[Spider0042]

So, Tazuto is having problems with converting his source videos to avi so that he can edit them.

Rather then spamming the chatter, if you (Tazuto) would like help, please post here to say YES, and we can try to help you.


EDIT: oh, if you meant that you can convert it but that opening converted avi crashes things, that would be different. Is that the case, or is is that it crashes before converting?

First questions that might be useful:

What OS are you using Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7? (I assume windows because you use 'super c'.)
You said that you can't play one of the files in QuickTime. Is Quicktime what you normally use to watch any videos on your computer?
If you cannot play the videos you want to convert, that could be a problem. (ignoring 'super c' for now) Do you use the CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.net/)?
Do you have any other 'codec packs' installed? If you don't know what that is then we can ignore it.

The CCCP is a very easy way to install all the stuff you need to play many different video files. It can let you play your videos in Windows Media Player, or you can use the video player that comes with it, which is called Media Player Classic. I highly recommend using it. If you cannot play most video files, or don't care much about what you've done to get some of them working, then you can download and run the 'Insurgent' first and it will remove things that might cause problems for the CCCP. (Doing so is optional, if CCCP works ok after you install it.)


About Super C
***** You said you are using 'Super C' for video conversion, and that it is crashing when you open any file with it. I am not yet familiar with the software, and I do things differently; however, I CAN say from reading the site, that IF you have the 'DirectShow Decode' option checked, then you need to have ffdshow and Haali installed. If you did not install these, then maybe installing them will help Super C not crash You can very easily install these by installing the CCCP, which you can get for free at the link above. That would be easier then finding them and installing them separately. (If you want to install them separately, read through the Super C site here http://www.erightsoft.com/S6Kg1.html OR, it might be slightly easier to go to http://x264.nl and get Haali and ffdshow.) CCCP is my recommendation.

Try running Super C with and without the 'DirectShow Decode' option, maybe one way will help? Again, I have never used this software, but I can also tell you how to do convert some videos without, it if you would like. But if you want to use it I don't know how much help I can be. First step to fixing it maybe to make sure your computer can play the videos you want to convert.

-----

I'd rather not waste time if you do not want help, or if you can't provide details or answers to these questions. I don't mind helping, but you'll need to provide more information because its useless for me to waste time guessing what might help.

With that said, post here if you want help or have questions. If you need it simplified, or need anything explained in detail, or have questions about what I've said, just ask. --- If you don't want help, just let the thread die. (I am going to avoid responding in the future unless you post here in this thread.)

[Ranma]

i said it before - i'll say it again - AlltoAvi - apparently it fixed whatever problem you had last time just from installing it - but that what i use for my converting and have very few problems with it - only problem i've had is if a file won't convert the HD way properly then i just use the regular convert - it may botch the qulaity but at least then you will beable to still use the converted content.


but it happens rarely with me but it does happen...just seems to depend on the file

[Zarxrax]

Well, I can tell you right away that the "Super" software is a piece of crap that breaks lots of video-related things on people's computers, so if its installed, then its honestly no wonder that things aren't working right.

Everyone should stay far away from that software.

[Spider0042]

"if it isnt one problem its another, now i cant download videos from youtube with realplayer T.T "

Well, while briefly looking up k-lite (to see how old it was), I happened to notice: if you've installed the "Mega" version, this could very well be your realmedia problem:


Mega
Same as Full, plus:
* Includes Real Alternative.
* Includes a few extra ACM and VFW codecs.
* Includes a few extra DirectShow filters

Oh, and if its older then this version, you might want to download the latest version because:


Changelog 5.4.4 to 5.5.0 ~ 2009-12-10
* Fixed an issue with the detection of RealPlayer that could lead to a broken RealPlayer installation

If you are using this 'mega' version, maybe uninstall and re-install instead the 'Full' version.
Or, if there are options in the installer get rid of those. If that doesn't work, maybe re-install realmedia. *shrugs* could also be an encoder issue.

