ALL VIDEO PROBLEMS SOLVED

[Jedidia]

I have been reading a number of posts about problems with video, and which player to run it...so on and so on. I have been using this technique for some time and it works flawlessly.

Go here and download smacker and bink - <a href="http://www.smacker.com/">http://www.smacker.com</a> This will convert your video into a self executing .exe file. No more player hassles no more nothing! It is completely self contained and is better quality than MPEG2 (DVD)!!! And it takes little horsepower to run it. You have complete freedon on the config of the movie (like fullscreen or not) and everything. This is the standard format in the games industry. And if any of you download trailers for games every now and then, you will find they are exes. For example Descent Freespace 2 had a 40 meg fullscreen movie trailer before it came out. It was in bink format. It is the best and its FREE!! Let me know what you think.

[eric_darling]

The new AMS 4 allows for MPEG-1 and Windows Media along with AVI. However, I wouldn't recommend using AVI now that the other two formats are supported. These new additions to the program will play DIRECTLY INSIDE the interface you create. That means no file.open commands running another piece of software.

As a video producer, this added feature alone is worth the price of admission for the upgrade. And, with MPEG-1, no more worries about codecs not working. I have tested AMS 4 runtimes with MPEG-1 files on a Pentium 1 233 running Windows 98, and they run nearly as well as they do on my Pentium 4 1.7 GHz machine. Unbelieveable! MPEG-1 support is a MAJOR upgrade feature.

[eric_darling]

[Bink] is better quality than MPEG2 (DVD)!!!

That's actually not true. What DVDs are you watching, anyway? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] Properly encoded MPEG-2 is far and away better than anything you'll ever play successfully from a CD-ROM. It's a mathematical certainty. It's also why MPEG-2 won't work well with most AMS projects.

Smacker's low-brow marketing hype for their Bink product is pretty transparent, too. Calling Bink better than MPEG-2 is like saying flying is better than driving. It all depends on where you're going.

I'm not trying to poo-poo your feelings for Bink. It is a decent format for certain kinds of video (like CGI animation for video games, which BTW is the developers market where they enjoy the lion's share of Bink seats -- heck, the name of the company is now Rad Game Tools (yikes?)), but for standard camera captured video or film, it can't hold a candle to properly encoded MPEG-2.

Incidentally, try to find a sample Bink encoded clip anywhere on their web site. Nowhere to be found. Doesn't that strike you as a little strange? Caveat emptor.

[cartire]

Have to admit the product does what it says. Really needed in version 3 though. Am going to use it specifically for 360 panoramas for my realtor cd's.
Thanks for the tip Jedidia.

[jabba]

*cough*

imbedded divx, and imbedded xvid codecs are the way of the future.. why not bring the future to your clients today? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

'oh what about the codecs, etc..' u say?.. well.. tell the embedded mplayer2 (windoze media player) to do a 'File.GetInformation(Existance, "%SysDir%\file.dll")'
then u can just make a short error subroutine.. and if u know your linklibraries.. u can easily check to see if your codec exists on the client machine, and if not.. do a file.execute(%SrcDir%\codecinstall.exe).. etc..

DivXc32.dll=divx3.1 lowmotion
DivXc32f.dll=divx3.1 fastmotion
DivXG400.ax=matroxg400 filter [rather usefull, specially since i have a g400 [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]]
DivXa32.acm=divx_audio
DivXAF.ax= divx_antifreeze

divxdec.ax+divx.dll=divx4..

xvid=.. cant remember offhand..


but just add to the 'on play' of the media_file a check to see if the required codec/codecs exist.. and then make yourself a simple routine.. (tell it to run the installer, have the program wait for the installer, after its run.. check again.. and if the files arent still there.. display a warning message that the user MUST install the codecs and for them to hit play again or do a manual install)


many people are afraid to use codec-specific video (or audio [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]) in their presentations.. but with the right steps.. any problems are all but avoidable [possible access violation under nt for install permissions.. but for the most part people will be using admin/superuser/etc.. accounts that should be able to install codecs or have the ability to contact an administrator..]..

quicktime or mpg2 vs xvid w/ ogg or wma sound.. not a hard choice.. (here at least) [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] .. just gotta be sure u include the necessary codecs.. which at under 5mbs for the entire set.. will save you a whole lot of room that would otherwise go to bloated movies..
Anybody for a full screen 2hr video with direct stereo, 720X480 media presentation on a single cd that u could swear was dvd quality [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[cartire]

Hmm....I remember watching Bill Gates a few years back proudly displaying windoze Mistake Edition. All of a sudden, the machine blue screens and the audience laughs.....
I get paid real money to make presentations for people and the name of the game is to get the messge out clear and quickly. Every once in a while, you can not help but make a mistake. But for me and my clients, compatibility is key.
The one click and play method that the original poster mentions has its place. When your client makes 5,000 copies of your presentation and it gets FedExed 2,900 miles two weeks later for the CEO of a company who is a keynote speaker in front of 750 of his peers, you will know what I mean. Its funny when it happens to Bill Gates, but when your Butt is on the line, you want the computer to be playing immediately and not pausing for station identification.
On another note.....Am watching spiderman on a 702mb CDR right now and it is CRYSTAL Clear thanks to DIVX!!

[eric_darling]

Let's not even talk about the absolutely huge number of companies/corporations out there who will not let me (or any of my software) install ANYTHING on their systems. It happens so often, I just figure it's a given with any company that has an IS department.

I don't need to remind anyone how quickly their CD-ROM, distributed with a third-party codec that isn't permitted to be installed on their system, will go in the round file.

[jabba]

u can always just 'force register' it (copy to %sysdir% and run your own hacked up regserv to force wind0ze to accept it).. not always reliable though.. or u can try and force it in the registry.. etc.. [there are some ways around nt-permissions]..

and ya, most companies IT department are paranoid and attempt to (unsucessfully [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]) lock many features.. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[RodB]

Hi
I have been all over the Binks site and installed the software , for the life of me l cannot find where you can wrap up your video to an exe file , all l can get is a smacker file or a binks file , can somebody let me in on how to output a video to an exe file with this software .

Regards Rod

[RodB]

Silly Me , got it [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Rod

[Bruce]

If ya got it... share it!!!