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F.A.Q.
This page updates frequently
Last
update: 01/15/2005
Most Recent Questions 1 2
3
General Questions
Lost Chunks
Shrinker
Asf to Avi Converstion
Asf to Wav
Conversion
Re-Encode
Known problems and limitations
Answers to some irrelevant questions
You can always send your questions if you
can't find your problem in this page and be sure to give a complete explanation
of the problem and if possible, attach a sample of the file.
General Questions
*What is the best environment to run
AsfTools?
-Operating System: AsfTools
works best under Windows 2000/XP. It will run under other versions of windows as
well but occasionally, you may get an error message. Although in most cases, you
can simply ignore the error message and continue.
-Disk free space: AsfTools
never changes the original file and always creates a new file along with some
temporary files that will be deleted at the end of the process. The amount of
free space needed for every process, varies for each tool and it also depends on
the size of the file under process. It can be as little as 10% or less of the
original file (for "Asf to Wav converter") or as much as 300% (for "Shrinker")
*What is "Microsoft Media Encoder"?
Refer to this question please.
*"Access to the specified device, path or
file is denied."
I can successfully join small number of
files but as the number grow higher, I get this error message. Is
there a limitation on the number of joining files.
The only limitation is free environment variables memory in Windows. Either
increase it or use a smaller path like "c:\a\yourfile.wmv". As a last
resort, you can divide your files into smaller groups and then join the results.
* After a "Join" process, The output
file is only the first file in "file list". (or first few files).
That means your files are not 100% compatible. In some
cases, selecting the "Join incompatible bitrate" option may help.
* When used in some foreign language
Windows, buttons and other controls are misplaced and/or
partly visible.
This problem also happens when you change the DPI to
anything other than "Normal Size"
To fix this, in
Control panel -> Display -> Settings -> Advanced, change Display Font
Size to "Small Fonts" (96 dpi)
* How can I get help for different
functions of AsfTools.
Click on
"Show Hint" check box, then move the mouse pointer over each function
to see a short description. This works in all windows in AsfTools including Asf
to Avi Converter.
*The "Cut" function does not cut
at the exact frame that I want.
The start
and end of the cut selection will round up to "key frame" positions.
The period between key frames is different for each movie. Normally, it is
between 1/2 to 10 seconds. The reason for this limitation is because the
"Cut" function is done without re-compressing and you can't just cut in somewhere
in the middle of "delta frames".
* Some times when I join/cut/repair, the
result is smaller than what it should be.
That means
one of your files has a "bad spot" and basic repair could not read beyond
that point. Use Advanced Repair to remove that spot.
Another probable reason
is you tried to join incompatible files.
* After Cut/Join/Basic Repair, The resulting file is Zero or less than 1kb.
That
means your file cannot be processed at all and should be repaired first. This can also happen with
"Live" asf files. Try making it "Seekable" before processing.
*Is this a good idea to use both Basic and
Advanced repair on the same file.
Yes it
is. Basic and Advanced repair use different methods. Using one method first, may
help the other to work better. Always check the file after each repair and ALWAYS
KEEP BACKUP!
*Is it possible to "Crack"
passwords with AsfTools.
No.
*How can I remove those annoying html pop
ups in a movie.
Open the file in
Advanced Repair. Select "Custom" and check "Clean Header". All other options are default
values. Hit the "Repair" button and the new file is free from pop ups.
Note: This method does not work with password protected files.
*I want to edit ASX files with AsfTools.
ASX files are not Audio/video files. They are just simple text files that
act as a shortcut to the actual media files. AsfTools can create an ASX file
based on the files in FileList. If you want to edit ASX files, you can use a
text editor like Notepad. If you are definitely sure that your ASX file is
indeed a movie file, just rename it to asf.
*How can I learn more about AsfCut
parameters.
Open a command prompt, go to
AsfTools folder and run asfcut /?. Or you can visit AsfCut home page.
*I want to join/split/repair/convert
other formats such as: AVI, MPEG, RM, MOV,....
Visit www.divx-digest.com
or www.doom9.org or www.vcdhelp.com
*Download is not working. Yahoo says site
is temporary unavailable. I need AsfTools NOW!
