Winavi Keeps Crashing (and Tempge is too slow!) So, please suggest alternatives.

Despite a very promising start, Winavi now crashes constantly as soon as the app. begins to convert (I have updated to the most recent version via the homepage, and the problem occurred in the new version too). Apparently its a major.dll problem - does this sound familiar and/or how can we fix it? I'm very disappointed, because when Winavi once worked, it was a great little program. I've tried using TMPGenc, but this takes up to 14 hours to encode a small avi file.

Can someone please recommend a (relatively) fast and reliable video encoder - preferably one that recognises xvid files and doesn't require eloborate configurations, etc.

thanks in advance

 

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to combine 2 avi files into one DVD with winavi converter.

 

hi kant.

i dont use win-avi, never thought much of it when i used it, but have u got TMPGEnc 3.0 xpress (its new) and has a better interface and compression engine than its previou version. it will encode ANY file type to ANY file type, including xvid
it shouldnt take 14hrs to encode a small avi file btw, i convert low res avi vids every day, takes about 5 hrs to do a 2 pass encode on a 90min avi, so im guessing you have an older version.
u could try MainConcept 1.4.2, its fast and good quality and accepts xvid also, but unlike tmpge 3.0. it only encodes to mpeg-2, and doesnt have a file splitter or merger, thats why i use tmpge 3.0.

other than that, cant help, but good luck anyway....GLEM

 

Dont agree with glenpinn, WINavi works great if you have the right codecs installed, fast and as good as download, Also you can try DVDsanta, this is easy but a bit slower than WINavi, but i have found that some files that stop on WINavi will go down on santa.

 

Roxio Media Creator 7 worked fine for me last night - I got the same quality as the best quality in TMPGEnc, and my movie took about 3 hours to be finished, when TMPGEnc would have taken 10.

 

thanks for the responses everyone. A response to all suggestions.

glenpinn, I've tried everything you suggest and like mainconcept. TMPGEnc 3.0 xpress simply doesn't work the way the program used to for me - it used to be much faster, and now encodes at a crawl (for some reason TMPGEnc - all versions- now bypasses the analysis aspect that originally expedited the process, and so takes its time to convert). When it originally worked, it was great. Do you know why this process might have been 'disabled' or bypassed, or how it might work again?

gilera, Winavi instantly became my favorite until its major.dll file routinely crashed the application. Not sure why it suddently became unstable on my system, but I've encountered similar reports elsewhere. Its possible the problem began when I uninstalled something else - do you know what the correct or required codecs might be to ensure functionality?

DungBetle, I'll check out Roxio's application as soon as possible.

 

Suggest if you do not have it already, to download Kazaalite full pack.

 

one can never be right in this forum, everyone has different opinions when it comes to software, but some people in here just seem to be going at thid encoding gung-ho, and simply want the quickest and easiest encode job, and will sacrifice quality for the sake of a bit more time.
i have never seen any mpeg encoder testing comparisons where winavi and dvd santa are used, and thats because they are simply not as good as some other encoders on the market. if u want speed, ok use winavi or dvd santa, but u wont get the same quality as tmpge or mme period.
also, if tmpge will take 10 hrs to encode a file that roxio does in 3 hrs, u simply havent got tmpge working properly, cos roxio and nero encoders are 2 of the worst u can get for quality, yes they might be faster than tmpge, but again, your accepting a drop in quality for a bit of extra speed ??? i just cant work it out.
take a look at this comparison, i rest my case. but i still think mainconcept is better than it shows here in this comparison test, and where is winavi and dvdsanta, still in the toy box where they belong.

http://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=235665

 

Well Glenpinn, *I* don't notice a difference in quality for my movies between Roxio and TMPGEnc, so I find it logical for me to sacrifice *nothing* in exchange of speed.

My movies are home-movies shot with a small camera and the quality is not that great to begin with - the difference between the two programs might be more apparent if the original source had a better quality, but for *my* needs, Roxio is faster and offers the same qualities.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Can someone please reccommend a decent vcd burning software? (winavi keeps crashing and Nero simply 'hangs' once it completes an encoded file). I tried easyvcd (or maybe it was vcdeasy ) but I also encounter a common frustratring problem - it fails to detect windows media player and just shuts down.

pains in the arse!