How can I convert a DVD to play on my PPC? HELP!!!

[AOJJ]

I'm leaving on a trip in a couple days and would really like a movie on my PPC to pass the time away on the plane trip. It really doesn't matter what format the video is in, be it DivX, MPEG, or WMV, as long as it is UNDER 128mg, because that is how big my storage card is. The problem is, I have no idea how to convert the movie. I stuck it in my computer and went to Windows Media Encoder (the only encoder i actually know how to use) and the movie wasn't even there. In WMP it just shows that there are a set of files there. It's really hard to explain.

Thanks for anyone's help!

[Deus]

I have fouind this to be the best way
http://www.pocketmatrix.com/guides/dvd2divx/

[GoldKey]

It is real easy, just takes some time and about a $35 software investment. You can use it 10 times for free before paying.

Here are the directions:

1. Using the software found here: http://www.share2.com/dvdripper/ I convert a DVD to a VCD (MPEG-1) and save it to my local hard-drive with "Infinite" selected for size so that the software doesn't break the file into parts. A 2 hour 15 min movie was about 1.6GB if I recall correctly and about 4 hrs to encode (Little hint - start encoding before going to bed, it will be done when you wake up).

2. Using Windows Movie Maker 2.0 that comes free with Windows XP, I import the video of the movie I want to make. Make sure that you uncheck the box on the bottom left "Open File" menu (Sorry I can't recall at the moment what it's called). Unchecking that box doesn't let WMM2.0 break the movie into different smaller files for individual editing. Leaving it checked makes it take 10-15 minutes to import a movie rather than about 20 seconds. Drag the video to the "timeline" at the bottom of the screen, then save your movie. When you save it, choose "show more options" and it will let you choose different encoding types. I always choose "Movie for Pocket PC (Fullscreen) - 218kps" and then it takes about 1hr to save a movie. That 1.6GB movie is now about 215MB (I may be slightly wrong here, I'm trying to do this from memory).

So that's it! In two simple steps and only 5 hrs (On an Athlon XP2200+, 512MB DDR333, 60GB IBM 7200RPM 2MB cache, Lite-on 16x DVD) I have full length films that can be played on Windows Media Player.


I cant take credit for them though, I found them in this thread (http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10977&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=10) .

You can also search the forums for DVD ripper and find a few threads on the topic that suggest some other methods.

Good Luck

[AOJJ]

Deus,

The downloads on your link don't work for some reason. When I download the ripper, it comes up as a .rar file, which won't play on my computer.

GoldKey, that ripper just won't rip the movie. There's no warning or anything. It just won't.

Sorry if I sound mad, this whole thing is just driving me up the wall. I have a short temper. lol

[Pat Logsdon]

When I download the ripper, it comes up as a .rar file, which won't play on my computer.
.rar is an archive format - you need to unarchive it to get at the files. I'd recommend using Winace (http://www.winace.com/).

[GoldKey]

Deus,

GoldKey, that ripper just won't rip the movie. There's no warning or anything. It just won't.

Sorry if I sound mad, this whole thing is just driving me up the wall. I have a short temper. lol

Try having the DVD play in Windows media player first. Then run the Ripper. If that does not work, give a little more detail other than it just won't rip. Let me know exactly at what step you are having the problem and what it is doing.

[pschultz]

I have a quick and easy way. Dr. DivX It will rip the DVD, and convert it into a small DivX video. You can try it for free for 15 days. Go to http://www.divx.com/divx/drdivx/

[bgalizio]

I've found sracer's guide for WMV movies to be good. It doesn't produce movies of the quality found in DivX, but for your size constraints it's probably the way to go.

I've modified it by using the following:
Video: WMV9, VBR (Peak) 100K Average, 300K Max

That helps smooth out action scenes. Some people have found that they like CBR better (following the guide exactly). Also, you can only use WMV9 if you're running a PPC2003 device!!! (I use an HP 2210). PPC2002 can only use WMV8.

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=c90e838b45f8a426df4e0239b92ae022&threadid=79950

http://www.geocities.com/tcperconti/wmvppc/

[GoldKey]

AOJJ

Did you ever get this worked out? Playing movies on my PPC is one of my favorite things, so I hope we can get you up and running on doing this.

[Talyn]

You can use WM Encoder 9 for Pocket PC 2002, the key is to select Voice Quality Audio, not CD Quality Audio.

I would still say to get the best quality (and at 128mb or less, 'best quality' is going to be subjective) go with DivX that way at least you can get in VirtualDub and cut out the credits and be more specific with audio and video bitrates to save some file space.

As far as DVD ripping goes, I use these tools (all freeware):

DVD Decrypter (http://www.dvddecrypter.com)
DVD2AVI w/ VFAPI plugin (http://arbor.ee.ntu.edu.tw/~jackei/dvd2avi/)
VFAPI (http://www.divx-digest.com/software/vfapi.html)

I average ~ 40 minutes or so for DVD Decrypter to do the actual rip. Then open the .vob in DVD2AVI and save as a project to get the .dv2 file with demuxed audio to get a .wav, about another 40 minutes or so. VFAPI creates a 'fake' .avi for use in VirtualDub or whatever AVI editor you're using. Only takes maybe 10 seconds, if that.

Then open the resulting .avi and .wav with VirtualDub and follow whatever DivX encoding guidelines you use or prefer.

[bgalizio]

You can use WM Encoder 9 for Pocket PC 2002, the key is to select Voice Quality Audio, not CD Quality Audio.

I was saying that you can't use WM Video 9 for PPC2002. Media Player on PPC2002 can only use the Video 8 codec.

[The PocketTV Team]

For DVD to Pocket PC there are some good guides and forums on http://www.pocketmovies.net .

Also check out http://www.pockettv.com/encoding.html for many resources.