If I ever used k-lite it might have been around the time of nimo's codec packs, some of it looks reasonably up to date, but I can't say if it's broken or not, but I'd recommend the CCCP over this k-lite stuff.

It sounds like you are semi-close to doing what you want now, so I won't list recommended steps to purge everything and start fresh...

my 1cent

[Tazuto]

Super is the easiest program i know how to use, and realplayer is the only way i know how to download my audio and video, those 2 programs are my main resources, i re installed realplayer so when i get home ill be able to see if i can download again and test Super again and if they both work ill be operational again >>


it would be simpler if i could reset everything on my computer but i dont have any back up file of all my stuff, and i have years worth of random **** on there -.-

[Spider0042]

Ah, well by purge everything I meant to remove all the video decoder/encoder packs etc and then start fresh as a way to get rid of problems and see if it would fix things. Idealy as long as things weren't really messed up then I wouldn't really recommend reinstalling Windows.

Hopefully, reinstalling real media works. If not, as mentioned, if you are using the 'Mega' version of k-lite, I'd remove that and install the newest 'Full' version and see if that works, then if not, again try to reinstall real media and cross your fingers. :p I'm guessing this is the site for downloading k-lite Full (http://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm).

If it still doesn't work, and you still need Super and RealMedia, you can uninstall all the stuff and re-install but use CCCP instead of k-lite. If Super seems to be working, maybe don't remove that unless it's a last resort as I have no clue about any quirky fixes that you'd need to keep that software happy.

[Tazuto]

real media does not let me download videos, and i just tried super again, and im back to problem one.......super crashes

what i dont understand is why its doing this all of the sudden, its been working fine for like a year now it doesnt make sense

[Tazuto]

**** it, im uninstalling everything that has to do with video downloading and converting, then re install realplayer and super and go from there

[Spider0042]

Was adding this to the last post, but didn't do it before you responded:
In short, it means that I don't know how Real Media Player downloads the YouTube videos, but theres a chance that YouTube has changed stuff again and that the fact that you can't download videos might not be due to something you did.

I'll be back on in a few hours if you have any questions or might want tips on cleaning things up. Maybe before doing anything else, make sure Real Media can still save youtube files. Remove everything as you planned. Then just install Real Media and see if it can download files. I don't know how it does it so I don't know if it depends on that Real media alternative or other codec packs, but it would be good to make sure Real Media works by itself so you know if other stuff is breaking it, or if it just doesn't work anyway.

Sidenote: I used to manually capture traffic and then read the xml files and use the tokens to save the flv files (since that works quite well for flash players like last fm, and other random sample/video sites). But, youtube changes things around from time to time, so you have to re-evaluate how the process works. That, and sometimes you can just grab the flash files from the temp directory (maybe with the help of an 'unlocker' if the file is locked). Though, since then these other services have done the scripting for you so it's sometimes more convenient to use them, but sometimes they break. It's possible that depending on what real media is using to play youtube files (if not an api that stays backwards compatible? does one exist?), that it not being able to download YouTube videos might have nothing to do with what you've done, and you may have to wait, or use another tool. Of course, I don't really recommend using YouTube as a source, but figure its worth fixing either way.

[Tazuto]

no its not youtube its my computer, ive always been able to download from youtube even through all the changes theyve done before

[Spider0042]

Any luck?

It could be that Super doesn't support the newer format that the Real Media player is saving the YouTube files in. Does the RealMediaPlayer save as flv files directly from YouTube or does it convert them to something else, like .rm? (important question)

Basically, there's a chance that some of the YouTube files you are getting are in a new format version that Super does not understand, and that is what is causing it to crash. This time when it crashes is it crashing on the same file that it once used to work with? Or, is it crashing with some files but not others? That might help you figure out if it's a newer encoding that Super just doesn't understand, or if it is something changing with your k-lite codecs or when you restart that is causing trouble OR because Super is just really buggy.

