diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
index 50430c1f5..71665598b 100644
--- a/.gitattributes
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -3,4 +3,5 @@ demo_movies export-ignore
 .gitignore export-ignore
 .readthedocs.yaml export-ignore
 codecov.yml export-ignore
-.github export-ignore
\ No newline at end of file
+.github export-ignore
+demo_movies/*.mkv filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
diff --git a/demo_movies/sample1.mkv b/demo_movies/sample1.mkv
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..de389f6b9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/demo_movies/sample1.mkv
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+version https://git-lfs.github.com/spec/v1
+oid sha256:ebea009f040f900b59732552616805e9a6e9c4ddf173d26a10ac4d30f388ef70
+size 156097649
diff --git a/minian/utilities.py b/minian/utilities.py
index a728a0c9e..273a63e30 100755
--- a/minian/utilities.py
+++ b/minian/utilities.py
@@ -225,7 +225,15 @@ def load_avi_lazy(fname: str) -> darr.array:
     video_info = next(s for s in probe["streams"] if s["codec_type"] == "video")
     w = int(video_info["width"])
     h = int(video_info["height"])
-    f = int(video_info["nb_frames"])
+    if "nb_frames" in video_info:
+        f = int(video_info["nb_frames"])
+    else:
+        r_fps = video_info["r_frame_rate"]
+        num, denom = r_fps.split("/")
+        fps = float(num) / float(denom)
+        f = float(probe["format"]["duration"]) * fps
+        f = np.round(f).astype(int)
+
     return da.array.from_delayed(
         da.delayed(load_avi_ffmpeg)(fname, h, w, f), dtype=np.uint8, shape=(f, h, w)
     )
@@ -257,6 +265,7 @@ def load_avi_ffmpeg(fname: str, h: int, w: int, f: int) -> np.ndarray:
     out_bytes, err = (
         ffmpeg.input(fname)
         .video.output("pipe:", format="rawvideo", pix_fmt="gray")
+        .global_args("-hide_banner", "-nostats")
         .run(capture_stdout=True)
     )
     return np.frombuffer(out_bytes, np.uint8).reshape(f, h, w)
diff --git a/minian/visualization.py b/minian/visualization.py
index 5c0f70f81..76326d815 100755
--- a/minian/visualization.py
+++ b/minian/visualization.py
@@ -1217,7 +1217,9 @@ def write_video(
     vname: Optional[str] = None,
     vpath: Optional[str] = ".",
     norm=True,
+    vcodec="libx264",
     options={"crf": "18", "preset": "ultrafast"},
+    verbose=True,
 ) -> str:
     """
     Write a video from a movie array using `python-ffmpeg`.
@@ -1235,9 +1237,13 @@ def write_video(
     norm : bool, optional
         Whether to normalize the values of the input array such that they span
         the full pixel depth range (0, 255). By default `True`.
+    vcodec : str, optional
+        Name of the ffmpeg video encoder to use. By default `"libx264"`.
     options : dict, optional
         Optional output arguments passed to `ffmpeg`. By default `{"crf": "18",
         "preset": "ultrafast"}`.
+    verbose : bool, optional
+        Display verbose ffmpeg output. By default `True`.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -1265,11 +1271,15 @@ def write_video(
         arr *= 255
     arr = arr.clip(0, 255).astype(np.uint8)
     w, h = arr.sizes["width"], arr.sizes["height"]
+    verbosity_args = ["-hide_banner", "-nostats"]
+    if verbose:
+        verbosity_args = []
     process = (
         ffmpeg.input("pipe:", format="rawvideo", pix_fmt="gray", s="{}x{}".format(w, h))
         .filter("pad", int(np.ceil(w / 2) * 2), int(np.ceil(h / 2) * 2))
-        .output(fname, pix_fmt="yuv420p", vcodec="libx264", r=30, **options)
+        .output(fname, pix_fmt="yuv420p", vcodec=vcodec, r=30, **options)
         .overwrite_output()
+        .global_args(*verbosity_args)
         .run_async(pipe_stdin=True)
     )
     for blk in arr.data.blocks:
@@ -1306,7 +1316,9 @@ def generate_videos(
     gain=1.5,
     vpath=".",
     vname="minian.mp4",
+    vcodec="libx264",
     options={"crf": "18", "preset": "ultrafast"},
+    verbose=True,
 ) -> str:
     """
     Generate a video visualizaing the result of minian pipeline.
@@ -1351,9 +1363,13 @@ def generate_videos(
         Desired folder containing the resulting video. By default `"."`.
     vname : str, optional
         Desired name of the video. By default `"minian.mp4"`.
+    vcodec : str, optional
+        Name of the ffmpeg video encoder to use. By default `"libx264"`.
     options : dict, optional
         Output options for `ffmpeg`, passed directly to :func:`write_video`. By
         default `{"crf": "18", "preset": "ultrafast"}`.
+    verbose : bool, optional
+        Display verbose ffmpeg output. By default `True`.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -1388,7 +1404,9 @@ def generate_videos(
         "height",
         coords="minimal",
     )
-    return write_video(vid, vname, vpath, norm=False, options=options)
+    return write_video(
+        vid, vname, vpath, norm=False, vcodec=vcodec, options=options, verbose=verbose
+    )
 
 
 def datashade_ndcurve(