How can I tell what codec was used to create this AVI ?

[Rooster6975]

I have an AVI file which works fine. The sound is synched, the video is smooth, and it will play in MicroDVD and Windows Media Player without difficulty.

However, when I open it up with GSpot, all the fields are blank. In all video fields, and all audio fields, it simply says "n.a." There is equally an error message in Gspot, "Not a valid AVI file : Bad Header"

If I try to open it with Nandub, I get "Could not determine file type"

When I look in the properties window of XP, it usually has a lot of information about the AVI file, but in this case, it says "Summary Properties are unavailable for the selected source".

Any ideas how I can figure out what codecs were used in the creation of this AVI? The reason I am asking, is that I have a second AVI which has the same problem. However, it is too big to fit on a single CD, so I wanted to re-encode the audio into OGG or a lower bitrate of MP3. However, none of my tools can open the file! It too plays perfectly. I don't understand it. I am starting to think I am missing a key codec if I now have 2 films which play perfectly, but cannot be edited in Nandub.

I am running XP SP1, and have the Nimo codec pack installed.

Thanks,
Rooster.

[khp]

My guess is that it's not really an avi file. It's probably either an XCD dat file, an ogg file or Mpeg-2 file. Which your DirectShow filters allows your player to decode.

You should be able to use GraphEdit to open the file.

Open GraphEdit and drag the file onto the window. This will make GraphEdit construct a filtergraph for playback. You can then change this graph to do whatever you like.

[Rooster6975]

Wow! Cool tool, can you explain what I am looking at?

It worked. I dragged and dropped it onto Graph Edit and it popped up a bunch of boxes. Can you help me decypher a few of the entries?

Here is what it is telling me :

Movie.avi --> Ogg Splitter --> [Video] DivxAntiFreeze --> [XFormIn] DivX Decoder Filter [XFormOut] ---> [XFormIn] DivXG400 [XFormOut] --> VMR Input Video Renderer

after the Ogg Splitter box, the second path is the [audio]

Ogg Vorbis Packets Vorbis Decoder [PCM Audio] --> Morgan Stream Switcher --> [Audio Input Pin (rendered)] Default DirectSound Device

OK, so obviously it has OGG audio. What is the DivXG400 entry? I know that it gets launched when I use VirtualDub, I have seen it in the task bar. And in the audio, what is the morgan stream switcher? I know that I can access it by going to the DivXG400 icon in the task bar, and it allows me to switch audio, but why is it coming up in Graph Edit?

It looks like it is DivX video, however if it was normal DivX, wouldn't it be detected as such by GSpot?

Finally, can you point me to a guide on how to use Graph Edit? It looks like a very useful tool, but I am a little lost.

Thanks,
Rooster.

[khp]

Re: Wow! Cool tool, can you explain what I am looking at?

Originally posted by Rooster6975
OK, so obviously it has OGG audio.

Not only does it have ogg audio, it's an ogg file, often referred to as ogm, when both audio and video is muxed in to an ogg file.

Originally posted by Rooster6975

What is the DivXG400 entry?

That would be the DivxG400 playback filter. Unless you have a G400 you really should uninstall this.

Originally posted by Rooster6975

but why is it coming up in Graph Edit?

Because you installed it and it wants to be used , it probably also loads when you load a divx file into wmp.

Originally posted by Rooster6975

It looks like it is DivX video, however if it was normal DivX, wouldn't it be detected as such by GSpot?

This is a perfectly normal divx video. But because divx is not a fileformat, it must be stored in a container file. Most people like the avi fileformat (I think this is what you mean by a normal divx file). This file is not an avi file, it's an ogg file (I prefer using the ogm extension for such files). GSpot only works with avi files. But that does not make the ogm file a lesser divx file than an avi file.

Originally posted by Rooster6975

Finally, can you point me to a guide on how to use Graph Edit? It looks like a very useful tool, but I am a little lost.

I posted a graph for converting divx ogm files to divx+mp3 avi files here

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9267

[Rooster6975]

OK! now how do I save an edited AVI ?

I edited the second AVI file I had earlier in Graph Edit. I have chagned the audio type to MP3. When I play it in Graph Edit, the ActiveMovie window comes up and it looks and sounds fine.

Now what do I do? How do I save the new format so that the movie has MP3 audio? I saved it as a GRF file, so now I can reopen the new paths I saved, but now what?

It was previously listed as MPEG audio. Now it is listed as MPEG layer 3. However at no point was there ever a "Do you want to save your new AVI?" or something like that. Other than to show my what was in the original file, how can I use Graph Edit to actually change the codec within a movie file?

