AVI won't play within PSE Organizer

[Ron Hunter]

Barb, last night I installed the latest video card driver (from the Dell website), then rebooted the machine. It made no difference.

Problem: AVI files don't display video when played within PSE7 Organizer (audio can be heard), but the same file plays properly within the PRE7 "Organize" tab. This is a problem because I have >1000 AVI files in PSE7 Organizer!!!

When I view the AVI file properties "Metadata" within PSE7 Organizer, I see:
Frame Rate = 29.97fps
Pixel Aspect Ratio = 9/10
Field Order = Lower Field
...so it appears that video information is still in that file.

Interestingly, M2T files play properly but AVI files don't. (Also interesting is that the Metadata for M2T files includes no information about video and audio settings.) All AVI files are problematic including those from the camcorder and those created by PRE7. And again, it hasn't always been this way.

I guess I'm the only person this has happened to? What options do I have? Uninstall, then reinstall PSE7? Will all of my tagging disappear if I do that? I downloaded the PSE7/PRE7 programs from the Adobe Store, will I even be able to reinstall it?

Someone PLEASE HELP!

[Steve Grisetti]

With over 1000 videos in the Organizer, is it possible that the program just hasn't had a chance to generate the thumbnails yet? I've got a fraction of that number and, when I first loaded the Organizer, it took quite a while before thumbnails actually showed up.

What if you just leave the Organizer on in the background for a couple hours or overnight?

[Gerlinde]

Hi Ron,
you may have already tried this, I would give the Catalog repair option a try. But with over 1000 clips, that might take a while. You could also create a new Catalog and just import a few clips to see if they play in a fresh Catalog. If none of this things work, my next step would be to do a repair install of the program.

[Barb O]

create a new Catalog and just import a few clips to see if they play in a fresh Catalog

Trying a new catalog sounds like a good idea for troubleshooting. Even though Ron previously tried switching to a different catalog (his catalog for photos), a new catalog that is created with the software levels currently on this PC may be a more effective comparison.

Ron,
-- Since you purchased v7 from Adobe directly, they should have a record of your purchase so I think that you will be able to download again. I am not sure.
-- Uninstalling does not remove the Catalog files so your tagging will not be lost if you uninstall and reinstall.
-- I am still looking for a good method to analyze the codecs installed on your system (and mine). Since I was able to play the short avi clip that you sent me using my 32bit Vista PSE 7 Organizer, I am focusing on potential differences in our configurations.
-- FYI -- I believe that both Windows Media Player and Premiere Elements have access to video codecs that are not available to the PSE 7 Organizer so that it does not surprise me that a video file is playable in WMP and PE 7 but not the PSE 7 Organizer.

[Ron Hunter]

Hi Ron,
you may have already tried this, I would give the Catalog repair option a try. But with over 1000 clips, that might take a while. You could also create a new Catalog and just import a few clips to see if they play in a fresh Catalog. If none of this things work, my next step would be to do a repair install of the program.

That was a great idea and I thought it would work, but no. I created a Test Catalog and imported a single AVI file. Same deal, no video but I could hear audio.

"Repair Install", not sure what that means. Do you mean to go to the Adobe Store, download it again, run the executable, and select "Repair" if given the option?

[Gerlinde]

Hi Ron,
sorry you are still having the same problem.

"Repair Install", not sure what that means. Do you mean to go to the Adobe Store, download it again, run the executable, and select "Repair" if given the option?

Yes, that's what I'm suggesting. Although, I'm not a 100% sure PSE7 has still that option. PSE 9 does not, you have to uninstall and then reinstall. But either way, I think this would be the best thing to do at this point. Unless someone else has a better idea. You can also go to control panel > programs > uninstall/repair a program.

[Barb O]

Ron,
first,
one quick thing to try is to run with Administrator authority in Vista. This should not be necessary but attempting it may help analyze if there is some permission/authorization problem which prevents you from playing your avi video. Even if your normal Windows userid has administrator authority, try using the the pse icon on the desktop and doing a right click/run as administrator to start PSE. Then use the PSE Organizer to play your avi DV video. (uninstalls or other installs have been known to effectively remove some authorizations so even thought you were previous successful playing these avis, this seems worth trying once)

second,

-- I am still looking for a good method to analyze the codecs installed on your system (and mine). Since I was able to play the short avi clip that you sent me using my 32bit Vista PSE 7 Organizer, I am focusing on potential differences in our configurations.
-- FYI -- I believe that both Windows Media Player and Premiere Elements have access to video codecs that are not available to the PSE 7 Organizer so that it does not surprise me that a video file is playable in WMP and PE 7 but not the PSE 7 Organizer.