You could try removing k-lite and try Super with CCCP and see if that helps. If it doesn't help, then you might give up on Super because it doesn't understand the youtube files, and try the program that Ranma mentioned. (I'm not sure if it supports the files you get from Real Media, but you can give it a try and see.)

[Tazuto]

crashing with all files i try, also the real media player cant download videos, only regular realplayer does, but when i install realplayer then super cant convert

[Spider0042]

Just for anyone else that's considering this, remember Super isn't recommended, it's dis-recommended even. This is just an attempt to help fix problems caused by it. This is NOT a guide on video encoding! Turn back before all is lost!, unless you exhibit a persuasion for masochistic tendencies, stay away :P this is a one time deal, this was never supported, and will not be in the future either. (ie. this is not really a recommended way to go about doing things), with that said:

Well, *sigh* I fired up a clean copy of Windows XP Service pack 3 in a vm...

1st -- Installed RealPlayer SP from http://www.real.com/realplayer
When offered the option to use RealPlayer for all video files I said, NO U!
(this caused it to only registers a few things including real media related formats)
Tested the bundled download plugin for YouTube, and could save the flv by clicking on the arrow drop down area, or by clicking download. The conversion options also work, but it will complain and require you to get a copy of the FlashPlayer if you are converting from flv (YouTube etc)
2nd -- Installed the latest version of Super (you can find the link buried on their site)
Chose some options, (did not click to use DirectShow
Dropped a file on it. Program did not crash and close. However, I not figure out how to get it to convert. (Turns out the encode buttons section at the bottom just didn't show up until I closed it and restarted the program. ಠ_ಠ )
Tried encoding the flv, it encode process finished successfully.
Quick tested transcoded video in VLC since no codec packs etc were yet installed... video plays, I assume audio works too based on status/details.
3rd -- Checked RealPlayer to make sure it still downloaded/converted videos (still worked)
(also, rebooted vm to ensure everything still worked.. all was well)


I did not install k-lite, I have not tried to reproduce a potential conflict with k-lite Mega and RealPlayer, (or even tried with k-lite Full).

Current Conclusions: I cannot say that there is a conflict between Super and RealPlayerSP on my system (given the steps above)
I do not know if other left behind stuff or codec packs will conflict with them, but it is quite possible.
Super is indeed a little weird/buggy, and the interface is slightly annoying, but i can see how it might feel simpler.
Tip when uninstalling: When you are trying to clear the video decoding software from your system, you might want to download the Insurgent from CCCP's site (http://www.cccp-project.net/), it will show you if there are any other codec packs that you might have missed, that could be causing conflicts.

UPDATE: One last thing you might try is remove everything you can, then install CCCP, doing so might help re-register and fix things that may be broken. I haven't tried installing it over the steps above but might try later just to see.

If you continue to have the conflicts between Super and RealPlayer, or begin to experience trouble because you require a codec pack in order to do your editing, I recommend choosing between one or the other.

Downloading Youtube alternatives: (youtube is not a good source, but...)
If all you use RealPlayer for is saving the video, you can easily use http://vixy.net/ by just giving it a YouTube url, unfortunately OR VERY CONVENIENTLY FOR YOU it does the re-encoding from FLV to AVI (DivX,mp3), or your choice of a few other options.
There is also the program that was recommended by someone in the chatter.
You can manually snatch them out of a temp folder, but its kinda' a pain, but can be explained if it still works the same way.
You can have someone, grab the flv's for you if you have a list, or go to a friends computer to get them. Or, just get them all then remove RealPlayer and install Super.
There's a site keepvid but it seems currently broken for me, but can save the flv or as mp4 or something else if I remember right. May still be broken.
Encoding alternatives:
Several options, all with varying experience requirements, some of which can be setup for you and then all you need to do is follow the steps and it will work for you.
AlltoAvi, as Ranma recommended (sounds like it might be simple) still not my preference though I've never tried it, but may work well for you.
That vixy site mentioned above can convert to DivX in AVI, sounds close to what you want if DivX works for you.
VirtualDub, and possibly avisynth (link above but you may want to ask for details or find a tutorial online), once setup it just works, and maybe needs tweaking of the avisynth files or ffdshow decoder setting to work with aspect ratio and whatever else you might feel like doing.
Other software, and stuff I'm forgetting or dont' have time to type out now.

