Converting Proprietary AVI for editing?

[divx_newbie_05]

Hi: First-time poster. I have a Samsung miniket SC-x105L digital camcorder which stores video in a highly compressed, proprietary AVI format.

The camera comes with Pixela Imagemixer (1.3.0.1e), which is the only editing software that seems to be able to work with this type of AVI. Imagemixer will allow you to export the files in DIV-X or DV format, but there is no way to automate or batch this process that I know of.

Samsung also does provide a standalone codec (without any information) which will allow WMP and other players to play files.

Given that I already have the codec, is there any way to batch-decompress these AVI files to a format that I can use them with other editing software?

Thanks for any guidance! --divx_newbie_05

[anonymez]

which software have you tried with these avi files? any error messages?

in any case, download 'virtualdubmod', open the avi file with it. under 'file', click 'file information'. post all the info you see

[divx_newbie_05]

I downloaded virtualdubmod, and when I try to open a file I get an alert box:

"Couldn't locate decompressor for format 'SEDG' (unknown). VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VFW) compatilbe codec to decompress video. DirectShow codecs, such as those used by Windows Media Player, are not suitable. Only 'Direct stream copy' is available for this video."

I did install Samsung's codec on this box (XPsp2), and the compressed files do play in WMP, so I assume it's a DirectShow Codec? Anyway...

When I select info, it says:

Video stream:
Frame size: 352x240, 29.970 fps (33367 us)
Length: 338 frames (0:11.27)
FourCC Code: FourCC: [SEDG] Unknown
Decompressor: Uncompressed RGB24
Number of keyframes: 68
Min/avg/max/total key frame size: 13150.21040.30716 (1398K)
Min/avg/max/total delta frame size: 3514/10558/18750 (2784K)
Data rate: 3037 kbps (0.19% overhead)

The audio stream data refers to 22.050 kHz, stereo etc. (the audio plays no matter what, so I don't think there's anything special about its compression)

[anonymez]

its samsung's mpeg-4 codec, should work with ffdshow, you just don't have the vfw codec

download & install the latest 'ffdshow' from http://ffdshow.sourceforge.net/tikiw...etting+ffdshow


go start-->program files-->ffdshow-->VFW codec configuration. click the 'decoder' tab. click 'codecs' in the column on the left. find the entry 'other mpeg4', and change it from 'disabled' to 'libavcodec'. do the same for the entry 'DV'.

try opening your file in virtualdub/preferred editing app

[divx_newbie_05]

Hi Anonymez: Thanks for all your help with this. I downloaded and ran ffdshow following your instructions, mapping "other" and "DV" to "libavcodec". I then exited ffdshow and ran virtualdub (1.6.11), but I got the same error trying to open the SEDG AVI file ("VirtualDub requires a Video for Windows (VFW) compatible codec...").

I reopened ffdshow and confirmed the settings...do I need to reboot for it to take effect?

Thanks again!

[anonymez]

no reboot needed,

are you sure you selected "VFW codec configuration" and not the regular "video decoder configuration"?

try also setting divx 3, 4, 5 to libavcodec

[divx_newbie_05]

Also, after running ffdshow, WMP/DIVX-player can't load the Samsung codec, so I get audio but no video now?

I then tried disabling what I had set in ffdshow but I still can't play in WMP.

[anonymez]

i have SEDG (samsung) videos with that fourcc, and ffdshow decodes them just fine, but since its not working for you,

uninstall ffdshow, download the file here & follow instructions http://www.samsung.com/download/File...e=DR&language=

[divx_newbie_05]

no reboot needed,

are you sure you selected "VFW codec configuration" and not the regular "video decoder configuration"?

try also setting divx 3, 4, 5 to libavcodec

Yes, "VFW Configuration" is what I opened.

I also tried setting divx to libavcodec but still no luck.

[divx_newbie_05]

i have SEDG (samsung) videos with that fourcc, and ffdshow decodes them just fine, but since its not working for you,

uninstall ffdshow, download the file here & follow instructions http://www.samsung.com/download/File...e=DR&language=

Hey Anonymez...Let me back up a little bit. All the debugging we've been doing has been on a desktop xp box that never had Pixela Imagemixer installed. All I installed on this machine was the Samsung codec, which was working properly (although the files I found on Samsung's site and installed were slightly different): "20050926094101218_Unified_Decoder_Of_Miniket_0509 21.zip"

I think they're essentially the same set of codecs, however, as the link you pointed me to, and once installed they worked for playback in WMP.

After installing ffdshow, I couldn't play the SEDG AVI in WMP. I uninstalled ffdshow and reinstalled the codec (using the link you provided), and now I _can_ play the AVIs in WMP again.

When I try to open the file in VirtualDub, however, I still get the "VFW" warning and can't open the file.

Sorry for the confusion! Just to be clear, on my laptop, which _does_ have the Samsung version of Imagemixer installed, I _also_ can't import the AVI files into any other app for editing.

[anonymez]

this codec's a b*stard, i guess mine works as its a different model.

found this in a search:

1st and foremost, YOU HAVE TO USE THEIR SOFTWARE (ImageMixer, and don't get it from the pixela.com site as they don't offer the samsung format online!) that came with the camera. You have to import it into the software from the camera, then you have to use the same software's video editing tool, drag the raw avi onto the timeline, then and only then can you save it as a useable avi that can be read in other programs.

in theory though, any mpeg-4 codec capable of decoding the generic stuff should allow you to open samsung mpeg-4 in vdub, eg. the divx codec

install the divx codec if the above doesn't work, (making sure you enable the option to decode generic mpeg4) i'm certain it'll work

as a last resort we'll change the fourCC

[divx_newbie_05]

Yeah...I spoke to "level-2 tech support" at Samsung, and they had a technote that said the same thing...import each clip into ImageMixer and then export as div-x...but with hundred's of clips, it is very tedious to do it that way.

When I started this thread, I was looking for a way to batch-convert the Samsung-native AVIs without having to go through ImageMixer. Samsung TS confirmed that I wasn't the first person to request this. I don't know why Samsung, which probably wrote the codec in the first place, can't provide a simple command-line utility for running each file through their codec and saving it as an uncompressed AVI or standard div-x format AVI.

That's when I posted the question to this forum

Pixela seems to have a customized version of IMageMixer for each camera it's bundled with...but unfortunately they don't even mention a Samsung version on their website (pixela-1.com). The "lite" version that's bundled with the camera is pretty lame, which is why I started this thread.

I guess my real question is this: is there any way, given that the DirectShow codec for this AVI format already exists, to write a simple command-line tool that could read the SEDG AVI, decompress it, and then save it into a standard AVI format?

[anonymez]

did you try the divx codec? see this thread http://www.digitalvideoclub.com/forum/viewtopic.36.html

[divx_newbie_05]

Hey Anon:

Yes, I've had the div-x codec installed all along.

[anonymez]

well, put it down to the stupidity of samsung. if the range of sofware that can accept the original files is limited to just one program, you might have to live with it, or suggest they add batch processing feature through tech support