DVD To Your Pocket PC

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.pqdvd.com/">http://www.pqdvd.com/</a><br /><br />"Put movies in the pocket, let you, your wife and your children watch it while travelling. This software compresses DVDs of your own into memory card. It's simple and fast. Customizable file size from 90 MB to 600 MB. This will be one of the most valuable applications that justifies your purchase of pocket pc."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2004/20040303-pocketdvd.jpg" /><br /><br />Shown is the normal screen. You can also encode it to run full screen, but that crops off the edges, just as watching a wide aspect ratio movie on a 4:3 TV ruins the picture. It will also allow you to break the movie up into multiple files so you can split it across memory cards if desired.<br /><br />It costs $32 and you can buy it <a href="http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=111156">at the Pocket PC Handango store</a>. The trial version will only let you rip a few minutes of a DVD for testing.

[encece]

Can this be used on Smartphones as well? Are there settings to accomodate the smaller 176 x 220 screen size?

[Dave Potter]

I took this app for a quick spin (after I submitted it as a news link). Frankly, I was dissappointed.

The install was less than straight forward requiring me to download an updated windows driver (and the link provided in the install didn't work!)

The video looked OK but the sound was terrible! There were plenty of options - but not so many as to confuse the average user - this part I liked. I also liked PocketMVP as the playback engine. But the sound quality is a show stopper for me. The price is also a bit on the high side.

[jlp]

Their ad says 70% more viewing area; but as Ed mentions it, since the software crops (optionally) image on both sides, that's rather 70% LESS viewing area.

The good thing is you can encode in 512 x 240 and view it that way i.e. zoomed out to fill the 320x240 (landscape) screen and with the black strips or 1:1 but with "cropped" strips on each side.

And you can switch between the two modes during playback.

Anybody bought it and can tell how long it takes to convert a standard length -90 min- movie and on what PC config?!

[Falstaff]

I took this app for a quick spin (after I submitted it as a news link). Frankly, I was dissappointed.

The install was less than straight forward requiring me to download an updated windows driver (and the link provided in the install didn't work!)

The video looked OK but the sound was terrible! There were plenty of options - but not so many as to confuse the average user - this part I liked. I also liked PocketMVP as the playback engine. But the sound quality is a show stopper for me. The price is also a bit on the high side.
Did you go into the advanced output settings and adjust the auiod quality there? You can make it full stereo, 44 kHz, and very high kbps settings. I'm ripping a movie right now with the basic 22kHz mono, so I'll have to see the quality, but it looked like you could easily bump up the output audio quality.

[Candygogo]

Hmm...I don't know.

I mean, to be able to watch a flick in my hand would be cool, and even with the compression I still couldn't get into it. Memory card prices might still be affordable, but what about a special effects laden or long movie? We are talking about a 1gb card.

I know that you pay a premium for compact size, but for now I'll just stick to my portable dvd player. :wink:

[rfsjr]

Bought this software several weeks ago and it is awesome. The file encoding takes a bit of time, and the software, well, it takes a little time to learn. The menu could use some tweaking as its not easy for average user to run. Be patient though. Good things are about to happen. Every movie I encoded had great playback quality. For suggestions on encoding, use the 128MB set for any cartoon type films. For real life action film, use the 256MB set. One more thing>> the support was very good. I had answers to my questions within an hour. Hope this helps>>and the home site... www.makayama.com(':D')

[Dave Potter]

I took this app for a quick spin (after I submitted it as a news link). Frankly, I was dissappointed.

The install was less than straight forward requiring me to download an updated windows driver (and the link provided in the install didn't work!)

The video looked OK but the sound was terrible! There were plenty of options - but not so many as to confuse the average user - this part I liked. I also liked PocketMVP as the playback engine. But the sound quality is a show stopper for me. The price is also a bit on the high side.
Did you go into the advanced output settings and adjust the auiod quality there? You can make it full stereo, 44 kHz, and very high kbps settings. I'm ripping a movie right now with the basic 22kHz mono, so I'll have to see the quality, but it looked like you could easily bump up the output audio quality.

