Movies - DVD's On Your Pocket PC Phone?

[Monty Gibson]

Has anyone impressed their friends yet with their "phone" by showing them the latest "Spiderman" movie? 8O *what*? That's right, is there anyone using their Pocket PC Phones to watch movies that you may be ripping from DVD's (not SELLING or DISTRIBUTING for profit, but for your OWN entertainment [did I make that clear enough 8)])? I showed my friend "Nightmare Before Christmas" the other day and she almost fell on the floor. She said, what _IS_ that thing anyway? Simply, I told her "a computer that I use to call people every once in a while with."

So, who's making movies? I have a method; which I learned off of a F.A.Q. that I am sure most of aware of that I've tweaked a bit. I use the PictPocket Cinema program to view them and the best part of that is that PictPocket Cinema has an option to optimize the screen for 12 bit screens. Excellent. So, it's just like watching it on the television... just a little smaller. And with my Koss headphones the sounds is crystal clear and the Dolby sounds almost the same :wink:.

[jornadaholic]

i did that to my friends too with my jornada and fast and the furious that got a little old so now my new thing is streaming a movie over my home wifi network from my desktop to my ppc
:shocked!: thats pretty much the reaction i get form most of my friends :lol:

[etalianstallion]

DsneFmly

Do you have a FAQ on how to actually convert DVD's into movies that can be viewed on a PPC? I've got a 512 MB CF card for my Dell Axim and thought that this will be a good way for me to kill time when I am on the plane (or in a lengthy meeting for that matter).

[ECOslin]

Gee, nothing to watch on my TV, nothing to watch on my Maestro, either.

I loaded up a CF card with a couple of TV show recordings, got where I was going and found the compression wasn't right for Pocket Media Player. Sometimes choosing full screen will show the recording at right angles and full, most time at right angles and half size. Even when converted by Windows Media Encoder for PDA.

[Monty Gibson]

DsneFmly

Do you have a FAQ on how to actually convert DVD's into movies that can be viewed on a PPC? I've got a 512 MB CF card for my Dell Axim and thought that this will be a good way for me to kill time when I am on the plane (or in a lengthy meeting for that matter).

Here is the link to the actual F.A.Q.: http://www.pocketmovies.net/dvdrip.php

However; when using the TMPGenc I use the highest settings possible (Dolby, 48000, Stereo, etc.; the best settings) then what I do is send it through the new Windows Movie Maker NOT the Windows Encoder. The Windows Movie Maker is much better than Encoder. Set it for 20 Frames per second and you'll have a great movie. I would not use Windows Media Player on the PocketPC to view movies. I highly recommend PictPocket Cinema. It's an excellent program. Especially for 12bit screens like the PocketPC Phone. You can't even tell with this program and the picture is crystal clear.

Windows Movie Maker: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/moviemaker/downloads/moviemaker2beta.asp

PictPocket Cinema: http://www.digisoftdirect.com/Products/PictPocketCinema.html

[ECOslin]

I've not used Windows Movie Maker Beta simply because it is beta and when I last looked at it not all features were enabled.

I've been using Encoder because it has better compression than the 'non-beta' version of Movie Maker.

[Monty Gibson]

I've not used Windows Movie Maker Beta simply because it is beta and when I last looked at it not all features were enabled.

I've been using Encoder because it has better compression than the 'non-beta' version of Movie Maker.

I've ripped 39 DVD's so far using the Beta version and I could not be happier. If they never take it out of Beta it would be fine with me. The quality, the sound is perfect for me; IMHO. I ripped Spiderman and Lord of the Rings and with the right set of headphones... well, it's simply incredible. I'm using codec 8 for video and codec 9 for audio. Impressive. Try it, you'll like it. The compression I think is better in the Movie Maker.

[etalianstallion]

DsneFmly,

Thanks for your quick reply. :D

Just a simple question....how large are these files? How many megs are we looking at for, say, a 2 hour movie? And how long does the whole ripping/conversion process take?

[Monty Gibson]

DsneFmly,

Thanks for your quick reply. :D

Just a simple question....how large are these files? How many megs are we looking at for, say, a 2 hour movie? And how long does the whole ripping/conversion process take?

