unsupported format (AVI)

KMai wrote on 8/4/2004, 10:22 AM

Newbie here with a quick and simple (hopefully) question for the veterans on this board. I bought a Canon Powershot S1 IS and was putting together a DVD for the soccer team and wasn't really wow'd by the Roxio product that came with the burner. So, I downloaded DVD Architect 2.0 to give it a whirl and see if I need 'professional' help. The issue I've encountered is an inability to insert or drag-n-drop the AVI captures from the camera to the app. I did notice that, in order to crop the AVIs in the Canon utility, I needed the Quicktime library(s) installed on the machine.

So, my question is: does DVD Architect 2.0 support AVI or is this just an issue with the 'DEMO'? Is there a module that needs to be installed for this AVI/Quicktime support and is that going to be something to be gotten from Apple/Canon or does Sony have this library available for DVD Architect 2.0 owners?

Comments

bStro wrote on 8/4/2004, 11:10 AM

The issue I've encountered is an inability to insert or drag-n-drop the AVI captures from the camera to the app.

Not familiar with this camera, but are you trying to drag them directly from the camera into DVDA? I think you should be saving / capturing them to your harddrive first. A camera is an awfully "temporary" (and probably slow) place to be preparing a DVD from.

Also, the camera's video output is not DVD-compliant. Definitely the wrong frame size, probably the wrong frame rate. It's going to have to be re-encoded, and you'll probably want to do that in Vegas. Might as well do some editing of your video there, while you're at it.

If you're putting this all on DVD, by the way, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than the 640x480 setting. Anything less is going to look horrible by the time you resize to 720x480, which is the standard for DVD.

At any rate, DVDA definitely supports AVI, so that's not the issue. Unless, perhaps, you need the right codec for that particular kind of AVI (there are many, many kinds of AVIs). But I would figure this would be installed when you set-up the camera's software. Can you play the AVIs from your camera? If you can play them, chances are you can use them in Vegas and DVDA.

Rob

ScottW wrote on 8/4/2004, 12:04 PM

I think we're missing a step here. The powershot series of cameras keep the still photos in JPEG format. Movies are done using Motion JPEG.

So if pulling the files right off the camera thru it's USB interface, then you should be dealing with JPG's unless some intermediate software has translated these to another format (which sounds to possibly be the case).

DVDA should be able to pull a JPG in without problem; as Rob mentioned though, it's ability to deal with the AVI file is going to depend on exactly what's in the AVI file and whether or not you have the correct codec installed that will allow DVDA to read that file.

You may want to download a copy of gspot from http://www.headbands.com/gspot/ and see what it thinks about the files. gspot will also tell you whether or not there are any codecs on your system that can handle the file format.

You will be somewhat limited in what you can do with just DVDA - to do the fancy stuff you'll really need Vegas, but the demo versions are pretty limited in functionality.

--Scott

jetdv wrote on 8/4/2004, 1:09 PM

If you can't open .avi files created by still cameras, you will need to install an MJPEG codec that Vegas can talk to. This is a good option:

http://www.morgan-multimedia.com/ubb/forum1/clicks_db/download.asp?file=m3jpegv3.exe

Without an MJPEG codec of some sort, Vegas cannot read those files. MainConcept also has one that is inexpensive and good quality; others can be obtained from Morgan Multimedia or Matrox.

Here's a couple of related threads:

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=168761

http://www.sonicfoundry.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=178119

KMai wrote on 8/4/2004, 1:58 PM

Thanks all for your prompt responses. Some of you brought up some issues/questions that I will try and answer here.

The Powershot S1 IS has the ability to capture 640x480 @ 30fps in AVI format to the CF card. A 1Gig card will hold ~8 min. Still shots will be stored in JPG format.

I've downloaded all the AVIs onto harddisk before drag-n-drop(ing) into DVDA.

The AVIs can be played with Windows' Media player and PowerDVD without installing Quicktime (codecs). It appears that the codecs are only required to do editing with the included Canon utility.

Roxio's EZMC will edit/create an MPEG project with the AVIs but I have parents who want it in VOB format for playback on their component DVD players. This is the main reason why DVDA's reported imcompatibility with the files perplexed me and why I posted my question here.

Ah well, I guess I will continue to download tryouts and see if there is any other product(s) that fit my needs. I'm not too sure I want to pay extra (much more extra than if another product supports the format that DVDA doesn't seem too) for Vegas since I really don't want/need it's features/capabilities at this time. :(

bStro wrote on 8/4/2004, 3:29 PM

DVDA does support it, but you just need the proper codec first. This is going to be true of any application.