Actually - yes, I did play with those settings. I tried 44 kHz stereo and it sounded like crap.

[Dave Potter]

Bought this software several weeks ago and it is awesome. The file encoding takes a bit of time, and the software, well, it takes a little time to learn. The menu could use some tweaking as its not easy for average user to run. Be patient though. Good things are about to happen. Every movie I encoded had great playback quality. For suggestions on encoding, use the 128MB set for any cartoon type films. For real life action film, use the 256MB set. One more thing>> the support was very good. I had answers to my questions within an hour. Hope this helps>>and the home site... www.makayama.com(':D')

Sorry dude - your confusing this software (Pocket DVD Studio) with another piece of software - DVD-to-Pocket PC.

However - I agree about DVD-to-Pocket PC. It's excellent. Much better than the app this thread is about.

[David C]

mmm.... I don't know...

I like WMV. The main reason is because you don't need to install any special application, and it plays in PPC, Smartphone, or regular PC.

I've tried DVD2PPC, and it really is not that good of a program. DVD2PPC basically takes a VOB file. If fist transcode it to MPEG1. Then, it recode the MPEG1 to WMV. The quality is bad because it has gone through 2 different encoding process. Plus, if I was going to do MPEG1 then WMV, there are lots of programs out there I can do it for free.

This program I have never tried before. But it sound just like most oher DIVX making program. Things like Dr.Divx or any of the many other free ones out there. So, I don't know why I would want to spend $30 for something that I can get for free.

What I like to spend money for is an easy-to-use VOB to WMV program. I've tried many ways to make WMV myself. I've used Avisynth and other method, but they have all been very painful. Divx so far have been very easy to make, with just a single click. But I want WMV. Untill someone make a really easy to use WMV program, I don't see the justification to spend $30 for it.

[rfsjr]

Sorry>>>My mistake for not looking closer....and reading. I have not used this program. From what I read in posts here, I'm glad that I used DVD to Pocket PC......and it costs less! ':oops:'

[arnage2]

will this converter support vga?

[Pat Logsdon]

will this converter support vga?
It doesn't look like it:

Video parameters tuned for QVGA(320x240) display.

[Falstaff]

Sorry dude - your confusing this software (Pocket DVD Studio) with another piece of software - DVD-to-Pocket PC.

However - I agree about DVD-to-Pocket PC. It's excellent. Much better than the app this thread is about.

I like this software more, the DVD-to-PPC app was too basic, it didn't have any options, and I also prefer divX to wmv. I'll have to play around with different quality settings, but I really like this software so far. Tommorrow I'll try and get around to posting some video examples for people who don't want to download the software to test it.

[Falstaff]

will this converter support vga?
It doesn't look like it:

Video parameters tuned for QVGA(320x240) display.

It doesn't have all full VGA resolutions, but you can use higher res options, the range of resolution choices for the 6 aspect ratios are:
256-168 - 376x240
272-160 - 416x240
232x168 - 344x240
272-160 - 416x240
296x132 - 512x240
256x168 - 376x240
It's not VGA, but the res does go pretty high.

[jizmo]

There are dozens and dozens of free DVD to divx applications out there that have all the custom resolutions one would want - paying thirty bucks for yet another wizard just doesn't make sense to me.

But then again a lot of other things don't make sense to me either :)

/jizmo

[Jude]

I took this app for a quick spin (after I submitted it as a news link). Frankly, I was dissappointed.

The install was less than straight forward requiring me to download an updated windows driver (and the link provided in the install didn't work!)

The video looked OK but the sound was terrible! There were plenty of options - but not so many as to confuse the average user - this part I liked. I also liked PocketMVP as the playback engine. But the sound quality is a show stopper for me. The price is also a bit on the high side.
Did you go into the advanced output settings and adjust the auiod quality there? You can make it full stereo, 44 kHz, and very high kbps settings. I'm ripping a movie right now with the basic 22kHz mono, so I'll have to see the quality, but it looked like you could easily bump up the output audio quality.

Actually - yes, I did play with those settings. I tried 44 kHz stereo and it sounded like crap.