I live here :roll:. For a two hour movie? Well, again that all depends on how much "quality" you want concerning the time frame and that also goes for the size of the file. When I rip a movie, rip the sound and then put them together to form an MPEG it takes roughly 4 hours. Then to filter it through Windows Movie Maker it takes approximately 1 hour. This of course depends on your system. The size for me (.WMV now) is about 120-180 megs (at 20 FPS "frames per second") depending on the quality. All of mine are "Dolby" and are of the highest quality. I keep about 2-3 movies on my cards and at least 2 eBooks and one CD worth of music (8-12 tracks).

[FredMurphy]

What size are you viewing these at? I view 320x240 mpeg files on my Jornada using PocketTV (http://www.mpegtv.com/wince/pockettv/) and they get a little choppy and take about 450MB for a typical two hour movie.

Has anyone compared PictPocket Cinema to PocketTV?

Fred

[Monty Gibson]

What size are you viewing these at? I view 320x240 mpeg files on my Jornada using PocketTV (http://www.mpegtv.com/wince/pockettv/) and they get a little choppy and take about 450MB for a typical two hour movie.

Has anyone compared PictPocket Cinema to PocketTV?

Fred


After the ripping process I send it through Windows Movie Maker which then gives me an output of 208x160 using 48000 stereo sound V8 and V9 codecs at 20 FPS.

Which Jornada are you using the 133 MIPS or the 206 ARM? The 133 MIPS will skip; it did for me. The processor just wasn't fast enough and I tried everything.

I've compared PictPocket Cinema to PocketTV and there really is no comparison. PictPocket is by far the better product in my opinion. But again, to each his own. I registered it within 1 hour of trying the trial version; that's how much I was impressed with the product.

450MB per movie is just too much for a single movie. First your movie screen size is to large which could also explain some of the choppiness, you may want to check your sound compression, the codecs you're using, et cetera and above all your still in the MPEG format with PocketTV! If you converted it to a .WMV file it would probably compress it to at least half of what you have. All of mine are from 140-190 max. Lord of the Rings was the only one to exceed 200mb and that's a 3+ hour movie. But to hear it through my headphones and watch it on my screen; you'd swear you were at the theater. The 12bit screen dither is what really sold me on PictPocket Cinema. That plus it supports EVERY multimedia file out there available today. It streams better, it makes everything look better and the colors are more vibrant against the 12 bit screen. Dithering is a wonderful thing :). One last thought: This isn't a 27-52 inch HDTV on your Pocket PC here. This is just a little way of making time fly by when you're in a meeting (shhhh don't tell your boss), on a road trip, flying in an airplane or any other time when you don't have access to the "real deal." Don't try to make it into something it's not. Enjoy the movie at whichever speed will work the best, sound the best and look the best but actually RUN the best on your Pocket PC without the lags in sound and choppiness in runtime.

Good luck.

[Monty Gibson]

i did that to my friends too with my jornada and fast and the furious that got a little old so now my new thing is streaming a movie over my home wifi network from my desktop to my ppc
:shocked!: thats pretty much the reaction i get form most of my friends :lol:

A true technophile (junkie) :robot:. As in the beer commercials... "I love you man...!" :lol:. That's awesome. Which Jornada? I know that my old 133 Mipper wouldn't/couldn't do it.

[FredMurphy]

I'll definitely try PictPocket Cinema. I know that a full screen movie is pushing it a bit (on 206MHz ARM) but PocketTV only judders a little when there's a lot of activity. Still very watchable and with a large CF card 450MB isn't a problem. :)

Fred

[etalianstallion]

I only have the standard Windows Media Player installed and PocketDivx. Will that be sufficient for playing the movies or do I need to download PickPocket Cinema?

[Monty Gibson]

I only have the standard Windows Media Player installed and PocketDivx. Will that be sufficient for playing the movies or do I need to download PickPocket Cinema?

While free, PocketDivX will play:


The Pocket DivX Player is a FREE Open Source multifunction video and audio player for the PocketPC platform that can play DivX, OpenDivX, MPEG-4, MPEG-1 videos and MP3 audio.



