Video Error... Can anyone help?

[H20nly]

I have searched the forums and can't find anything on video. Instead I found posts on everything else including BlackBerrys WTF???

Anyway, I'm trying to import a simple flash video exported from Flash MX to a QuickTime .mov file. The file works in the QuickTime player but when I try to drag it into Arrangement view from the file browser I get:

"The file "C:\***path***\TestMovie.mov" could not be decoded using QuickTime (Error code Channels: 0)"


Just to avoid the question... I put ***path*** in instead of posting the whole path to my dedicated hard drive.

I have never attempted to use the video options in any DAW so I probably have overlooked something (like channel settings???). Any help would be appreciated as this is a test run for something much bigger in my mind's eye...

Thanks in advance,
g

[poodleface]

Anyway, I'm trying to import a simple flash video exported from Flash MX to a QuickTime .mov file. The file works in the QuickTime player but when I try to drag it into Arrangement view from the file browser I get:

"The file "C:\***path***\TestMovie.mov" could not be decoded using QuickTime (Error code Channels: 0)"

I've used video in Live quite a bit and have found that it doesn't play every kind of video that Quicktime can play. Quicktime is just a container for a variety of different codecs, so I would try out a different codec or try a different conversion tool.

Personally, the whole conversion process to find the right settings to playback in Live drove me batshit so I stopped playing with it for a long time until I discovered that snagging YouTube videos with keepvid.com gives you the option of grabbing the mp4 version which plays beautifully as-is in Live. Try searching for random strings of text sometime and occasionally you'll find choice nuggets that the uploaders never intended for public consumption.

Maybe try converting the flash video to a mp4? The problem is that using mp4s will eat up precious CPU that a less compressed format won't... but then you have the issue of streaming that data from your hard disk to replace the issue of using your CPU. Eh.

I don't know as much about this as I should. Trial and a lot of error is my "solution".

[spkey]

I have never done video in Ableton Live but work in the video industry so if you send me the specs such as what video codecs ableton accepts I will tell you which open source tool you can use to do a good conversion.

poodleface suggests the right solution.


sp.

[ava]

Not available yet, but our solution plays every format you throw at it as long as you have installed the right codecs.

[poodleface]

open source tool you can use to do a good conversion

Which tool is this? I've tried a few and my mileage has widely varied.

Thanks in advance.

[H20nly]

Thanks for the replies!

Ava I'm actually looking for something to get going now, but I will keep my eyes peeled for your goods... Thanks for the link

spkey I don't know much about video really. Like I said I am trying to convert a Flash video. Its a cartoon. My son is really getting into daddy making beats so he wants to help. I offered to let him design a cartoon. So me and the guys in my group are going to fill in the music and we are all planning on doing voices. This is a test run to see if Ableton will do the deed. Everything I've read about Ableton's video editing says that it will only work with QuickTime.

poodleface I plan on posting the videos up on the website we are working on so the .mov flie type makes sense. I could use MP4 and convert but then I need to have something that converts reliably.

Video isn't my thing. I'm a rapper (for lack of a better term) but I don't write rhymes about bullshit and bling. I got tired of trying to find a DJ or someone to work with to make beats. I don't want to make just Hip Hop per se. I like organic music too. So, I ended up becoming a beatsmith/producer over the years cuz if you want something done the way YOU want it you should probably just do it yourself. Besides I had to prove my point to get others on board. Video is just part of my master plan for the next phase and besides, my son wants to get involved. So I'm ramping up on what I need to make it happen. I just have this one last detail...

So I'm actually seriously considering just dropping the 30 bucks and buying Q.T. Pro. I don't like the way Apple pigeon holes you with their products, not that their products aren't top notch, but I like my freedom you know? Just look at iTunes... enuff said.

So I guess my re-formulated question is should I buy QuickTime Pro since my version of Flash is about as old as the first rev of Live (way before its vidoe support) or should I try to find another alternative.

The problem is that with the error message I originally posted above it isn't clear to me whether I'm dealing with an issue of Ableton Live not liking the version of .mov that FlashMX creates or if there is something wrong with the settings in either Flash during the export or Live during the import... I was hoping someone had seen the error and could give me a solution based on that.

Please post your success stories with video in Live and tell me what version of QuickTime you used etc.

Thanks in advance,
again...
g

[gomi]

I have searched the forums and can't find anything on video. Instead I found posts on everything else including BlackBerrys WTF???

Anyway, I'm trying to import a simple flash video exported from Flash MX to a QuickTime .mov file. The file works in the QuickTime player but when I try to drag it into Arrangement view from the file browser I get:

do you have quicktime pro?

export it out as a new quicktime movie, make sure you use h264.

quicktime is just a container. if it's an unsupported codec for abeton
then you will have problems.

