[Jon Lundgren]

Oh, one more thing. I read on another forum about using a trick that makes otherwise un-editable files editable in vegas.

Basically the way it works is, you create a simple Avisynth (.avs) script that reads something like: DirectshowSource(“myvideo.file”). This script can then be opened by video players, which call upon Avisynth. Avisynth reads the script, and then opens your myvideo.file using DirectShow, and the video plays. The next step is to use VFAPI to open the script which creates a dummy .avi. The dummy .avi can be played or edited with Vegas. Apparently, when Vegas calls for a frame in the .avi, the .avi calls upon the VF codec which acts as a wrapper. In this case, the wrapper would then request that frame from your original myvideo.file using DirectShow. Hence, you would be tricking Vegas into using DirectShow to decode video.

The problem for me is that VFAPI is designed to handle only certain types of files, and definitely not MP4. Does anyone know of a way of using this type of technique to “trick” vegas into using DirectShow for MP4? It seems like the concept should work, I just need a VFAPI equivalent for MP4s. I’m not super clear on this process so forgive me if I missed something.

[Jon Lundgren]

John,

Thanks for the advice. I guess I can live with Vegas using VFW codecs. That shouldn’t be a problem, since FFDshow allows for control of VFW codecs (I think). The problem seems to be, that at least for MP4 files, Vegas doesn’t utilize just any VFW codecs available to the system. Instead, for MP4, it has its own folder (MCMP4) which is a MainConcept (MC) MP4 codec. It seems that no matter what VFW codecs you add to the system, it always uses its own MC codec. Perhaps this is because the editing process requires certain features that aren’t in most codecs, so Sony requires its own proprietary one??

I’ve used tools like GSpot and InstalledCodecs to look at my system codecs, and a few of the MainConcept ones are available. However, the MC MP4 codec is not listed. I believe that’s because it is not a general system codec available for use; it is designed to be used by Vegas only.

My question now is, is there a way to use other VFW codecs besides the MC ones used in the Sony directory? Or, if Sony does indeed *need* to use its own specialized codec, is there a way to update it or change its settings?

[Jon Lundgren]

I would also love to know the answer to this question. I’ve played with Vegas 7 and 8, and it appears that there’s a folder (C:\Program Files\Sony\Shared Plug-Ins\File Formats\MCMP4) which contains the MP4 codecs used by Vegas.

I have a new digital camera (Samsung NV24HD) which records H.264 video in 720p. Other MP4 codecs I’ve tried (ie FFDshow, 3ivx) can play the video flawlessly. However, the Vegas MP4 codec, mcmp4plug.dll, cannot render the video correctly. I get audio only with Vegas 7, and Vegas 8 crashes completely. I would like to update Vegas’s codecs to use the FFDshow or 3ivx codecs if possible.

Does anyone know how to change which MP4 decoder is used by vegas?

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Jon Lundgren]

Hey,

I have a similar problem, and feel like I’m close to a solution. I have a Samsung NV24HD camera which records 720p video in the H.264 format with AAC audio, in a .MP4 QuickTime container. From what I’ve read, different vendors handle encoding this container differently, so it played in Quicktime but nothing else. Then I downloaded a special MPEG-4 codec called 3ivx which allows me to play the video. I can also play the video now in players that support FFDshow. It may have played in FFDshow before the 3ivx installation–I don’t know.

However Vegas 7 just gives me blank (well actually green) video, but the audio works. Vegas 8 gives me an error and then crashes when I try to import the file. The crash apparently occurred in “mcmp4plug.dll”. I did some more research and found that players usually use DirectShow codecs (FFDshow), while Vegas uses its own VFW codecs. This is why some files can be played but not edited. So no matter what I add or change, Vegas still uses its own H.264 decoder which happens to be incompatible with my H.264 files. Sure enough, I just looked in the Sony/Shared Plug-ins/File Formats/MCMP4 folder and found mcmp4plug.dll, the MP4 codec by MainConcept.

I then tried re-encoding the file using Quicktime Pro, basically as the same type of file (H.264, and let the audio pass-through). It then worked in Vegas. So it appears that MainConcept doesn’t like the type of H.264 file my camera produces. I could re-encode every time, but this is not lossless, and it takes much time. I know the video can easily be decoded using other codecs, but don’t know how to make Vegas part from its beloved MainConcept codec.

Does anyone know how to force/allow Vegas to use third party MP4 codecs? I would really just be able to utilize the FFDshow or 3ivx codecs which play the file so nicely. Or, at the least, is there a way to change the settings of the Vegas MainConcept codec?

Thanks,
Jonathan