But did you increase the kbps? If you didn't, switching to 44 kHz stereo will make it sound even crappier since you're encoding more audio info at the same bitrate. The improvement in quality really has more to do with the audio bitrate.

[Falstaff]

But did you increase the kbps? If you didn't, switching to 44 kHz stereo will make it sound even crappier since you're encoding more audio info at the same bitrate. The improvement in quality really has more to do with the audio bitrate.
I just tested another rip of a scene from Blues Brothers with 96kbps, 44 kHz, mono, and I thought it sounded pretty good, even from my e755 speakers. I don't know why you can't seem to get good sound quality Zipper.

[MPSmith]

Sorry>>>My mistake for not looking closer....and reading. I have not used this program. From what I read in posts here, I'm glad that I used DVD to Pocket PC......and it costs less! ':oops:'

Makayama.com says that "those in the USA cannot download DVD-to-Pocket PC..." Sucks for me!

[Falstaff]

There are dozens and dozens of free DVD to divx applications out there that have all the custom resolutions one would want - paying thirty bucks for yet another wizard just doesn't make sense to me.

But then again a lot of other things don't make sense to me either :)

/jizmo

What software do you use or reccommend, it's hard to find good DVD to DivX software for free.

[jizmo]

What software do you use or reccommend, it's hard to find good DVD to DivX software for free.

I'm more of a do-it-yourself kind of guy when it comes to DVD to DivX, but I was thinking of going to automated wizards at one point and did try out three random free utilities from divxdigest.com (can't recall the names now).

While most of these are just collection of utilities bundled into one or working scripted, to my surprise all three of them were easy to use, got the job done, had custom resolutions and file size estimations proved to work perfectly.

I could've been lucky here, but all of them seemed pretty fool-proof.

/jizmo

[Dave Potter]

But did you increase the kbps? If you didn't, switching to 44 kHz stereo will make it sound even crappier since you're encoding more audio info at the same bitrate. The improvement in quality really has more to do with the audio bitrate.

You are correct. But increasing the bit rate also increases te file size. Sure, I could max out the bitrate and the quality setting too - but the resultant file size would be too big to fit on a 256 MB SD card. I know, I know - I can split the file across multiple cards - but I am not interested in doing that. I travel alot and like to bring multiple movies with me. I have three 256 MB cards now and do not plan on buying more anytime soon since I don't have a money tree in my backyard.

I just tested another rip of a scene from Blues Brothers with 96kbps, 44 kHz, mono, and I thought it sounded pretty good, even from my e755 speakers. I don't know why you can't seem to get good sound quality Zipper.

Mono!?!? In planes and trains, I use headphones and mono is simply not acceptable. For me, a workable solution must provide decent stereo sound, a good quality picture and it must fit on a 256 MB SD card. So far, DVD-to-Pocket PC seems to do this better. BTW, I agree that DVD-to-Pocket PC is a little simple - that's why I jumped on this app and submitted the news link. I had high hopes - but it seems that this app can only fulfill 2 of the above requirements. Good sound and good picture - but at the cost of file size.

I am still open minded. If someone can prove to me that all of the above is possible with this app - I am willing to give it another try.

[klinux]

There are dozens and dozens of free DVD to divx applications out there that have all the custom resolutions one would want - paying thirty bucks for yet another wizard just doesn't make sense to me.

But then again a lot of other things don't make sense to me either :)

/jizmo

What software do you use or reccommend, it's hard to find good DVD to DivX software for free.

I paid for Dr. Divx and feel the price was justified for the program itself and the DivX Pro codec. I copy my DVD to ~1.2 GB file - a good balance between size and quality.

Before I switched to Dr. Divx, I have used Gordian Knot/AutoGk and other free tools out there. While the resulting outputs from Dr. Divx and free tools look very close, if not identical, to my eyes and ears, I still think the tradeoff in price to convenience is worth it.

