vcs: Unable to find length of file "test.flv". Can't continue.

[guanoapes84@…]

glad vcs was added to MacPorts. Thank you. But doesn't work:

> vcs test.mpg 
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test.mpg...
egrep: repetition-operator operand invalid
Unable to find length of file "test.mpg". Can't continue.
Cleaning up...

> vcs test.flv 
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test.flv...
egrep: repetition-operator operand invalid
Unable to find length of file "test.flv". Can't continue.
Cleaning up...

the second is a flv downloaded off youtube

> port install vcs
--->  Computing dependencies for vcs
--->  Fetching archive for vcs
--->  Attempting to fetch vcs-1.12.2_0.darwin_12.noarch.tbz2 from http://mse.uk.packages.macports.org/sites/packages.macports.org/vcs
--->  Attempting to fetch vcs-1.12.2_0.darwin_12.noarch.tbz2 from http://packages.macports.org/vcs
--->  Attempting to fetch vcs-1.12.2_0.darwin_12.noarch.tbz2 from http://lil.fr.packages.macports.org/vcs
--->  Fetching distfiles for vcs
--->  Attempting to fetch vcs-1.12.2.tar.gz from http://fco.it.distfiles.macports.org/mirrors/macports-distfiles/vcs
--->  Verifying checksum(s) for vcs
--->  Extracting vcs
--->  Configuring vcs
--->  Building vcs
--->  Staging vcs into destroot
--->  Installing vcs @1.12.2_0
--->  Activating vcs @1.12.2_0
--->  Cleaning vcs
--->  Updating database of binaries: 100.0%
--->  Scanning binaries for linking errors: 100.0%
--->  No broken files found.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Remember to Cc the port maintainer when you file a ticket, and to put the port name at the front of the ticket summary.

It works fine for the mkv, mpg and flv files I've tested on. What version and variants of the ffmpeg port do you have installed?

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Wait. I just saw this error in your output:

egrep: repetition-operator operand invalid

Could you try installing the "grep" port to see if that helps?

[guanoapes84@…]

Replying to ryandesign@…:

Wait. I just saw this error in your output:

egrep: repetition-operator operand invalid

Could you try installing the "grep" port to see if that helps?

thank you. Installed GNU grep

> port install grep
--->  Computing dependencies for grep
--->  Fetching archive for grep
--->  Attempting to fetch grep-2.14_0.darwin_12.x86_64.tbz2 from http://mse.uk.packages.macports.org/sites/packages.macports.org/grep
--->  Attempting to fetch grep-2.14_0.darwin_12.x86_64.tbz2 from http://packages.macports.org/grep
--->  Attempting to fetch grep-2.14_0.darwin_12.x86_64.tbz2 from http://lil.fr.packages.macports.org/grep
--->  Fetching distfiles for grep
--->  Attempting to fetch grep-2.14.tar.xz from http://fco.it.distfiles.macports.org/mirrors/macports-distfiles/grep
--->  Verifying checksum(s) for grep
--->  Extracting grep
--->  Configuring grep
--->  Building grep
--->  Staging grep into destroot
--->  Installing grep @2.14_0
--->  Activating grep @2.14_0
--->  Cleaning grep
--->  Updating database of binaries: 100.0%
--->  Scanning binaries for linking errors: 100.0%
--->  No broken files found.

> port info grep
grep @2.14 (sysutils)
Variants:             universal

Description:          Grep searches one or more input files for lines containing a match to a specified pattern. By default, grep prints the matching lines.
Homepage:             http://www.gnu.org/software/grep/grep.html

Extract Dependencies: xz
Library Dependencies: pcre, gettext
Platforms:            darwin
License:              GPL-3+
Maintainers:          nomaintainer@macports.org

Could successfully make thumbnails. But only with long movies. Short video clips from youtube I can't make thumbnails (max 2 minutes)

> vcs test.flv
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test.flv...
Detected video length can't be reached. Safe measuring enabled.
Starting safe length measuring (this might take a while)...
   ... trying 94.099
Interval is longer than video length, skipping test.flv
Cleaning up...


> vcs test.mpg 
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test.mpg...
Detected video length can't be reached. Safe measuring enabled.
Starting safe length measuring (this might take a while)...
   ... trying 22.899
Interval is longer than video length, skipping test.mpg
Cleaning up...
                                
> vcs test_full_movie.mp4 
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test_full_movie.mp4...
Capturing in range [05:00.00-15:00.00]. Total length: 21:04.23
Generating capture #1/3 (05:00.00)...
Generating capture #2/3 (10:00.00)...
Generating capture #3/3 (15:00.00)...
Composing standard contact sheet...
Adding header and footer...
Done. Output wrote to test_full_movie.mp4.png
Cleaning up...

> vcs test.mp4 
Video Contact Sheet *NIX v1.12.2, (c) 2007-2010 Toni Corvera
Unable to locate DejaVu Sans font. Falling back to helvetica.
Processing test.mp4...
Interval is longer than video length, skipping test.mp4
Cleaning up...

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Replying to guanoapes84@…:

thank you. Installed GNU grep

Could successfully make thumbnails.

Great, added the grep dependency in r99636.

But only with long movies. Short video clips from youtube I can't make thumbnails (max 2 minutes)

That appears to be the intended behavior of the script. You can use the "-i" flag to specify a shorter interval than the default 5 minutes.