One step from DVD to PPC [Archive] - Thoughts Media Forums

Spenser

09-04-2003, 09:19 PM

There is something interesting I came across 3 weeks ago:
It is a new German product called: "DaVideo for PocketPC". It encodes for WMV 8 OR 9.
Before you start, you choose
- the codec (WMV 8 or 9, 1-pass or 2-pass)
- the resolution (from 88x66 to 320x240)
- the resulting file size (12MB to 512MB)
The pgm then readjusts all parameters so that the resulting file size meets your criteria. Then you just press the start button and off you go. Anyhow the process is simple and the resulting file is more than watchable.
Since there is NO English trial version (as absolutVenky found out), I have uploaded some demo-files to my homepage. Pls go to page 2 of this post to see all the details.
When you want to buy the program (for 39,95 EUR) , go to www.gdata.de/trade/productview/340/13
Click on "Jetzt downloaden" and choose the language for the ordering process. (Several languages available)
Please note, that at this moment there is only a German version available.
But the settings are sort of self-explainable, I think.

absolutVenky

09-05-2003, 02:06 AM

Are you sure there's a trial? The "download now" link takes you to their secure shopping page and you have to pay the full price.

[email protected]

09-05-2003, 04:25 AM

I think this might be really cool, but $45.00 is alot of money without trying it first. no demo was available, has anyone tried it yet?

Spenser

09-05-2003, 06:43 AM

I must admit, that I bought the product (without testing it) after I have read a review in my favourite German magazine.
But you made a valid point there. I would never :D buy a program without testing it first.
To make it clear, how this is been handled by Gdata I've contacted them by e-mail. As soon as they have written back, I will tell you what to do.

Scott R

09-05-2003, 06:14 PM

Anyhow the process is simple and the resulting file is more than watchable.Is that a rave review? Sorry for being so ignorant in this manner, but as someone who is considering buying an HP h2215, can anyone answer the following...

1) Can I get 320x240 full-screen video on the h2215 at 30fps?

2) If so, how much storage space would I need for, say, a 2 hour movie? Are both CF and SD fast enough to support it?

3) What software do I need to do it?

4) How much effort is involved?

Sliding back on topic...If this software can accommodate those needs, it sounds pretty nice to me.

Scott

Spenser

09-05-2003, 09:07 PM

Anyhow the process is simple and the resulting file is more than watchable.Is that a rave review? Scott
No, it is Not. That's why I posted it. I am convinced that many people are waiting for a one-step solution. (Others like to play with different codecs, filters, resolutions etc etc. For me, the above solution is sufficient.)

1) Can I get 320x240 full-screen video on the h2215 at 30fps?
I cannot see why not. I personally have a 3970 where everything works fine; but I don't know at how many fps. I know for sure, that it is easy to get 25fps, but with WM2003 30fps should be feasable.

2) If so, how much storage space would I need for, say, a 2 hour movie? Are both CF and SD fast enough to support it?
That really depends on the film. But I think 250mb should be ok.

3) What software do I need to do it?
You only need the above program.

4) How much effort is involved?
Nothing really. You insert the DVD, start the program, choose the resulting file size (see my initial explanation) start the process and that's really it. When it is done, copy the file to your CF/SD-Card and watch your movie. BUT: It Only encodes for WMP. So no DivX, XVid etc. But that's ok for me.

Crystal Eitle

09-05-2003, 09:18 PM

Does it work for any kind of video? Would it work for MPEG? Sometimes I take little movies that I'd like to post on my blog, but I have no idea how to squish them down and encode them so anyone can watch them.

Spenser

09-06-2003, 07:48 AM

Does it work for any kind of video? Would it work for MPEG?
No, it only works for DVDs. (which is a pity) I myself are still looking for a MPEG-solution.

Scott R

09-06-2003, 03:14 PM

No, it is Not. That's why I posted it. I am convinced that many people are waiting for a one-step solution. (Others like to play with different codecs, filters, resolutions etc etc. For me, the above solution is sufficient.)I guess I'm not clear as to why it isn't a rave review. Is it because of the lack of support for other formats or is the end quality of the video lacking?