[Pat Logsdon]

I paid for Dr. Divx and feel the price was justified for the program itself and the DivX Pro codec. I copy my DVD to ~1.2 GB file - a good balance between size and quality.
I did the same, and I think it was worth it. It takes just a few clicks to set Dr. Divx to encode using the Home Theater Profile, which is pretty high quality. From there, I just load Virtual Dub, slightly tweak my saved "PPC" settings, and encode. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes of my time. 8)

[maximum360]

IMO, everyone should save themselves $32 (or whatever the price is) and check these two links:

http://discussion.brighthand.com/sh...?threadid=79950 [The best info on encoding for WMV around]

http://www.pocketmatrix.com/guides/dvd2divx/ [for DVD to Divx]

There's also a MPEG encoding guide up as well at PocketMatrix.

You should probably get the updated codecs and latest versions of some of the programs mentioned.

Personally I used DVD to Divx guide and Pocket MVP.

Good Luck.

[xendula]

BUT: H O W do you guys manage to do ANYTHING with a DVD if it is copy protected?!?!

[robert_biggs]

BUT: H O W do you guys manage to do ANYTHING with a DVD if it is copy protected?!?!

These types of programs bypass the copy protection, which is why most are illegal to use in the U.S. & other places.

[xendula]

OK, in that case that won't help me because this type of programs are illegal in the European Union as well.

[klinux]

IMO, everyone should save themselves $32 (or whatever the price is) and check these two links:

No offense, what makes you think those of who have purchased Dr. Divx or other software have not? After encoding from scratch with multiple programs, I found Dr. Divx worked the best for me.

BUT: H O W do you guys manage to do ANYTHING with a DVD if it is copy protected?!?!

DeCSS, the encryption used in commerical DVDs, has been cracked a while ago. Many softwares now have DeCSS decryption built-in so you can "rip" the contents of the DVD to your HD. Is that illegal? I do not think so since it falls under the definition of fair use.

[jlp]

What software do you use or reccommend, it's hard to find good DVD to DivX software for free.

[...]I was thinking of going to automated wizards at one point and did try out three random free utilities from divxdigest.com (can't recall the names now).[...]
/jizmo

Ooops, divxdigest.com is squatted by seek2.com.

Anybody knows a good independant divx site?!

[xendula]

DeCSS, the encryption used in commerical DVDs, has been cracked a while ago. Many softwares now have DeCSS decryption built-in so you can "rip" the contents of the DVD to your HD. Is that illegal? I do not think so since it falls under the definition of fair use.
Illegal to distribute such software over here, I believe there is no "Fair Use" exception in Germany/EU (?). If I am not completely mistaken you are allowed to keep up to 3 copies of any software, DVD, CD that you own, but you can not make this copy using illegal software. Illegal software is anything that circumvents copy-protection. The reasoning behind it is that there is no guaratee you will only make 3 copies for your personal backup. Some company came out with software that lets you make exactly 3 copies, so that they could distribute it legally in Germany, but it supposedly does not work very well.
Oh those stupid laws!! I though you had a legal solution, that's why I asked.

[Falstaff]

What software do you use or reccommend, it's hard to find good DVD to DivX software for free.

[...]I was thinking of going to automated wizards at one point and did try out three random free utilities from divxdigest.com (can't recall the names now).[...]
/jizmo

Ooops, divxdigest.com is squatted by seek2.com.

Anybody knows a good independant divx site?!

I went to check it out, the site is now www.divx-digest.com

[Kevin Daly]

This would be sooooo cool...
If only I could afford the storage cards :cry:

[bbarker]

This is a really basic question, but how do you use a .wmv video on a Pocket PC? I have some files that play great on WMP on my PC but when I use WMP (or Windows Explorer) to copy them to a storage card, they don't work on my PPC. What am I missing?

[jeffmd]

Zipper.. thats just the breaks though. If you don't give enough kbps to the sound, it will always sound like crap regardless of the encoder.

bbarker, you can't just pop a wmv from your pc onto your pocket pc, just like you can't copy a divx from your pc and play it on your pocket pc. You need to re-encode it with specific frame sizes and bitrates that the pocket pc cpu can handel.

