Projects saved with VideoMach 4.0.4 or older aren't completely compatible with projects from version 5.0.0 and later. Here are the differences:

• When loading an older project Crop and Rotate won't work. They are now placed under Video Filters as independent functions. Resize may not work in all cases too. To fix the problem load the old project using the new version of VideoMach, check if Resize is ok, adjust if necessary, then add Crop and Rotate (if needed) from the Video Filters menu. Save the new project and use it with the new version of VideoMach.
• VideoMach prior to 5.0 saves GIFs as sequence of images. Version 5.0 and later saves it as a single animated GIF.
• Text Overlay in version 5.0 contains new properties. Some adjustments may be needed.
• Projects since version 5.0 contain audio-video links that enable automatic synchronization and deletion of linked files or parts. Old projects contain no links and after loading audio and video won't be linked.

Install Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista before installing VideoMach 5. Download it from Microsoft's web site.

If you're using Windows XP you need to install Windows Media Runtime 11. You can download it from here:

http://www.mediamonkey.com/sw/WMFDist11-WindowsXP-X86-ENU.exe

If you're using Windows 98 / 98SE / ME then install Windows Media Runtime 9. You can download it from here:

http://nic.dnsalias.com/wmfdist.exe

Windows Vista has Windows Media Runtime already included.

K-Lite Codec Pack issues:

1. AVI: 48000 Hz audio is reported as 8000 Hz or missing completely
2. AVI: video and audio cannot be synchronized after adjusting in/out points
3. MPEG-2: Video slowed down or frozen after converting from MPEG-2 to another format

All these problems are related to the latest release of K-Lite Codec Pack (version 3.90 at the time of writing this text) and possibly some hardware drivers on some computers. Even though K-Lite is one of the best codec packs available (if not the best), we have identified some common problems that you may have after installing the latest version on your computer.

After opening an AVI file with 48000 Hz audio, the reported audio sample rate is 8000 Hz. After conversion the audio may be missing altogether. Solution:

1. Uninstall K-Lite and other codec packs you previously installed.
2. Start setup of the latest version of K-Lite.
3. During installation, when asked to Select Components scroll down the big list until you see DirectShow audio decoding filters and UNCHECK the MP3 item (followed by ffdshow).
4. Continue installation of the codec pack as usual.
5. Convert the file again.

After changing in/out points of an AVI file and synchronizing audio and video parts, the converted file has garbled or delayed audio. Solution:

1. K-Lite must already be installed. Click Start => Programs => K-Lite Codec Pack => Configuration => Codec Tweak Tool.
2. Navigate down the list until you find an item named DirectShow Filter Management [K-Lite Codec Pack]. Warning: There are two titles with a similar name in the list. This one must have text [K-Lite Codec Pack] in the brackets.
3. Scroll down until you find a subitem named Disable the following filters.
4. Under that find a subitem named AVI Splitter (Gabest) and put a check mark next to it. Click Next and Finish.
5. Convert the file again.

After converting MPEG-2 to another format the picture is extremely slowed down. Solution:

1. K-Lite must already be installed. Click Start => Programs => K-Lite Codec Pack => Configuration => Codec Tweak Tool.
2. Navigate down the list until you find an item named DirectShow Filter Management [Microsoft Windows]. Warning: There are two titles with a similar name in the list. This one must have text [Microsoft Windows] in the brackets, as opposed to the one above.
3. Scroll down until you find a subitem named Disable the following filters.
4. Under that find a subitem named MPEG Splitter and put a check mark next to it. Click Next and Finish.
5. Convert the file again.

You can increase capabilities of VideoMach by installing external codecs. Not all formats are fully supported, but you should try anyway. Download K-Lite Codec Pack from this site:

www.CodecGuide.com

That is a known problem with multi-select feature in Windows Common Dialogs when opening a large number of files. Apparently some parts of Windows still have the 65536 bytes limitation. We can't fix Windows, but we did find a few solutions:

Workaround 1: If you are opening a sequence of numerated files (e.g. "pic0001.jpg", "pic0002.jpg", "pic0003.jpg", "picNNNN.jpg") open just the first image. That's right, don't use multi-selection feature, open just the first image. In most cases VideoMach will automatically recognize the entire sequence. This is the fastest way to open a large sequence of images. No other software on the market can open image sequences as fast as VideoMach in this mode.