Scott

Spenser

09-08-2003, 03:09 PM

I think this might be really cool, but $45.00 is alot of money without trying it first. no demo was available, has anyone tried it yet?
You are right. That's why I just spoke with a representative of GDATA (the developer). This is what he said: "Only several days after MovieJack had published a demo version it had been hacked. Therefore we won't offer one." So. That's it. No demo.
But may be I can find another solution during the next days.

absolutVenky

09-08-2003, 11:46 PM

Is there a review of this someplace in English? If it truly is as good as they claim I'll purchase it. My current procedure requires too many steps.

I just want an independent review.

Spenser

09-09-2003, 06:45 AM

I just want an independent review.

Hmm. Please don't think that I am Not independent. I am not - in any way - linked to the people behind that program. I am an end-user as you are.
The reason I published my "review" was that I was always looking for a one-button-solution with watchable results. And since I knew that I was not the only one who wanted that I posted this review.

---

Concerning a demo I encoded yesterday evening 1 chapter of one of the three :D DVDs I own. I encoded with different settings resulting in four different files. (The DVD I used was "Shrek")
WMV8-CBR-1Pass-320x240-291kbs-64kbs.WMV
WMV8-VBR-2Pass-320x240-291kbs-64kbs.WMV
WMV9-CBR-1Pass-320x240-291kbs-64kbs.WMV
WMV9-VBR-2Pass-320x240-291kbs-64kbs.WMV
As soon as I find the time to upload them to my website with some additional information ( I am very busy in the moment ) you can download them and view the results for yourself. (Filesizes are between 17 and 24 MB, so a broadband connection will be useful.)

absolutVenky

09-10-2003, 07:08 AM

Hmm. Please don't think that I am Not independent. I am not - in any way - linked to the people behind that program. I am an end-user as you are.
The reason I published my "review" was that I was always looking for a one-button-solution with watchable results. And since I knew that I was not the only one who wanted that I posted this review.

Sorry! No disrespect intended! I was just wondering if some online magazine or PPC website had reviewed this product,

Spenser

09-10-2003, 01:33 PM

I finally managed to upload the above mentioned demo-files.
Please go to www.fmaw2.de/ppc.htm in order to get them (I also applied some additional information concerning the encoding process). A broadband connection would be useful.
If you like me to try some other settings than the ones I used, I am willing to do so if time allows.

Jochen

09-11-2003, 05:04 AM

I have to admit that I blythely sailed into this thinking that the language barrier would be no problem, only to find that I can't even do the installation! I speak a second language, but it is not German, oops.

Any ideas about what I need to do to progree in InstallShield past the identification window? I entered my name and the registration code (in the field identified as "Serienummer", but the box "Weiter" is greyed-out. It seems to want a "Firmenname", but I am not a company and have no clue what to enter.

Ideas?

Spenser

09-11-2003, 09:15 AM

Any ideas about what I need to do to progree in InstallShield past the identification window? I entered my name and the registration code (in the field identified as "Serienummer", but the box "Weiter" is greyed-out. It seems to want a "Firmenname", but I am not a company and have no clue what to enter.

Ideas?
I asked somebody (via private msg) who managed the inst.-process yesterday to help you. My inst.-process is so long ago that I cannot remember it.
By the way: he likes the pgm.
Jochen

09-11-2003, 02:40 PM

No problem after all - I gave a na company name and hit 'enter', and it worked from there. Thanks, though - Kathryn

[email protected]

09-11-2003, 02:51 PM

well, I have to caution you that I don't speak german either, but I know software installation pretty well, usually the buttons on the left are o.k., and the buttons on the right are no. if there are 3 buttons, then they are usually back, next, cancel. if the window looks like a subscriber agreement, then Ja is yes, and actung is no. Hope this helps. the software is pretty intuitive and easy to use, so once you get it installed, you should be o.k. the default settings are good to go, you just pick the size of the file and you are o.k. also, the output file is pretty hidden from view, and named a funky name. I haven't figured out how to change the name of the file yet, but the file is in the programs directory, davideo, wmv's. look in there for a windows media file, and re name it the name of the dvd. good to go. :mrgreen:

Spenser

09-12-2003, 01:10 PM

News for all who have downloaded DaVideo for PPC: There is a patch available under: http://www.gdata.de/filemanager/fileview/576/

09-14-2003, 06:01 PM

Do you know what it fixes?