Windows Media Player will play (and not very well, mind you):


Does Windows Media Player for Pocket PC support both audio and video files?
Yes. The new Windows Media Player for Pocket PC supports both audio and video in the Windows Media format, and audio in the MP3 format.




PictPocket Cinema will play and also view:



PictPocket Cinema provides the user with a powerful multimedia application by supporting many image file formats including: AVI • QuickTime (MOV) • MPEG-1 video • MPEG-2 video (with sound) • MPEG-4 video • Windows Media (WMV) • ASF • BMP • 2BP • JPG, JPE, JPEG • GIF
• PCX • PCD • TIF, TIFF • RAW / PPM • PGM • CFX


So... as you can see I would delete PocketDivX, ignore Windows Media Player (since it does not dither 12 bit screens) and download and purchase PictPocket Cinema. You will not need another program to view files, watch streaming videos, or watch movies. It's an awesome program. I just cannot say it enough.

[etalianstallion]

Thanks! That's exactly the information I was looking for. 8)

[Monty Gibson]

Thanks! That's exactly the information I was looking for. 8)

Glad to help. :usa

[etalianstallion]

BTw, I noticed Windows Movie Maker is only for XP....any solutions for a Win2K user?

[MultiMatt]

DsneFmly,
Just happened upon this thread and had to try out PictPocket!

I had a small movie trailer from PocketMovies.net (a clip from Monster's Inc) that I played in PictPocket, and it skipped considerably...
With Pocket TV it is smooth as can be.

Do you know why this would be?

Matt

[Monty Gibson]

DsneFmly,
Just happened upon this thread and had to try out PictPocket!

I had a small movie trailer from PocketMovies.net (a clip from Monster's Inc) that I played in PictPocket, and it skipped considerably...
With Pocket TV it is smooth as can be.

Do you know why this would be?

Matt

Hi Louisville :D,

I was born and raised in Pikeville/Prestonsburg (if you are familiar with Eastern KY).

Anyway; Matt, what type of movie was it (what format)? I suppose it had to be either DivX or MPEG since that's the format for Pocket TV. Any rate, please let me know and I can be of further assistance. Also, email the file to me at [email protected] and I will load it on my machine and try to give you a better idea. I have 3 full length movies on my SD card right now that are .WMV format and they are without skips and "Dolby" stereo sound. You may have too many programs running in the background? You might not have enough memory? You may be running the trailer from an SD card that is seriously fragmented. I don't know. Again; if you'd like, email me the file and I will get back to you.

[MultiMatt]

the file is 3+ Megs - are you cool with me emailing you something that large, or would you rather download it yourself from PocketMovies.net?

I've been to both Pikeville as well as Prestonsburg! I'm not originally from here, but I have been all over this state!

Matt

[Monty Gibson]

the file is 3+ Megs - are you cool with me emailing you something that large, or would you rather download it yourself from PocketMovies.net?


I'll just download it myself. "Monsters, Inc.?" How fitting, a Disney Movie :). My wife and I are Disney FANatics. Hence the name. I'll get back to you on this.


I've been to both Pikeville as well as Prestonsburg! I'm not originally from here, but I have been all over this state!
Matt

Nice to visit, better to leave :). It was a good childhood but I have to have the city... Green Acres ISN'T the place for me :lol:

[MultiMatt]

It's actually Mike's New Car (in the Trailers section).

Thanks!
Matt

[Monty Gibson]

It's actually Mike's New Car (in the Trailers section).

Thanks!
Matt

Matt,

I downloaded both trailers and tried several methods. The short of the long story is that they both were choppy on my device as well. I tried formatting my cards, I actually moved them to the physical device itself, and I also downloaded another MPEG-I and MPEG-II file. The others I downloaded did work. I couldn't get a properties listing on the "Mike's New Car" trailer to see what codecs they used, etc. but I did run it through Windows Movie Maker which converted it into a .WMV file and it worked great. No skips, same quality, smaller file size. I have an e-mail out to the authors of the program to see if they can/could/should enhance their product. So, we'll see. To be quite and brutally honest I don't enjoy MPEG movies as they are usually memory consumers beyond belief and to filter a movie through Windows Movie Maker will keep the same quality (usually) but it will also; and most importantly, give you a much smaller file size.