[Clearscreen]

are you windows or pc? maybe try SUPER © if you're on windows

http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html

for codecs ffdshow is a pretty good general solution:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffdshow
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfile ... _id=173941

all for nix too

[H20nly]

I have searched the forums and can't find anything on video. Instead I found posts on everything else including BlackBerrys WTF???

Anyway, I'm trying to import a simple flash video exported from Flash MX to a QuickTime .mov file. The file works in the QuickTime player but when I try to drag it into Arrangement view from the file browser I get:

do you have quicktime pro?

export it out as a new quicktime movie, make sure you use h264.

quicktime is just a container. if it's an unsupported codec for abeton
then you will have problems.

No gomi I don't have QuickTime. I am trying to determine if I need to buy it due to version conflicts between FlashMX, QuckTime and Ableton Live. I was trying to add some audio to a simple flash cartoon I made for voice overs etc... I got the error I placed in the first post.

This is the breakdown:

1 Create flash cartoon in MX

2 Save and export as Flash5 to .mov for Quicktime

4 Test file in QT - works good.

3 In Live, drag file from file browser to track in Arrangement view

5 Get error from first post

Know why?

**************


Thanks Clearscreen. I use a PC running WidowsXP Pro. I'm up to try anything within reason, but I know that sometimes products are not as free as they claim. I'd like to read a few reviews.I'm not too up to speed on Codecs etc. and I don't even go online from my DAW. My dreams are in that machine so I don't want to install any... questionable software. It looks good so far...


**************

[spkey]

open source tool you can use to do a good conversion

Which tool is this? I've tried a few and my mileage has widely varied.

Thanks in advance.

poodleface, there is no single tool for all conversions. What I meant is that I can suggest a good tool to do the conversion if I know what video he needs to convert.

In terms of Super encoder, beware that it installs a LOT of dlls on your machine without telling you. It also does not uninstall them once you uninstall Super. This is a known fact to people who encode professionally or as hobbyists.

Best tools out there in terms of video quality are avisynth and virtualdub but they are not very user friendly and have a steep learning curve. An easy solution to your problem is probably x264 http://www.videolan.org/developers/x264.html. The website lists all encoders that use x264. I know GordianKnot is an easy one to use. Mencoder is good as well. MEGui is the best one according to lab tests it beats even hardware encoders but it's hard to setup and need to install AviSynth as well.

A good resource for all video tools and issues is here: http://www.videohelp.com/. Also check doom9 (best video forum out there) Let me know if you're stuck.

sp.

[spkey]

No gomiI was trying to add some audio to a simple flash cartoon I made for voice overs etc... I got the error I placed in the first post.

By the way, if you do not add audio and leave the animation mute, do you still have the same issue when importing into Ableton? This test will show us whether the issue is video or audio related. If it is audio related then you might not need to install anything on your machine. Maybe it is a matter of selecting the right audio properties in mx.

[dejan]

Export to AVI or DVAVI

[Oliver Chesler]

You may find this blog post I made about the subject interesting:
http://www.wiretotheear.com/2007/10/25/ ... -on-a-mac/

[Clearscreen]

In terms of Super encoder, beware that it installs a LOT of dlls on your machine without telling you. It also does not uninstall them once you uninstall Super. This is a known fact to people who encode professionally or as hobbyists.

handy to know! wasn't aware of this...
is avisynth actually that good? virtualdubs great, but avisynth always seemed too complicated i guess... whats the skinny on mpegstreamclip then? is that any good?

[landrvr1]

Heya, I work in Flash and Quicktime Pro quite a bit. There's a few things to try/consider:

When you are exporting your movie, try exporting as Format: Quicktime Video as opposed to Quicktime. I haven't used MX for ages, so I'm not sure if QT Video is an option. If not, and you're trying to export as just Quicktime, there's a lot of goofy shit that goes on within the conversion process on the Flash end.

Flash is notorious for spitting out bad Quicktime files. Quicktime in general isn't a great format to work with in terms of conversion. If I'm not mistaken, the conversion process within Flash is somewhat dependent upon the features/codecs in your stand-alone version of Quicktime, so if you don't have Quicktime Pro then you may not get the best results. Even when I work with Premiere and After Effects, I NEVER export out of either program in the Quicktime format - preferring instead to export as raw AVI then using QT Pro to convert.

Oliver's post is right on the money and I'd encourage you to try this method: Export to Quicktime Video. When you're presented with your format options, select 'Compressor-Photo JPEG'. Many of the problems with exporting to QT from Flash come from compression weirdness and Photo JPEG works well because it's so.....hmm....simple and universal, basically. I just did several tests trying to export QT out of Flash, then insert the .mov file into Live. The only one that worked from start to finish was Quicktime Video >> Photo JPEG compression.

If you want, I'd be happy to take a look at your .fla file. You'll have to PM me and we can figure out a way for you to send me the file.

There's one more option: Publish the film as a .swf file, then use one of the many conversion tools (most are free) to change the .swf into a .mov

Good luck!