VirtualDub problem under Vista x64

[Jayjay81]

I've been using VirtualDub to burn subtitles in XviD-movies for years now. Until recently I did so on an old PC under Windows XP. Unfortunately that one broke down and I had to replace it. And unfortunately the new PC came equipped with Vista x64. So far that crappy OS has only presented me with problem after problem. This is the latest one:

When I try to re-encode a downloaded XviD (doesn't matter which one I try, I always get the same problem) VirtualDub stops working after encoding only a couple of frames (total estimated duration goes towards infinity). I'm running the latest VDub (1.9.7), which should work fine on both x86 and x64 operating systems, according to the VDub homepage. I also have the latest ffdshow and stable XviD-codec installed (1.2.1 final). The problem also persists when I try to encode with "No Audio" selected, and also if I don't select a subtitle, so those are not the causes of the problem either.

Seeing as I have no previous experience with Vista nor 64-bit operating systems I'm guessing I must have screwed up in some way, but ofcourse I have no idea what this screw-up might be.

I've already tried running VDub in Windows XP compatibility-mode, but that didn't work either.

Also, to be clear, I'm not having any issues when playing XviD-movies, only when encoding them in VDub.

If I need special 64-bit codecs, perhaps someone could point me in the right direction (no codec-packs please, as 99% of the codecs inside these packs are completely redundant and it has been my experience that these packs always lead to problems in the long run).

In case this is relevant, I have a Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 CPU. If you need any additional info, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any info you might be able to provide!

[HymnToLife]

Are you using the 64 or 32 bit version of vdub?

[Jayjay81]

The 32-bit version. Like I said, the homepage of VirtualDub states that that version should work fine on both x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) systems. They even recommend that you use that version, even if you have a 64-bit system, unless you have a specific need to use 64-bit execution, seeing as it won't work with 32-bit codecs or plug-ins (http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/).

[LoRd_MuldeR]

The 32-bit version. Like I said, the homepage of VirtualDub states that that version should work fine on both x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) systems. They even recommend that you use that version, even if you have a 64-bit system, unless you have a specific need to use 64-bit execution, seeing as it won't work with 32-bit codecs or plug-ins (http://virtualdub.sourceforge.net/).

That's all absolutely right. Usually the 32-Bit version should be preferred, even on a 64-Bit OS.

But many people don't know. They think they need 64-Bit apps on 64-Bit OS. And then they complain about 32-Bit Codecs or Avisynth not working :rolleyes:

That's obviously that's not the case here ;)

So does it happen with any source? Did you try another (older) build of Xvid? Or even an older version of VirtualDub? Just to be sure...

[Jayjay81]

Yes, before I upgraded to the latest version of VirtualDub I had tried it with an older version (1.8.something), and I've tried it with at least 5 different source avi's (of which one was at least several years old).
Did not try it with an older XviD build though. It's been my experience in the past that using an outdated version of XviD to re-encode new XviD-rips can lead to choppy playback (when using XviD 1.0 to re-encode a rip made with XviD 1.1 for example).

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Yes, before I upgraded to the latest version of VirtualDub I had tried it with an older version (1.8.something), and I've tried it with at least 5 different source avi's (of which one was at least several years old).
Did not try it with an older XviD build though.

So what VfW decoder are you using to decode the source AVI? The "File Information" dialog in VirtualDub should give the info...

It's been my experience in the past that using an outdated version of XviD to re-encode new XviD-rips can lead to choppy playback (when using XviD 1.0 to re-encode a rip made with XviD 1.1 for example).

Impossible. MPEG-4 ASP is a fixed standard.

Any Xvid version will produce valid MPEG-4 ASP bitstream, so video encoded with any version of Xvid will be 100% compatible.

Unless you use a seriously broken build, of couse ;)

[Jayjay81]

Vfw decoder? Sorry, but nothing that even remotely resembles that shows up under file information, so I have no idea what you are talking about...
Perhaps if you tell me what it should look like, I would be able to find it.
This is literally all the info that's available under file information (the video stream part): frame size, fps (us per frame), Length, Decompressor (which is Xvid MPEG-4 Codec (XVID)), Number of keyframes, Min/avg/max/total key frame size, Min/avg/max/total delta frame size and Data rate.
There's also a part for the Audio stream, but there's nothing there about any Vfw decoder either.

All I could find about a Vfw decoder was in the release notes of this version:
"VFW AVICap capture mode has been removed.
Video for Windows video capture drivers will appear twice in the device list, once for the VFW driver (VFW) and again for DirectShow's VFW adapter (VFW>DirectShow). You will probably have better performance with using the VFW driver directly.
Histogram and video display acceleration do not yet work when the source video is compressed.
Under the VFW driver, DV capture will only result in video, because the interleaved stream is marked as video; DV won't work at all under the DirectShow driver."
But seeing as I had the same problem in a previous version, I don't think this has anything to do with my problem. Ofcourse I could be wrong.

