Bad avi file playback

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I copied from a Panasonic PV-GS12 camcorder via firewire into Moviemaker 2
and saved it as an avi file. When playing the avi file in Windows Media
Player, it runs about double speed with choppy video and audio - the voices
sound like chipmunks. I get no codec related or other errors. My computer
is 2.4 GHz with fast hard drives and bus and runs Windows XP Professional.
I have tried playing the avi file on 4 other Windows XP Professional
machines all with the same result - I reformated the hard drive on one
machine and installed all brand new software components from the operating
system up. Very frustrating.
I have found no resolution to date - been working on this for about 2 weeks
now. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Please report back after re-installing:

* DirectX
* Windows Media Encoder

And re rendering the avi from Movie Maker.
 
Rehan - a couple of questions on your post:
1. I've seen John Kelly's post about uninstalling/reinstalling - he
recommends doing this for Windows Media Player and DirectX with a reboot
between each step.
2. Are you suggesting I just re-install the components you mentioned (over
the top of the existing components) WITHOUT doing an uninstall for each
first? (I can't find any reference to any of these components in "Add or
Remove Programs" anyway!)
3. By 're rendering the avi from Movie Maker' do you mean suck it in from
the camcorder again after the changes - or something else?
(hope these questions are easy to understand)
Mike.
 
1. I've seen John Kelly's post about uninstalling/reinstalling - he
recommends doing this for Windows Media Player and DirectX with a reboot
between each step.
Click to expand...

This is being extra cautious and a good recommndation. Unfortunately its not
fool-proof since after a reboot many auto-start applications still startup
(e.g. your antivirus) and one loses the benefit of this step. Therefore most
installers overcome this problem by identifying locked files at the time of
installation and request a reboot when the installation finishes. The
installer places itself to be on the top of the list of autostart
applications and updates these files during startup. Nevertheless it is
always better to be cautious.
2. Are you suggesting I just re-install the components you mentioned (over
the top of the existing components) WITHOUT doing an uninstall for each
first? (I can't find any reference to any of these components in "Add or
Remove Programs" anyway!)
Click to expand...

Exactly. The idea is that the installer of these applications would fix the
broken files.
3. By 're rendering the avi from Movie Maker' do you mean suck it in from
the camcorder again after the changes - or something else?
(hope these questions are easy to understand)
Click to expand...

I meant open up the Project file and re-export the movie. if you have
deleted the project, you might still have the captured movie (AVI or WMV
file) in your My Video folder or there would still be an entry in the
Collections.
 
Hello Mike,

I am sorry to have to inform you that you have been given very bad
advice....the following

This is being extra cautious and a good recommndation. Unfortunately its not
fool-proof since after a reboot many auto-start applications still startup
(e.g. your antivirus) and one loses the benefit of this step. Therefore most
installers overcome this problem by identifying locked files at the time of
installation and request a reboot when the installation finishes. The
installer places itself to be on the top of the list of autostart
applications and updates these files during startup. Nevertheless it is
always better to be cautious.

is very wrong....

It is not over cautious, its simply ensuring that every possible file that
was locked at some point prior to a reboot is unlocked.

Antivirus programs do not access audio or video files and therefore their
involvement does not occur, can an example of where any commonly available
anti virus program be provided where that program in any way controls by
locking any file that is related to the discussion? I think not.

Exactly what auto start programs you have is also of no relevance....unless
you have Movie Maker as an Auto Start.....

Most installers are imperfect, this is because they cannot cope with all
situations, in particular there are NO circumstances that exist where an
installer program can overwrite a file that is locked......if such a program
could do that it would have massively failed in its purpose....,an installer
program no matter who wrote it cannot legitimately over write a file that is
protected (LOCKED) by the operating system

An installer program that requires a reboot after installation nearly always
has a non self registering dll to deal with or needs the OS to reboot so
that a registry entry has to be re-read with the large amount of
possibilities that includes....the concept of putting itself on top of the
auto start applications ????? Its not done that way...check RUNONCE. In any
case, an application such as that suggested would have already failed to
achieve what he describes THE SYSTEM HAS ALREADY BOOTED !!!!!!

If you re-install without ensuring that all relevant file locks have not
been removed you stand a good chance of failing......there are many examples
of that in this newsgroup...."I installed .... and it still does not
work.........."

There is no need to uninstall your software before re-installing it unless
that software itself advises you to do that. In any case movie maker etc can
not be uninstalled.

Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
 
Hi John

Hope you are doing well now.