Since this is wmv, im not even gonna bother commenting on it. Just like I told the author of that other dvd ripper, wmv sucks on ppc, and supporting it is stupid. The pocket MVP team works hard on optimizing their player and supporting new technologies, MS doesn't do squat and lets their player rot with shoddy performance.

[bbarker]

I'm going to try the instructions in the WMV for PPC Encoding Guide (http://percontifamily.com/speedzone/vid.html) and see how that goes.

[klinux]

xendula, you are most correct. I did not look at your "From" location.

I do not know enough about the legislations in EU to comment in if there is a way for one to decrypt DeCSS legally other than in US.

[jlp]

DeCSS, the encryption used in commerical DVDs, has been cracked a while ago. Many softwares now have DeCSS decryption built-in so you can "rip" the contents of the DVD to your HD. Is that illegal? I do not think so since it falls under the definition of fair use.
Illegal to distribute such software over here, I believe there is no "Fair Use" exception in Germany/EU (?). If I am not completely mistaken you are allowed to keep up to 3 copies of any software, DVD, CD that you own, but you can not make this copy using illegal software. Illegal software is anything that circumvents copy-protection. The reasoning behind it is that there is no guaratee you will only make 3 copies for your personal backup. Some company came out with software that lets you make exactly 3 copies, so that they could distribute it legally in Germany, but it supposedly does not work very well.
Oh those stupid laws!! I though you had a legal solution, that's why I asked.

In Switzerland it's theoretically illegal to make copy protections on software (though some are sold, still), and you're allowed to make a backup copy of a work. Also private listening is for "closely related" people including parents and close friends.

Let's all move here!!

Glad we're not part of the European Disunion :twisted:.

Falstaff, thanks for the new link :)

[OneAngryDwarf]

Bought this software today and I must say I am thoroughly impressed... Video quality for the file size is better than I've seen w/ Divx and w/ WMV. True the sound wasn't too hot but i'm messing w/ the settings now to improve that. The settings are easy, very easy, to adjust. The best thing about it is that the video is smooth w/ absolutely no jumpiness playing 25 f/s. Even better it rips and encodes a movie in less time than the length of the movie... I've never seen a program that could accomplish this. In case anybody is wondering I'm using a 2215

[theone3]

Hmm...I don't know.

I mean, to be able to watch a flick in my hand would be cool, and even with the compression I still couldn't get into it. Memory card prices might still be affordable, but what about a special effects laden or long movie? We are talking about a 1gb card.

I know that you pay a premium for compact size, but for now I'll just stick to my portable dvd player. :wink:

$160 for 1gb here:
http://www.pocketloft.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=35036#post35036

[jizmo]

True the sound wasn't too hot but i'm messing w/ the settings now to improve that.

Althought I'm no hifi enthusiastic myself, I do have to stress the importance of having a decent sound track on DivX files here.

Good quality sound impacts very much to the viewing experience, and our brains combine the two as one entity. If the sound is low quality, you'll most probably notice the packing artifacts more easily from the video, whether you want or not. But if the sound is flawless, people in general forgive most flaws in picture as well.

I haven't seen any studies on the subject, thought.
/jizmo

[jeffmd]

Video quality for the file size is better than I've seen w/ Divx and w/ WMV.


True the sound wasn't too hot but i'm messing w/ the settings now to improve that.

lol.. the reason why your video quality was better was because you had shifted the bitrate normaly reserved for hq audio over to your video. ^^

[Dave Potter]

Bought this software today and I must say I am thoroughly impressed... Video quality for the file size is better than I've seen w/ Divx and w/ WMV. True the sound wasn't too hot but i'm messing w/ the settings now to improve that. The settings are easy, very easy, to adjust. The best thing about it is that the video is smooth w/ absolutely no jumpiness playing 25 f/s. Even better it rips and encodes a movie in less time than the length of the movie... I've never seen a program that could accomplish this. In case anybody is wondering I'm using a 2215

Let us know if you find a combination of settings which produces decent sound quality. This was ultimately the show stopper for me.

[Ripper014]

I agree with Jeffmd it sounds like they have sacrificed sound bitrate for video... and this may be the reason for the better video performance...