Reaper-X » Codecs

Converting FLV file into another format

Reaper-X — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:53:42 +0000

Let’s see i think most people love watching movies online from Youtube, but get confused on how they can convert their downloaded movie files from Youtube into another format such as AVI, MP4, WMV or even MP3 (if you just want the audio) … for free (because getting shareware software for flv converter is easy)

And if you’re just like me and want to get a good free flv converter for Windows, i’d suggest you to use FFMPEG. It’s fast, free … although it doesn’t have a nice graphical interface included by default but i think if you just want the fast and the easiest way to convert flv files, this program might come in handy ;)

Okay but how to do it ?

1. First you’ll need to get the FFMPEG Binary for Windows of course, and this can be done by visiting this page

2. Now when you’ve downloaded it into your harddrive, of course the next step would be extracting it somewhere, but if you just want the easiest way, i’d suggest you to extract the FFMPEG.exe into your Windows directory (for example C:\Windows) so you can type it anywhere you want, or you can also add the FFMPEG location into your System Environment Variable path if you know how to do it

3. The third step would be … getting the FLV files from Youtube using the hard way, or you can use various online Youtube Downloader if you prefer to do it that way

4. Now when the FLV file already downloaded to your harddrive, all you have to do is just open the command prompt (Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt) or by simply typing CMD in the Run command

5. Now for the last step, you just need to type this :

ffmpeg -i flv-source.flv flv-output.mp4 (i usually choose to convert it into MP4 directly but you can always change it into whatever you want, like wmv, avi, mpg, for example because ffmpeg will adjust it automatically)

Note : on the above example i choose to use 350kb bitrate for the output video file

6. And done … now you can watch the converted video file freely

As a side note, you can always adjust what options are used when converting the video files, and if you need to look at all the FFMPEG commands, you just need to type ffmpeg

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Guide

Riva FLV Encoder

Reaper-X — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:17:42 +0000

Need an easy way on converting your movie files (WMV,MPG,AVI) into Flash Video format (FLV) so you can distribute them online? then you should try using Riva FLV Encoder which is free of course (and i don’t mean free trial) because it’s really free (and that’s why i like it) beside it’s really easy to convert your video files using this tool

As you can see the main interface of FLV encoder is self explained, you just simply open your video files and choose from the available presets (DSL, DSL DV, ISDN, or Offline) to encode your movie files into FLV format

For advanced user, you can configure desired video frame rate and video bitrate, audio bitrate and sampling rate and many other options. Although the built-in presets already sufficient for most users (if it’s for me i’d rather choose ISDN because it’s already gave you a good ratio between it’s quality and the output filesize, beside most Youtube viewer doesn’t really care about video quality) :P

So do you want to try it too or not ? if you want to try it then you can go to the official site of Riva FLV Encoder

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Freeware, Software, Video Tools, Windows

Important Tools to Play Major Multimedia Files

Reaper-X — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 06:19:28 +0000

Okay to continue my previous post about Haali Splitter and why it’s the best choice to play your multimedia files (combined with proper codec of course), without using bloated codec pack that can cause major problem to your system if it’s not installed properly

Beside by using codec pack you’re wasting your time downloading it. As far as i know an all in one codec pack always bigger than 20MB and this size will cause those who use DUN connection major problem.

Okay here’s the list :

The most important tools for video playback :

Haali Splitter as The Splitter
FFDshow Official / Unofficial Decoder as The Universal Decoder
DirectVOBSUB / VobSubFilter as The Subtitler to display Subtitle
Real Alternative as The Decoder
Quick Time Alternative as The Decoder #2
Windows Media Player 9++ as The Desctructor

Okay the above sorted based on the play role, and depend on your preference the above role can be changed into optional, for example Real Alternative, Quick Time Alternative is an optional tools especially if you don’t watch RMVB / Real Movie / Quick Time Movie Format. As for Windows Media Player 9 and above, i think it is necessary because lots of movie in WMV Format although you don’t want to use it as your media player, the Windows Media 9 Decoder to play WMV files can be useful (although FFDshow also support decoding WMV 9 but it’s still not complete yet).

