<p>It is hard to say without seeing the file itself, but my best guess is that an issue occurred causing the data stream to die but the meta data was still set "properly".  Generally, the actual video data itself is not looked at for the length of the video.  Instead, there is header meta data in the file that holds the video stream which indicates how long the video is and how it is encoded.  It is possible that the video stream either had an error at around 9 minutes or perhaps it simply stopped recording around that time, however the timer kept going and the meta data for the length wasn't written until the end.</p>

<p>This would also explain why it goes dark, because the video stream player would try to play it, but the content isn't there, so it has nothing to play.</p>

<p>If the file just has a corruption for a short while and then works again, you might be able to get around it by splitting the video stream in to multiple parts, but my guess is that the data was probably not encoded in the first place and your stream itself is probably truncated.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-26T12:24:43.387Z
I tried checking the file for error using avconv and it failed to even operate on it so I believe you are correct. I thruw it out.
Skadlig
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-25T21:43:11.900Z
2014-07-25T21:43:11.900Z
AJ Henderson
<p>I have recorded a 20 minutes game session from Minecraft using Kazam and saved the result as a 80 gig avi. When I try to open the file though only the first 8-9 minutes are played.<br>
Selecting it as a source in Handbrake shows the correct length at 19 min 49 sec but converting it to mkv for instance only results in a file that is 8 min 33 sec.<br>
Adding the file as a source in OpenShot it is playable up until 8 min mark but after that gets dark.<br>
Adding it in a track in the project and playing it produces a video with only the gui and the rest black.<br>
Are there anyway to save this file or should I just be happy that I at least got 9 minutes?</p>

<encoding>
Large avi not playing to the end
Skadlig
# Large avi not playing to the end

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-07-25)

I have recorded a 20 minutes game session from Minecraft using Kazam and saved the result as a 80 gig avi. When I try to open the file though only the first 8-9 minutes are played.  
Selecting it as a source in Handbrake shows the correct length at 19 min 49 sec but converting it to mkv for instance only results in a file that is 8 min 33 sec.  
Adding the file as a source in OpenShot it is playable up until 8 min mark but after that gets dark.  
Adding it in a track in the project and playing it produces a video with only the gui and the rest black.  
Are there anyway to save this file or should I just be happy that I at least got 9 minutes?

**Tags:** encoding


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-07-25. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

It is hard to say without seeing the file itself, but my best guess is that an issue occurred causing the data stream to die but the meta data was still set "properly". Generally, the actual video data itself is not looked at for the length of the video. Instead, there is header meta data in the file that holds the video stream which indicates how long the video is and how it is encoded. It is possible that the video stream either had an error at around 9 minutes or perhaps it simply stopped recording around that time, however the timer kept going and the meta data for the length wasn't written until the end.

This would also explain why it goes dark, because the video stream player would try to play it, but the content isn't there, so it has nothing to play.

If the file just has a corruption for a short while and then works again, you might be able to get around it by splitting the video stream in to multiple parts, but my guess is that the data was probably not encoded in the first place and your stream itself is probably truncated.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I tried checking the file for error using avconv and it failed to even operate on it so I believe you are correct. I thruw it out.  

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