Rebecca Mccamish
Forum Replies Created
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Honestly, I wouldn’t know about SUPER. :/ Sorry.
These days I use DVD Decrypter which is free on the net and can be found in several places. Once I use that, then I use VirtualDubMod on the VOB files, but if you’re seeking to preserve the entire VHS (if I’m remembering correctly), then this may not be a suitable method for you.
I’m not sure what ripping programs would recognize Lagarith, honestly.
It’s not easy, but learning the ins-and-outs of this stuff is worth the time. Doom9’s forums may have some answers for you as well.
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Er… You use it like any other codec (XviD, for instance). It’s not a program, it’s a codec. I suggest investigating what codecs and encodings are all about. If you use a ripping program, the program uses codecs to encode the video it pulls from the DVD.
Example:
Take DVD, use Ripper Program X on it, and tell it to encode in XviD. You wind up with an .avi file that is using the XviD codec. If you tell Ripper Program X to use Lagarith instead, then you will still have an .avi, but it will be a larger, “cleaner” file.
I suggest perusing at the very least… Wikipedia, codecs.com, etc. for information about the difference between rippers, codecs, containers, and lossy vs lossless encoding. It took me quite a number of days to get all my ducks in a row and understand what was going on inside my programs–and to figure out what would work the best for my particular needs.
I also suggest investigating AviSynth and VirtualDubMod later on because those can be used to clean video quite well. That’s just my suggestion, however, and it may take you some time to get to a place where you’ll be able to figure out how to use them.
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Sony Vegas simply will not accept XviD or DIVX sources. Doesn’t really matter what you do to it; the program is made to refuse files in those codecs.
If you’re ripping right from the source, I suggest putting the file in the Lagarith (4CC: LAGS) codec. (See my other post.)
ONLY put your file(s)/finished product into a “lossy” codec once you have completed your product. If you’re lacking hard drive space, you may have to become creative with how you parse the files and use DVD’s for data storage, or simply add a 1T hard drive to your machine. 😉 Which is what I plan to do…
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The best solution I found was to convert any XviD/DIVX footage into another codec and then import. I would suggest using a mathematically lossless codec like Lagarith (what I’m using) if you have the hard drive space for whatever it is you’re editing. The file size will be large, but… it will preserve as much detail from the XviD file as possible.
Of course, starting with XviD sources is problematic to begin with because they’re already highly compressed and are “lossy” codecs. Whatever footage you get from XviD might need to be cleaned up a bit.
In any case… the best scenario is to start with source material and use a lossless codec for editing in SV. The difference in quality is shocking.
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Update on the situation:
Well, I’ve spent the last few days pulling apart my OS and reinstalling. I think I remmeber an old adage… something about, “When there’s just too much crap on the hard drive, it’s time to get out the shovel.”
Okay, I made that up.
The good news is that I found a program that’s letting me test what will and what will NOT go into Sony Vegas MM8.0.
The bad news is: Not much will go into that sucker. ;D But I DO know know that there are formats I can use that will work in the software, even if they’re inferior encodings. :/
Lesson here? Buy the Pro version and skip the bargain bin sale.
Still haven’t found any way to directly import AVI’s into SVMM8. If anyone finds a plug-in (the problem ISN’T missing VFW codecs) that allows for the importation of AVI’s (esp. XviD and DivX), please let me know.
I hate to use WMV, but so far it’s the best and only alternative encoding I can get to function in SVMM8.
I have yet to get DV-AVI to work.
On the bright side, my hard drive is clean… *sob*
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Forgive me please if I sound a little drunk. Threw out my back, and I’m on the XOMG muscle relaxant/Darvocet regimen. That’s what having blown disks and trying to clean the house will do for you.
Okay, so a little bit of an update. Have been messing around with Super (as suggested) and installing various codecs (I think I’m not quite up to 300 yet) and such-like.
A special aside: Vista Codec Pack, from everything I know, already comes with VFW codecs. Of course, I am high on pain killers, so you can take that with a grain of salt. I did install ffdshow which comes WITH the kitchen sink. ;> It improved my DV encoding but videos coming out of Super are still not playing inside of Windows Media Player 11. What that’s all about, I do not know. Even re-encoding them from Sony Vegas MM8.0 didn’t improve playability.
VFW codecs DO NOT allow for the importation of AVI’s into SVMM8.0. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but from everything I’ve been able to determine, that is the case. Tonight (if I can focus long enough) I’m going to try messing around with some 4CC settings and see if I can trick some software into dancing for me.
The good news, sort of: I can encode from Super into *wince* MPEG-2 with a MPEG-II video encoder and mp2 audio. SVMM8.0 WILL accept those files, but with a black border around the left and right edges.
I can encode via Super into AVI with MPEG-II + AC3 (mono)… but the audio hoses right up once it gets dumped into SVMM8.0.
Any file I’ve tried re-encoding from Super has lousy audio.
None of the files, whether re-encoded or not, will actually PLAY in Super. That’s something that’s been stumping me the whole time.
I’m guessing at this point I have a zillion conflicting codecs on my machine, but I don’t have a way of really knowing (since I’m not a guru) which files I need to scrub and which ones can stay.
In short, the nightmare continues, and I feel like I’m living on Elm Street…
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I think the whole idea IS to short-circuit it, but… 😉
I tried Super and I botched something so badly that–er, well, nevermind. It ought to be obvious that I barely (at all?) know what I’m doing. I may give it another go and see how I fare.
*dryly* It did do a lovely job of encoding AVI to WMV.
🙂
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One last note before I quit obsessing over the problem for the morning:
Tried three different DV-AVI encoding codecs. They’re showing up in VirtualDub (so I know they’re installed), but VD is balking every time I try to encode with a DV codec. 😐 I keep getting an error that the “source file” is not compatible. It’ll PLAY (what I assume is) the source file, but won’t re-encode it.
Just to be clear, baseball bats are NOT a solution to technical issues, right? I saw some really nice aluminum Louisville Sluggers in Wal-Mart…
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You are excellent, and you are right. I should have been clearer. AVI is a “container.” (Right? :> ) It bundles up the file types and… &tc, &tc, &tc.
Okay, clearing that up in my brain… (I’ve been working on the problem half the night and am suffering from Technical Retardation Syndrome.)
Tried to re-encode via VirtualDub but so far no luck. It doesn’t seem to support any file type (that I have found yet) that SV8 will accept. DV seems to be absent (or I’m just not familiar enough with VD yet).
Will work on finding a nice conversion program that does what I need and will get back to you on it. Thanks for the prompt response.
I swear, some day I will not be a newb.
Oh, one more thing. I keep getting told that it’s not a codec problem but a plug-in problem. *blank stare* GSpot has been used to verify that there exists the proper codecs, but since they’re XviD…….. well, that’s not going to work. 😀 I will look at your codec suggestion as well.
When I have a brain.