Damn Codecs

No_Style · Apr 5, 2003, 11:38 AM

I downloaded this .avi movie. ~900 MB. To my unfortunate surprise, sound doesn't work. I can watch the video perfectly, however sound does not work. I have the latest DivX, which is version 5.0.3. WMP9 searches for codecs, but it then fails to download/find them. Other AVIs work fine. Here is the filename if it helps: Hero.DVDRip.DivX5.02.AC3.popofox.avi
Thanks a lot.

No Style

dipstick · Apr 5, 2003, 11:52 AM

Nimo codec pack...you'll never need another codec again

http://www.divx-digest.com/software/nimo_pack.html

peroni · Apr 5, 2003, 12:10 PM

You probably only need the AC3 audio decoder, http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter/

~~craig588~~ · Apr 5, 2003, 02:25 PM

Nimo codec pack, although the greatest collection of codecs ever, breaks games. I can't play NOLF2 or freelancer with it installed.

-={420}=- · Apr 5, 2003, 03:05 PM

YES I HAVE THE ANSWER!!! Do you have this or a similar codec-related problem?

::::
I downloaded this .avi movie. ~900 MB. To my unfortunate surprise, sound doesn't work. I can watch the video perfectly, however sound does not work. I have the latest DivX, which is version 5.0.3. WMP9 searches for codecs, but it then fails to download/find them. Other AVIs work fine.
::::

Well, I know of a nice little program that I found very useful. Not only will it solve your problem but also has the following features:
• Determine what codec a file uses and what codec your system will use to play it
• Full support for OGG media files as well as AVI stream formats
• Identifies MPEG (.mpg), QuickTime (.mov), RealMedia (.rm), Windows Media (.wma / .asf), Flash (.swf) and others; will attempt a DirectShow render those (and any other) file, and report either the error or detailed results.
• Supports VFW, ACM, DirectShow and DMO codec types (audio and video)
• Offers painstaking detail about installed details codecs, culled from seven internal sources & external database of 300 video and 150 audio codec types
• Drag and Drop and "Send To" support, multi-file (batch) processing support
• Copy/Paste and text export w/ user configurable format
• Advanced UI including dual-mode and hyperlinked persistent tool tips, both unique to GSpot.
• Win95/98/NT/2K/XP
• No Install
• Free (not just for me

)
BTW, it doesn't mention avi files but trust me it works on them. It identifies the audio and video codecs used to encode the video file and also tells you if you have the codec installed and, if so, gives information about that codec.

Recently, I downloaded an avi file myself "Blind Date Uncensored" -(Highly recommended

) and it needed the XviD codec. I searched for it on the internet and got it! It's that easy. This prog is real nice.

« DOWNLOAD IT HERE »

DrBeltway · Apr 30, 2003, 09:38 PM

Hey, cool.. Been looking for sometihng like this! Thanks

BadReligionPR · Apr 30, 2003, 11:51 PM

I used to use Nimo Codec Pack too, but it causes errors with EAC.

nikec · May 1, 2003, 02:51 AM

what about the FFDSHOW filter?

Aktan · May 1, 2003, 10:37 AM

Nime COdec Pack breaks Xvid videos, DON'T USE IT!. What you needed was an AC3 codec, which
peronihad posted a good link. Ffdhow is only for video, not audio.

kenken1186 · May 4, 2003, 01:24 AM

Nimo's pack sucks now, I had problems with it too. Go with K-Lite Codec pack, no problems at all so far. http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirror.htm

brc64 · May 4, 2003, 10:33 AM

The Nimo pack has broken my computer everytime I've used it. Everytime I've installed it, Windows Media Player just plain crashes if you try to open anything. And if you run the uninstall program, it uninstalls codecs you had installed before you installed the codec pack. I uninstalled it and Windows Media Player couldn't even play MP3s anymore.

I can't recommend it to anybody.

- Me

~~Asuka~~ · May 4, 2003, 04:27 PM

Had some strange problems with it as well... suddenly I couldn't play some of my avis properly anymore (especially the DIVX ones), and some other weird stuff... took me some time to notice that it was the codec pack that had caused it. After uninstalling (and reinstalling DIVX codecs 'n' stuff), everything worked fine again

***Zardon*** · May 4, 2003, 04:59 PM

Nimo I never liked, always gave me problems. I have an "ACE" installer package, 35meg installer and it rocks, almost every codec you could ever need, and it breaks nothing !

nieves · May 5, 2003, 07:11 AM

Xvid from Nimo pack is known to cause problems - slowdowns and green goo during movie playback. mostly

I'm not joking, if you ever had an xvid movie using the wrong codec (Nimo's) you know what it means...

