MPG only playing at it's original size

[feilong]

Hi all,

I've seen the question around here before, but the given solutions don't work. The problem is that users with WMP 9 installed see my recorded videos at the original size of 160x120 and not of the mediaplayer object size of 320x240. This is/was not a problem with users of older (6.4/8) media players.

Does anyone have a solution for showing the videos in the desired size?

I haven't tried the "regsvr32.exe msdxm.ocx" solution since I don't think I can do that with every user, without the user seeing the "DLLRegisterServer in msdxm.ocx succeeded" message...

TIA

[eric_darling]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

You cannot have a legal MPEG video at 160x120. Both pixel measurements must be evenly divisible by 16. I'd be curious to know how you even got to this resolution in MPEG-1, and what software permitted it.

Try with a 320x240 video and get back to us.

[feilong]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

Maybe your right about this, I don't know the technical background of MPEG video.

We actually record the videos in AVI with a Logitech webcam in 160 x 120, and then convert those AVI's to MPG.

We had no problems displaying the 160 x 120 MPG's @ 320 x 240 (same proportions) on user systems with WMP 6.4 and 8 installed. Reading through the forum, I figured out that this must be a WMP 9 related problem...

[eric_darling]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

No, it sounds like an authoring problem to me. What are you using to convert between AVI and MPEG?

[feilong]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

avi2mpg..

But honestly, my autoplay application works perfectly if users have older versions than windows media player 9 installed. The application increases the mpg by factor 2 without any problems.

[Incrocci]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

It's not you. I've had same problem and was told a few weeks ago that it's a bug in 4.0.0.4 with WMP9. I went back to 4.0.0.3 until it's fixed.

Rick

[eric_darling]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

I'm surprised that it's working at all if the pixel dimensions are not divisible by 16x16. A program which allows breaking this rule should not be used, at the risk of troubled encodes. You break the MPEG-1 macroblock rule by not adhering to this standard.

http://www.disctronics.co.uk/technol...video_mpeg.htm
http://www-courses.cs.uiuc.edu/~cs31...alk/node5.html
http://grass.itc.it/gdp/html_grass5/....out.mpeg.html

Maybe there is a bug with the way WM9/AMS 4.0.0.4 handles MPEG. I've not encountered it with HUNDREDS of MPEG encodes successfully on my install running Windows XP and AMS 4.0.0.4. Perhaps WM9 is just more finicky about accepting illegal MPEG files?

I hate to be a naysayer, but "neigh." [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[Lorne]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

That isn't a bug. That's just the way Microsoft made WMP9. In WMP9, the movie doesn't resize to the size of the window (or control). Like it or not, them's the breaks.

[feilong]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

Too bad!

So the only solution is, to rescale the MPG to 320x240?

[Lorne]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

Yep. Or tell the user to change the option in WM9 that controls this...which isn't really a great workaround. (WMP9 is still capable of resizing the movie, but it's an option under user control, and the default behaviour is to not resize.)

You already know about the other trick, to force the older version of the control, but you said it displays a message to the user, which in your case is undesirable.

You could also re-author the video as an AVI and use the AVI object instead.

[Incrocci]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

To make it an AVI instead of an MPeg1 would increase the size of the file too much. MOST of what I do is video. Is there any drawback to using 4.0.0.3 and WMP 6.4 or whatever? I know some bugs were fixed with the lastest version of AMS, but I'm fine with the older version.

Rick

[ghobii]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

I used the "regsvr32.exe msdxm.ocx" and it works just great. You just have to put a "s/" at the beginning of your command line so that you don't show the DLL installed messege.

[Lorne]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

s/, or do you mean /s?

Whichever it is, that should solve the problem nicely!

[Incrocci]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

Huh? Please explain in a little more detail. What is that doing, what is that overwriting, and how do I do that?

I'm not much of a programmer.

Rick

[Incrocci]

Re: MPG only playing at it's original size

Can anyone explain? Will this allow WMP9 to play at any size?
This is a serious problem to those of us that use a lot of MPeg1 video. There should be a way around it - like have all the advantages of 4.0.0.4 yet be able to use the old WMP or whatever. We cannot be making the videos larger because of file size and an AVI is also a large file and won't play as smooth.

Rick