Btw, thanks for correcting me. I only expressed my understanding of
things... which now seems to be lacking in some respects... I was basing my
argument on KB article like http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=228930 and
utility programs like http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc which
apparantly claim to replace the currently locked file when the system is
rebooted next time. If these utilities can do it, i thought, the installers
might also be able to do it... especially the ones from Microsoft. :-S

Anyway, sorry to have caused any confusion.

But I am glad to see you back. Best of wishes for a fuller recovery.
 
argument on KB article like http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=228930 and
utility programs like http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc which
apparantly claim to replace the currently locked file when the system is
Click to expand...

You should have read the content of the article before posting its URL.
The knowledge base article refers to using a program that breaks the rules
of access with regard to locked files, it also states that it should only be
used by system administrators, its use would be VERY dangerous for anyone
who needs to ask for help in this type of newsgroup on the subject of how to
install a basic program, and a VERY dangerous program in any case. Any third
party program that does this is for the use of "geeks" and has no place
here.

Neither of the examples given are of use to the OP and in any case do
not support your earlier comments, nothing in the knowledge base article
would help a newcomer in understanding why he needs to ensure that all file
locks need to be removed, or indeed what a file lock actiually is, or that
such a thing exists. The practice of skipping important steps like
everything else in life almost always leads to failure

John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
 
John:
I can't seem to locate those step-by-step uninstall/reinstall instructions
you posted on another thread. Could you paste them in again here please?
Thanks in advance.
Mike.
 
Hello there,

I was literally just about to pull the cp[lug and your messages appeared...so
here is my standard response for people who have problems with Codecs (Option
one below)....but it is just as good advice for getting MM up and running
(Option 2 below)

Hello there,

You sound as though you are suffering from a codec problem. There are two root
causes and below you will find the solution for each together with some notes
on other issues.

Option 1)

The one stop solution for that is a program called Rename Codecs and it is
available from my web site (Free). Make sure you check out the FAQ, on the
site, on what it does and how to run it (That will take about one minute of
your time!!) All the info you need is on the web site. The latest version is
1.51.

This reassuringly safe to use program requires no knowledge on your part about
what it is doing or how it is doing it or what it is doing it too!!! neither do
you need to know where any of these files are or whether it is safe to rename
them or not.....and best of all, ITS FREE !!!

Option 2)

If this does not solve your problem then try the following out...it has proved
to be a successful procedure for a variety of problems.

1) Download the full version of DirectX Ver 9.0c, Media Player 9 (10 if you
prefer), and Service Pack 2(SP2).

2) Reboot you computer and Install DirectX

3) Reboot again and install Windows Media Player

4) Reboot yet again and install Service Pack 2

5) Reboot one more time

Yes it sounds very tedious, but if you want to be certain all file locks are
removed so that the correct files can be installed this is the way you have to
go.

It is very important that you only download the full versions of these programs
and that you DO NOT attempt an install over the internet.

Other Notes
===========
Graphic Card Acceleration
-------------------------

There is advice floating around that you should disable the graphics
acceleration abilities of your graphics card if Movie Maker locks up or crashes
out. Doing this is roughly equivalent to taking out your current graphics card
and replacing it with one that is several years old....this is not the way
forward!

The Graphics card on the machine I edit on is a cut above the average, it has
DV In & Out as well as Video In & Out. It does all sorts of clever things and
it is extremely fast. Then the day came when I tried Movie Maker 2 for the
first time. It was a disaster. Knowing what the problem was I immediately
logged on to Microsoft and got the latest driver. There was no change with the
performance of the Graphics card with respect to Movie Maker. After a lot of
messing about I went to the cards manufacturer and downloaded there most recent
driver. I was convinced that the one from Microsoft was in some way defective.
It turned out that I was right but for the wrong reason.

The version of the driver from Microsoft was more recent than the one on my
system AND more recent than the one from the OEM.BUT, the OEM had made minor
changes to how the card worked and these were not taken into consideration by
the Microsoft update!!!

So, do not get the generic update from Microsoft until you have tried the
latest driver from the manufacturer of your card.

Registration
------------

There is in my view some very bad advice floating around that tells you to
unregister the offending codec. If you take this advise be warned that
unregistering any file and doing it wrong will more than likely stop the
program that file belongs to from working all together and may in an extreme
situation cause your entire XP system to fail. This is true whether you make a
mistake using the Registry editor or the registration program itself, one
mistake and you are potentially in deep trouble. Whatever you unregister in
this manner has to be restored and you should take note that the registration
of a codec can often involve more than one registry entry. If you are expert in
these matters you will have no problem.