Btw Windows Media Player, Real Alternative and Quick Time Alternative filesize is categorized as a big file size .. at least for me it is wasting my 2GB monthly bandwidth internet access. So i only update them when necessary (by the way the currently installed Real Alternative on my computer is still the old 1.46 version while the current version when i wrote this is 1.51) and i’m still using the old Windows Media Player 10 because i don’t use it as my media player.

And with the above tools you can almost play every major multimedia format for example the OGM, MKV Container, and MP4 Container. Because basically the OGM, or MKV is just using Divx / XViD encoded video material. And with FFDshow installed, you don’t have to worry about that (including MP4 format). And combined with DirectVobSub Filter you can use any subtitle you want it to be displayed on your movie.

So why you’re still using Big Codec Pack while you can use Haali and FFDshow to play your multimedia files ? Well that’s your decision thought. Other than that i think you might interested on reading my previous ffdshow guide to improve audio quality, also recommended audio software for your computer list.

Okay because i know that no one likes long material, i’m going to post another update to this post next time … beside i already explain it in the past :P

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Freeware, Guide, Multimedia, Open Source, Software, Tutorials

Haali Splitter 1.6.338.23 Released

Reaper-X — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 07:07:49 +0000

Although i’m a little late on posting the new Haali Splitter 1.6.338.23 release (29 October 2006), but it’s still better than nothing, right ? anyway since i already post a brief description about Haali Splitter and what it does before, i’m not going to talk about it anymore. Btw you can download it from their page directly, or you can download the Haali Splitter 1.6.338.23 from my site. Well actually because their server is so slow (if it’s for me), i decided to put it on my server just in case i / someone need it in the future .. at least for now (by the way the official site will always give you the latest version, so i suggest you to check them first)

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Freeware, Multimedia, Open Source, Software, Video Tools, Windows

DivX Codec 6.4 and Dr Divx 2.0.1 Beta 2 Released

Reaper-X — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:33:57 +0000

One of the most popular Video Codec for Windows has been updated to the version 6.4. The latest version from this popular codec offer some new features like :

1080HD encoding mode
New fast 1st pass rate control mode
High efficiency resize filters
Improved support for interlaced video
Adaptive noise reduction

And to keep up to the latest version of Divx Codec, Dr. Divx the open source transcoding tools has been updated into version 2.0.1 Beta 2. So it’ll works fine in conjuction with the Divx 6.4 Codec

Lame 3.97 Released

Reaper-X — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:24:55 +0000

For those who likes to use the Opensource MP3 codec, Lame Encoder 3.97 Final Version has been released, go and get it while it still hot (i guess .. because it’s released at 3 October 2006) :P

Lame MP3 Encoder 3.97 Final : Binary and DLL only
Lame Directshow Filter 3.97 : Directshow Filter only
Lame ACM Codec 3.97 : ACM Codec only

0x87485B96 | Tags : Audio Tools, Codecs, Freeware, Open Source, Software, Windows

FFdshow SVN 612 Released

Reaper-X — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:01:18 +0000

I just updated my favorite application ffdshow to the svn 612 build by videomixer, and before using the 612 version, i was using the 118 build by drevil_xxl. Although i didn’t notice difference between those two version except for the VP6 decoding but i think it’d be best for me to use the latest unstable release :P

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Journal, Multimedia, Open Source, Personal, Software

Haali Splitter Updated

Reaper-X — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 04:02:23 +0000

Whoa, i didn’t know Haali Media Splitter was updated recently ! and i’m still using the old version (it’s not that old though) so now the current version of this software is 1.6.224.23 (the one that i’m currently using now after updating the Haali Splitter). And it seems the only new features that can be seen by me (by looking at the Haali Interface / Properties) is that Haali Splitter now support the MPEG-TS container.

But for those who didn’t know, Haali Media Splitter in a simple way is a tool to demux a container file so the video / audio within the container can be rendered through the decoder.

