imo), and completely free. but would you recommend somebody to install windows 95?

That isn't a very good analogy. Windows 95, or any OS performs a far more critical function than software to encode a video does. For example, using Windows 95 will affect your whole computer in areas such as security, resource usage and compatibility with current software applications. Using an old video encoding program only affects the final video file, which either works and looks decent or it doesn't. FlaskMPEG is fully capable of outputting a video file that both works and looks decent.

depends on length/system/codec/output res, etc. but i wouldn't call the quality acceptable unless encoded at a fixed low quant. at less than 2 hours you'd probably get nothing more than coloured macroblocks!

I already stated that my encode with FlaskMPEG looked fine. I wouldn't still have it if it was nothing but colored macroblocks. It is about a 90 minute file, using the current version of DivX for late 2002 (DivX 5.0.2 if I remember right) with a file size of 651 MB giving a bitrate of around 900 kbps (128 kbps MP3 audio). It looks decent for what it is, and macroblocks are not an issue. I can post a clip of it if it isn't against the rules.

because they're the best tools available-- GUI's like GK and staxrip make them more user-friendly. most newbies aren't familiar with avisynth

I agree. I do encodes with DGIndex + DGDecode.dll + AviSynth + VirtualDub, and have for quite a long time. I don't care for the big GUI's that semi-automates things, because I find them cumbersome. But, if someone is already familiar with FlaskMPEG and is satisfied with its results (which are not bad at all with the latest version), and they have a problem like in this thread, why criticize their choice of software rather than just offering help with what they are already using?

I think a lot of the derision directed at Flask stems from the infamous old 0594 version, which tended to get aspect ratios wrong and did not IVTC, leaving the interlaced frames in there which stick out like a sore thumb on an AVI encode, and also gives you less quality for your file size due to there being about 6 extra redundant frames per second (29.97 FPS vs 23.976 FPS). They fixed both problems in their latest release but the naysayers never seemed to notice.

[anonymez]

FlaskMPEG is fully capable of outputting a video file that both works and looks decent.

never said it couldn't output a decent file, but it doesn't do the job particularly well when compared to newer and apps still in development

It looks decent for what it is, and macroblocks are not an issue

picture quality is very much subjective. but imo a clip at 544x304, especially when viewed on a pc monitor (at least 1024x768, but 1280x1024 is common) is resized to almost twice the res. major macroblocking/blur, no matter high the bitrate, let alone ~900kbps at low motion search.

But, if someone is already familiar with FlaskMPEG and is satisfied with its results (which are not bad at all with the latest version), and they have a problem like in this thread, why criticize their choice of software rather than just offering help with what they are already using?

flask is no longer in development, so no more bugfixes/optimizations, not many users, no new features that have been implemented in other apps, etc. the best help we can give them is pointing them to something better-- to make it even easier on them, there are simple step-by-step guides. then there are one-click apps like AGK

That isn't a very good analogy

you got me there

[MaximRecoil]

picture quality is very much subjective. but imo a clip at 544x304, especially when viewed on a pc monitor (at least 1024x768, but 1280x1024 is common) is resized to almost twice the res. major macroblocking/blur, no matter high the bitrate, let alone ~900kbps at low motion search.

That isn't the fault of the video file. I hate the effects of stretching on anything, and watch all my video files at a 640x480 desktop resolution with no stretching on the video. I have a shortcut in Quick Launch to quickly change the resolution to 640x480 in fact, specifically for watching video files. That way you get full screen or close to it with no stretching.

Either way, that is the nature of the file. It is still a 544x304 @ ~900 kbps AVI and regardless of what applications were involved in its encoding, it isn't going to blow anyone away.

[Zettu_Nebo]

Something Installed

When I install winxp pro sp2 or any other version of windows, Flask 078_39 worked fine, after a long while when i had a lot of apps installed games, and other sorts of stuff, there came a time to rip a dvd to avi so i called upon Flask and Got an Error and I quote "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library" <-- This is due to something at one point in time being installed but when you have a lot of apps who knows which one set it off? This Version of Flask is the Ultimate Best I dont care who says its outdated,, We Need to Find a Solution!

[Sarah-D]

I have the same problem with Flask 078_39 - it worked fine then one day i got the MS vis C++ RT error. I've tried Xmpg (which is ok most of the time but can do some ridiculous hiccups), and XIS (which cannot deinterlace), I even tried the ohso cumbersome StaxRip which does eventually get the job done but not without a fight - it does it's best to make a pointles MKV even when you've selected avi a dozen times - and what a rigmarole, Stax is just an interface for a dozen or so other apps whereas Flask is one program that does all you need.

Can anyone answer the original question but for 78.39 regarding the runtime error?

big thanks if you can HELP

sarah

[sscanlon456]

Problem Solved

Hey all. 1st Post!

I Figured out the solution to the problem, i think.

You DO Need to delete a file as a previous poster said. If you are using version 06 and lower, it will be in a folder called settings and will be called something like AVIIOUTPUT.SETTINGS.FLASK.

If you are using the newest version, there is a file in the Unzipped download called AVIOUT.CM

DELETE it and your good to go//


sscanlon456