Sorry I couldn't help more, but like I said, they worked - but only as a Windows .WMV file.

[FredMurphy]

"Mike's New Car" plays fine fullscreen (320x240 landscape) using PocketTV on a Jornada 568.

Fred

[MultiMatt]

Thank you for checking on that and doing all that research!

Just like FredMurphy said, I tried Mike's New Car on Pocket TV again, and it played smoothly. I also tested out a full-length movie that I have in Pocket Divx format on PictPocket, and it stuttered and would barely play.

Tried it again, using my Divx Player for Pocket PC and it played great!

I'll have to find some flicks that work for me on PictPocket before I will use it on a regular basis...

Thanks again for checking it out!

Matt

[Monty Gibson]

Thank you for checking on that and doing all that research!

Just like FredMurphy said, I tried Mike's New Car on Pocket TV again, and it played smoothly. I also tested out a full-length movie that I have in Pocket Divx format on PictPocket, and it stuttered and would barely play.

Tried it again, using my Divx Player for Pocket PC and it played great!

I'll have to find some flicks that work for me on PictPocket before I will use it on a regular basis...

Thanks again for checking it out!

Matt

Well, I suppose the beauty of this is that Pocket TV is FREE! :way to go:

[Monty Gibson]

What size are you viewing these at? I view 320x240 mpeg files on my Jornada using PocketTV (http://www.mpegtv.com/wince/pockettv/) and they get a little choppy and take about 450MB for a typical two hour movie.

Has anyone compared PictPocket Cinema to PocketTV?

Fred


UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE


I just received a call from DigiSoft Direct (I wished they would have e-mailed me so that I had proof) and they stated that they are aware of the issue that it's not the video that is skipping, but rather it's the audio that's skipping which; in turn, is affecting the video. They said the fix is complete, they are running further tests on it and the upgrade will be posted this Friday or next Monday!

This is exciting news for me at least and hope that it will benefit those who haven't registered this product yet. I really never tested the MPEG files because all that I needed was the .AVI and .WMV support. But, it's good to know that this company (who called instead of emailed me which translates into excellent customer satisfaction) is on top of their product when they receive "complaints" or "concerns." By the way, if you play a .MP3 file, it will skip too; they said that's fixed too :wink:. I didn't even realize it :lol:.

Like I said, I am a storage fiend. I want everything small so I filter everything through either Windows Movie Maker or Windows Media Player and shrink everything. .MP3's and .MPEG's are just too large in my opinion.

Hopefully this has encouraged most of you! Go Digisoft! You're an excellent company! http://www.digisoftdirect.com

[MultiMatt]

That is excellent news!
I really love it when companies exert that extra-special effort!

Looking forward to the updated version!

Matt

[Monty Gibson]

That is excellent news!
I really love it when companies exert that extra-special effort!

Looking forward to the updated version!

Matt

Excellent indeed! I didn't even expect them to call. I didn't ask them too, they must have researched my registry file to find my phone number. Excellent company. I'm now actually looking forward to watching an .MPEG file :wink:

[octop8]

I have a registered version PictPocket Cinema and use it mainly for photos. Unfortunately, I also found that I could not play mpegs, divx or even wmv on it smoothly. It skips, chops and you're right, the sound is blocky. It shows promise though. The first couple of smaller files I played worked fine, which prompted me to purchase it. However, I thought I had made a mistake with this product when I tried on other files. They work brilliantly with Pocket TV and Pocket MVP (formerly Pocket DivX), but not on PictPocket. It's good news to hear they are fixing the problem. If the fix works, then I don't need to have Pocket TV and Pocket MVP on my device anymore since PictPocket supports all the formats already.

