Problem with unrecognized avi
 

Someone recently sent me an avi file to convert to a dvd, no other information included. VLC player plays it OK, but any other player I've tried (e.g. Nero) hangs and has to be killed via task manager (Win XP SP2). Neither Vegas 7 nor DVD Arch. 4 will recognize it, giving the message "stream attributes could not be determined". I also tried an app. I have called DVConverter, but it said it was not a DV file. Does anyone have any ideas of what I could try to identify this file/codec and convert it to something usable?
Thanks in Adavance.

Try GSpot!
 

Do a search for GSpot on google. This app will be able to tell you what codec is required to play the avi. In addition, the app will tell you if you have the codec installed to play it. Then you go from there...

Juan

http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

it's an awesome little utility ...

Except it doesn't work for all video files. I have tried it on several M2TS and MTS AVCHD files and it is pretty noncommittal. Seems to work ok on WMV and MPEG files.

I think it's designed primarily for AVI files, eg. to tell you the codec in the avi wrapper. What would it tell you for M2T? Those are mpeg format, so the codec is known. I guess bitrate? (but there are bitrate viewers). same for AVC?

I was looking for a tool that would tell me the H.264 and audio data from an AVCHD file...like the bitrate and audio encoding. M2TS and MTS files are not MPEG2 although they use that transport protocol. But, AVCHD is relatively new and I suspect the tools will be coming soon.

problem solved
 

Thank you everyone. Gspot is indeed a slick little tool and solved my problem.

interesting points. with avc, yeah I supposed the tools will come along. the only thing I've done is if you play an avc file in quicktime, you can get bitrate and audio info from the player (one of the menu options has a file info selection). I'm sure the bitrate, etc. is approximate, but it is some indication.

for M2T, how is that different from mpeg2, other than the GOP being more frames? depsite getting into HDV with my new cam., I haven't looked at the M2T specs.. can you say some of the basic differences in addition to the GOP format?

thanks..if this is hijacking the thread too much, I can create a new post.

Dave,
Yeah, we are actually OT for this forum.

I can't really say since I have not seen any technical specs on AVCHD other than it is variable bitrate H.264 at 6, 9, 13, and 15 Mbps. I believe video and audio streams are enclosed in a M2TS wrapper when they are transferred from the camcorder to computer on the Panasonic SD1 but are recorded as M2TS on DVD disk and hard disk on the Sony UX1 and SR1. To my knowledge, Apple systems are unable to play back this video yet. It is extremely difficult to play it back on PC systems, requiring a fast dual core system. I have had success playing it in Nero Showtime and Windows Media Player but Vegas will not accept it. Sony has said it will support AVCHD in Vegas next spring.

Another great FREE video converter to keep around is SUPER:

http://www.erightsoft.net/SUPER.html

Huge list of formats supported.