I have been informed that GSpot will help us analyze codecs
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

Ron,
Using the short clip that you sent to me, GSpot on my system tells me that the codec which will be used to play it is DVSD. I think that on my system this is coming from MS as part of the Vista operating system.

from Gspot for the highest merit DVSD decoder on my Vista system:
- - Type DSH
- - Function Decoder
DSH 4CC DVSD
DSH Friendly Name DV Video Decoder
DSH DirectShow CLSID CLSID_DVVideoCodec {B1B77C00-C3E4-11CF-AF79-00AA00B67A42}
FIL File Description DirectShow Runtime.
FIL Company Name Microsoft Corporation
FIL File Version 6.6.6000.16386 (vista_rtm.061101-2205)
FIL Internal Name Qdv.dll
FIL Legal Copyright © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
FIL Original Filename Qdv.dll.mui
FIL Product Name Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
FIL Product Version 6.6.6000.16386
REG Driver File qdv.dll
REG Merit 0x00800000

[Ron Hunter]

I tried a "test catalog" with a single AVI file, and it made no difference.

I ran PSE7 as an administrator and it made no difference.

I double-clicked the PSE7 install file and was asked to uninstall PSE7, which I did (no repair option provided). Without rebooting the PC I re-installed PSE7, located the catalog and tried to play an AVI clip. NO DIFFERENCE. I still cannot see the video.

I can right-click an AVI file within PSE7 Organizer, select "Send To Premiere Elements", and the AVI plays properly in the PRE7 timeline. Also, M2T files play properly within PSE7 Organizer.

What else can I try?

[Ron Hunter]

I installed GSpot and used it to analyze an AVI file within PSE7 Organizer:

"Container" info:
File Length Correct
DV Type 2 AVI
AVI v1.0
DV Audio/Video: 684 MB (94.91%)
AVI Copy of DV Audio: 36.5 MB (5.07%)
AVI Overhead: 165 KB (0.02%)

"Video" info:
Codec: dvsd
Name: DVC/DV Video
Status: Codec(s) are installed

This sounds as if the machine is properly configured to play back an AVI file. What next?

[Gerlinde]

Hi Ron,

Could you make a backup of your catalog file, or just rename it and move it to a location you can easily find later. If I remember correctly, during uninstall of the program you being asked, if you want to keep your preference file. Make sure you delete it, it will be recreated automatically. And restart the computer after new installation. Maybe you could also try to run a registry cleaner after you uninstalled the program. Something like CCleaner. If all that won't help, I would contact Adobe.

[Barb O]

Unfortunately, I don't think that Adobe will support PSE version 7.
Here are some additional suggestions:

-- using the System menu of GSpot, can you identify the DVSD codec with the highest merit ?
I am wondering if it is the same codec as I identified in one of my earlier posts.

-- an entirely different idea is to attempt to play your video file using Quicktime ? Does it play?
(I ask this because the PSE Organizer 7 does use Quicktime to play some types of video. I did not think that it used Quicktime for you digital 8 (dv-avi video), but I am not certain.)

-- fyi -- there are codec packs that can be installed to add codecs but some people think they do more harm than good. Plus - especially since these same videos played OK for you previously you should not need a codec pack.

[Ron Hunter]

Today I uninstalled PSE7 and there was no message concerning a "preferences" file. I ran CCleaner AND Advanced System Care to clean up the registry. Rebooted machine, again ran Advanced System Care (just in case it mattered), and reinstalled PSE7. No change, PSE7 Organizer will not show the video when I play an AVI file.

I launched QuickTime Player and played an AVI file with no problem.

Regarding GSpot, I don't know how to identify the DVSD codec with the highest merit. Can you explain how to do that?

[Gerlinde]

Ron , one question, you said:

I launched QuickTime Player and played an AVI file with no problem.

.
Is Qicktime your default player for .avi files? If yes, what happens if you change it to Windows Media Player? We don't know which player the Organizer is associated with or do we?

I'm asking this since you mentioned, that you had an update for Quicktime. Maybe this changed your default player settings.

[Barb O]

Ron , one question, you said:

I launched QuickTime Player and played an AVI file with no problem.

.
Is Qicktime your default player for .avi files? If yes, what happens if you change it to Windows Media Player? We don't know which player the Organizer is associated with or do we?

I'm asking this since you mentioned, that you had an update for Quicktime. Maybe this changed your default player settings.

No, Unfortunately I don't think we know which player the Organizer will use. I had expected it to use Windows Media Player for a DV-AVI/Digital 8 file. And I suspect that it will not necessarily use the Windows setting for default of the file type.

FYI - My suggestion for trying Quicktime was so that we would know its result - because Ron had mentioned the Quicktime update.

[Paul LS]

Regarding GSpot and Merit. Open GSpot and the select "System" from the top of the user interface. Then select "List Codecs and Other Filters". Then when this opens click on "Format" at the top of the user interface and it should "order" the codecs. Then scroll down and look at the Merit for your DVSD codecs that you have installed. You should have "DV Video Decoder".... in my system that has the highest Merit of 0x008. If you right click on it and select Details it should be Windows driver installed in C:\Windows\System32\qdv.dll