Basically it's better to install only the codecs you use. I never use codec packs. Gspot tells me exactly the codecs I need for a particular movie, I download those from the developer's site and install what I need, when I need.

Zar, you might not have problems with ACE, but... If you installed everything contained in the package, your system might be a little sluggish, at best. You might not notice it, but it is.... ACE is a collection of lots of useless stuff besides codecs you really need.

Bottom line is... If you hate somebody, make them install all audio/video codecs

***Zardon*** · May 5, 2003, 07:53 AM

benched before and after installing the ace package I have. exact same scores, no noticeable slowdowns in windows either or any loss of stability.

trust me I know when things aint performing, this is coming from a guy who reinstalls windows once every month or 2

nieves · May 5, 2003, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zardon
benched before and after installing the ace package I have. exact same scores, no noticeable slowdowns in windows either or any loss of stability. trust me I know when things aint performing, this is coming from a guy who reinstalls windows once every month or 2

I bet you use PQDI or Ghost...

It's a drag to install windows from the very start... This is coming from a guy who installs windows several times a day in a busy day at work

BTW, what do you use for system bechmarking?

***Zardon*** · May 5, 2003, 08:11 AM

I take it you dont install windows several times a day on the same machine or else you guys need some serious help in your IT department !

When I benchmark I use alot of different programs depending on what exactly im looking to bench

I beta test drivers for companies so the assurance that the system is performing the way it should be is vitally important.

nieves · May 5, 2003, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zardon
I take it you dont install windows several times a day on the same machine or else you guys need some serious help in your IT department !

When I benchmark I use alot of different programs depending on what exactly im looking to bench

Haha! Different machine, different image, all of that or only one of those...

Can you be more specific? I rule out video benching because it's has been discussed a lot in other places...

What else?

Bootvis for OS loading, shutdown speed, driver lag? PcMark and PcDoctor for generic tests? Hardware stressing programs if you do a little bit of testing? Which ones? I'm curious...

***Zardon*** · May 5, 2003, 08:33 AM

no I dont use bootvis. im had mixed results with it depending on the machine ive used it on. a test rig I had set up for ATI, which was a very recently made rig, consisting of some bad ass hardware, the program hard locked and corrupted the paging file and some directories. ive also read other reports of problems with this. The best way from my experience in helping boot times, is to ensure that the MFT, master file table which maps the files and directories on the drive is well defragmented on a regular basis. The MFT is divided into discrete units known as records. In one or more MFT records, NTFS stores the metadata that describes a file or directory's characteristics (security settings and other attributes such as read-only or hidden) and its location on the disk. Surprisingly, the MFT is also a file that NTFS maps using records within the MFT. This structure lets the MFT grow and shrink, which makes the space NTFS uses for metadata efficiently track the amount of metadata that exists. Editing the registry for shutdown times etc, is not really benefical to benching, unless all settings remain consistent within a testing phase, then slowdowns or problems can be directly linked back to a problem issue which has occured.

PCmark, I also wouldnt rate as a consistenly high standard way of benching a system, it has a problem with some running processes on some setups, and its also not a particularly thorough test. I would rate sandra as a much more proficient bench for measuring various levels of CPU, memory/bandwidth and HD performance. also HDtach is a good measurement tool for data transfer. Pcmark is perhaps better used for a quick overall assessment of CPU and memory performance, but I feel its perhaps the weakest link in the futuremark lineup.

Setting aside the usual suspects of 3dmark/chameleon/opengl test apps like glexcess etc, When I would test drivers, I have a 120 gig WD SE JB HD configured via raid and this would hold a dual boot system primarily set for benching, leading to an image file reading from another drive. When changing system settings, or for example VIA, ATI beta catalyst catch drivers I ensure install a clean image. normally I would use drive image for this. Just to ensure 100% nothing is interferring with a result.

There are many facets to benching/testing latency testings, such as burn in memory tests etc.

a good overall resource page for benchmarking apps which i would direct newbies to, would be http://www.majorgeeks.com/showfiles.php?cat=4

ksamdfreak · May 13, 2003, 07:35 PM

Hey dude, it's a porno, you don't need sound!!!