I have also found that MP3, Mpeg and Jpeg files can cause problems, So...

Convert all MP3 to WAV or WMA

Convert all MPeg to AVI

Convert all Jpeg to BMP

Video Conversion
----------------

For Video Conversion you should also check out the Knowledge Base Section of my
"Great Links > Knowledge Base" One of the website's in there called "Video
Help" has the best collection of useful information I have yet come across on
converting between the various formats together with links to the software
needed.
 
John & Rehan:
I followed John's installation instructions exactly including all the
reboots. Nothing has changed. When playing an avi file it still goes about
double speed with audio that sounds like the chipmunks.
MikeC.

John Kelly said:
Hello there,

I was literally just about to pull the cp[lug and your messages appeared...so
here is my standard response for people who have problems with Codecs (Option
one below)....but it is just as good advice for getting MM up and running
(Option 2 below)

Hello there,

You sound as though you are suffering from a codec problem. There are two root
causes and below you will find the solution for each together with some notes
on other issues.

Option 1)

The one stop solution for that is a program called Rename Codecs and it is
available from my web site (Free). Make sure you check out the FAQ, on the
site, on what it does and how to run it (That will take about one minute of
your time!!) All the info you need is on the web site. The latest version is
1.51.

This reassuringly safe to use program requires no knowledge on your part about
what it is doing or how it is doing it or what it is doing it too!!! neither do
you need to know where any of these files are or whether it is safe to rename
them or not.....and best of all, ITS FREE !!!

Option 2)

If this does not solve your problem then try the following out...it has proved
to be a successful procedure for a variety of problems.

1) Download the full version of DirectX Ver 9.0c, Media Player 9 (10 if you
prefer), and Service Pack 2(SP2).

2) Reboot you computer and Install DirectX

3) Reboot again and install Windows Media Player

4) Reboot yet again and install Service Pack 2

5) Reboot one more time

Yes it sounds very tedious, but if you want to be certain all file locks are
removed so that the correct files can be installed this is the way you have to
go.

It is very important that you only download the full versions of these programs
and that you DO NOT attempt an install over the internet.

Other Notes
===========
Graphic Card Acceleration
-------------------------

There is advice floating around that you should disable the graphics
acceleration abilities of your graphics card if Movie Maker locks up or crashes
out. Doing this is roughly equivalent to taking out your current graphics card
and replacing it with one that is several years old....this is not the way
forward!

The Graphics card on the machine I edit on is a cut above the average, it has
DV In & Out as well as Video In & Out. It does all sorts of clever things and
it is extremely fast. Then the day came when I tried Movie Maker 2 for the
first time. It was a disaster. Knowing what the problem was I immediately
logged on to Microsoft and got the latest driver. There was no change with the
performance of the Graphics card with respect to Movie Maker. After a lot of
messing about I went to the cards manufacturer and downloaded there most recent
driver. I was convinced that the one from Microsoft was in some way defective.
It turned out that I was right but for the wrong reason.

The version of the driver from Microsoft was more recent than the one on my
system AND more recent than the one from the OEM.BUT, the OEM had made minor
changes to how the card worked and these were not taken into consideration by
the Microsoft update!!!

So, do not get the generic update from Microsoft until you have tried the
latest driver from the manufacturer of your card.

Registration
------------

There is in my view some very bad advice floating around that tells you to
unregister the offending codec. If you take this advise be warned that
unregistering any file and doing it wrong will more than likely stop the
program that file belongs to from working all together and may in an extreme
situation cause your entire XP system to fail. This is true whether you make a
mistake using the Registry editor or the registration program itself, one
mistake and you are potentially in deep trouble. Whatever you unregister in
this manner has to be restored and you should take note that the registration
of a codec can often involve more than one registry entry. If you are expert in
these matters you will have no problem.

I have also found that MP3, Mpeg and Jpeg files can cause problems, So...

Convert all MP3 to WAV or WMA

Convert all MPeg to AVI

Convert all Jpeg to BMP

Video Conversion
----------------

For Video Conversion you should also check out the Knowledge Base Section of my
"Great Links > Knowledge Base" One of the website's in there called "Video
Help" has the best collection of useful information I have yet come across on
converting between the various formats together with links to the software
needed.
Click to expand...
 
I assume this AVI file is one that you made using Windows Movie maker or
does this double speed audio behaviour happens with all AVI files ?

