.mp4 file not opening question

griff-hamlin wrote on 2/20/2013, 9:41 PM

I have a .mp4 file that Vegas Pro 12 (newest, 486 I think) won't open. I've actually tried a couple of versions on a couple of computers with no luck so I don't think it is natively supported.

Here is the mediainfo dump on the file:
General
Complete name : /Users/griff3/Documents/handbrake test/1001030142_0.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 303 MiB
Duration : 8mn 55s
Overall bit rate : 4 749 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2010-01-03 01:42:14
Tagged date : UTC 2013-02-14 15:45:07

Video
ID : 1
Format : MPEG-4 Visual
Format profile : Advanced Simple@L5
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, QPel : No
Format settings, GMC : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix : Default (MPEG)
Codec ID : 20
Duration : 8mn 55s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 4 488 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 6 152 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 3:2
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.433
Stream size : 287 MiB (95%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2010-01-03 01:42:14
Tagged date : UTC 2010-01-03 01:51:09

Audio
ID : 2
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode extension : MS Stereo
Codec ID : 69
Duration : 8mn 55s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 256 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 260 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 16.3 MiB (5%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2010-01-03 01:42:14
Tagged date : UTC 2010-01-03 01:51:09

I would REALLY love to be able to edit this natively without transcoding if it is at all possible. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

Comments

musicvid10 wrote on 2/20/2013, 10:18 PM

MPEG-4 Visual Part 2 is a bit of an odd bird, a transition somewhere between MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 10 (AVC). As such, it's not as widely supported, and finding a codec to open it directly in Vegas may involve a bit of a hunt. Divx/Xvid "may" do it, but that's only a hunch. It may be encrypted to boot, in which case you're pretty much SOL for editing directly.

You can try running through AVIDemux, either muxed or elementary streams, and see if it will open in Vegas. The fact that it has MP3 audio suggests the latter may be necessary.

If you are able to upload a sample somewhere, I'll be glad to try a few things and "possibly" suggest a course of action for you.

Oh, and thanks for posting the MediaInfo stuff! Saves a lot of guesswork and wear and tear on the old nerves!

griff-hamlin wrote on 2/21/2013, 12:01 AM

Well in doing some searching it appears that someone else with the same format tried xivd/divx and it did not work out which leads me to believe that it would not work out for me either.

I've never used avidemux, and I'm afraid I don't know what "muxed" means. It looks pretty straightforward how to use avidemux, can you give me a little more info on what you mean and I can probably figure out how to do it?

I would post a clip, but it's massive and I don't have a way to trim it easily since I can't edit it.

Thanks for your help.

john_dennis wrote on 2/21/2013, 12:14 AM

Here is a similar problem with a discussion of avidemux.

griff-hamlin wrote on 2/21/2013, 10:05 AM

In that thread he chose "Copy" for the video, presumably because it would import already.

I tried installing that x264vfw codec advised but I got no help from that. Cannot find a 64 bit version (maybe doesn't matter anymore) but after reboot still unable to import even the video. (after more searching appears that the 64 bit version is very old and people are having good results using 32 bit version.)

What would you suggest for the video settings?

Thanks for your help.

musicvid10 wrote on 2/21/2013, 10:35 AM

No, it's not AVC, so x264vfw will not help. Your container is called MPEG-4 Visual.

"Mux" is slang for "multiplex," which means simply that the video and audio are contained in the same container. Elementary streams are just what the name suggests.

Experiment, or upload a clip somewhere. 300 MB is not unreasonable; Dropbox, Mediafire, Google Drive, and many others will take it. I don't know what else to suggest..

griff-hamlin wrote on 2/21/2013, 1:01 PM

Thanks, I will play around with it some more.

I had a chance to just film a quick demo clip that I can use for testing. If you have a moment it's at http://griffhamlin.com/dropbox/fromvr5shortclip.mp4

I really appreciate your help with this. The VR5 has the potential to save me enormous amounts of time in what I do and I've spoken to other people who do have good results. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

musicvid10 wrote on 2/21/2013, 11:16 PM

AVIDemux reports your file as Divx.
So a Divx VFW codec is your only chance w/o converting.
Hope it works.

Also, your file opens in Handbrake (or presumably any ffmpeg app) and encodes quite nicely.