Testing was done (on WinXP SP3 32bit) within a kvm guest with a (64bit) Fedora 12 install as the host OS, running on a $500usd acer laptop containing an i3. No dedicated graphics, just the i3's internal gpu. I have not tested this on any older systems.

[Tazuto]

my PC is very old, but ill try this, rigth now i have that CCCP codec pack and SUPER still crashing

[Spider0042]

If you go to the start menu and right click on My Computer and click what was it properties, what does it say under 'Computer'?

If you have the CCCP or Klite installed try clicking on the 'Direct Show' box and see if that helps, but if you don't have one of those packs (that gives you ffdshow) then it may not be able to do most the codecs, and thus with the 'Direct Show' option will show an error message or something.

[Tazuto]

new update

I have SUPER, CCCP, and VIXY installed. i was able to download the video with Vixy, load/convert it with super, and open it in vegas, but then i remembered zarxs program,(after renderign a clip with vegas i have to run it through zarxgui to make it the right final format) just tried useing it and this pops up

AviSynth Error
ConvertToYV12: Can only convert from Planar YUV

so what now?

[Spider0042]

That sounds very close to working.

What format did you choose when you exported from Vegas? Sounds like it's in a colorspace that zarxgui's script wasn't expecting.



The easiest way to get your video into an acceptable format is to:
-Install AviSynth.
-Grab Zarx264gui.
-Export your video from your editing program in a lossless or uncompressed format.
-Load your video into Zarx264gui, set the quantizer to 18 or less, set audio bitrate to 320, and press Encode.


It may take up more space but a lossless format like huffyuv is something the zarxgui is expecting based on that description (though maybe it can do other stuff too). I'm not sure about where you can choose the colorspace, but when you export you might want to look for settings or advanced places wher you can set the colorspace. (Or maybe its in the project settings when you create a project, and can be edited later.)

If Vegas is using ffdshow to do the encoding (not sure if it would be), you might also be able to set the colorspace with ffdshow video configuration which can be found under the cccp menu, but I wouldn't mess with that just yet as it might cause troubles, and you will need to remember what you've changed.

For now I'd suggest looking at Vegas' export or project setting, change to export to a lossless or raw/uncompressed format (you probably want huffyuv) and try to see if theres a place you can change the colorspace other wise.

oh, while you're at it, be sure its not interlaced.

EDIT: (also be sure you have the latest version http://amvhell.com/stuff/zarx264gui/ )
OHHh~ http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech3/zarx264gui.html


Zarx264gui only accepts AviSynth scripts. However if you try to load a normal AVI file, Zarx264Gui will automatically generate an avisynth script for you. If your AviSynth script contains audio, it will automatically be loaded as well. If you exported your audio from your editing program as a wav file, you can load it in the second box. You also have the option of loading an MP3 or AAC audio file. In this case, the MP3 or AAC audio will simply be copied instead of re-encoded. Lastly, you want to specify where to save your output MP4 file to.
If it's generating an avisynth script for you, can you post the text from the .avs file here? or here on pastebin http://pastebin.com/ and post the link here. (You can choose avisynth for syntax highlighting if you want but its not needed)

And possibly, what format your video is in? Maybe findable using mediaplayerclasic that came with CCCP, which can be launched from the CCCP start menu item, and then you can go to view or some equivalent and turn on details or statistics to get the video encoding info. (If it does not play, you may need to tell ffdshow to do huffyuv, but if that's the case don't worry about it for now. could recommend other ways like osd, or tools but no need to sound complicated.) But knowing the format it's in will help determine how to make an avisynth script that will work with your video.

