Not an AVI?

[gurzot]

I have a p2p downloaded avi video that has defied nearly every attempt to be played. Apparently, the header is corrupt. I have tried literally EVERY tool on this site (DivFix, gspot, vDub, etc.) to no avail. All state that the file is "not an avi". I would give up and chalk it up to another fake avi on p2p, but VideoLan Client (vlc at http://www.videolan.org) plays the file flawlessly. It is the only player or tool that has even recognized a video stream in the file. Unfortunately, vlc does not allow the saving of files.

Any help out there? I need to get this on an SVCD.

[SKD_Tech]

Try opening the file in VirtualDub
Then under "File" select File Information and post a screenshot of that.

[gurzot]

Thanks, SKD_Tech.

Well, actually Virtual Dub does not even get to the point where I can view file information (see attached pic).

I'll grant you that I'm not the most skilled user out there, but I've definitely tried all of the obvious things. What I may have to do is get the source code from the folks at videolan.org and see if I can figure out how they're recognizing the video stream in the file.

Not sure what else to do.

Anyone else wanna take a stab at this? Any other tools out there?

Just to narrow it down, I've tried:

AviChecker
AviFixed 2.0b
AviPreview by aj
AviPreviewC (command-line)
avsync
DivFix 11
DivX Mutator
DivX Repair
gspot
Link2
Restream
TSCV 0.84
YAAI 2.0.1
AVI Fix Joiner 2.11
DivX Fix Joiner 2.23
ASF-AVI-RM-WMV Repair Tool 1.29
AVI Constructor Pack
Blaze Media Convert
Virtual Dub
TMPGenc
VCD Easy
VCDgear
EasyX Video Converter

Whew! As you can see, I've certainly given it the old college try.

[SKD_Tech]

ok try moving the file to your desktop then opening it from there. Might not seem like much but it does help sometimes

[gurzot]

No go. I was pretty skeptical about it, since I've moved the file several times, made several backup copies and sent it to friends to try.

I'll post the first 32 bytes of the file and the last 32 bytes. Perhaps someone could find something there.

first:
0000h: 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 02 00 02 ; .ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ.....
0010h: 00 00 08 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ; ................

last:
317fee40h: FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF ; ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
317fee50h: FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 01 B9 59 61 04 BA ; ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ...¹Ya.º

Still desparately seeking answers........
Gurzot

[SKD_Tech]

Originally posted by gurzot
No go. I was pretty skeptical about it, since I've moved the file several times, made several backup copies and sent it to friends to try.

I'll post the first 32 bytes of the file and the last 32 bytes. Perhaps someone could find something there.

first:
0000h: 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 02 00 02 ; .ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ.....
0010h: 00 00 08 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ; ................

last:
317fee40h: FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF ; ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
317fee50h: FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 00 01 B9 59 61 04 BA ; ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ...¹Ya.º

Still desparately seeking answers........
Gurzot

Sorry I'm not that in depth with such files

[setarip]

Post the first 256 bytes...

[gurzot]

Hi setarip,

I had originally intended to post the first 512 bytes, but there seemed little point. The remainder of the header is filled with 00H (null) bytes. The first 512K bytes, in fact, are relatively devoid of any useful information. So here's what I need: Something like VLC that is capable of extracting the video from a corrupt file. I'm certain that lots of other people have gotten avi's corrupt in the same manner, and have thrown them away assuming that there is no actual video data.

Thanks, and still looking.......

Gurzot

[setarip]

Since you appear to have knowledge regarding the use of a hex editor, just for fun, try copying the header of a valid .AVI file (from 000 through 22C0) to a COPY of your problem file. Although it will probably crash (Do try to play it after you've added the header), you might then be able to successfully apply some of the tools you've mentioned to this bastardized file...