At any rate, Sony doesn't sell DVD Architect by itself. You can only buy it with Vegas.

Rob

KMai wrote on 8/4/2004, 4:59 PM

Ah, well that ...umm... bites. I was hoping the packages could be purchased individually since they are seperate downloads.

Thanks for the responses Rob. Cheers!

JaysonHolovacs wrote on 8/4/2004, 10:02 PM

I just ran into this tonight with a movie I took with my Canon S50 still camera(too lazy to grab the DV cam). You DID need the MJPEG codec suggested above before Vegas or even Windows Media Player would view the file(although good old Media Player Classic handled it without an external codec... gotta love that little app). After I got that, though, I could drop it in Vegas and edit it.

Even though this wasn't my thread, thanks for the advice anyway, it helped.

-Jayson

SonyEPM wrote on 8/5/2004, 7:23 AM

Free MJPEG codec here: http://www.matrox.com/video/support/ds/software/codec/home.cfm

Installing this codec should allow you to use you camera's .avi files in Vegas and DVDA.

KMai wrote on 8/5/2004, 10:03 AM

I'm glad it worked for you Jayson but it did not help me much. I downloaded and installed the codecs from Matrox and it didn't do much. Dragging and dropping quickly onto the DVDA work space did momentarily show a 'thumbnail' of the video clip but it quickly turned into a frame with a 'Render Failure' message bar in the middle with four red don't(s) in the corner.

I'll try other codec packages like the Morgan Multimedia that jetdvd suggested and see if I get better results once I have some free time to dedicate to this side project. Even if this works, I'm still not too thrilled about having to buy the Vegas package to get DVDA. Now, that's not saying Vegas is necessarily a bad app, just that I don't currently have the need or time to learn it.

ScottW wrote on 8/5/2004, 12:31 PM

You could always pick up a copy of DVDlab from mediachance.com

JaysonHolovacs wrote on 8/5/2004, 12:43 PM

KMai,
Just to clarify, I didn't drop my camera vid into DVD-A2, I dropped it into Vegas and it worked fine. DVD-A2 I guess might still not support it, but you can render it easily enough in Vegas. As you said, you can't get DVD-A2 without Vegas, so either go a different choice or learn to use Vegas also. It really is an excellent product. I'm impressed with DVD-A2, but I'm even more impressed with the power and usability of Vegas.

-Jayson

KMai wrote on 8/5/2004, 1:33 PM

* edited capture size of AVI on S1 from 720x480 to 640x480

Loaded up the Morgan Multimedia Codec and it worked! (shoulda known not to trust Matrox software after the OpenGL support for G200 fiasco and iffy driver support for Mystique, G200, G400, G550...etc. :p )

Anyhoo, the preview looks good but having to get the Vegas+DVD package is a minus against DVDA...in my books. I'll have a look at DVD Lab - thanks Scott.

...lunch over, back to work... :)

bStro wrote on 8/5/2004, 3:42 PM

...having to get the Vegas+DVD package is a minus against DVDA..

You obviously haven't experienced Vegas. ;-)

Just a hint, you don't have to buy Vegas+DVD directly from Sony at full price. There are many sources that sell the full package at a discounted price. eBay, online retailers, etc... Before the current version came out, I bought the previous version of Vegas+DVD from one of those academic discount sites (I'm a part-time student) for $270.

If all you ever want to do is drop your videos onto a DVD without editing, then okie-dokie. But very few people who get into this hobby are satisfied for long without adding titles, transitions, effects, etc to their videos. A standard DVD authoring program is not going to give you the ability.

Just something to keep in mind as you continue your window shopping. :)

Rob

JaysonHolovacs wrote on 8/6/2004, 8:54 AM

At www.pricegrabber.com, I was able to find good prices for both academic and non-Academic versions of Vegas+DVD(depending on whether you can find a way to qualify for academic). I noticed the best prices there, so check it out. But things can change, so dig around a little.

And I suggest you give Vegas a chance with the free trial version. The free trial costs you nothing. There's a little learning curve(though I believe it's less than many NLEs) and you can find plenty of support here(actually, on the Vegas forum on this site).

-Jayson

bStro wrote on 8/6/2004, 9:43 AM

Just a note, though you probably realize this:

There isn't really such a thing as an "academic version" of Vegas+DVD -- the only difference is the price (edit: and perhaps the license).

Rob