On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 13:12:02 -0700, The Colonel
<TheColonel@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>
>
>"Adam Albright" wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:46:01 -0700, The Colonel
>> <TheColonel@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Ok I am having a problem with WMP that it lists that some of my files are 0
>> >seconds long. When I click on them in WMP i can't fast forward, rewind or
>> >select where I want to go on the video but if I open up the vidoe for the
>> >location it is saved on the computer I can. This problem is also preventing
>> >me from making a dvd data disc cause WMP has a problem with it. Does anyone
>> >know how to fix this?
>>
>> Usually a sign the file is corrupt. The slightest corruption can cause
>> Media Player to hang, die, do all kinds of dumb things.
>>
>> One fix that sometimes works is open the file in another application
>> then re save. For audio files a great little program everyone should
>> have is called Audacity. It's a great little audio editor that can
>> stretch, fix, splice, join, split, enhance, etc.. It's free, works
>> fine in Vista.
>>
>> Tip: Before re saving change SOEMTHING from within Audacity otherwise
>> the file may only get rewritten which isn't exactly the same as re
>> saving from scratch.
>>
>>
> What about video files? It seems that is the major issue audio works fine.
> What program could I use to fix the video ones?
Basically the same problem. For reasons I'll never fully understand
Media Player seems totally incapable of skipping over any kind of file
corruption regardless how slight. Other players can and do all the
time. The solution depends on if you simply want to play the problem
file or actually "fix" them.
To play most any video file the following trio should play just about
anything: They're all free and all work fine under Vista.
GOM Player
VLC Media Player
XnView
To actually "fix" a broken video file the first hurdle is to get some
application to open it. While the above can open and play damaged
files they're not really designed to repair them.
In the context I'm using the term "broken" the signs are the player's
scrubber bar doesn't work smoothly or hangs or refuses to go to the
end of the video, so you can't smoothly scroll back and forth within
the video, the time shown as to length or time remaining is incorrect
or the file simply won't play at all or starts then crashes or Windows
Explorer can't/won't create a thumbnail, Media Player locks up, says
it needs to shutdown, etc.. All pretty good indicators something is
missing or corrupt in the file.
Another free application anyone into video should have is called
VirtualDub. It was written years ago, still it often outperforms just
about anything else in brute strength. Reason is simple, no frills or
"cute" interface and a bit geeky to use, but powerful it is and a
favorite with many others supporting it and writing special purpose
filters for it.
Often if a problem is encountered Virtual Dub will just jump right in
and fix it on the fly without even asking, but it does say that's what
it is doing and it typically just takes a few seconds for a 30 minute
vid.
A common problem with "broken" video files in the header or index is
corrupt or missing. VD can fix a lot of this type of errors. If not
the idea is you render what you can out as uncompressed avi, let it
crash at whatever point it fails, then just restart the process a few
frames beyond where it crashed using the scrubber to set new in and
out point, make a second, third, etc.. file then join the lot together
with a joiner/splitter application or full blown video editor.
Another good tool, but not free is Video Fixer. It isn't that
expensive and you can try the demo to see if it meets your needs. It
works similar to Virtual Dub. If it hits some corruption it simply
stops for a second or show, says it found blah, blah, blah, creates a
offset pointer, then continues on. The end result is a repaired file
minus a handful of 'corrupt' frames.