Topic: Windows Media Encoder Availability or alternatives?

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

I am reinstalling Movie Salsa on my netbook and have run into a snag that I wan't anticipating - Windows Media Encoder 9 SDK needs the Windows Media Encoder Application to run correctly.

I am using WME to convert the .avi file that is created by Movie Salsa to a .wmv format file. However, without the WME application, the routines won't run. Microsoft has pulled the WME 9 Application from their website now but still has the SDK for it available.

My question is this, if I can't use WME, what are my options for converting AVI files to WMV or some other format that results in smaller filesizes?

I've had this running for the past 5 years without any problems until I switched over to my netbook and now the Movie Salsa post processing batch routines don't work.

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

Well, I've kind of answered part of my question myself. I found the NCH Software has a free Video Converter that can also be used in command-line mode which is what I was looking for. It will also convert to many different video formats.

It can be found at:

• http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/index.html

The direct download URL is:

• http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/prismsetup.exe

I'm just going to dump the Windows Media Encoder software since it doesn't appear to be available any longer and there seems to be better packages now available with more options.

Now, the next question - What video format is best for displaying wx webcam videos? I notice that both MOV and MP4 formats result in the smallest video filesizes but don't know if they are usable on most browsers.

[neondesert]

I suggest giving ffmpeg a try, Don.  http://ffmpeg.org 

I have been using it for a while now to create  daily .flv and .wmv  files from .avi
Works great!   

[Weather Display]

WD uses FFMPEG too, to create .mp4 or .wmv or .swf or .flv movies auto, and FTP them auto too

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

FFmpeg - what do you download and how does one install it? I don't see any downloadable zip or exe files. They mention something about git which I have no idea what that is. Looks like it is not an easy dl/install from a general user perspective. I also don't see any installation instructions in the documentation.

Am I just too old to understand this?

BTW, I did download Prism but am having problems with it creating .wmv and other files that contain anything. They seem to come out blank. I must be doing something wrong but can't figure out what it is, so far.

Also, what is the best format to use for videos to be posted on-line? I was using AVI (the only format available with Movie Salsa) and then converting that to WMV using Windows Media Encoder.

[xykotik]

Have you tried that command-line converter you mentioned?  That sounds neat.

For quick converts to WMV (for video projects) I use YouTubeDownloader.  It is simple and straightforward.  Just select "convert" and "already downloaded file" and select the output format.  It won't run in a command line however.

[Bushman]

FFmpeg - what do you download and how does one install it? I don't see any downloadable zip or exe files. They mention something about git which I have no idea what that is. Looks like it is not an easy dl/install from a general user perspective. I also don't see any installation instructions in the documentation.

Am I just too old to understand this?

mebbe..  but old dogs can learn new tricks.    You need the Windows  executables ( http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/ ) and you run it in a batchfile  or from the CMD line if you want to type out the picture file names to be convereted.  The FFMPEG site has example.  Frankly, unless you are a coder it would be easier to use SEBEC Lake's freeware version or Photolapse.

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

Have you tried that command-line converter you mentioned?  That sounds neat.

For quick converts to WMV (for video projects) I use YouTubeDownloader.  It is simple and straightforward.  Just select "convert" and "already downloaded file" and select the output format.  It won't run in a command line however.

Yes, I can run Prism but I have discovered a problem that puzzles me. I can run Prism (in a batch file in command-line mode) on both Win7 and XP. However, when I run it on my XP machine, the output results in a blank output with no image other than a black one showing in the output file (.WMV, in this case). When I run it on my Win7 on the exact same file, it works just fine and I see the full video. The output filesize is identical in both cases though. I'm still trying to figure that one out. The same thing happens when I create the files in .MOV or .MP4 formats - works fine on Win7 but not XP. I use my XP netbook for all weather-related activities.

I am using MovieSalsa to actually create the .AVI video file from the collection of JPG's (created with ImageSalsa) and then, I use the post-processor feature of MovieSalsa to convert he .AVI file to come other format which is much more compressed and thus, a smaller filesize. MovieSalsa Scheduler is set to run at 1212AM on a daily basis and processes the previous day's JPG files from 00:00:00 to 12:59:59.