What do you expect? This is a FREE website. There are lots of visitors
everyday and the site gets overloaded and the Yahoo will disable the site for a
few hours. That's the way it is and there is nothing I can do.
*I have a "Translated" version
of AsfTools. Why does it act strangely ?
Because
someone obviously messed it up!
None of these "Translations"
are authorized by me. AsfTools software is written in a way that all of it's
segments are related to each other. someone may change the texts inside the .exe
file but that would affect the entire software and disrupts it's functions. I
strongly recommend NOT using any of these versions.
Lost Chunks
*What kind of problems need this tool?
In general if you had too many "Bad Chunks" in a file, you should try this
tool. It will search in those Bad Chunk areas and tries to recover as much data
as possible. Here are a few examples:
1- A file is spiltted into a few smaller
files using a binary splitter (like HjSplitter) . If you miss a segment in the
middle and join the rest of the files, The resulting movie is only good until
the missing part and the rest is not playable. You can use this tool to fix the
problem and revive the rest of the movie.
2- Some downloader programs open more
than one connection to the server and download different parts of the movie at
the same time. If for any reason you cannot complete the download, you will end
up with a few segments of the movie and only the first part is playable. You can
join them with "copy /b" command and then run the result through this tool to
make the movie playable.
Another good use of this tool is to make the movies "Seekable".
But use this tool for making "Seekable" only after trying the "Make Seekable"
Button first.
Shrinker
*How does it work? What kind of files need
this tool
This tool searches into the
file and removes any junk data it can find in the file. It does NOT compress the
file, only makes it free from junk data. Some times, when downloading with SBVCR,
you may have noticed that the speed is higher than what it should be. For
example you have a 56k modem but your downloading speed is 120k or higher and
the resulting file seems to be bigger than what it should be. This usually
happens with files encoded with multiple bitrate. This tool can make these files
smaller without any loss in quality. Important: For best result, ALWAYS USE THIS
TOOL AS THE FIRST TOOL AND BEFORE ANY OTHER TOOL.
Asf to Avi Conversion
*How does it work? Is it possible to
select a new codec for AVI file?
A movie file is made of compressed audio and video data. To
play a movie, a piece of software is needed to decompress ( decode ) this data. This software is called codec or filter. asf/wmv and Avi formats have nothing to do with compression or decompression of audio&video data. They only act as a storage place for compressed data.
Asf to Avi converter is a tool to transfer data from an asf/wmv file to an Avi file without re-compressing. The transfer process does not deal with any coding or decoding of audio or video
data. Therefore it not possible to select a new codec for AVI file.
*Is it safe to say all *.asf files can be
converted to avi and all *.wmv file can not?
Not necessarily because Asf and wmv file formats are identical. It's only
the used codec that makes the difference.
*No Video after conversion to AVI.
This is usually a codec problem. In Converter window, check the field "v.Comprsn.".
If the value is "MP42" or "MP43", Installing proper codec
would solve the problem.
On the other hand, it is not possible to have a
direct conversion if the value of "v.Comprsn." is WMV1 or WMV2
The only codec (filter) that can decode this type of data is released by
Microsoft and it will not work if the data comes from an AVI file. As far as I
know, there are no other compatible codec for this type of data. The only
way to convert this type of movies into any other format is re-encoding. You can
use Re-Encode tool to Change the codec into MP43 and then you can convert the
result into Avi.
*No Audio after conversion to AVI.
This is usually a codec problem. In Converter window, check the field "a.FormatTag".
If the value is 0x0161, Installing proper codec
would solve the problem. Sometimes installing latest version of DirectX (from
Microsoft) may enhance the quality of sound.
*AVI
file is converted without error but it is much smaller than the original ASF
file (about 10% to 50%). Sometimes the AVI file is perfectly normal and
sometimes audio or video is missing and I'm sure it's not a codec problem.
This can happen when the movie is encoded with
multiple bitrate. You will know when you have one of these if you get multiple
lines of "More video stream found and discarded" in message
window. AsfTools always use the first audio and first video stream and ignores
other streams in ASF file. A good suggestion for handling this kind of
files is to run them through the "Shrinker" tool before converting to AVI.