Here’s an example on how this Splitter works in a simple way :

Your Video Files / Input => Splitter => Decoder => Renderer

If you still don’t get it, maybe below example can make you understand how splitter works :

Your video files encoded using Divx / XVid and using MKV as the container called Movie.MKV => Installed Splitter / Demuxer on your system and in this case it was Haali Media Splitter => Installed decoder on your system, it can be Divx Decoder / XVid Decoder / FFDshow / etc => Renderer and this renderer can be VMR (Video Mixing Renderer) or just Overlay

So that means in order the video / audio files decoded it goes through several steps like the example above.

And the conclusion is by using the correct media splitter you can play almost all media files out there, instead of using a Codec Pack that is over 5 MB in size, you can play MKV / MP4 / AVI / OGM by using only Haali Media Splitter that is only below 1MB in size but don’t forget you’ll need the decoder too in order to decode the Video Files. But by using FFDshow the decoder problem can be solved easily because FFDshow can decode almost all video / audio files out there. So that means with only 4MB in size you can play major video files / audio files in your computer … but this is getting of topic because i was explaining about Haali Splitter updated not about video files … so i’ll explain about this in later post :)

Related Material :

Update : Dont forget to check my post about important video tools to play major video files on your computer too

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Multimedia, Open Source, Video Tools

Recommended Audio Software for your Computer

Reaper-X — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 03:45:34 +0000

Now i’m going to put another recommended software series , but instead of posting about recommended software for playstation 2 console, im going to put a recommended software for your audio files collection based on my experience and most of them are freeware (unless specified by me as shareware) ;)

And this is going to be my first looong post …….. since i included almost everything about audio converters, encoders, ripping, and many more

Note: Im not going to list lots of audio player since there’re lots of audio player but only a few of them deserved to get the Best of Best Software Titles and im not going to put the direct link to each file

Recommended audio player software :

Winamp 5 (Freeware / Shareware) :

Since most of you already has winamp installed on your system im not going into more detail about this software. But for those who didnt know that Winamp can also be used to Rip an audio cd into various audio format like AAC / AACPlus, MP3, WMA, and standard WAV format.

Although the freeware version can also be used to RIP Audio files into AAC format but its bitrate cant go higher than 128 Kbps beside the CD Ripping speed also not at its maximum speed. So in the other words you must buy the Pro Version of Winamp 5 to get more features from it, unless you’re using Winamp to play your Audio files only ;)

But for those who are interested on improving played Audio Quality using Winamp can read my previous post about FFDshow Guide to Improve Audio Files Quality

And as a last note Winamp support various audio format so there’s no need to worry about such thing ;)

Foobar2000 (Freeware) :

This audio player actually is the best audio player around, except you’re using my guide on Winamp / your DirectShow based audio players to increase its quality (its not fair to compare its quality when the other audio player using DSP or similar audio software to modify its sound quality)

This player comes with Simple UI (User Interface) and unlike Winamp or Windows Media Player which is easy to use because of its User Interface, you’ll need to try out some new stuff to become familiar with this software. But once familiar with this software you’ll know why this player called the best Audio Player

This player also support various audio format and in their site you can also find user made plugins to be used with this player.

Recommended audio encoders / codec :

MP3 Format – Lame (freeware) :

This open source mp3 codec is the best mp3 codec out there, actually its alot better than the actual MP3 Codec created by Fraunhoffer. Since i already post about this at the first time i started this blog, im not going to put any detail in here again … unfortunately its in Indonesian Language (Bahasa Indonesia). And that’s because at first im going to post my blog in Indonesian Language but now i’ve changed my mind so i can learn and practice my english language by writing it :)

AAC Format – Nero AAC (shareware) , Winamp AACPlus (shareware), FAAC (freeware) :

If you already got Nero installed, or Winamp PRO installed you can choose them as the main encoders to create AAC based audio format or you can use the free FAAC encoders and i also recommend KurtNoise program to simplify the creation of the AAC Files called BeLight

OGG Format (freeware) – Official Page – Unofficial Page (but contains optimized version of OGG encoders) :

Since there’s only one option to create an OGG Audio format beside its very easy to create an OGG format so im not going into detail here

Note: Im not going to put AC3, DTS Format, etc in here since they’re not for standard use

Recommended audio decoders / enhancer / etc :

FFDshow (freeware) :

