Ahh sweet fustration.

[James Sharp]

So recently i have decided to start a new amv. in the past i worked on amvs a bit with both windows movie maker and premire.

Now with that said i have to admit this is just out of hand.

I spent the better part of this week sitting and repeatedly reading A&E's Technical Guides to All Things Audio and Video. Every single pass i made at this massive and bloated guide just reinforced one thing, i am confused.

Then i decided to take a break from that and start giving avisynth and avsp a shot.. because from what i read that is a must to be a big boy in amv making.

So i follow a guide there.

of course i run into issues and ask questions and STILL i am met with MORE TECHNICAL TERMS!!!

here is the response i got to the question i posted because i was having trouble following the GUIDE for avsp

It helps to know exactly how AviSynth's source filters work before you try messing with them.

AVISource uses VFW. You need VFW decoders so it can use that source filter. If you can't open the file in VDub without using AviSynth, you're probably SOL.

DirectShowSource uses DirectShow (obviously). You need DirectShow splitters and decoders so it can use that source filter. You need to make sure Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, or some other DirectShow-based player can play them first.

MPEG2Source relies on its own decoding code. As long as AviSynth autoloads it you won't have a problem, considering you already indexed the file with DGIndex.

FFmpegSource (1.21 or 2.x) is also self-contained. As long as it autoloads, it should be fine (although in FFMS2, MPEG2-TS is handled by using Haali's Media Splitter if you've got it installed). A general rule of thumb is that FFmpegSource can handle most formats that VLC or mplayer can, within reason.

So i only can assume that i need to know all about video formats and codecs and containers and scripts and filters and all that jazz.. before i can even attempt to follow a supposedly simple guide?

Ahh yes of course.. aparently avsp only works with certain codecs and certain formats or whatever.. BUT i distinctly remember reading this quote in the very long guide:

Video footage can come in many formats. You might have MKV, MP4, OGM, MPG, AVI, WMV, or maybe even something else. The problem with all of these though, is that they probably aren't fit for editing because they aren't compressed with a codec that is suitable for editing. In order to fix this, we are going to load the files through AviSynth, and then convert them into editable AVI files, which will solve all of our problems. Fortunately, no matter what type of file you have, we can handle it the same way.

At this point, you should already be familiar with AviSynth. If not, make sure to get familiar with it before going on.

yay 1 step to handle all file formats... but wait... avsp cannot handle all.. or something.. confusion... ya confused..

anyways after spending the better part of the week confusing myself i simply have 1 question... why the hell can i not simple rip a dvd and throw those files into my editing software.. or better yet my question is.. why has no one designed a editing software that will just allow you to edit vob files or whatever.

So ya.. rant over.. i know alot of you probably think this shit is easy because you have been doing it for so long. but from a new persons perspective.. just getting footage to edit is making this whole process seem crazy complicated.

Im sure if i could just get my footage ready and sorted without having to go through all these steps it would be fine. but holy crap..

[Megamom]

Mmmm.... D=

I used AviSynth only compressed MP4 files...

My formula is.... Codec Litle Pack codec + Total video converter = Win

[seasons]

I understand your frustration. Are you still looking for help or did you just want to vent?

[seasons]

It's great that we have this community to turn to for help but more often than not it comes in a posts like this.

Mmmm.... D=

What does this mean? Did you just taste something delicious? Are you thinking out loud? what does "D=" mean?

I used AviSynth only compressed MP4 files...

I know English isn't your first language, but still... this sentence doesn't make sense and I don't know how it relates to James Sharp's post. And again, I know that :p is an emoticon but what does it imply in this sentence fragment?

My formula is.... Codec Litle Pack codec + Total video converter = Win

Are you talking to James Sharp? Yourself? Someone else? Did you post this reply in the wrong thread? I'm left wondering what you're actually suggesting here.

[Kariudo]

After reading this topic (and your other topic) I just gotta say...