(more explanation in next question)
*I have a file that I can convert it to
AVI with v2.3 and can not
convert with v3.1 (or vice versa). What can I do about it and what is the
story .
Again, it's a problem with files
with multiple bitrate (refer to previous question). These files have one Audio
or Video stream for each supported bitrate and it is common to have five or more
video streams (with different bitrates) in a single file. When you download such
file with a program like SBVCR, it first download the Asf header completely and
after that selects only one Audio and one Video stream in the file and starts
downloading them and will ignore other streams. So after downloading, we have a
file that it's header shows it has multiple bitrate but it has data for only one
Audio and one Video stream. The objects in the header for other streams, now
simply point to "nothing". These invalid objects in the header will mislead
AsfTools (either version) during the conversion and the results will be
unpredictable.
To fix this problem, run the
file through the "Shrinker" tool right after downloading. It will search into
the file for existing streams and corrects the header accordingly.
*I want to install codecs. What do you
recommend?
If you intend to download and install codecs, I recommend downloading "Nimo Codec Pack" that has all the codecs you may need. it can be downloaded freely from many web sites including www.divx-digest.com. If
you don't like "Nimo Codec Pack", you can still use the old Divx 3.11 codec but
after each conversion, press the "Make DivX" button to flag the movie as DivX.
*Do I need to repair a file before
conversion?
Asf To Avi Converter has all
the repairing functionality of Advanced Repair. Therefore Advanced Repair is not
needed but in rare occasions, you may want to use Basic Repair before
conversion.
*During the conversion, I get this error
message: "Error while convering"
That means your file need to be repaired first.
Asf to Wav Conversion
*How does it work?
Conversion is pretty much like Asf to Avi conversion. It extracts the audio
stream and convert it into Wav format. This process is done without
re-compressing and the sound quality will not degrade. If you were not able to play the
Wave file, It is a codec problem. Read the explanation in the "Asf to Avi
Conversion". Here are a few example on where to use this tool:
1- you can
use this tool to convert WMA files recorded from online radios into WAV and have
the ability to "instantly" seek to any position of it.
2- If you have problem
using TMPGEnc, try extracting the sound with this tool and give it as "Audio
Source" and the original Asf File will be the "Video Source".
Re-Encode
*How does it work?
This tool uses the encoder engine in "Windows Media Encoder" to re-compress the
asf/wmv file with Mpeg4 v3 codec. You can re-encode movies with WMV1/WMV2 codec
with this tool and use the result for "Asf to Avi conversion". This is
the only tool in AsfTools that Re-compress it's output.
*What
is "Microsoft Media Encoder"?
Sorry, it's a typo. I meant "Microsoft's Media Encoder" i.e. "Windows Media
Encoder". Will fix it in next release. Here is the address: "http://download.microsoft.com/download/winmediatech40/wmenc71/7.1/W98NT42KMe/EN-US/wmencoder71.exe"
*Important note about "Windows Media
Encoder 9 beta"
WME 9 is not
compatible with current version of AsfTools.
Known problems and limitation
* In
Windows 95, you may get a number of error messages and you may not be able to
use "Explorer View" properly. That's because minimum OS requirement for AsfTools
is Windows98. However, if you install all the updates for Windows95, AsfTools
may work with less errors.
* Sometimes Join/Cut/Basic Repair, does not
work with movies that have no Audio stream. (in media player, volume control is
grayed out). However, other tools should work
fine.
* Movies that are encoded with
multiple bitrate may not always successfully convert to avi. More info
here
* Asf files
created with "Power point" cannot convert to Avi because they have no video
stream.
Answers to some irrelevant (and
not so frequently asked) questions
This part is so dull that I skipped the
questions to make it as short as possible. In most cases, you can ignore this
part completely.
* You cannot download with AsfTools.
This is not a download manager.
* AsfTools
is not a movie player either.
*
If the files are unsorted, use the sort button to sort them.
* You cannot edit Avi or Mpeg with AsfTools. That's why you
can't add them to file list.
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