[Monty Gibson]

I have a registered version PictPocket Cinema and use it mainly for photos. Unfortunately, I also found that I could not play mpegs, divx or even wmv on it smoothly. It skips, chops and you're right, the sound is blocky. It shows promise though. The first couple of smaller files I played worked fine, which prompted me to purchase it. However, I thought I had made a mistake with this product when I tried on other files. They work brilliantly with Pocket TV and Pocket MVP (formerly Pocket DivX), but not on PictPocket. It's good news to hear they are fixing the problem. If the fix works, then I don't need to have Pocket TV and Pocket MVP on my device anymore since PictPocket supports all the formats already.

Really? You're having difficulties with .WMV files? That's excusively all that I play on my machine. That's odd. Questions ahead:

1.) What frame rate are you running at?
2.) What size is/are your file(s)?
3.) What codecs are you using?
4.) Which software are you using to create your .WMV files?
5.) What screen size are you using?
6.) How much free memory do you have when you're running these files?

I haven't had any difficulties using the .WMV files. They work great! Isn't the 12bit dithering awesome for both photographs AND movies? I love it.

Actually, I do have a confirmed email now from the gentleman and is thus:



Hi Monty:

Thank you very much for your feedback. Please download our next update
on Monday. It is free as are all of our upgrades. Also, You are
entitled to a free copy of ProMedia. You can download it at:
www.digisoftdirect.com and I will send you a free key code after
receiving your product ID.

Regards;

Jeff

DigiSoft, LLC
303 W. Lancaster Ave., 244
Wayne, PA 19087
1-866-digisoft
www.digisoftdirect.com


I am so excited. This program is indeed incredible and I can see why it has won so many awards. Let me know about your settings and maybe I can help you with the .WMV skipping.

[octop8]

Answers to your questions below. Bear in mind that the files I play are perfectly fine with WMP so there is really no reason for them not to play.

(1) Depends. All my files are encoded at less than 30fps
(2) Varies between 5Mb to 100Mb. For example, I have an 8Mb WMV trailer which does not play smoothly on PictPocket but works fine on WMP8.5
(3) Audio WMV 9, Video WMV 7
(4) For WMV, there is only one that I know of, WME
(5) Mostly 320x240, normally slightly lower, 304x224
(6) More than enough - around 30Mb RAM programme space

[Monty Gibson]

Answers to your questions below. Bear in mind that the files I play are perfectly fine with WMP so there is really no reason for them not to play.

(1) Depends. All my files are encoded at less than 30fps
(2) Varies between 5Mb to 100Mb. For example, I have an 8Mb WMV trailer which does not play smoothly on PictPocket but works fine on WMP8.5
(3) Audio WMV 9, Video WMV 7
(4) For WMV, there is only one that I know of, WME
(5) Mostly 320x240, normally slightly lower, 304x224
(6) More than enough - around 30Mb RAM programme space


Download the latest version that was just released. It will fix all of these issues: http://www.digisoftdirect.com/Downloads/PictPocket/PictPocketCinema.exe

[Monty Gibson]

Answers to your questions below. Bear in mind that the files I play are perfectly fine with WMP so there is really no reason for them not to play.

(1) Depends. All my files are encoded at less than 30fps

20 fps will encode nicely.

(2) Varies between 5Mb to 100Mb. For example, I have an 8Mb WMV trailer which does not play smoothly on PictPocket but works fine on WMP8.5

File size is fine.

(3) Audio WMV 9, Video WMV 7

Audio 9 is fine, use WMV 8.

(4) For WMV, there is only one that I know of, WME

There's two actually. Use Windows Movie Maker 2 (just released) instead.

(5) Mostly 320x240, normally slightly lower, 304x224

Both work equally as well.

(6) More than enough - around 30Mb RAM programme space

Good. Should work fine; again, download the latest copy of PictPocket, it was released last Friday and use Windows Movie Maker 2. You shouldn't have any more problems.

[MultiMatt]

Tom,
I am going to try the app again now that they have these fixes.
Can I install it onto my SD card without issue, or would you recommend that it is installed to main memory?

Thanks,
Matt

[Monty Gibson]

Tom,
I am going to try the app again now that they have these fixes.
Can I install it onto my SD card without issue, or would you recommend that it is installed to main memory?

