Best format for video on A2

[viperboy]

hey everyone, im finally getting my A2 and it should be here tomorrow or the next day. i kind of lost interest in this player when i didnt have the money to buy it a while ago and then i forgot about it, and once i remembered, i decided i just had to have it.

so here is my question. i know that the A2 is pretty good about playing a wide variety of formats, but what video format plays back the smoothest? and does the resolution made a difference in battery life (i would think that it does) or in video playback on the device? i would use the av-out, so i would like to have videos that will look good on the tv, give me the best quality, play the smoothest, and have a reasonable file size. so what is good to use?

also, im using Videora iPod Converter and i just changed the profiles to 480x272, 592x336 and 720x416. im converting a family guy in all those sizes with a 1500 bitrate for video and 128 for audio. are those good setting and not more than the device can handle? (like would it be better to make the video bitrate smaller because 1500 is excessive?)

thanks in advance!

[superpenguin]

Usually avi containing xvid is the best. 1500 does seem a bit excessive. 700-1200 maybe enough. It all depends on the tv as to what resolution will look best. Usually something like 592x336 is sufficent enough. If you have a high quality tv you might wanna do 720x416 i guess.

Also, why don't you try these things out yourself? It shouldn't be hard to encode files in the respective resolutions/bitrates, and see how they play on the A2 and look on tv.

[viperboy]

thanks for the info. my files came out just a little smaller than the .vob file, so i guess that means i should make them smaller lol

and the reason is because i dont yet have my A2, so i was asking what would be the best, so that when it gets here, i will have all my videos in the best format.

[MCSmarties]

'best' is always subjective. Depends how you want to watch your videos.

1. on the player screen only?
2. on a TV? (video OUT)
3. on a computer monitor?
4. on a big screen, with a projector?

As far as resolution is concerned, 480 x XXX is plenty IMO for numbers 1 and 2. For 3 and 4 you should go higher.
As for bitrate, again for 1 and 2 I would use a bitrate of maybe 500 - 700bps max.
I always prefer XviD to DivX.

I think this has been discussed several times on this forum already but there's no clear consensus.

[viperboy]

Originally Posted by MCSmarties

'best' is always subjective. Depends how you want to watch your videos.

1. on the player screen only?
2. on a TV? (video OUT)
3. on a computer monitor?
4. on a big screen, with a projector?

As far as resolution is concerned, 480 x XXX is plenty IMO for numbers 1 and 2. For 3 and 4 you should go higher.
As for bitrate, again for 1 and 2 I would use a bitrate of maybe 500 - 700bps max.
I always prefer XviD to DivX.

I think this has been discussed several times on this forum already but there's no clear consensus.

well i would only use it on the player screen and on the tv. and i tried a video at 900 kbps but it was kinda "blocky" and 1500 wasnt at all (converting from a .vob file). im trying a 1200 kbps one right now. but are videos in the 500 - 700 range gonna be blocky?

as for resolution, i heard that 480x272 was not very good looking on the tv and that something higher in res like 592x336 even looks better on the device itself. thats just what i have been reading on the forums here, anyway.

and like i said, im also using mp4 format. is that the best to use? and best as in best playing and best quality to size ratio.

thanks again

[superpenguin]

There's no mp4 playback on the a2.

[mssx]

how you encode a file also determines the quality od the video. if it is encoded by 2-pass using any of the video encoding software, you will get a mmuch better result than 1-pass encoding. a properly encoded 480x272 video file looks excellent on the screen. choosing a good bitrate for you is totally up to you. but for viewing on the A2, an xvid at 900 kbps would look awesome. if you insist on using the TV, i would suggest using a 512xXXX resoulution. althought that would not make a big difference.
experiment more and more...you will find the best solution yourself!

[MCSmarties]

Viperboy,

Do you know Doom9's website? I suggest you give it a look.

[viperboy]

Originally Posted by mssx

how you encode a file also determines the quality od the video. if it is encoded by 2-pass using any of the video encoding software, you will get a mmuch better result than 1-pass encoding. a properly encoded 480x272 video file looks excellent on the screen. choosing a good bitrate for you is totally up to you. but for viewing on the A2, an xvid at 900 kbps would look awesome. if you insist on using the TV, i would suggest using a 512xXXX resoulution. althought that would not make a big difference.
experiment more and more...you will find the best solution yourself!

thank you so much for all the info! i'll definately give it a try!

Originally Posted by MCSmarties

Viperboy,

Do you know Doom9's website? I suggest you give it a look.

no, i wasnt familiar with that site. what should i look for exactly?

[MCSmarties]

Originally Posted by viperboy

well i would only use it on the player screen and on the tv. and i tried a video at 900 kbps but it was kinda "blocky" and 1500 wasnt at all (converting from a .vob file)(...)

Which encoder and more important, which codec are you using? 900kbps should normally be plenty for a good quality picture
at a decent resolution (unless you're encoding at 720x480!). You're not keeping it as MPEG2 (the codec used on a DVD), are you?

Originally Posted by viperboy

as for resolution, i heard that 480x272 was not very good looking on the tv(...)

ANALOG TV (NTSC) has a maximum resolution of 480 x 440 'dots', end of story. Yes I'm aware that the NTSC format has 525 scanlines, but only about 480 of these actually make it to the screen. So the only reason to extend beyond 480x XXX for TV-OUT is to get a higher vertical resolution.
I agree with mssx that 512x is probably the best resolution to watch on a TV.

This changes radically if you look at digital screens (such a a PC monitor and HDTV) or a video projector.
For standard (not HD) material, I would recommend resolutions between 640x and 692x. Do not encode at 720x, the file will be much bigger
and ironically enough the picture looks actually much sharper if you slightly reduce the resolution.
692x looks very very good even when projected on a 80" screen.

Originally Posted by viperboy

(...) and that something higher in res like 592x336 even looks better on the device itself.(...)

I don't know where you read that, but such a claim makes no sense. The A2 has 480x272 pixels, anything below or above that number must be interpolated.
A pixel is a pixel, if you play a movie with 1280x900 resolution the screen still only has 480x272 pixels it can light up!

Originally Posted by viperboy

i'm also using mp4 format.

Not possible. A2 doesn't read mp4 files.
Do you mean MPEG4? That's something different, all "usual" codecs used today (DivX, XviD...) are MPEG4.
But if you encode with say the old DivX 3.11 alpha codec the quality will be much worse than if you use the newest DivX 6.6 or XviD 1.2,
specially if you only use one pass encoding.

I hope I'm not confusing you too much. Here's a reading list for you:

A discussion on TV and video resolution

A collection of FAQs from Doom9

The Basics on Doom9
from which I particularly recommend:

Video basics
Aspect ratios explained
Codec comparisons

AutoGK is my favorite all-around encoder, although I am aware that many people here disagree, usually preferring FairUse.

Finally, GSpot will analyze your video file and tell you what codecs and settings were used to create it.
Download version 2.52b (yes I know, beta - it's stable anyway) here.
There are newer versions available but they are still in alpha stage and hence not recommended.

[mssx]

another great post by MCS...

[MCSmarties]

...where's the smiley for "taking a bow" when you need it...

Thanks for the flowers mssx!

Viperboy, are things a bit clearer now or did I hopelessly confuse you?

[viperboy]

sorry, MCS. i've been busy and haven't been around the forums lately. and yes, i get it now. thanks for all your help! very informative with links and everything.