Workaround 2: Open Windows Explorer, select the files you wish to open, click the first selected file and drag it to VideoMach video or audio list (doesn't matter which one). It's very important that you drag the selection by clicking and dragging the FIRST file, otherwise the files won't be sorted the way they are displayed in Explorer. That's again one of Windows "features" that we can't fix.

From version 4.1 there are three options available after output file is created:

1. Play the created file
2. Display the "Produced Files Information" dialog
3. Do nothing

Go to Tools => Options => Output and choose what should VideoMach do after processing is over.

AVI picture skewed?

Half-Life videos in VideoMach?

The installer we use has many advantages over standard installers. Except it's much faster and smaller it also has built-in damage detection. The error message above appears when the package is damaged. Since the original package on our site isn't damaged here are the possible causes for the error:

1. Maybe your download has been somehow interrupted. Compare downloaded file size with the file size displayed on the download page. If they are different then download wasn't complete. You may need to install a good download manager like this one: Free Download Manager.
2. It's possible there's an active virus in the computer's memory. Viruses typically infect all new files, including those you download from the internet. Start your anti-virus software, update the anti-virus database and check your disks. If you need a good and free antivirus try this one: Avira AntiVir.

In any case delete the downloaded VideoMach installation package, clean up your computer (in case of a virus) and download the installation package again from our site.

HAV files downloaded from a DVR set-top box can't be open?

Manufacturers of some set-top boxes named their proprietary format HAV, equally as our Gromada HAV format. These proprietary formats have nothing in common with Gromada HAV. Our format was the first, it's open to the public, has fully published specifications and support library. The only similarity is that both formats are named HAV. Our products support only Gromada HAV format. For others you'll have to check web sites of their respective manufacturers.

Encoding artefacts in Cinepak codec?

This happens when you're saving to MPEG and the frame rate isn't supported by the format. Unfortunately, MPEG by design doesn't support all frame rates. By its specification MPEG allows only the following frame rates: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 fps. Values between them aren't supported. However, if the input frame rate is 15 fps and you select output frame rate of 30 fps and set "Keep original duration" VideoMach will overcome limitation by emulating the input frame rate using frame duplication.

The size of output file depends on the video codec, data rate, key frames and other factors. If you're saving to AVI click File => Save As (enter the output file name) then => Video => Codec Settings and choose one of the powerful codecs like XviD, DivX or similar. You can also change the bit rate of a codec by clicking the Configure button. Lower the bit rate to produce smaller files. You can additionally squeeze the file by using MP3 codec for audio. Just switch to the audio tab and click Codec Settings button.

If you're saving to MPEG click File => Save As (enter the output file name) then => Video => Codec Settings and decrease Average Data Rate and Maximum Data Rate values. There is a limit below which MPEG format can't go, so if you enter too low data rate VideoMach resets it to the default value.

Visit the hardware manufacturer's web site and see if they have a software version of the codec. If that's not the case try searching at the following web sites:

MJPEG codec:
Pegasus Imaging - http://www.pegasusimaging.com

DV codec:
MainConcept - http://www.mainconcept.com

Source for video codec and pixel format information:
FOURCC.org - http://www.fourcc.org

You're probably using DivX codec. When queried, DivX reports that it can handle large images (say, 4000 x 3000 pixels), but when VideoMach sends the image to DivX, the codec crashes. So, make sure the image resolution isn't higher than 1920 x 1200 pixels. That's a good advice even if you're not using DivX. Video always uses lower resolution than still pictures.

Verify that your images comply to the "Image Sequence Rules" (find more about it in the help file).

In short, there should be no missing numbers. If you have a sequence named like this: pic001.jpg, pic002.jpg, pic007.jpg, VideoMach will only open images 001 and 002, but not 007 because of the gap in numeration. Of course, you can separately open the sequence starting with image 007.