Thanks,
Matt

I installed mine to the main memory; that way if you keep your movies on one SD card and MP3s/WMVs/WMAs on another card you don't have to worry about "which card has the PictPocket program." Also, it will probably run purer from the device itself.

[MultiMatt]

Tom,
I guess it's just my device's Kharma or something!
I installed the software to my Main memory, and when I open it, I get an error "cannot find the file specified", but it still opens.

Then, I try to open the "test" video clip of mine (Mike's New Car), and it sits there, unresponsive for about 30 seconds, then finally begins playing! When I tried to go to full screen, the application froze up!

I have an iPAQ 3970 - is the XScale processor causing fits?

FYI - as I mentioned before, this same clip plays smoothly and without issue with PocketTV...
I am eager to have PictPocket work for me - I like some of the features I see that it has... now I just need to get it to work!

:)

Matt

[Monty Gibson]

Tom,
I guess it's just my device's Kharma or something!
I installed the software to my Main memory, and when I open it, I get an error "cannot find the file specified", but it still opens.

It does that for me too. It tries to look for the last file that it previously played. Don't worry about this.


Then, I try to open the "test" video clip of mine (Mike's New Car), and it sits there, unresponsive for about 30 seconds, then finally begins playing! When I tried to go to full screen, the application froze up!

What are you doing to make it go "full screen?"

I have an iPAQ 3970 - is the XScale processor causing fits?

Will let you know after we try to debug this :wink:

FYI - as I mentioned before, this same clip plays smoothly and without issue with PocketTV...
I am eager to have PictPocket work for me - I like some of the features I see that it has... now I just need to get it to work!

I understand, but once you do get this thing to work you won't need any other "image" program.

Try this:

Tap on PictPocket
Tap File
Tap Options
OPEN IMAGE AS:
Uncheck Auto-Zoom to fit window if it's checked

DITHERING:
Check "Optimize for 12-bit displays"

COLORS:
Background color is black

MEMORY SAVE MODE:
Ensure that both boxes are UNCHECKED


Tap SLIDES at the bottom


HTTP PLAYBACK SETTINGS:
1000 milliseconds

SLIDE SHOW SETTINGS:
Both boxes should be checked
Default delay is 5 seconds
Direction is Forward

BEFORE START
Check this box to show the settings before slideshow


Tap THUMBNAILS at the bottom

Put a check in the box where it says HIDE THUMBNAILS
Position is "on the top side."

Tap ASSOCIATION at the bottom

Check all those boxes and then ensure you have PictPocket choosen as your program and then tap ASSOCIATE.

Try this and then softboot your device, load up PictPocket and let me know how it works for you.

[frzamilan]

I too was having problems with this program playing certain media types as described above by another poster. However, after changing the settings as mentioned by DsneFmly...all problems were resolved.

Thanks

[Monty Gibson]

I too was having problems with this program playing certain media types as described above by another poster. However, after changing the settings as mentioned by DsneFmly...all problems were resolved.

Thanks

Glad that I could help :way to go:!

[Slapper Boy]

I'm new here. Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I must say that this information has been most helpful to me. Thank you for the tips.

[Monty Gibson]

I'm new here. Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I must say that this information has been most helpful to me. Thank you for the tips.

If you're talking about me then no problemo!

[Slapper Boy]

Yes, I was talking about you.

I used Smart Ripper to rip my DVD of Spiderman. Then, I used DVDx to convert to mpeg. Then, I used Moviemaker to convert to WMV. The result is a 190MB file. Does this sound about right to you? Would you recommend I use any other tools instead? I was hoping to shrink the file down to 128MB to fit on my 128MB card.

[[email protected]]

there is a magic program that I found : http://www.gdata.de/trade/productview/340/13
there is the link. it is a one touch easy too use software for ripping dvd movies into wma format for your pocket pc. all you have to do is say what size you want the final product, and it does all the rest.

there is one catch. it's only in german. if you can read German, or can figure out how to use the software without speaking german, then you are in great shape. I only speak English, and I figured it out with some trial and error)

[limit]

Is PictPocket Cinema compatible with XDA 2, having problems installing it,