Guest JMTapes Report post Posted February 4, 2003 Is there any way to bypass Windows 98's 2 GB file size limit? I know I saw something relating to it a while back. And does XP have this limit? The reason I ask is because I have XP on one computer, but I do my video grabbing on an HP with Windows 98, and its very annoying to only be able to capture like 8 minutes at a time. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks-Jim www.jmtapes.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest I'm That Damn Zzzzz Report post Posted February 4, 2003 http://www.puremotion.com/videoediting/ref...l/2gbfilelimit/ The 2 GB File Limit There is a lot of confusion over what is meant by the "2 GB file limit" when editing video on a PC. You do not need to understand the technical details to do video editing on a PC, but you should understand the summary given below as it might effect the tools and methods you use. The 2 GB Limit Some basics: The 2 GB (gigabytes) refers to the maximum size of a standard AVI file. A standard AVI file is called an AVI 1.0 file. The problem is due to the fact that standard AVI files store information inside themselves as 32 bit numbers - this gives them the range of values of about -2,000,000,000 (-2 GB) to +2,000,000,000 (+2 GB). The file itself cannot refer to anything outside this range. Any program that deals with AVI files by using 32 bit numbers is probably limited to using AVI files of up to 2 GB in size. The AVI version number (1.0 or 2.0) has no connection to a DV AVI file's type (see our article on DV File Types). The 4 GB Limit We say "probably", because most programs use a set of routines in Windows called "Video For Windows" which makes it easier to work with and manipulate AVI files. Video For Windows allows you to use AVI files up to 2 GB in size, but with a bit of extra work by a program, you can expand this to handle AVI files up to 4 GB in size. So now we know: The Video For Windows routines allow the use of 2 GB AVI files. Carefully written programs that use Video For Windows can also use 4 GB AVI files. For a lot of applications, 4 GB (or even 2 GB) is plenty large enough for most uses. New digital formats like DV however generate very large files (2 GB for every 9 minutes of DV) and so there was a need to be able to deal with files greater than 4 GB. No Limits The solution to the problem was to use 64 bit numbers inside the files. This has the advantages that the maximum file size is now in theory 18,000,000,000 GB, which is enough for about 150,000 years of DV video! This should be enough capacity for a while! This new AVI format is called AVI 2.0. AVI 2.0 is implemented in the Windows Direct Show routines, which now replace the old Video For Windows routines. Users of AVI 2.0 should note the following possible problems however: AVI 2.0 files are not compatible with AVI 1.0 files. AVI 2.0 files cannot be used with any software that only understands AVI 1.0. Software which can handle AVI 2.0 files can also deal with AVI 1.0 files however. Only Windows NT, 2000 and XP can create any file greater than 4 GB in size. The last point is important. Windows 95, 98 and ME using the FAT32 file system have a maximum file size of 4 GB of any type of file, so AVI 2.0 isn't going to help you here. Standard FAT partitions have a maximum file size of only 2GB. Programs like Pure Motion's EditStudio uses AVI 2.0 routines throughout, so have no problems with file size limits. Other Solutions There have been several methods that people have adopted to get around the standard AVI file size limit before AVI 2.0 appeared: Non-standard AVI Formats Custom AVI file formats have appeared which are proprietary to particular applications. Naturally, these non-standard AVI files can only be used with a narrow range of applications. Multiple Files Large files are broken into several smaller files. This method is still a valid solution for Windows 95 and 98, where AVI 2.0 is limited to the maximum file size of the system. Summary Some programs are limited to a maximum file size of 2 GB for AVI files. Some programs are limited to a maximum file size of 4 GB for AVI files. New programs use AVI 2.0, which is effectively unlimited in size. Irrespective of the AVI file format, Windows 95, 98 and ME are limited to maximum file sizes of 4 GB. Windows NT, 2000 and XP allow files of effectively unlimited size. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest JMTapes Report post Posted February 4, 2003 Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