(Ultimately however, exporting from Vegas in a format it likes is probably the easiest, but may require a few tries of exporting a short piece of your video until you can find the right format.)

[Tazuto]

how i install avisynth?

[Spider0042]

For anyone walking in, advise or alink to a guide on how to use Vegas to export in the proper format for zxgui, or just for an acceptable submit would help. There is also an error being thrown from the zxgui, presumably due to the input colorspace, details are listed above.[b] (Last part is probably just because the render/export from Vegas isn't what is needed.) (Also firefox is being painfully slow and I don't hove much more time to type this up or reboot firefox, please excuse me if there are a few typos etc)

Heh, that was my next question.

Cute gui, the optional config, but more so the .bat are convenient extras.

My guess after testing the gui, is that your .avs file looks something like this.
Directshowsource("C:\Path_to_file\foo.avi").ConvertToYV12()

So either Directshowsource is not returning a planar colorspace on it's own, or more likely it's because your rendered/exported clip is not planar or is somehow really weird.

First things first:
Have you installed the latest version of Avisynth?
Have you downloaded the latest version of the gui tool?
If you downloaded and installed/are_using both from the links on this page (http://amvhell.com/showthread.php?t=1404) in the last few days then you should have the latest versions. (If you haven't the links for both are in the 'accepted formats' section on that page.) If you haven't installed/re-installed Avisynth since you fixed the other problems it might be worth re-installing.. it may not help if you've already got it, but it's worth it just in case something is broken. (ie. Maybe try re-installing Avisynth just for kicks and peace of mind?)

- Make sure you can play what comes out of Vegas. Render it and then go to Start and the CCCP program tab and choose Media Player Classic, and open your file with it. (You might also be able to right click on your file and say open with Media Player classic. You could also paste the info from details under the File - > Properties box (second tab?)

- [b]If you have leftover .avs files in the folder with your file that you were trying to convert, you might also delete them just in case they were generated differently/incorrectly by an older version of the zxgui?

Now unless something else is borked, either we need to get the file you feed the gui into the right format/colorspace (good idea), or we write our own .avs script to mangle it until we get it into YV12 and any post preping you might need before passing it off to the gui/x264.exe.

My recommendation is getting Vegas to export/render in the right format as then you won't have the annoyance or complication of changing the avs file for each submitted video, though its really not that inconvenient.

So, to get Vegas doing what it needs to do, you'll want to consult someone that knows vegas, or possibly look through the menus or this older guide (http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/) for answers to where you might look or could change things so it can work. (Look for the link on Vegas in the 'Exporting Your AMV Ready For Compression' near the bottom of the page)


If you've found the place where you choose the render/output encoding, but you can't find Huffyuv, or you can't tell it to be in the correct colorspace...

To get a Huffyuv encoder you might grab the "pre-built DLL" link (latest version is 2.1.1 (http://neuron2.net/www.math.berkeley.edu/benrg/huffyuv-2.1.1.zip), NOT the link next to 1.3.1) on this site (http://neuron2.net/www.math.berkeley.edu/benrg/huffyuv.html). Then, extract the files, and right click on the .inf file and choose install. Microsoft will say its not signed but that's ok. Once you have it, close out Vegas or whatever program you are dealing with, and then start it back up, and again, choose to render the file and find the huffyuv option for the encoding. (May require a restart)

In theory if DirectShow can play it (and its not in a really weird colorspace/format) then ConvertToYV12 will probably handle it just fine, and then its up to x264 and the rest of the gui's process. So it doesn't need to be in huffyuv. Also, in theory, if you pick the right render/export settings you may not even need the gui. but its a good thing to make sure the gui is happy with it, also the gui will help the amv hell editors to be sure its the same as the rest.

