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Old 01-30-2019, 01:18 PM   #1
insub
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Default MPG Video Won't Play in Reaper, Plays Fine in VLC

I have some MPG files from an old Sony Handycam DCR-SR100. The files play fine in VLC, but I cannot get them to play in REAPER. At first the Video Window stayed completely green while audio played. Then I copied the FFMPEG dll files into the Reaper Plugin folder. Now the Video Window shows the opening image, but does not play the video. The audio plays back without trouble.

Reaper 5.965 x64
VLC 3.0.3
FFMPEG 3.4.1

Was I supposed to copy files other than just the dll's from the FFMPEG folder?
Also, why would those be necessary if VLC already plays the video files?

Reaper reported video file properties:
Length: 30:06.985
Video: 720x480@29.97fps, Aspect=1.00, Decoding format=I420/YV12
Audio: 48000Hz 6ch 32bps

Using ffmpeg/libav DLL decoder v57.107.100
Video: mpeg2video (Main), yuv420p(tv, top first), 720x480 [SAR 32:27 DAR 16:9], Closed Captions, max. 9100 kb/s
Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 448 kb/s

Loaded from: C:\Program Files\REAPER (x64)\Plugins\avcodec-57.dll
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Old 01-30-2019, 04:14 PM   #2
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I tried changing the file extension to the various MPEG-2 extensions to no avail.
MP2 made no difference.
M2V caused the import to fail.
MPEG allowed Windows 10 to play the videos, but not in Reaper.
I don't know why I can't get them to play in Reaper.

I've resorted to converting the files to the MP4 container, H.264, with audio AC3 pass-through (AC-3 5.1ch) using Handbrake. These files play just fine in Reaper and are immensely smaller in size than the source files. From 2GB down to between 220MB-400MB for 30min clips.
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Last edited by insub; 01-30-2019 at 06:47 PM.
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Old 01-31-2019, 12:45 AM   #3
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Hi Insub,

if you were able to import the mpeg2 files and to listen to the audio of the video then there is definitely something wrong. I remember that Justin fixed something in a dev version of Reaper that had to do with the resolution and the multiple of 4 or 8. Not sure what exactly it was. But it should be implemented in the next official version of Reaper as it has a long list of video fixes, video additions and new video features. Wait a few days and try it again after the update.

You also could try to change the default decoder to ffmpeg in the preferences. This helped me with some problems in VLC. But its no guarantee that it helps in your case. Go to options/preferences/media/video and make sure ffmpeg is on first position in the decoder priority list.

By the way: Mpeg2 is not the best format for video editing but it is of course the best quality you have. Conversion could be a way to make it more compatible and easier to edit though you should make sure that you choose the best (pseudo) quality for H264 in Handbrake to avoid to much loss in quality. Keep in mind that you will have to encode everything again after your edits in Reaper.

Good luck!
Eli //✿´‿`)
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Old 01-31-2019, 05:43 AM   #4
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You could try putting the video in to an MKV container.


MKVtoolnix is the tool to do that.


Check out the 5.966 pre1 for massive video improvements as well, especially when seeking.
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Old 01-31-2019, 12:03 PM   #5
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Thanks for your replies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eliseat View Post
You also could try to change the default decoder to ffmpeg in the preferences. This helped me with some problems in VLC. But its no guarantee that it helps in your case. Go to options/preferences/media/video and make sure ffmpeg is on first position in the decoder priority list.

By the way: Mpeg2 is not the best format for video editing but it is of course the best quality you have. Conversion could be a way to make it more compatible and easier to edit though you should make sure that you choose the best (pseudo) quality for H264 in Handbrake to avoid to much loss in quality.
Reaper never appeared to actually use VLC for me, even when I tried forcing it to.

Also, I woke up wondering the same thing about the Handbrake (pseudo) quality setting. I had left it on the default setting previously, and this morning I thought, "Well I just compressed an already compressed video format."

Quote:
Originally Posted by airon View Post
You could try putting the video in to an MKV container.


MKVtoolnix is the tool to do that.


Check out the 5.966 pre1 for massive video improvements as well, especially when seeking.
Thanks for these tips, I'll try them out!

Best Regards!
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Old 01-31-2019, 01:03 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airon View Post
You could try putting the video in to an MKV container.
MKVtoolnix is the tool to do that.
This worked great!
MKVtoolnix changed the container to MKV pretty fast! And, now I can work with the audio without any degradation of the video prior to Reaper editing. Awesome tip, THANKS!
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Old 05-13-2020, 05:42 PM   #7
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Okay, rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd mention I'm having the same issue.

I have VLC, ffmpeg as recommended by The Reaper Blog. I pretty much followed his instructions to the letter.

Yet, I can't playback an mpg file. It just shows as a green screen.

It plays back in VLC and everywhere else I try.

Reaper Source Properties:
Length: 3:06.712
Video: 0x0@1.#Jfps, Aspect=1.00, Decoding format=
Audio: 48000Hz 2ch 32bps
Using DirectShow decoder
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Old 05-16-2020, 10:50 AM   #8
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Hi Kirk,

Did you try using mkvtoolnix to change the container? That was the best solution for me before.

Best of luck!
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Old 09-09-2020, 06:34 PM   #9
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Same problem here...Havent tried the MKV thing yet
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