Too many codecs spoil the broth

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 3:17 AM

I cannot figure out why certain AVI files will load and others will not. Both in Sony Vegas Pro 10 and 11 and Windows Media Player. (other programs are affected as well)

I bought a package of background animations (I forget from where) and they are separated into different sub-directories, such as "Color Fusion" and "Fluid Shapes".
Most of the files are AVI, some are MOV. But for some reason none of the AVI files work in at least two of the folders. While all the other folders that contain AVI files work fine.

I've compared the AVI files using "gspot" codec information utility, and they all seem to be the same (using the same files): quartz.dll, qdv.dll, and are labeled as DVSD, DVC or DV type 2 AVI . Identical AVI information, yet one set loads while the other set does not.

Basically I believe I have a codec problem. I probably have too many codecs running on my computer. After having initial problems with Vegas Pro 11 as well as other video software (one example is: programs where I move slider controls make my desktop icons blank to white for a moment), I installed a "coded pack" that claimed to be helpful in solving codec problems. I think it probably made it worse. It's called the "Essential Codecs Pack, and is packaged with Media Player Classic.

Further exploring via Google, showed me a post that says too many codecs is a bad thing and this one poster claimed that the only way to TOTALLY get rid of the unwanted codecs is to format your hard drive and start again!!! That's something I really would rather NOT do.

This codec problem also seems to affect various other programs and operations, like I can no longer use Chroma Key in VidBlaster.

But in this forum, I'll stick to a specific questions related to Vegas:
When I try to load certain AVI files into the Project Media bin, they will not load and I get the very unhelpful message: "Warning: An error occurred while opening one or more files. An error occurred while opening a codec." And when I click on "Details", all I get is the directory path and file name saying "could not be opened". Again, not very helpful.

Sorry for the long winded post, but you cannot accuse me of not giving enough information (my SPECS are in my profile view). But if anyone has any suggestions or ideas as to what is going on, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
Lee

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 12/8/2011, 4:55 AM

If they really are DV files, there's an option under preferences / general to NOT use 3rd party codecs, and another to use Microsoft's DV codec. Check the first and UNcheck the second. That will make sure that Vegas always uses Sony's DV codec and ignores all others.

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 5:27 AM

Sorry Chienworks, I couldn't find either of those options under preferences in the general tab, or under any other tab either. They sound like the kind of options I could use to solve this problem, unfortunately I just can't find them.

vkmast wrote on 12/8/2011, 5:36 AM

Leee,
they're under Preferences / internal
You have to hold down the shift key while clicking on "Preferences" to open the dialog. The "Internal" tab does not show when opened normally.

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 5:57 AM

Okay thanks I found the options (you learn something everyday), and I changed the options accordingly, but unfortunately it made things worse. I still can't import those video files, and the ones that I used to be able to import, now just show an AVI icon and black when played on preview.

amendegw wrote on 12/8/2011, 6:16 AM

Does this thread help at all? Attn: Codec Experts

btw, I've abandoned gSpot in favor of MediaInfo As musicvid likes to point out, gSpot has not been updated in years.

...Jerry

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 7:04 AM

Yea! Thanks Jerry. After speed reading through the posts you linked to, I spotted Cedocida Codec and said, what the hell (edit: heck?), I'll just add another codec and see if it works. Sure enough it does, now I can load all those AVI files I couldn't before.

In the thread you mentioned something the screen sizes of projects. I remembered that the avi files I could load were 720x480, but the ones that didn't load were 856x480. And you mentioned those dimensions so I guess that Cedocida Codec can read those files, while the other codecs could not.

I'll check MediaInfo too. Thanks again!

musicvid10 wrote on 12/8/2011, 12:18 PM

[EDIT] I'll look at that codec and it see if it works with some of my older files. Thanks for sharing.

Chienworks wrote on 12/8/2011, 4:03 PM

856x480 couldn't possibly be a valid DV file. DV only comes in 720x480 and 720x576.

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 4:23 PM

Yeah, it does seem like a weird size, but if you do a Google search on those dimensions you'll find lots of entries. It's definitely a wide screen format but I'm not sure what ratio it would fit into. I hate doing math.

And just for the record, in my above post, I used the word H. E. double hockey sticks, but apparently the system does not find even that an acceptable word and (****) marked it out. Now it looks like I used the F word! I knew I should have used the word "heck". (but maybe that one will get blanked out as well????

Anyway, thanks again for the assist!

amendegw wrote on 12/8/2011, 4:45 PM

"And just for the record, in my above post, I used the word H. E. double hockey sticks,"That's a helluva note! [chuckle}

...Jerry

johnmeyer wrote on 12/8/2011, 5:47 PM

And just for the record, in my above post, I used the word H. E. double hockey sticks...The obscenity filter on this forum is pretty strict (being an old fuddy-duddy, I rather like this). However, I have been hit by it many times. You can't use the word s-t-u-p-i-d to describe something because that gets blanked out. Also certain people's names cannot be used. I recently posted about "American Bandstand" which was hosted by D-i-c-k Clark, but for some reason that got blanked out.

One does need to be careful, of course. I have heard more than one news reader begin to crack up the past few days when reading stories relating to "MF Global." The company has been accused of all sorts of malfeasance, and as a result, the "MF" seems to have taken on a different meaning in the minds of some of these news readers, and I heard at least one actually stumble over "MF," having to repeat it several times.

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 8:02 PM

Yes, the filtering does seem pretty strict, but that's okay I don't mind and there are ways to get around it if you really need to spell something that's NOT inflammatory.

But the other reason I wanted to clear up what I typed is because in the context of the sentence, one word would make sense and the other "F word" would give the sentence a whole different meaning.

Yeah I know, it's much ado about nothing, but I'm waiting for my dinner to be ready so I'll babble for a minute longer. What I was trying to say, "I have so many codecs installed right now, what the he11, let me just add another one." But if I said WTF, not only would it be crude, it would change the meaning of the sentence.

Okay dinner's ready. Thanks for letting me set the record straight. :rolls eyes:

musicvid10 wrote on 12/8/2011, 8:24 PM

Meanwhile, the words codec and colorspace and quite a few others show up as being misspelled. Go figure.

Chienworks wrote on 12/8/2011, 8:39 PM

Oh, i'm sure there are lots of file formats that use that size, many of them even AVI, but they won't be DV.

Leee wrote on 12/8/2011, 11:33 PM

----"Oh, i'm sure there are lots of file formats that use that size, many of them even AVI, but they won't be DV."-----

Yes, and I'm sure that's why I was having a problem getting those AVI files to work, because the Codec that works with the DV format (I'm not really sure how that all works) must have rejected those particular files because of the odd size. It didn't start accepting them until I added that other codec.

I think I need to do some studying on how the codecs function within a software program, maybe if I'm more knowledgeable in that area, I'll know what to look for when problems arise in the future.