-Avisynth isn't a requirement, but useful...definitely. Avisynth is powerful (read: customizable.) More power generally means a steeper learning curve, one wrought with technical terms.

-AvsP is just a program that lets you edit avisynth scripts and see the changes it makes to your video. AvsP can open any file that avisynth can. It sure beats the older method of taking screenshots of vdub and trying to compare the images to see which version of your script looks better (or using beforeafterline() in avisynth)

Making an amv is a process in which technical knowledge is very helpful. If you aren't willing to read up on things that you don't know, it's going to be a long and frustrating process that ends up leaving you more limited than you need to be (it'll probably be long and frustrating no matter what, but once you learn the stuff it'll go pretty smoothly.) Chances are, things won't work perfectly the first time. If you give up after the first time something doesn't work, you'll never learn.

eadfaglolz (and previous versions) feels bloated because it goes into semi-excruciating detail about everything involved. Do you really need to know the differences between RGB and YV12 to make an amv? No
Does it help? It can, but most times you won't need that knowledge.

If you need help, ask for it (but searching first may be a good idea. There is rarely a new problem that comes up...so most things have been answered at least several times in the past.)
If you need help understanding the help you get, ask for it.
Storming off after getting help (useful help at that) and ranting about how you don't understand something isn't going to help you learn it, or make it any less technical.

As Scintilla pointed out in your other thread, you ran into problems because you weren't listening to the guide. There is a difference between .mpg and .mp4. They aren't the same thing, and that's what made it not work. Grab the video mentioned in the guide from here and then try it out. What Qyot was saying is that if you can't play your file in Windows Media Player, then you can't use Directshowsource() to open it in avisynth.

If you want to load an .mp4 file, your best bet is to get CCCP (stay as far away from K-lite codec pack as you can). Once you install it, you should be able to load .mp4 files into your avisynth scripts using directshowsource(). There are some reasons that you may want to use something other than directshowsource()...but those details aren't pertinent to what you're doing right now.

tl;dr version:
making amvs = techincal. Get used to it.
Ask for help when needed. Don't give up so easily.

[Infinity Squared]

CyberLink PowerDirector (4.0 I think) could just eat away at VOB files and start editing from there.

[Nya-chan Production]

Also, when you need technical help, please, post in the technical part of the forums, not in general one

[EvaFan]

why the hell can i not simple rip a dvd and throw those files into my editing software

Assuming your actually ripping and using dvd's instead of downloaded x264's you shouldn't even need to use directshowsource.

Mpeg2source is all you need as long as you used DGindex to index the files into a d2v.

From all your errors and threads that you've created it sounds to me like your trying to directshowsource a downloaded raw or something. These days those are encoded with x264. You will need a mpeg4 directshow decoder. You can try FFDshow but I have little knowledge concerning it so I can't really help there.

Seriously though if your really using DVD's I think your making this sound way more difficult then it really is. I remember my first time following the guides concerning using ACTUAL dvd's it was pretty easy.

So i only can assume that i need to know all about video formats and codecs and containers and scripts and filters and all that jazz.. before i can even attempt to follow a supposedly simple guide?

Generally you learn the tools and their uses before you try the processes/tasks for all things so yes. I still think your making it sound like alot more then it really is.

If you don't feel like learning all this stuff just load the vobs into virtual dub and make clips. Your call, just don't get angry when people complain about interlacing/quality/etc...

[Nya-chan Production]

Btw, all the stuff you learn pays off "EVERY TIME" you make something, so the sooner you learn it, the faster you get fast encodes and spend less time over this while getting higher quality as well.

[Knowname]

what the f*?? whatever happened to Zarxfag?? I don't know how it can get easier than this, like Megamom said, you can only use AVS a little bit and still get great videos. Heck I don't hardly use it at all but...
Here's Zarxfag, a bunch of mp4s with Zarxrax talking you through a tutorial. this was in the beta version of the v3 guides, I can't find it now o.0
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0qrgg1