[neondesert]

FFmpeg - what do you download and how does one install it? I don't see any downloadable zip or exe files. They mention something about git which I have no idea what that is. Looks like it is not an easy dl/install from a general user perspective. I also don't see any installation instructions in the documentation.

If you want to use FFmpeg for simple conversions such as .avi to .wmv then it's pretty straightforward.

- First download the build here: http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/win32/static/ffmpeg-git-b55dd10-win32-static.7z
- Unzip the download and place the ffmpeg.exe file in the directory that your .avi file resides.
- Create a batch file that contains this line:
  ffmpeg -i yourmoviefile.avi -y -b:v 300000 yourmoviefile.wmv

  The -i switch specifies the input file name
  The -y switch will overwrite the output file without prompting.
  The -b:v switch sets the video bitrate (in bit/s).  You can change this to suit your needs.

- Set the batch file to run after your .avi file is created in MovieSalsa.
- Use the FTP program of your choice to upload the output file to your site.
- That's it. 

[C5250]

Yes, I can run Prism but I have discovered a problem that puzzles me. I can run Prism (in a batch file in command-line mode) on both Win7 and XP. However, when I run it on my XP machine, the output results in a blank output with no image other than a black one showing in the output file (.WMV, in this case). When I run it on my Win7 on the exact same file, it works just fine and I see the full video. The output filesize is identical in both cases though. I'm still trying to figure that one out. The same thing happens when I create the files in .MOV or .MP4 formats - works fine on Win7 but not XP. I use my XP netbook for all weather-related activities.

Have you tried copying a file created on the XP machine to the Win7 one to see if it works? What you describe sounds like a missing codec problem.

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

Yes, I can run Prism but I have discovered a problem that puzzles me. I can run Prism (in a batch file in command-line mode) on both Win7 and XP. However, when I run it on my XP machine, the output results in a blank output with no image other than a black one showing in the output file (.WMV, in this case). When I run it on my Win7 on the exact same file, it works just fine and I see the full video. The output filesize is identical in both cases though. I'm still trying to figure that one out. The same thing happens when I create the files in .MOV or .MP4 formats - works fine on Win7 but not XP. I use my XP netbook for all weather-related activities.

Have you tried copying a file created on the XP machine to the Win7 one to see if it works? What you describe sounds like a missing codec problem.

Yes, I tried that with the exact same results. The file created on the XP machine has only all-black frames. I can view other similar files on that XP machine without any difficulty so it has something to do with the file being created by Prism on the XP machine.

I'm going to try neondesert instructions in a day or two. Am too busy at the moment to do anything on this other than read the replies. Will report on Monday or Tuesday what the results are using FFmpeg.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

[W7DRM (old call was W3DRM)]

FFmpeg - what do you download and how does one install it? I don't see any downloadable zip or exe files. They mention something about git which I have no idea what that is. Looks like it is not an easy dl/install from a general user perspective. I also don't see any installation instructions in the documentation.

If you want to use FFmpeg for simple conversions such as .avi to .wmv then it's pretty straightforward.

- First download the build here: http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/win32/static/ffmpeg-git-b55dd10-win32-static.7z
- Unzip the download and place the ffmpeg.exe file in the directory that your .avi file resides.
- Create a batch file that contains this line:
  ffmpeg -i yourmoviefile.avi -y -b:v 300000 yourmoviefile.wmv

  The -i switch specifies the input file name
  The -y switch will overwrite the output file without prompting.
  The -b:v switch sets the video bitrate (in bit/s).  You can change this to suit your needs.

- Set the batch file to run after your .avi file is created in MovieSalsa.
- Use the FTP program of your choice to upload the output file to your site.
- That's it. 

I finally found some time to work on this issue. Here is what I have found out:

• I successfully D/L'd FFmpeg using your instructions and the batch process works perfectly - THANKS!
• However, I get the same results as with PRISM - a WMV output that appears all black when viewed on the ACER XP machine.
• As suggested by C5250, I copied the XP WMV file to my Win7 system where it looks just fine. So, perhaps 5250 is correct that I am having a codec problem on the ACER. Unfortunately I get no error messages or anything that appears to be wrong other than the file is solid black from start to finish when viewed with Windows Media Player.

So any suggestions on where to look next?

[Weather Display]

WD can be set to create all day video files
and the setup is now much simpler