There’s no DSP can compare with this universal decoder (if you use it properly) beside it can decode almost everything and of course its FREE :) . And as for the guide you can check my previous post about Improving your audio files on the fly using FFDshow and for more information about FFDshow check out my previous post again about FFDShow the Universal Decoders. And since my previous post already explain everything about FFDshow including the download link (including which FFDShow version is the right one for your system) so im not going to put the download link on this post ;)

MP3Gain (freeware) :

This software can normalize your MP3 files without converting it first into another format, beside its very easy to use it

Recommended cd audio ripping program :

EAC (freeware) :

This program simply the best ripping program for me, especially if you like to rip from a badly scratched cd (as long as the your CD / DVD Rom drive can read it) this program can be usefull for you, other than that most of its feature almost similar to other Commercial audio ripping program

Winamp 5 (freeware / shareware) :

Did i say Winamp again … ? LoL … actually if you dont want to think alot about configuring audio settings or other technical stuff then this program is definitely for you, just go into the Preferences Page -> CD Ripping -> and choose what audio format and bitrate should winamp output … and insert your audio cd and choose rip from the media library (ALT+L)… and you’re finished

Recommended audio converters :

dbPowerAmp (shareware) :

With just right clicking on your audio files from Windows Explorer, you can convert your audio files easily into various format, normalize an audio files, removing silence, adding silence, etc

Media Coder (freeware) :

An All in One encoders … this program can encode your audio files / movie files into various format …

WinLame (freeware) :

An all in one encoder too just like the above two Converters … this program can encode into several audio format

BeSweet (freeware) :

This is the best encoder / converters / transcoder / you name it … it can convert into MANY audio format including AC3, DTS, etc. Note: this is a Command Line Interface program so to simplify it you should download the GUI / Frontend for this program

Recommended audio tagging tools :

The Godfather (freeware) :

This is my favorite audio tagging tools, to tag my mp3 files, ogg files, etc. Other than that this software can also re-organized your audio files into proper directory. But the feature i like most is by inserting my picture / logo into my mp3 files so whenever the mp3 files played on the Windows Media Player your logo will show on the bottom right corner :P

I think i’ve list so many audio software already, but just incase i forgot to add something or i miss something, feel free to contact me or post your comments here ;)

Cya … and wait for more tutorials / reviews / etc from me ;)

0x87485B96 | Tags : Audio Tools, Codecs, Freeware, Multimedia, Open Source, Shareware, Software, Tutorials, Windows

FFDshow guide to improve your audio files quality

Reaper-X — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 06:56:07 +0000

Here’s my guide on how to improve the sound quality of your audio files on the fly without converting it into another format with just using FFDshow ;)

First download ffdshow from its official site if you don’t have sse capable processor, but if you’re using sse capable processour download ffdshow cvs build by videomixer to improve the overall performance of ffdshow
After downloading and installing it, run the ffdshow audio decoder configuration from the start menu, and set the codecs tab like this (you can customize it later, but for now try to follow this guide ;) )

and don’t forget to resample the audio stream into 48.000 Hz like screenshow below

this setting can be different depending on your computer speaker, for example if you’re using 5.1 / 6.1 / 7.1 / etc set it like this (im using Creative Inspire 6.1 6600 Speaker)

Note : if your soundcard doesnt support 24 Bit Integer sample use 16 Bit Integer instead

And for the next step open Winamp and set it like screenshot below. But if don’t use Winamp to play your audio files you’ll need to figure it out by yourself. Actually as long as the audio player support DirectShow this method can be used as well on that player

If you do the above step correctly when you play mp3 files / other audio files on winamp it’ll show like on my previous post about FFDshow. So what are you waiting for? try playing some of your mp3 / audio files and hear the difference without enabling equalizer, changing your computer speaker volume, using dsp, etc ;) Note : by doing this every supported audio format in your computer, no matter is it MP3 from Divx / XVid encoded Movie, etc. Will get boosted in your media player as long as the media player itself is DirectX / DirectShow Compliant (for example Zoom Player, Media Player Classic from Gabest, etc)

0x87485B96 | Tags : Codecs, Computer, Freeware, Multimedia, Open Source, Software, Tutorials, Windows