As I said before you need to re-export this movie after the reinstallations
of DirectX and Windows Media Encoder. If the AVI still comes out to be
problematic, then installing SP2 is your best bet. If for some reason you
cannot do that then try reinstalling your graphics card drivers and sound
card drivers.

Does this behaviour only happen in Windows media Player or all payers ? Try
the following players:

Old Windows Media Player:
C:\Program Fils\Windows media player\wmplayer2.exe

Media Player Classic
http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/


--
Rehan
www.rehanfx.org - get more effects and transitions for movie maker





MikeC said:
John & Rehan:
I followed John's installation instructions exactly including all the
reboots. Nothing has changed. When playing an avi file it still goes
about
double speed with audio that sounds like the chipmunks.
MikeC.

John Kelly said:
Hello there,

I was literally just about to pull the cp[lug and your messages
appeared...so
here is my standard response for people who have problems with Codecs
(Option
one below)....but it is just as good advice for getting MM up and running
(Option 2 below)

Hello there,

You sound as though you are suffering from a codec problem. There are two
root
causes and below you will find the solution for each together with some
notes
on other issues.

Option 1)

The one stop solution for that is a program called Rename Codecs and it
is
available from my web site (Free). Make sure you check out the FAQ, on
the
site, on what it does and how to run it (That will take about one minute
of
your time!!) All the info you need is on the web site. The latest version
is
1.51.

This reassuringly safe to use program requires no knowledge on your part
about
what it is doing or how it is doing it or what it is doing it too!!!
neither do
you need to know where any of these files are or whether it is safe to
rename
them or not.....and best of all, ITS FREE !!!

Option 2)

If this does not solve your problem then try the following out...it has
proved
to be a successful procedure for a variety of problems.

1) Download the full version of DirectX Ver 9.0c, Media Player 9 (10 if
you
prefer), and Service Pack 2(SP2).

2) Reboot you computer and Install DirectX

3) Reboot again and install Windows Media Player

4) Reboot yet again and install Service Pack 2

5) Reboot one more time

Yes it sounds very tedious, but if you want to be certain all file locks
are
removed so that the correct files can be installed this is the way you
have to
go.

It is very important that you only download the full versions of these
programs
and that you DO NOT attempt an install over the internet.

Other Notes
===========
Graphic Card Acceleration
-------------------------

There is advice floating around that you should disable the graphics
acceleration abilities of your graphics card if Movie Maker locks up or
crashes
out. Doing this is roughly equivalent to taking out your current graphics
card
and replacing it with one that is several years old....this is not the
way
forward!

The Graphics card on the machine I edit on is a cut above the average, it
has
DV In & Out as well as Video In & Out. It does all sorts of clever things
and
it is extremely fast. Then the day came when I tried Movie Maker 2 for
the
first time. It was a disaster. Knowing what the problem was I immediately
logged on to Microsoft and got the latest driver. There was no change
with the
performance of the Graphics card with respect to Movie Maker. After a lot
of
messing about I went to the cards manufacturer and downloaded there most
recent
driver. I was convinced that the one from Microsoft was in some way
defective.
It turned out that I was right but for the wrong reason.

The version of the driver from Microsoft was more recent than the one on
my
system AND more recent than the one from the OEM.BUT, the OEM had made
minor
changes to how the card worked and these were not taken into
consideration by
the Microsoft update!!!

So, do not get the generic update from Microsoft until you have tried the
latest driver from the manufacturer of your card.

Registration
------------

There is in my view some very bad advice floating around that tells you
to
unregister the offending codec. If you take this advise be warned that
unregistering any file and doing it wrong will more than likely stop the
program that file belongs to from working all together and may in an
extreme
situation cause your entire XP system to fail. This is true whether you
make a
mistake using the Registry editor or the registration program itself, one
mistake and you are potentially in deep trouble. Whatever you unregister
in
this manner has to be restored and you should take note that the
registration
of a codec can often involve more than one registry entry. If you are
expert in
these matters you will have no problem.

I have also found that MP3, Mpeg and Jpeg files can cause problems, So...

Convert all MP3 to WAV or WMA

Convert all MPeg to AVI

Convert all Jpeg to BMP

Video Conversion
----------------

For Video Conversion you should also check out the Knowledge Base Section
of my
"Great Links > Knowledge Base" One of the website's in there called
"Video
Help" has the best collection of useful information I have yet come
across on
converting between the various formats together with links to the
software
needed.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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