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Using the SmartVid Conversion Utility

Description | Windows Usage | DOS Usage | Characteristics

Description

SmartVid is a codec-independent utility that converts between the Microsoft Video for Windows* .AVI video file format and the Apple Computer QuickTime* .MOV video file format. You can run SmartVid from the MS-DOS* command line with the options described below, or double-click on the SmartVid icon in Windows.

SmartVid converts video files regardless of the codec used to compress them. It simply copies the data streams without attempting to decompress the video. However, if a given video codec is not supported on the target platform, video files compressed with it cannot play on that platform.

SmartVid also supports all audio formats. However, the only audio format that plays properly in both .AVI and MOV files is uncompressed PCM audio data. This is represented in .AVI files as the format WAVE_FORMAT_PCM. In MOV files, this data is represented in either raw or two's-complement form. SmartVid copies all audio streams, but if the audio data is not in PCM format, SmartVid displays warning messages if the Warning flag is set.

SmartVid always creates MOV files with the raw audio format and .AVI files with WAVE_FORMAT_PCM audio. It also properly converts two's-complement audio to WAVE_FORMAT_PCM. It supports both 8- and 16-bit audio sample sizes. However, MOV files support fractional audio sampling rates (for example, 22254.545), which are not supported in .AVI files. If the Warning flag is set, SmartVid displays a warning message when a MOV file contains a fractional audio sampling rate and then truncates the audio sampling rate. This is expected to have no audible effect.

System Requirements
SmartVid requires a personal computer running Microsoft Windows 3.11 or later, or MS-DOS 6.22 or later.

SmartVid is provided as a self-extracting zipped file.

Windows Usage

Converting Video Files
To convert a video file using SmartVid for Windows:

  1. Open the source file by selecting File > Open Source (Ctrl O).
  2. An Open dialog appears. Select the source file you wish to convert and click OK.
  3. To begin the conversion, select Convert > Start (Ctrl S).
  4. Enter the destination file name in the resulting dialog, or use the default name, and click OK. If the specified file already exists, SmartVid asks you to confirm the destination file name.

If the destination file name has the same extension as the source file name, SmartVid displays an error. If you need to create a destination file with the same extension as the source file, rename the destination file after the conversion.

  1. You can stop the conversion by selecting Convert > Stop (Ctrl X).
  2. When the conversion is complete, close the source file by selecting File > Close.

Source File Information
To see useful information about the source video file, select Convert > Info any time during the conversion process. A window opens containing the source file name, the source file type (.AVI or MOV), the video format and length, and the audio format and length.

Conversion Options
Two conversion options are available:

Options > Silent displays the conversion status messages but prevents the output of any warning or error messages.

Options > Warnings enables the output of warning or error messages, which appear in a separate window. Such messages notify you of any characteristics in the source video file that can cause problems with the destination file. The source file is still converted, but the result may exhibit unusual behavior.

NOTE: Although the default is to run silently, we recommend that you run with warnings enabled.

DOS Usage 

smartvid.exe [/?fsw] source [destination]
/?      Display version and command line options.
/f      Overwrite existing destination files.
/s      Run silently-do not display status messages.
/w      Display warning messages.
source      Source file name (required)
destination Destination file name

Characteristics

  • SmartVid maintains the source file's audio and video interleaving rate. However, .AVI files play better if the audio and video is interleaved every frame. MOV files, on the other hand, perform better if the audio and video data is interleaved every second. Therefore, converted video files may drop more frames than the source video files. To improve playback performance, reinterleave the converted files at the appropriate rates.
  • SmartVid does not support color palettes. It converts the video and audio data but not the palette data. A warning message is displayed if the source file contains palette information and the warning flag is set.
  • Only audio and video data streams are supported. If another type of data stream is found, the program halts.
  • Some MOV files do not have proper audio and video synchronization when played under QuickTime for Windows. However, several MOV files created on the Macintosh show similar characteristics. This symptom exists only under QuickTime for Windows Version 2.0. It is not apparent under QuickTime for Windows Version 2.0.1 or on Macintosh systems.
  • If the audio or video data streams have different durations than the duration specified for the file as a whole, SmartVid prompts you for the correct duration to use if the warning flag is set. If you're running in silent mode, SmartVid uses the duration of the entire file as a default, possibly truncating either or both data streams. If either the audio or video stream seems to end too early or last too long, use the warning flag and select the appropriate duration.
  • SmartVid does not convert .AVI files containing a copyright. Instead it displays an error message (if the warning flag is set) and exits.
  • If an .AVI file is opened, converted to a MOV file, then converted again, the second conversion will generate an Unable to Write MOV Headers error message. To convert an .AVI file twice, you must close the .AVI file after the first conversion and open it again.


* Legal Information © 1998 Intel Corporation