External video player

samhayman


Hey guys, Thanks for your replies! I'm not that experienced with Video conversion so I didn't know that you can convert AVI using an MP4 codec. I use Adobe Encoder CS5.5 to convert my files but when I select Microsoft AVI, there is no mpeg options. Just DV, IYUV, Microsoft RLE and whatnot... Am I missing something? Brief system specs are: Win7 64bit; 24Gb RAM; CPU - intel i7; SSD hard drives; RME audio interface. If with your suggestions, a 2hr file would take 600MB, then I would not need to look into an external device option. I just thought that that was my only way out. Problem with 64bit Sonar Mov files with no thumbnails is that sometimes it helps (makes things faster) if I can look at the exact frame/s I'm working on but it's not a crucial necessity. And like you said, I don't need high res picture. So tomorrow I'll look into that as well. Thank you so much for your kind help! Sam ------- P.S. Sorry for the block paragraph. I still haven't figured out how to put paragraphs on this forum. Apparently it's not just a question of hitting the return key :S

First off, my apologies, I wrote in haste and possibly a little vague.
 
Generally speaking I prefer to convert to avi and then to mp4, a two-step process but worth it to me as the file size is so small for the quality and I find it is not very processor intensive on playback. Depending on the codecs installed on your system you may need to use an external encoder to convert to mp4. I generally use this:
http://winavi.com/avi-to-mp4.htm
 
I have a registered copy but to the best of my knowledge this freeware version works perfectly except a small watermark which should affect you in no way as you are not trying to distribute the video, you just want to see it as you compose/edit. Sonar open and plays mp4 files for me with no trouble.
 
Another good option is DivX. DivX is another form of compression that falls directly into the avi family - if you install the DivX codec you should be able to choose it when saving as an avi from Adobe Encoder or you can use the encoder from DivX for 15 days for free I believe. DivX is actually mp4 in avi format. I am a little surprised the Adobe Encoder doesn't have mp4 as an option but as I use Premier and After Effects mostly so I'm not familiar with the encoder. You can find DivX here:
http://www.divx.com/
 
There are many other suitable compression types you could try out. Xvid is very good. It is also Mpeg 4 compression but is open source therefore free. I use it frequently.
http://www.xvid.org/
 
Remember that just like a MOV file can be MPG1, MPG2 or MPG4 format with a mov extension, avi is just an extension that means audio video interleave. You can use many different compression algorithms and save with an avi extension.
 
With any compressed avi you should find the file size quite manageable, some just give better results. You could even try a test with a small video file using the included options of Adobe Encoder. Just encode a small file using the different options and then check the resulting quality with the file size and check to see that they will load and play well in Sonar.
 
So did you manage to get mov files to play but have no thumbnails? Did you right-click the video and select Show Thumbnails? Silly question but had to ask.
EDIT: Sorry, I should have read the other post more carefull, I now see it is a limitation of Windows 7 64 bit.