Spenser

09-14-2003, 07:30 PM

Do you know what it fixes?
no. it only says, that it fixes some minor bugs. (but you never know :) )

grobin

09-29-2003, 07:23 PM

Maybe VirtualDub MPEG-2 is NOT what some people are looking for BUT it works well for me and is the closest I have seen to one step AND free (and in English ...)

I have had REAL good luck today converting mpeg-2 and even .vob files DIRECTLY to Divx (ver. 4.12) .avi files with VirtualDub MPEG-2 ver. 1.5.4

The resulting files look better than anything else I have gotten to play on my Axim X5 with PPC 2002.

I just processed a 90 minute mpeg-2 (DVD compatable 720x480 - 7.1 mb/s - 3.2 gig sized file) into just under 100 mb and it plays and looks good on the Axim.

I downloaded VirtualDub MPEG-2 at :
http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/

10-08-2003, 06:20 AM

You know, this really is GOOD software. I had made some home DVDs of my kids jumping at horse shows, and they converted beautifully for my IPAQ 2210. Big thank you Spencer!

Bladefree21

11-06-2003, 04:05 AM

I purchased the DaViDeo for Pocket PC a few days ago and recieve this error " Wahrend des vorgangs ist ein Fehler aufgetreten. Bitte uberprufen Sie ggf. das Quell- und Zielmedium."

Fehler: "DVD ist verschlusselt"
Code: TaskDVDReader (435)

OK

2.) This message also appears "Der Kopiervorgang wurde vorseitig beendet. Moglicherweise wurden keine Dateien kopiert order es befindet sich eine un- vollstandige Kopie auf Ihrer Festplatte"

And these messages appear (no matter) if it is a home DVD or purchased DVD. The Google translator works ok for German to English.

Tried contacting the software manufacturer, but have not heard anything back from them.

If anyone has any suggestions, that would be great!

Spenser

11-06-2003, 08:24 AM

Darius Wey

11-07-2003, 07:25 AM

Ja is yes, and actung is no

Hehe, I thought Ja was yes, and Nien was no...mind u, I don't speak German either but I remember seeing those words on this ZoneAlarm update I d/l which happened to be in German :?: 8O :?: even though I specified English! And I think Achtung means Warning or Caution or something, because I have this popcorn machine at home with Achtung near the heating vent. Anyway, back on topic...

In reference to the ppl wanting to convert MPEG -> WMV or some other compressed format for PPC.

Because I do quite a bit of video editing, I own Sonic Foundry Vegas which allows me to do pretty much everything with video files. So I usually load an MPEG file and just save it as a WMV file - here I can specify size (e.g. 240x320), audio bitrate, video bitrate (constant or variable), keyframes per interval, etc. and transfer it onto my h1940 later. Files run smooth and are sharp too :)

You can d/l a demo of Vegas at their site: www.sonicfoundry.com
Although now Sony has bought over SF, so you might have to do a bit of clicking to get to the page. :D

Bladefree21

11-20-2003, 01:44 AM

Thank's Islanti for the info!

I tryed the things you mentioned, and am now able to get about halfway through any movie :) Then the same message appears (from the previous post) :?:

Thanks again , progress is being made :D

Mitchybums

11-20-2003, 04:16 PM

you might want to use a dvd ripper to rip the dvd to your harddrive and then use davideo to encode it.
Or look for a file called DVDKeyAuth.exe on the web.
This is a patch for davideo to be able to rip encrypted dvd's

bigds63

11-20-2003, 09:54 PM

Spenser, I downloaded your samples and I must say they look real nice on my desktop. But its a bit to much for my new AXIM WM2003 PPC. Windows media player for PPC still has a way to go to get decent quality video. Its a shame the software you speak of doesnt support Divx. Thats what we all need. Even PPC2000 can play divx. Not to get off the topic to much. But for People that want to encode using Divx or for that fact .wmv for free. Can visit my site www.bigdsvideo.com I Also have a guide on ripping DVDs and broadcasting TV over your wireless net.....

