Getting Caught Up-Video, OK?

[Konechiwa]

Alrighty so believe it or not I may come back to this forum. I might get a D2, because the touchscreen, cowon SQ and the games are making me like it alot. the 2.5 screen is Eh, but my ZVM is 2.5" and videos are doable. I mean, I can watch them. Anyways I'm hearing many issues with cowons weak spot- videos simply being idiotic. I mean, you have to convert EVERYTHING, then theirs the issue with the video being out of sync.

so what does this thing support? xVid? DivX? also, are the synching issues horrible? i mean is the audio most likely always out of sync with the audio?

thanks,
Eric

[wader]

Your information source is unknown to me, so I won't make any assumptions.

The manual states which formats are supported.

I prefer XVid with MP3, but that's just me.

I've played a number of videos directly downloaded (and automatically converted by vixy.net) from YouTube without converting again for the D2. But, the D2 does seem sensitive to resolution at times, depending on the video codec being utilized.

There is a sticky in this forum on how to achieve perfect video everytime. It's very thorough, but I am personally working on a simpler solution offline (not yet ready - little free time).

If a video has playback issuess, I currently use WinFF to quickly and easily convert almost any video format into XVid .avi with MP3 audio at 320 x (whatever is the appropriate height for that video's original ratio). I just converted two DVDs for my daughter's trip to the beach tomorrow, the whole process taking less than an hour and each file ending up around 500MB without optimization.

If interested in WinFF, I can offer some Presets that I've created for D2-compatible movie conversion. All I do is "Add..." the file(s) to be converted, select the appropriate conversion preset (based on original source resolution) and let it run. Then, copy the results to the D2.

Still, I'd like something a little more direct for the D2 and have been fiddling around with coding again. One day, maybe I'll put it out for general use if it seems stable.

jetAudio VX has video conversion as well, but I find that the results sometimes lose A/V synch when skipping around the video manually during playback. Using ffmpeg libraries or executable (such as with WinFF) has always created foolproof videos for my D2.

- wader

[wader]

Per an offline request, I am offering my quick-and-dirty Presets often used with WinFF. This is all for single-pass, XVid encoding with 128kbps MP3 audio - for double-pass, I am still experimenting with some other tools to find a most convenient and quick solution

In WinFF, you go to the Edit -> Presets menu item, which brings up a dialog for editing and/or creating WinFF encoding presets. To create a new one, add values in respective fields and then hit the Add/Update button, then click "Save" before exiting the dialog to ensure changes stick. It's not an intuitive UI, I feel. To update an existing preset, I believe that you actually need to select it from the list (regardless of what is showing in the editable fields), make your field value changes and then click the Add/Update button, then perhaps "Save" again before exiting back to the main application window.

I then select the desired preset from the pulldown list in the main application window, and run it against any list of files added before or since.

Use any "Preset Name" or "Preset Label" you desire, btw.

These are all suggestions I actually use, without any implication that they are optimal or best quality/speed. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME except for video output size being "forced" (or not):

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 from 280x160 source
Preset Command Line parameters: -vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -s 320x182

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 using source video size
Preset Command Line parameters: -vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 force 320x240
Preset Command Line parameters: -vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -s 320x240

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 from 1.73 aspect ratio source
Preset Command Line parameters: --vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -s 320x184

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 from 2.35 aspect ratio source
Preset Command Line parameters: -vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -s 320x134

Experimenting with bitrate, codecs, etc. may give you better performance and/or results. Since these are only one-pass, time is already cut down compared to two-pass or video/audio split and remuxing methods.

- wader

[elviselvis]

audio/video synchronization problems will appear only if the videos are converted with software "Mencoder", BUT THAT IS BUG OF MENCODER, if you convert audio and video separatetely in mencoder and then join it togeter in other aplication then there is NO A/V PROBLEMS

[wader]

I agree, and tend to bypass mencoder entirely, these days. Your new program does a nice job of handling the remuxing, though .

