[FF7PC-98/Steam] FMV Restoration (Discontinued, use Steam FMVs)

[Syntrel]

After thoroughly reading your entire thread, as well as doing a search of Qhimm Forums for "FMVRes tutorial", I'm having trouble simply getting past installation.  I have all the files, FMVRes.exe and FMVRes-1.bin through -6.bin all in their own folder located on my desktop.  I downloaded ff7moviedirr2, unpacked and used it's application to change the path the game will choose for movies to "C:\Program Files\Square Soft, Inc\Final Fantasy VII\movies\".  I then open the folder containing the FMVRes.exe and .bins, start the setup, make sure the file path is EXACTLY as it is written (including the movies\).  Click [ OK ] and get this every time...  <<Error: The file "FMVRes.exe-1.bin" could not be located in "C:\Program Files\Square Soft, Inc\Final Fantasy VII\movies".  Please Insert the correct disk or select another folder.>>

Even though this is not a game play issue I'll post the info that has been requested of others.

Windows XP Home SP2
Nvidia GeForce 8300 chipset
Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT vid card 512mb
Realtek High Def sound card
AMD64 X2 Dual Core 5200+ 3GHz
7Gigs+ of Ram

Yes, I am using Aali's 7.11b driver.

I Installed and run from ISO's since my kids got into my FF7 Discs and used them for frisbees, hooray for thinking ahead.

I've tried running the FMVRes.exe setup from within the movies folder as well as from the folder on my desktop.  I certainly hope I am missing something or some step that will later on seem very silly and foolish.  I'd rather feel foolish or stupid than frustrated, even if it's something stupidly obvious or trivial that I did not list, do not hesitate to point it out.  Any assistance would be wonderful.

 

Edit- [SOLVED]  Pinned .exe to start menu and ran from there.

[Syntrel]

I know double posts are frowned upon, but after looking elsewhere this thread seems to be my best/only option still.  I'll keep it brief though.  I do not have a lot of mods (relatively) installed, just Yours, and your team's, Unified Model Installer, Avalanches HiRes/GUI upgrades and FF7 Music.  They all work wonderfully and were a breeze to install.  I am inclined to believe the problem I'm having with your FMV Resto mod is on my end, though I unfortunately haven't been able to wrap my head around it yet.  So, once again, any help, advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.

I've followed the simple install instructions, yet the "Error" (see previous post) message persists.

[UGerstl]

@Syntrel: Move the FMVRes*.* files into a separate folder (e.g. D:\Test or C:\Test).
                Don't use the Desktop !
                And don't use the movies folder ( FF7 \movies) !

[DLPB_]

I am guessing you are not installing as admin....

[Syntrel]

Afaik it's not an admin issue...  As I've not had any issues with "permissions" so far with any other mods or programs on my system.   I'm about to try Ugerstl's advice.  I'll post an update as an edit to this post.

Pinned the .exe to the start menu and it ran like a champ.  Sure wish I'd thought of that a lot sooner...

Thanks a lot guys.  Nice work on the movies DLPB.

Current save point was exactly prior to the planetarium vid in cosmo canyon.   Holy crap.  O.O

[LeonhartGR]

Hello DLPB! Since you've done an excellent work on ffvii videos maybe you could help me with my intro videos! I'm trying to directly export from adobe premier cs 5.5 and I can't achieve compatibility. I used h264 codec it exports to mp4 then image quality is the best but sound seems to restart after a while. I can't figure this out. If you could help me please. Thanks!

[DLPB_]

I would help you but I hate adobe products (apart from photoshop).  I used Sony Vegas.

  I have next to no knowledge about Adobe movie makers etc..

All I can say is the videos need to be 1280*896, export h264 with aac, best bet use variable bitrate between 1500-2500 should work, experiment.  If it doesnt load at all, it is likely how the software is handling mp4 and how aalis driver works.

I had issues with audio too in adobe when using sony AAC... I switched to mainconcept.  Other people use x264.

[LeonhartGR]

I would help you but I hate adobe products (apart from photoshop).  I used Sony Vegas.

  I have next to no knowledge about Adobe movie makers etc..

All I can say is the videos need to be 1280*896, export h264 with aac, best bet use variable bitrate between 1500-2500 should work, experiment.  If it doesnt load at all, it is likely how the software is handling mp4 and how aalis driver works.

I had issues with audio too in adobe when using sony AAC... I switched to mainconcept.  Other people export to uncompressed vid/audio using lagarith and then use x264.

Geez thanks! Me too I don't like it I'll try sony vegas sometime. i just don't want to spend more time at the moment... I'm trying an encoding right now and I'm going to follow your advice if mine fails. Thanks again!

Something more... since ffvii reads only .avi extention is it a problem if I rename my mp4 to avi? Is this the reason it isn't compatible? Or it's just the bitrate? Because premier does export to .avi but has sound option uncompressed by default... There are so many options in premier but not directly avi with sound compression. Can't understand that...

*Ok tested it... worked great on 1280X960 (maybe cause I use 32'' lcd widescreen) for the first 46 seconds. I'll post my settings for anyone who maybe exporting in the future. I wonder why use 896? I mean maybe those who use a square screen won't be able to watch it fullscreen? And do I need to encode it in 896 too? I think 896 is for opening video cause it has a blank border in the bottom by default. File is 43.5 mbs for 46 seconds of video!!! Estimated file size 682mb for 11 mins video. I post the settings. Really thank you DLPB!

