Vegas can't open AVI file using Cinepack codec

smhontz wrote on 8/21/2012, 6:23 PM
I've been given three AVI files to include in a project. Vegas shows no properties for any of the clips and refuses to include them in a project. VLC will play the clips. WIndows Media Player will play the clips. So, I must have a codec for them. MediaInfo shows the following video information:

ID : 0
Format : Cinepack
Codec ID : cvid
Duration : 2s 603ms
Bit rate : 7 611 Kbps
Width : 378 pixels
Height : 364 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 1.038
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 1.846
Stream size : 2.36 MiB (100%)

How do I get Vegas to recognize these clips?

Comments

PeterDuke wrote on 8/21/2012, 7:21 PM
You will need to install a Cinepack decoder. Google for a free one, such as
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Cinepak_Codec.htm

but don't install a codec pack lest it overwrite your good codecs.

Edit

Apparently Windows should already come with Cinepack decoder, so it could be some other problem.
smhontz wrote on 8/21/2012, 7:37 PM
That's what's weird - Windows Media Player can play it, so the codec must be there, yet Vegas won't recognize it.
rs170a wrote on 8/21/2012, 9:18 PM
Just because WMP can play it doesn't mean that Vegas can :(

Mike
John_Cline wrote on 8/21/2012, 10:36 PM
Vegas uses VFW-compatible codecs (Video for Windows), Windows Media Player uses Direct-Show codecs. Two different animals.
musicvid10 wrote on 8/21/2012, 10:51 PM
Vegas Pro 8 opens and renders Cinepak (check your spelling) on Vista 32. If support was dumped on Windows 7 and/or 64 bit, so be it. That particular codec pretty much sucks.
Leee wrote on 8/22/2012, 12:06 AM
I have the same problem in Vegas 11 with certain avi and mov files that I purchased from videoblocks. And I probably made the problem worse by installing a codec pack.
Paul Masters wrote on 8/22/2012, 9:32 AM
Hello:

Had the same problem going to Vegas 11 and Windows 7 64 bit.
Read that 'Cinepack' would create better looking video and was 'easier' to edit.
However, it creates larger files.
Talked with them and got a trial.
Had a lot of problems - result video had strange frames and length problems.
Corresponded a lot and sent many samples.
They quit responding.

As I had only a few clips with Cinepack - have no idea how that happened - went back to prior version of Vegas on Vista and rerendered them to a 'standard' AVI.

Paul Masters
smhontz wrote on 8/22/2012, 11:11 AM
MediaInfo spelled it as "Cinepack", not me. VLC lists it as "Cinepak".

I was able to load it into Vegas 11 32-bit, but not Vegas 11 64-bit. So does that imply that Sony didn't bother to make a 64-bit DLL to handle it?
robwood wrote on 8/22/2012, 11:48 AM
"MediaInfo spelled it as "Cinepack""

it's Cinepak.
the codec has been around since the early 90's: was like h264 for 320x240 video back then; the low resolution made it easy to ignore the lower quality of the encode.