I want to save the whole thing as an AVI so that it is editable in Nandub.

Thanks,
Rooster

[khp]

When you construct a filter graph like the one I suggested in the other thread. You set the output filename when you add the file writer filter, using the add filter function (see attachment). you then start the conversion by pressing the play button.

[Rooster6975]

OK, I am getting there....

Thanks for the help so far.

I now have my input AVI (it's a different one that what I started this posting with). It goes into an MPEG-l Stream Splitter and gets split into MPEG audio and MPEG video.

The video is going directly into the AVI Mux and then into the File Writer Filter.

The audio is confusing me. I want to make it MP3 audio. In order to do that, I have added the MPEG Layer 3 filter, then Graph Edit added the MPEG Layer-3 decoder. Graph Edit imposed upon me the Morgan Stream Switcher as the next step, followed by the InterVideo Audio Decoder, and a second trip to the Morgan Stream Switcher. Finally, it allowed me to connect it to the AVI mux which was already connected to the output AVI.

If I try to delete both Morgan boxes, and the Intervideo Audio decoder, Graph Edit disconnects the audio stream. I then try to go directly from the MPEG Audio, into the MPEG Layer 3 filter, and it rewrites the above chain, imposing both Morgan switchers and the InterVideo Audio decoder.

I don't believe my output will be what I want (which is MP3 audio). Just to see what would happen, I have pushed play, and it is busy doing something (what I have no idea). Is there a status bar indicator in Graph Edit?

Thanks for all the answers thus far,
Rooster

[khp]

Re: OK, I am getting there....

Originally posted by Rooster6975

I now have my input AVI (it's a different one that what I started this posting with). It goes into an MPEG-l Stream Splitter and gets split into MPEG audio and MPEG video.

Then it's probably an mpeg-1 file. Try renameing from *.avi to *.mpg, load it into virtualdub and have your way with it .

Originally posted by Rooster6975

The audio is confusing me. I want to make it MP3 audio. In order to do that, I have added the MPEG Layer 3 filter, then Graph Edit added the MPEG Layer-3 decoder. Graph Edit imposed upon me the Morgan Stream Switcher as the next step, followed by the InterVideo Audio Decoder, and a second trip to the Morgan Stream Switcher. Finally, it allowed me to connect it to the AVI mux which was already connected to the output AVI.

The source audio is probably mp3 already.

Originally posted by Rooster6975

Is there a status bar indicator in Graph Edit?

Yes there should be a progress bar near the top of the window.

[Rooster6975]

Yes, you are correct, it's an MPEG-1

As soon as I renamed it to .MPG, I could open it up and edit it to my hearts content in VirtualDub.

Thanks for all the info. Do you know if there is a detailed guide to using Graph Edit somewhere? I have searched briefly for one but have yet to find a good guide as of yet.

File Information in VirtualDub tells me it is an MP2 audio stream. Wow, MPEG-1 video and MP2 audio. No wonder I had difficulty with it. I will play around with Graph Edit and change the format to DivX502 and Ogg audio.

Cheers,
Rooster.

[khp]

Re: Yes, you are correct, it's an MPEG-1

Originally posted by Rooster6975

Thanks for all the info. Do you know if there is a detailed guide to using Graph Edit somewhere? I have searched briefly for one but have yet to find a good guide as of yet.

For general GraphEdit documentation I would look in the help menu in GraphEdit (I'am at work atm so I can't check if this is bad advice sorry), other than that there are a couple of guides at the divx-digest that uses GraphEdit for various purposes.

Originally posted by Rooster6975
I will play around with Graph Edit and change the format to DivX502 and Ogg audio.

If you do that make sure to save it in the ogg file format. Using ogg audio in avi files is an abnormation.

[Rooster6975]

Yes, good point. I had that experience with Ogg....

It's more to try it out than anything else. I converted an AC3 stream into OGG and used VirtualDub to mux it in. However, I had that much-reported problem about using the slider bar and the audio being totally off. As long as you don't touch it, it's fine.

I'll see if I can convert both the video and the audio and put them both in the OGM container.

I read the help file the very first time you mentioned using Graph Edit. It was very limited, more of a "this feature does exactly this" type of help file rather than an overview. As an example, it does not once say I need to add the File Writer Filter in order to get any saved output. I have done a search on the DivX-Digest site for Graph Edit. There are a few articles which deal with specific features of it, but there is no "Conversion with Graph Edit" articles.

I'll keep searching.

BTW, you should respond to this post, you have one more to go to get to 1500.

Thanks for your help,
Rooster.