PLEASE HELP (sorry to ask) No Video, just audio when I save a movi

[Nicole]

Hello! I'm Nicole. Sorry to bother everyone, but I really need help. After I
save the movie I made on Windows Movie Maker to my computer and play it, the
whole screen is black and only the audio plays. It won't even play a second
of video.

If it couldn't be too much trouble, could someone help? I don't know what to
do about this, and I really need this video.

Thanks!

 

[Graham Hughes]

Try this page
http://www.myvideoproblems.com/Tutorials/MovieMaker/File_type_compatibility.htm

 

[Nicole]

I've already made the entire movie. Does this mean I have to convert the
files (according to the website) and remake it again?

 

[PapaJohn]

Hi Nicole,

If you've already invested the time in making the project, you have the
option of converting any problem source files to others that work OK.... and
slipping them in by naming them the same (including extensions) and putting
them in the same folders....

Movie Maker only checks that the video source files are in the folders and
with the names they had when imported.... so a DV-AVI can be used as a
substitute for an MPEG-2 or Divx file.

 

[Nicole]

Thank you so much, I seriously appreciate this. What is the best thing I
should do now? Should I convert all the files? They are all DivX files (avi),
so what file should I convert them to?

 

[Nicole]

Thank you, I seriously appreciate this. So what is the best thing I should do
now? Should I convert the files? They are Divx (avi), so what should I
convert them to?

 

[PapaJohn]

VirtualDub, with the Panasonic DV codec does a good job converting Divx
files to DV-AVI....

You might be able to use Movie Maker also to convert them... as long as
there's no editing of the clips, they sometimes work without crashing Movie
Makee.

 

[Nicole]

I guess I'll try Virtual dub. But how would I convert them with Windows Movie
Maker if the screen goes black everytime I save them? I've tried saving the
clips as DV-AVi as well as a smaller size but it doesn't work.

 

[PapaJohn]

Right... every system is different when it comes to the codecs on them and
how they work or don't.

 

[Nicole]

So What do I do then? (sorry I keep asking and taking up your time), I'm just
really bad with computers.

 

[PapaJohn]

You said you were going to try using Virtual Dub to convert the file.... did
you? Did it look OK there?

At this point I know too little about what you're trying and seeing....

 

[Nicole]

It worked on Virtualdub! It ACTUALLY worked! Thank you so much! Seriously
thank you! I really needed this project, and now I can finish my work. Thanks
again!

 

[PapaJohn]

great to hear!!!

 

[Nicole]

Sorry to ask another question, but when I saved one of my files it took up
like 25 GB, eating up all the space on my computer. Is there something I'm
doing wrong?

 

[PapaJohn]

VirtualDub defaults to uncompressed unless you select a compression
option...

Before saving the new file, use from the main menu

Video > Compression > select the Panasonic DV CODEC...

If you work with NTSC files, and your input file is 720x480 pixels, you're
all set.... if it's a different size, you need to also apply the resize
filter...

Video > Filters > Add > resize > OK > disable the aspect ratio > put 720x480
into the new size > OK

Then try saving the file again...

 

[Nicole]

I just tried, and I'm getting a message that says:

"Cannot Start Video Compression,
The source image file is not acceptable.
(error code -2)"

Ugh...What should I do?

 

[PapaJohn]

that could be telling you the input file isn't 720x480.... apply that resize
filter and try again.

 

[Nicole]

It didn't work. The input file was orginally 640X480, and it was never
740X480. So...Does that mean anything?

 

[PapaJohn]

that's why you need to resize it to 720x480.... that's the only way the
compression choice will work...

if you want to try other choices without resizing, see my website's Import
Movie Source Files > Video > Video Codecs page