Note: You may also want to make sure it is in the resolution they want which is listed in the info on the submit page. I'm not sure they'll accept it if its not close to that or matching in the smaller dimension. If the youtube/original_source video wasn't large enough, you're going to have to resize and hope it looks ok. :/


Someone else may want to explain where it is or what they do if they use Vegas. The interesting thing is that the zxgui seems to be ok with most the sample files I've passed it, so it maybe in your encoding, or could also be in your Vegas project settings, which you can probably find some info on how/where you might edit that in that guide listed above. (or due to your original source files) Be sure your settings don't have it as interlaced, as that might cause you problems.

Hopefully it's just that you need avisynth, I'm not sure if that error was thrown from the zxgui or if you actually have Avisynth already. I didn't see the string in the Avisynth wrapper but I didn't look any further.

[Tazuto]

i think you have too much time on your hands dude O-o *cant possibly read anymore* @-@

but i did find the avisynth download so lemme see if this works

[Spider0042]

yup, got some downtime between projects, and before settling on what extra stuff to spend time on next. Seemed like a reasonable place to kill some time vegetating and still be psudo-constructive. That, and I haven't been by here in a while. That and it gives me a chance to stay in contact with the state of encoding tools on windows since its been a while.

Any luck? If you've still got problems, you can encode a small piece of some video, a few seconds and upload it to www.sendspace.com or something similar and pm me (or put the link here) so we know what format might be causing problems. That helps us spend less time guessing , and helps determine if the same video is crashing on our machines, or if its just something special about your machine. And maybe help determine what setting in the render/export of Vegas you might need to change.

Where we are currently
Beyond basic making sense of encoding options/tips I wont be able to guide you through Vegas' menus, as I don't have it, and would rather not go looking for tutorials that you could possibly find yourself. ^_^; That's why if it is just the export settings that are messing zarxgui/avisynth up, that we'll know you need to ask/find someone else that got it to work with Vegas, or you should look through tutorials specific to Vegas. We've at least got it to a point where someone else could chime in if they had time or knew of a tutorial/walkthrough that would help explain it. That way you'll know you have the export format correct. Or it may help to read through the site linked to in Zarxrax's sig.

Basically searching for a guide on how to render/export from Vegas in a lossless format like huffyuv, or how to go from Vegas to x264 and AAC in an mp4 container, whould do the trick.
or basicaly how to meet this: "I would suggest that you submit your video as a high quality h.264 MP4. Use CRF 18 or lower. Audio should be 320kbit AAC or 320kbit MP3" submit requirement.

Next Steps? Be sure the file you get from rendering in Vegas is OK.
Though I'll help where I can, but if the Avisynth function is upset about the colorspace, and it's not just your computer, but the clip render format, then it's likely going to be difficult to walk through without doing it myself and then sending you what works to fix your odd video. :/ The key is getting it in the right format and into and out of Directshowsource (Avisynth stuff) in a colorspace or format we can deal with.

It all boils down to : This is what we need...
That's why I suggest using sendspace to send us a copy of a short video of 5 or 10 seconds (any video really) so we know what we are dealing with and where the problem is.
It's a lot easier than me taking time to type out how to do the following (and you figuring out how to do the following): --
You can also use the .Info() avisynth function; OR,when opening your video in media player classic or something where the little red box pops up in the bottom right of your windows toolbar near the time ( opening it up, turning on osd clicking some boxes), and taking a screenshot of either of the videos in those two methods. It would kinda help, but having a sample clip would be easiest for both of us and quicker than having you test things and respond back, honestly. We don't need your amv video just a random section of part of it, or the original clip as long as you use a source file in the same way you get and use for your amvhell clips, and render it like you do with what is giving you problems. ) And test it and make sure you get the error before sending it to us.)

Once we know that, if it breaks on our machines, we know the next step. if it doesn't then we need to fix something else, or have you fiddle with the settings some more.
(Hopefully its not a problem starting with what vixy gave you as an input file >_>)