How to increase brightness in avi videos?

[Skybird]

Whatever I download is waayyyy too dark, 60% of the movies are usualy pitchblack, but in all three players where I tried them in, colour, contrast and brightness controls are locked.

[Konovalov]

This is a great question. I have come across problems like this also. Anyone have any ideas?

[Perilscope]

VirtualDub does it with the "filters".

http://www.virtualdub.org/

[Skybird]

It is done via editing the original data? Does this mean that these videos are intentionally recorded so dark that even setting a gamma of 2.0 does not allow me to see more in the dark fields (but lesser in the lighter fields, if there happen to be any)?

I avoided AVI captures in the past, and if it is like this, then I can live very well with avoiding them in the future as well.

[Perilscope]

Originally Posted by Skybird

It is done via editing the original data?

If the brightness is blocked, of course you need to re-encode the video with higher brightness if you want it higher.

Originally Posted by Skybird

I avoided AVI captures in the past, and if it is like this, then I can live very well with avoiding them in the future as well.

So be it... what can I say, they put the word "capture" because it can do that to, but it's mainly a powerful linear video editing tool. By the way, VirtualDub does not install, you just click on the EXE, so no harm done if you do not like it or too intimidating for you, you just toss the folder in the trash and that's it.

[Skybird]

Yes, I just meant I find it so stupid to intentionally record movies that damn dark that one cannot see anything. Player software has brightness controls, like a TV. Why intentionally locking these controls? Stupid. It's always the case with AVIs. It's never the case with WMFs.

[Skybird]

tried it anyway, with four different AVIs. And it did not load any of them - each of them, it complained, being another kind of additional format that it would not operate for not being compatible.

Well, worth an attempt, no AVIs for me, then.

[Gizzmoe]

Originally Posted by Skybird

tried it anyway, with four different AVIs. And it did not load any of them - each of them, it complained, being another kind of additional format that it would not operate for not being compatible.

Then you need to install a codec pack like K-Lite:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...Codec_Pack.htm

[CB..]

i have this problem with games aswell....fairly inexplicable...some games just are unplayable simply because they are far too dark...quite literaly a pitch black screen with some vague shapes moving about..no amount of gamma correction or brightness adjustment touches it..i have a program called powerstrip which sometime does the trick allowing me to adjust the gamma from there but still there are many games that this program is incompatible with..

foxes me

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Gizzmoe

Then you need to install a codec pack like K-Lite:
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/...Codec_Pack.htm

Thanks, that worked, though not easily accessible. Any way how I could save the lightened video without reserving several GB for what before was just 50 MB, and spending half an hour for the saving? The help file is for inside only, I did not understand even half of what I red.

[Gizzmoe]

Goto Audio and make sure that "Direct Stream Copy" is selected.

Then go to Video/Compress, select Xvid, Configure

Profile @ Level: Advanced Simple @ L5
Encoding type: Single Pass
Target quantizer: 3
Quality preset: General Purpose
Click Other Options, set "FourCC used" to DivX.

If you want to change wmv or MPEG2 files you need VirtualDub-MPEG2:
http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/

Or play the videos with BSplayer (comes with K-Lite), you can change the brightness and other things in Video/Color Controls.

[Skybird]

Okay, I'll try that and blindly follow what oyu typed - I have no idea what it is that I am switching on that way.

[tycho102]

Originally Posted by Skybird

Whatever I download is waayyyy too dark, 60% of the movies are usualy pitchblack, but in all three players where I tried them in, colour, contrast and brightness controls are locked.

You have to change your movie engine. In Windows, that means you're going to have to enable VMR9 to change things. I have no idea how to get that done with Windows Media Player. I think you have to enable VMR9 support for your video card, and then WMP will use it automatically.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by tycho102

You have to change your movie engine. In Windows, that means you're going to have to enable VMR9 to change things. I have no idea how to get that done with Windows Media Player. I think you have to enable VMR9 support for your video card, and then WMP will use it automatically.

Hä?

However, with Virtual Dub I found out now how to increase brightness - it is shown in the right of the two parrallel monitors, the left shows the original. But I did not find out how to save the manipulated version via the save-option. I tried that four times now, but the newly created AVI always was the old dark one.

The help file does not really elp to enlighten me. It's not really intuitive. Wwhat must I do?

[Perilscope]

A bit me, a lot Gizzmoe, gave you all the info you need to do so.

Here I made a quick HowTo in pictures ;-)

Load your video, than click on VIDEO and after FILTERS



After that choose ADD as shown below


After that you need to save it, Gizzmoe above gave you the setting to compress it nice nice! Thought I do not use Divx, I use Xvid.

Read the info, I know it;s hard a bit, but it is worth it, this program ROCKS!