Code: [Select]

Format: H264
Preset: Custom
Filters: none
multiplexer: mp4
Stream compatibility: standard
Tv standard: NTSC
frame width/hight: 1280x960
frame rate: 25 fps
Field order: none (progressive)
Pixel aspect ratio: widescreen 16:9
Profile: main
Level: 3.2
Render at maximun depth (checked)
Bitrate encoding: vbr-2pass
target bitrate 8mbps, maximun bitrate 9mbps
set keyframe distance: 30 frames

audio format: aac
codec: aac (there is aac+version1or2, i used only aac)
output channel: stereo
48kh, audio quality: high, bitrate 320kbps
Precendence: bitrate

[DLPB_]

Trust me vegas makes adobe look like turd for most tasks.  The learning curve is very nice too.  That should read

"I had problems with audio too when I used AAC in VEGAS with the sony plugin, so I used the mainconcept plugin"

[LeonhartGR]

Please delete

[DLPB_]

I am afraid I am too busy to help.  I can't teach people how to use programs that are not my own.
This thread is for bug reports on my mod.  You will work it out like I did.  If not, ask at relevant forum
or someone else here may help, but not on this thread.  I'm sorry

[Juvi]

Hey there. appreciate everything youve done, it looks great. ive installed all the videos and pointed to the folder. that was all easy, but for some reason my fmv dont play any sound. ive looked all over and cant find any help. the ones ive looked at are the square logo at the beginning and the opening scene. i get sound when i play them from the folder, but when i play them ingame its completely silent, and then after the video the midi kicks right up. any ideas on this?

[PitBrat]

Run the FF7 Configuration tool (FF7Config.exe) as administrator and configure your sound card.

[ravscool]

Hi

I'm new to the forum and I love FF7, FF8 and FF9.

I've never finished 7 though, I think I played until the middle of the 2nd disc.

I've downloaded a few days ago the re-release version Square-Enix released and the videos are upscaled and look nice. I would like to know what's your opinion on those videos. I'm going to download the videos you've made to see how they look like.

[DLPB_]

These videos are not likely to work with the new game.  Personally I like mine better.

[ravscool]

These videos are not likely to work with the new game.  Personally I like mine better.

I'm still downloading your videos. I also have the original FF7 PC version on CD but I haven't installed it for ages. I think I've tried it on Windows XP, now I'm using Windows 7 SP1 and also testing Windows 8 Pro.

I'll try to play the original game with the mods provided here and see the difference to the re-released PC version. Square improved a bit on the graphics at least in battle and upscaled their FMV but the graphics seem very simply compared to the mods from the pics I've seen.

[DLPB_]

I am going to look at their new videos again soon.  I will see if theirs are better than mine or not.  From what I saw before I didn't think so, but on the re-release thread that FMV looks pretty good if it is the original.

The new game upscaled yes.  Same with backgrounds.

[Kindo]

EDIT: Apologies! It seems to be a problem with Aali's custom drivers, rather than the FMV Restoration mod. I have a different problem with those drivers, so I had disabled them temporarily, which resulted in the FMV's not playing; re-activating the custom drivers brought the FMV's back in their full glory. I'll move on to Aali's thread to ask for support there, instead. Sorry for the bother!

Greetings,

First of all, thanks for providing us with proper versions of the FMV's. I am, however, having problems getting it to work. I've successfully installed the movies (I chose to place them in [FF7 Root]/movies), and all seems to be well. Afterwards, I ran ff7moviedir.exe in order to alter the registry, and I still encountered no errors. For some reason, the FMV's will no longer play in the game, though, and all I'm met with are a black screen during the opening FMV, or, if an FMV is triggered during gameplay, it's instantly skipped. The unaltered FMV's (fresh installation, non-Ultima version) worked perfectly, so it's only when the game has been told to play your versions, that it doesn't seem to work. I'm hoping there's a solution, but if not, I have no idea how to restore the original movies path (basically, undo what ff7moviedir.exe did).

I appreciate any help.

Kindo

[Junonite]

Hello all, I have a rather peculiar query to ask...

Are the 2012 FMV's re-encodes of the PS1 FMV's or encoded from the 1996 uncompressed master files?

Any light shed on this matter would be of great assistance.

[DLPB_]

No, the 2012 version did exactly same as me (they used psx versions and upscaled), albeit their method was better and more professional, resulting in less noise and a better in-motion experience.  I still think mine have the best colour but overall I'd say 2012 fmv's are best for the game.

It is likely Square have lost any higher quality renders.

[obesebear]

There is still that DVD of uncompressed FMVs that shipped with a DVD player...

[DLPB_]

Unfortunately those are/the CD is:

1.  Interlaced.
2. Positioned with borders which means any use of them will need the borders chopping out and the edges chopping away because the colour has blurred into the black borders.
3. Are often missing sections of video at the start and/or end
4. Are missing the orignal audio
5. Missing the vast bulk of the FMV's.

[Asshiah]

It is easy to use the 2012's FMVs with the original version of the game? Do I need to downscale them ?

[Rundas]

since my computer is too sad to run them up to speed, how do i reverse the registry entries?

[PitBrat]

Modify the registry entry to point to the CD-ROM movies folder.

ff7moviedirr2.zip                               Covarr          Registry Edit to set Movie Dir          Qhimm FILE