Spenser

11-20-2003, 11:00 PM

Its a shame the software you speak of doesnt support Divx. Thats what we all need. Even PPC2000 can play divx. Not to get off the topic to much. But for People that want to encode using Divx or for that fact .wmv for free can visit my site www.bigdsvideo.com I also have a guide on ripping DVDs and broadcasting TV over your wireless net.....
I fully agree. I asked the developer to do something in that area. But up to now they were very busy with the development of a new German dictionnary. So they hadn't had the time and people to do some additional work.
I also suggested that the input should also be an mpeg-file, because I quite often save some TV-films as mpegs. What I like though is the 1-button-solution. I have quite often encoded TV-films with different programs and thousands of different settings. I am tired to always make such an effort. So let's hope for the best. I will bring your suggestion to their attention, too.

bigds63

11-21-2003, 09:11 AM

Spenser, I to record allot of TV in mpeg . VCD format to be exact. That way I can also burn it to disc to watch on my DVD player and to keep a backup of it for myself. But you can also use VirtualDub in just a 3 click process, that is after you go through your setting once you can then save your settings for the next time you encode.All you got to do is, OPEN VIRTUALDUB, CHOOSE FILE, LOAD PROCESS SETTINGS, then save your file and it starts encoding. And with my guides it only takes about 20 min. to encode a movie. Depending on size of course. If you do this you want to stick with divx5.0 and not the newest 5.1 for the 5.1 is like 10 times slower at encoding. Until they get the bugs fixed anyway. I have all the tools needed to do this for free and some sample videos at my site www.bigdsvideo.com that you can see for yourself by right clicking on them save to pc then transfer them to PPC or just click the link to play in wmp on your desktop. I feel the quality is quite good considering that I only use 1-pass encoding. And the reason I do this is to keep my guides as simple as possible, with step by step guides with pictures showing each step. I've done allot of the divx videos at www.ppcvidz.com mostly the cartoons, but they to use my guides for their divx content. I'm not saying all this just to put down the software you spoke of, but until they can come up with a one step divx solution from what Ive read you can do basically the same thing they are doing for free with Smartripper and windows media encoder. Sorry for such a long post, hope I didn't bore you to much :)

Spenser

11-21-2003, 09:43 AM

hope I didn't bore you to much :)
:D Bigds63, no, you didn't bore me. One remark though: I read yesterday in a German PC-Magazine that Divx 5.1.1 had been released. Fewer bugs and FASTER than ever. Try it out.
---
Concerning VirtualDub: My Hauppauge TV-Card Nexus-S saves files in PVA or MPEG2-Format where PVA has got a better quality. So, if I do this I have to transform it into MPEG and then do the 3-step process you were talking about. This makes it 4 steps for me.
BUT I ONLY WANT TO DO ONE. :twisted: So I am still waiting.
But thank you for your tips. I will certainly have a look into it.
Spenser

Bladefree21

12-04-2003, 07:46 PM

I want to thank everyone for there help! It turns out all that was needed was a different dvdauth.exe. That program works beautifully now :D A great program for the Pocket PC. Now that it works, I would \almost/ call it an essential :)

For those of you who do not have Davideo yet.. I have used other software to re-encode Personal DVD's to PPC format.

These softwares would take “me” 2+ hours to transfer to PPC format, with multiple steps. :!: IF :!: I were to sit with the computer watching and beginning each of the 2-3 processes. But it generally takes around 6 hrs; because I do not wait for each of those steps (I consider that a nuisance and Davideo lightens that “chore” <--> to an easy activity performed when I am away, other than language barrier). I say “an easy activity performed when I am away” because you SET the (movie size in MB and pixels), (video and audio quality) then walk away. >1 Step<, come back and it is done!

This software takes 2-3 hours with an older SRX99 Sony 850MHz laptop. The downside is that the manufacturer's communication seems to be non existent :( 8O

This is not a problem, if you are part of the PPCThoughts community! There are many bright people here 8)