As for the "impossible" choppy playback problem: All I know is that in the past on some re-encodes I had choppy playback, and that this was usually the case when I had re-encoded a "new" XviD-encode with an old XviD build, and it was always resolved when upgrading to the latest build and doing the re-encode again. Perhaps it was simply a coïncidence, but seeing as it happened several times, it seems a little too coïncidental to be believable for my taste.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Vfw decoder? Sorry, but nothing that even remotely resembles that shows up under file information, so I have no idea what you are talking about...

VirtualDub decodes all AVI files though the VFW (Video for Windows) interface. It can't do otherwise. So for each video format you need a suitable VFW decoder.

For MPEG-4 ASP video (Xvid, DivX, etc.) this could be the DivX Decoder, the Xvid Decoder or ffdshow's VFW decoder. Quite possible that the decoder used on your system causes the "hang" problem.

So if you would be so kind and look at the "File Information" dialog in VirtualDub (after loading the source AVI) and tell use what "Decompressor" is used ;)

Then you could try to disable/uninstall that decoder and use another one...

As for the "impossible" choppy playback problem: All I know is that in the past on some re-encodes I had choppy playback, and that this was usually the case when I had re-encoded a "new" XviD-encode with an old XviD build, and it was always resolved when upgrading to the latest build and doing the re-encode again. Perhaps it was simply a coïncidence, but seeing as it happened several times, it seems a little too coïncidental to be believable for my taste.

Either you used an outdated Xvid build that was seriously broken -or- with the older build you used other settings that caused "choppy" playback on your h/w player.

Also for the encoding process it doesn't matter how the source was decoded, because the source first decoded to "raw" data and then re-encoded...

[Jayjay81]

De-installed the XviD-codec and used the ffdshow codec to re-encode to XviD, and that actually worked!
I still don't understand why though... Is there some sort of compatibility problem between XviD 1.2.1 final and Vista x64?
On my previous computer every re-encode I ever did (which without a doubt total a number of over 1000) was done with the XviD-codec, so contrary to the ffdshow codec I know that interface, and I would really, REALLY appreciate it if there was a way to keep using it.
But for now I'm simply grateful that I can encode again. Thanks for all the help!

PS Apparantly it is also not possible to encode a whole batch of files using job control when using the ffdshow codec ("Add to job control"-option has vanished into thin air), which also is a BIG problem for me, seeing as I usually encode a dozen files or more in a row.

*EDIT* Both XviD 1.2.1 and XviD 1.2.2 caused the same problem in VDub. Then I tried version 1.1.2-01112006, and that one doesn't make my VDub go on the fritz. So depending on the quality of the resulting encodes, I'll probably stick to that one for now.

*EDIT2* Apparently somebody thought it was a good idea to remove the "add to job control"-option in the newer version of VDub, so that forced me to go back to an old version of that program as well. Who the hell could ever think of changes like that as "improvements"???

[GrofLuigi]

Jayjay81,

Job control operations weren't removed, they were moved in their own submenu "Queue Batch Operation".

If you meant something else and I misunderstood you, sorry.

GL

[Taurus]

Jayjay81,

Job control operations weren't removed, they were moved in their own submenu "Queue Batch Operation".

If you meant something else and I misunderstood you, sorry.

GL
and look for the Batch Wizard...:p
And maybe some new eyeglasses.

[farmdve]

I've been using VirtualDub to burn subtitles in XviD-movies for years now. Until recently I did so on an old PC under Windows XP. Unfortunately that one broke down and I had to replace it. And unfortunately the new PC came equipped with Vista x64. So far that crappy OS has only presented me with problem after problem. This is the latest one:

When I try to re-encode a downloaded XviD (doesn't matter which one I try, I always get the same problem) VirtualDub stops working after encoding only a couple of frames (total estimated duration goes towards infinity). I'm running the latest VDub (1.9.7), which should work fine on both x86 and x64 operating systems, according to the VDub homepage. I also have the latest ffdshow and stable XviD-codec installed (1.2.1 final). The problem also persists when I try to encode with "No Audio" selected, and also if I don't select a subtitle, so those are not the causes of the problem either.

Seeing as I have no previous experience with Vista nor 64-bit operating systems I'm guessing I must have screwed up in some way, but ofcourse I have no idea what this screw-up might be.

I've already tried running VDub in Windows XP compatibility-mode, but that didn't work either.

Also, to be clear, I'm not having any issues when playing XviD-movies, only when encoding them in VDub.

If I need special 64-bit codecs, perhaps someone could point me in the right direction (no codec-packs please, as 99% of the codecs inside these packs are completely redundant and it has been my experience that these packs always lead to problems in the long run).

In case this is relevant, I have a Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 CPU. If you need any additional info, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any info you might be able to provide!

I thought it was against the rules to talk about warez?

[osgZach]

So much for benefit of the doubt. (read: not everything on the Internet is copyrighted)

In the future you could try frameserving it through AviSynth (Avi / DirectShowSource?) if you prefer to use the Xvid codec outside of FFDshow, etc