Al_B on 20/4/2012 at 20:39
OK, if you're not able to play other media files then it does possibly point to a lower level problem. I know they're listed as "for Ubuntu" but try the avi and wmv files (
http://dougneubauer.com/mhcctest/) from here. The AVI doesn't use the Indeo codec and the WMV file should graph and use MPEG decompressors without the AVI splitter.
Quote Posted by Moogie
What I immediately notice is how the AVI Splitter 'box' (or whatever it is) has "Stream 00" and "Stream 01" output pins, whereas on my Win7 system, the filter appears to only have a single Input pin and no Output pins at all.
That's fine - the AVI splitter doesn't show its output pins until it has a valid input linked to it (presumably it doesn't know how many outputs it needs until then). If you try it with the AVI file from the link above it will only have one output as there is no audio. The AVIs from Thief will have one output for video and one for audio.
Quote Posted by Moogie
Edit: Time for bed, but I'll pick this back up tomorrow. Seems like we're getting closer to a solution... I imagine the problem to be figuring out how to replicate the exact filter/codec settings the WinXP environment has on its Win7 host. Something tells me it won't be that simple, though. ;)
If it ends up being codecs then a possible solution might be to install (
http://ffdshow-tryout.sourceforge.net/) ffdshow tryouts which has Indeo 5 support. However, I don't like installing codecs for the sake of it and so far the results you're getting suggest that the problem is occurring at a stage before the codec is encountered in the graph.
Moogie on 21/4/2012 at 07:10
It's a brand new day~
Morning chaps! :) Thanks for the test files. The WMV renders successfully. The AVI gives the same error as the others I've tried:
Could not construct a graph from this file.
- Have you installed all necessary filters?
- Note that the 'Render File' menu option cannot render *.GRF files.
This pin cannot use the supplied media type. (Return code: 0x8004022a)You know, I do find this odd. This computer is fairly new, only a few months since it was built. And I don't watch local movie files often, but I didn't notice a problem with AVI files before.
Part of me is wondering if my tinkering with quartz.dll yesterday might've broke all AVI playback. I messed with permissions and ownership and eventually managed to overwrite it. After that didn't solve anything, I wrote the original file back, gave back its TrustedInstaller permissions, and re-registered it just to be super-safe. But then, that wouldn't explain why Thief (and Thief 2, which I also have installed) were
never able to play theirs, before or after all this.
It's probably a red herring, but it's worth mentioning that stuff happened, since I had not tested any other AVI files before this thread. I don't know if they have
ever worked on this machine.
E: Currently running sfc /scannow to verify.
E2: Scan complete, no problems found.
E3: Google lead me (
http://www.inmatrix.com/articles/mediasetup3.shtml) here. Following the "Fresh start" instructions, I installed Zoom Player, unregistered
ALL the things!, and then followed the steps to re-register system codecs. For good measure, I ran iv5setup too. This solved nothing except to bring my reported list of filters down to 163, from ~199.
E4: At this point I'd like to simply nuke this problem. What is the be-all-end-all solution to a problem like this? Reinstalling Windows can't be the only way...
Al_B on 21/4/2012 at 09:54
Quote Posted by Moogie
The AVI gives the same error as the others I've tried:
Could not construct a graph from this file...That pretty much confirms that your current problem is to do with the AVI subsystem and not directly related to Thief. As you say, it doesn't rule out there being another problem previously, but this needs to be sorted before worrying about the Indeo codecs.
Quote Posted by Moogie
Part of me is wondering if my tinkering with quartz.dll yesterday might've broke all AVI playback. I messed with permissions and ownership and eventually managed to overwrite it. After that didn't solve anything, I wrote the original file back, gave back its TrustedInstaller permissions, and re-registered it just to be super-safe.
I suspect there's possibly an issue there. To play it safe, it might be easiest to uninstall and re-install the latest Windows update that included a new version of Quartz.dll. Go to the control panel, programs and features and then click "View installed updates" on the left. Find the update listed as KB2631813 and remove it. (I personally find adding the "Help Link" column by right-clicking on the header and selecting "More..." and sorting on that column helps to locate specific patches). Then run Windows update and hopefully it should allow you to re-install that update.
Moogie on 21/4/2012 at 10:36
Uninstalled, rebooted. Installed, rebooted.
No change. I was getting a little hopeful there, for a sec! x)
E: I noticed, comparing the XP and 7 results of GraphEdit, that the AVI file in Windows XP has a single output, whereas the AVI in Win7 has seperate vid/aud outputs. AVI Splitter is expecting a single input, with which to 'split' into the seperate streams, yes? So, then... why is the Win7 AVI file providing two seperate streams from the get-go?
Al_B on 21/4/2012 at 11:35
Quote Posted by Moogie
I noticed, comparing the XP and 7 results of GraphEdit, that the AVI file in Windows XP has a single output, whereas the AVI in Win7 has seperate vid/aud outputs.
Definitely something strange with your Windows 7 setup. That AVI only has video with no audio so the "splitter" in this case should just have one input and one output.
I'm afraid I'm a bit down to clutching at straws now. I'd be tempted to do a scan with the (
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free) free Malwarebytes just in case something has injected itself into your AVI sub-system. More drastic solutions would be to do an in-place recovery or in-place re-install of Windows 7, but I'd like to know what's actually gone wrong before going down that path.
Moogie on 21/4/2012 at 12:26
I can't think of any possible causes, myself. Besides malware, I suppose, and I'm running a full scan at the moment.
As I mentioned, this PC was built recently, January to be specific. No codec packs were ever installed.
Looking through my list of programs... not gonna list them all, just anything that might even remotely be relevant.
VLC, Winamp, Flash CS3, Photoshop CS5, Maya 2012... The latter insisted on installing PhysX (even though I have a Radeon card). Havok Content Tools. Perl, Python...
Several games... Deus Ex: HR, Skyrim, the first two Theif games of course, The Last Remnant, assorted roguelikes... I have some emulators (PS2, Wii)...
DivX. Hmm. Should I try uninstalling that?
.NET 4, Visual C++ 2005, 2008, 2010... some Windows Live garbage... and XSplit broadcaster.
That about covers everything currently installed, anyway. As for things I used to have installed, my memory is too weak to recall. I try not to install too much rubbish or single-purpose things. I know that practically everything leaves orphaned files littering Windows and it annoys me. I run CCleaner and Auslogics defrag semi-regularly.
Al_B on 21/4/2012 at 12:37
Sounds like you a similar setup to my computer (well, not photoshop - it's always seemed about as willing to conform to Windows standards as iTunes). Games and development platforms shouldn't be a problem - but XSplit Broadcaster does make me wonder whether they've hooked into things at a low level to ensure you're paying their license fee.
Moogie on 21/4/2012 at 12:41
I'm not registered for the paid version, just been using the beta\free mode. Does that make a difference?
I'm willing to get rid of it, but it's the best streaming software I've ever used. :(
Al_B on 21/4/2012 at 12:45
No don't get rid of it, it was just a random thought. If there's a free version I'll try it at this end to see if it breaks things.
Moogie on 21/4/2012 at 13:12
Full scan finished, nothing malicious was discovered.
