AVI / DIVX problems 

The file won't play on my computer. It says stuff like "no possible combination of filters and streams" blah blah       

 

Solutions -

1)                  You will probably need the Divx Codec. Go to www.divx-digest.com and look for the latest Divx codec. A codec (COder/DECoder) is basically a file that tells the player how to "read" divx files and play them back with video and audio. Once you have installed the codec, you should be able to watch the avi file without needing to restart the computer.

NOTE - Because there are sooo many divx codecs, I recommend installing the NIMO code pack or the K-lite codec pack as they have a load of divx codecs in them.

NOTE 2 – If you are very sure that you have the right codec installed, or you can’t work out for the life of you what a particular file needs in order to view it, use G-Spot to read the file to tell you what codec you need, and if you have it installed.

2)                  You have an unfinished avi, or a completely corrupted index file in your avi. Avi files, like rms, have an index file at the back of the file to give information to the player about how to play the file. The best way to fix this is to keep downloading the file in question, find a player that allows you to watch unfinished avis such as VirtualDub (not Windows Media Player, it does not support this function) or my personal favourite, go get DivxFix and run this program on the avi to restore it's index file. It actually reconstructs the index file using information gathered from analyzing the avi so you can watch it

3)                  You don't have an avi file there. This was a big problem with the Berserk files, people actually renamed the files from asf (advanced streamig format) to avi in order to trick people into believing they were getting divx files Windows Media Player plays these files as asfs and doesn't inform the viewer they are watching asfs, unless they look at properties, so people get away with it.

4)                  Your file is totally messed up. Run divxfix on the file and use the check error function (supported by DivxFix 1.05+).  You will find that there will be a lot of bad frames, which means that it is too far gone to recover.  You can attempt to remove the bad frames with AVIdefreeze, but it will take a long time.  Try to find out what went wrong (Eg CD is screwed, FAT table died, etc).  Use my Divx Recover FAQ to recover the file.

  

I'm watching the file and I come up to freezes in the frames. I can switch ahead time indices, but it really suxs        

 

You are probably watching an avi with errors in the file. The best way to get around this is to go and get AVIdefreeze filter from www.divx-digest.com. When you get to the errors, you will notice some flashing lights for a bit, but it keeps playing and gets you past the bad bits. You can check to see if this is the problem by running divxfix's check error function and seeing if it reports bad frames.  Check out my divx recovery faq if you still have problems, or email me.

 

There is another program called AVIdefreeze that actually removes the bad frames.  I still use VrtualDub to do this though.

 

The picture is upside down! I ain't turning my computer upside down to watch this you know.           

 

Your player is using the wrong divx codec to play your file. Reinstall the codec or try another player.

 

I get video, but no audio OR I get audio, but no video      

 

If you get video and no audio, you are missing the audio codec.  If you get audio and no video, you are missing the video codec.  Use G-spot on the file to see what it needs and the go and install / re-install the latest version of the proper codecs.

 

Sounds problems can usually be solved by installing the radium mp3 codec. Most audio codecs are mp3 codecs.

 

The show is turning a beautiful shade of green.  Ewww!

 

There are 2 reasons this happens –

·        FFdshow is installed on your computer and it cannot handle the codec you are using.  For example, if you installed Divx 5.05 on your machine to play a Divx 5.05 file, and your FFdshow was only able to handle up to Divx 5.03, you get the green screen.  To solve this, you can either Uninstall FFdshow, or get the latest FFdshow which can handle the avi file you are trying to watch.

·        Your divx codec works, but you may need a more updated version. 

 

There are no subs on this show and you told me it was subbed!  Whats going on?

 

Some funky encoders decided that they were too lazy or too hardcore to ‘hard sub’ (add the subs to the video stream of the avi) so they added ‘soft subs’ (subs you can turn on and off). Look in the same directory as the divx file you are watching.  There should be some small files with one of the following extensions - .ssa (Sub Station Alpha) -.smi (SAMI files), -.srt (Sub Rip Files) or .sub (Subviewer).  There are other ones but I doubt you will see them. 

 

The player you are using must support subtitle files.  It’s a pain with Windows Media Player so I recommend using another player like “Sasami”, “Bsplayer” or “Global Divx Player”.  I use Global Divx player to watch shows with subs myself.  If you want to hard-sub the avis yourself, it is possible but quite complicated.  Let me know if you want to do it so I can help you out with some instructions.  As long as you can use a player to watch these shows, you really don’t need to worry about hardsubbing anyway.

 

Note that some shows coming out actually have subs inside the avi file structure as a separate part of the show.  You need to install VobSubDec in order to view the avi properly.  I always rip the subs out of the avi and hardsub these shows.

 

The sound keeps going faster than the video. Whats wrong?        

 

Unless the encoder really sucked (1% of the time this occurs) your computer ain't cut out to play the video you are watching. Here are some suggestions:

 

1)       New Hardware: There are 3 important components you need to watch shows properly on your computer - RAM, Video Card and Processor Speeds. Basically, you can't play a high quality divx show on a Pentium 200 with 64 meg of ram and a 4 meg video card.

2)      Try a different player, like "Sasami" “Global Divx Player” or "The Playa". You can find them at www.divx-digest.com. These players don't chew up too much memory, but don't keep too many other programs open as they really chew up resources. My comp has crashed using these programs quite a few times. Be careful.  The best player is already on your hard drive though, Windows Media Player 6.4. C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe .  Every Microsoft comp has it. Try it out.

3)      Got the latest drivers for your video card?

4)      Install the FFDshow codec. To quote the site, the codec "uses DDirectShow decoding filter for decompressing DIVX movies". What does this mean? "fast video decompression" for slower comps.

5)      Last but not least, tweaking your system. Before playing a clip, purge all unnecessary programs out of memory by pressing control-alt-del and "End Task" many unnecessary programs. Run Memturbo to purge the memory of files using up excess memory. Then start playing. Also, pause the clip before switching to full screen so the computer so the computer isn't trying to play the clip, build a cache and switch to full screen at the same time.

6)      If you are running the show off a CD, copy it to the harddrive and try again.

 

Hardware Recommendations

·     RAM: Get 128 minimum. I would suggest for the serious watchers to get 256 high quality RAM, even 512 if you are really serious and have $$$ to burn

·     Video Card - 32 meg minimum. Try getting a 64 if possible. No "no-name" brands, nVidia or Geforce please.

·         Processor Speeds - a 1 gig processor will be great for playing everything out now. 600 is adequate, but you may want to know that the latest Divx 5.0 that has come out needs a 1 gig processor to run without slowdown problems.

 

RealMedia (RM) problems                                       

I get to a particular place and the video and audio freeze.

                                                           

You have experienced a glitch in the actual realmedia file. This often happens when an error is embedded in the file and will mean that RealPlayer just gives up trying to read it. You will notice that the player's time index keeps going. The only way to get around this is to "fast forward" or go forward 5 or so seconds ahead of the error. You miss out on a couple of seconds (no big deal really) and you can keep watching.       

                                   

I try to scroll through my realmedia file to go to another place in the clip, but when I do that, the clip freezes and I am told by RealPlayer that the file is "buffering".      

 

You have a file that had not finished downloading, or has a messed up index file. The information that informs Realplayer where to go to the data when you scroll through times is at the end of the file. With files like these, all you can do is start from the beginning and watch it right through. You can pause, but you can't use any other time scrolling function.

 

Note – This is my FAQ and if you want to use it somewhere else, ASK me first.  I may or may not grant permission but if I do, you will credit me.  If you find it anywhere else, please email me.