- wader

[elviselvis]

yes i agree, but mencoder is the only one which can burn subtitles directly to the picture, which is for me the most important thing... trust me, if ffmpeg (or similar) will start to be able to handle subtitles then in my application will be mencoder deleted immediately. Subtitles are realy only reason why i using mencoder and why i not using ffmpeg

[TedJ]

Originally Posted by wader

Preset Label: Xvid for D2 from 1.73 aspect ratio source
Preset Command Line parameters: --vcodec mpeg4 -vtag XVID -acodec mp3 -ab 128kb -ar 44100 -b 800kb -bf 0 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell+aic -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -s 320x184

Wader, I believe you actually want 1.78 here as this is the equivalent to 16:9... output should be resized to 320x180, although it's common to see people resize to 320x176 since 176 is divisible by 16 which allows for quicker resizing.

[elviselvis]

Originally Posted by TedJ

Wader, I believe you actually want 1.78 here as this is the equivalent to 16:9... output should be resized to 320x180, although it's common to see people resize to 320x176 since 176 is divisible by 16 which allows for quicker resizing.

at these small resolution is distorsion too high with your attitude, it is better to resize it to 320x180 and then expand to 320x192 (it will have black borders on the top and bottom) or crop to 320x176 (i think that cropping of height is ok and cropping of width is bad, because human eyes are widescreen)

[wader]

Originally Posted by TedJ

Wader, I believe you actually want 1.78 here as this is the equivalent to 16:9... output should be resized to 320x180, although it's common to see people resize to 320x176 since 176 is divisible by 16 which allows for quicker resizing.

Heh, this one changes a bit, admittedly. Your advice is on the mark.

The "widescreen" sources I have been converting vary enough in original dimensions that I've been experimenting with custom tailoring of the final output, then checking the final results. I should have noted that clearly above.

- wader

[Trastan]

Hmm, all of this seems a bit complicated (though I suppose converting 16:9 to 4:3 WOULD cause some problems...). Honestly, don't worry a bit about video problems with the D2. I've converted a bunch of video from various formats without any issue, audio-syncing or otherwise. I just downloaded iRiverter, set the profile to the Creative Zen: Vision M, and convert away.

Also, it may surprise you, but most DAPs have pretty stringent requirements on the video that they can play, and with that in mind, the D2 is actually fairly lenient. Do some stat comparisons between similar devices; I'm sure you'll see that the D2 is, at worst, no more difficult than most others.

[wader]

Well, that's why I'm kicking around an alpha-level Java app, which is kinda my one-click answer to WinFF. With two-pass encoding option.

Also, iRiverter relies on mencoder - my past experience led to videos that lost A/V synch when seeking on the D2. See above discussion with elviselvis for more context on that issue.

But, using WinFF with ffmpeg is super easy, IMHO. After creating the presets (which takes minutes) it's just:

(1) Add file(s), regardless of their video format(s)
(2) Select preset
(3) go

- wader

[elviselvis]

Originally Posted by wader

Well, that's why I'm kicking around an alpha-level Java app, which is kinda my one-click answer to WinFF. With two-pass encoding option.

Also, iRiverter relies on mencoder - my past experience led to videos that lost A/V synch when seeking on the D2. See above discussion with elviselvis for more context on that issue.

But, using WinFF with ffmpeg is super easy, IMHO. After creating the presets (which takes minutes) it's just:

(1) Add file(s), regardless of their video format(s)
(2) Select preset
(3) go

- wader

can ffmpeg/WinFF burn subtitles into picture (.srt, .sub, .ssa)?

[wader]

Originally Posted by elviselvis

can ffmpeg/WinFF burn subtitles into picture (.srt, .sub, .ssa)?

No, I've looked into it and there was a custom extension for DivX files created in that direction, but not for all formats supported by ffmpeg.

It can integrate subtitle tracks, but not burn them in from text files.

That's where demuxing, using mencoder and muxing back (as your tool offers, for example) is still the easiest way to burn in subtitles and retain the benefits of ffmpeg encoding.

- wader

[elviselvis]

i thought it but i wasnt sure, that`s a pity that ffmpeg cant handle subtitles. Im surprised that somebody didnt add this feature into it because it is opensource...

[Tac21]

hmm, and what about the MKV/OGM two audio track deal? we should be able to select one and convert it easily