StarDestroyer.Net BBS

What do I need to play .avi files? I downloaded one and it wont play on Windows Media Player which is (obviously) what I've got. So what do I need?

I would guess it's more of a problem with codecs than anything else. I'd recommend either simply looking around for the lastest codecs or using a tool such as AVIcodec.

You might not have the right codec. Open the files properties and see what it says under the details tab.

Ok, thanx guys.

You might also want to poke around for DivX and/or XviD codecs.

When you DO download them, MAKE SURE YOU DO A VIRUS CHECK FIRST!

Try the ffdshow pack from doom9.org.

You can use GSpot to determine what codecs are in that video file (it can detect the video codec and up to three audio streams)

ffdshow (main download site) is capable of decoding MPEG4 and varients thereof. A tip: the 5/23 alpha build seems stable. When you install it, go into the configuration program and enable the tray icon. You can then change settings on the fly when you're playing a video. Automatic quality control is also useful (under the postprocessing option) if your computer isn't fast enough to run all of the filters at once.

Don't use codec packs. They have a nasty tendancy to mess up a computer.

On a related note I still havent found a good program to convert AVIs into VCD compatible MPEGs

Darth Fanboy wrote:On a related note I still havent found a good program to convert AVIs into VCD compatible MPEGs

Use VirtualDub to transcode it. Doom9 has some resources on this, but the site appears to be down at the moment.

phongn wrote:

Darth Fanboy wrote:On a related note I still havent found a good program to convert AVIs into VCD compatible MPEGs

Use VirtualDub to transcode it. Doom9 has some resources on this, but the site appears to be down at the moment.

I also have a Nero plugin that MIGHT be able to do it, but VirtualDub is by far the best bet.

How big of a file would work with that? Ive got some 3-4 minute clips id like done as well as some 15 minute clips.

Darth Fanboy wrote:How big of a file would work with that? Ive got some 3-4 minute clips id like done as well as some 15 minute clips.

It can handle anything. I've reencoded 200MB episodes of MacGyver with it.

That said, VirtualDub (and its descendants NanDub and VirtualDubMod) is not exactly easy to use. Still, it's one of the best solutions.

(There's also AVISynth, but that has no real GUI at all, so that might be a bit hard...)