Getting Ready for Mobius 2006: DVD Ripfest!

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/clonedvdmobile-massrip-big.jpg"><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/clonedvdmobile-massrip-small.jpg" /></a><br /><span>[click image above for a bigger version]</span><br /><br />Tonight, I'm heading off to Microsoft's <a href="http://www.mobiussite.com">Mobius conference</a>...only this time, instead of going to Seattle, I'm headed to Thailand. 8O It's still a bit surprising because it's such a departure from the norm, but Microsoft had opted to do two Mobius events this year, one in Boston, and one in the Phuket area of Thailand. I'm in for 39 hours of travel, so having some portable entertainment is in order. Thankfully, my lovely wife is also coming along for the journey (at my expense of course) so that will make the travel easier. <br /><br />Sadly, since no Pocket PC vendor has made a device with a nice big hard drive, I'm using a mixture of devices: my Zen Vision:M, a Toshiba Gigabeat S, a Zen Micro, and my laptop. I've been ripping DVDs and converting TV shows to WMV for about a week now, and I'm simply in awe of how fantastic <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,10488">CloneDVD Mobile</a> and <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,9818">AnyDVD</a> are. Every developer could stand to learn from these applications in terms of ease of use. Software that works - go figure! <br /><br />I emailed the developer and raved about how much I liked the software, and he gave me a promotional code to share with all of you. If you use the promotion code <b>digitalmediathoughts</b> in the <a href="http://www.slysoft.com/?aid=50312">Slysoft store</a> [affiliate], valid through 2006-09-30, you'll save $5 on a single product (such as CloneDVD Mobile), $10 on a two-product bundle (such as CloneDVD Mobile and AnyDVD), $15 on a three-product bundle, and $20 on a four-product bundle.<br /><br />I'm hoping to have some connectivity at the resort in Phuket where the conference is being held, so you'll hopefully see me online here and there. I'm off to the airport - I have 39 hours of travel time to kill!

[stevelam]

Thats a rather tidy looking desk you've got there, mind sharing how you do it, mine looks like someone has dropped the contents of the local paper recycling plant in it!

[Darius Wey]

Thats a rather tidy looking desk you've got there, mind sharing how you do it, mine looks like someone has dropped the contents of the local paper recycling plant in it!

I'd say a lot of the techniques used to keep your computer's files and folders neat and tidy apply in the real world.

Organise your documents by getting some files and folders. If you have a lot of small notes lying around, get a small note holder. Have cables lying around? Stick them in a box or drawer. Throw away stuff you don't actually need. :)

[x51vuser]

.... plus buy a shredder ... one that handles also DVDs. After you rip them you do not need them ... :lol:

[Jon Westfall]

.... plus buy a shredder ... one that handles also DVDs. After you rip them you do not need them ... :lol:

Whoa... so that's the secret to thining down the shelves in my living room that have DVDs on them... Somehow I think my wife would be annoyed if I ripped all of her seasons of Stargate SG-1 and then just shredded the originals. The excuse "Hey Honey, they're all on this hard drive" wouldn't work... ;)

[Darius Wey]

Whoa... so that's the secret to thining down the shelves in my living room that have DVDs on them... Somehow I think my wife would be annoyed if I ripped all of her seasons of Stargate SG-1 and then just shredded the originals. The excuse "Hey Honey, they're all on this hard drive" wouldn't work... ;)

And if that hard drive ever dies, well then, you're in an even bigger mess. ;)

[signs]

I must agree. I have had the best experience using SlySoft's apps. The best attribute i felt when using them(besides the great quality output) was the exteme ease of use. Realy great Apps.
Also, thieir support is unmatched, here is why:
First I purchased AnyDVD and CLoneDVDMobile, thinking I would not need to get the CloneDVD. They sell them in bundles, the more you buy the less each app costs. So, after using PowerProducer2 for copying a dvd, I found the process to be extremely long, furthermore it did not allow me to customize the output size of the copy. CloneDVD lets you customize output size and the time it took to copy was extemely quick. So, I sent them an email letting them know how I regreted not adding CloneDVD to my initial purchase, where I would have saved in the bundled price, and they kindly sent me a coupon code that discounts $10 from the app price. Now that is support.

And now I am on a mission to let the world know, old and young, about these great apps. :lol:

[brianchris]

I had been eyeing these apps for some time, and this discount finally made me purchase them. Everyone is correct, THESE ARE GREAT APPS!

HOWEVER, I have one MAJOR head-scratcher with Clone DVD Mobile: despite selecting "Windows Mobile Smartphone" as the output type, it creates that video file in AVI format, which isn't a supported format in Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile......what am I doing wrong here? Thanks in advance!

[Jason Dunn]

...despite selecting "Windows Mobile Smartphone" as the output type, it creates that video file in AVI format, which isn't a supported format in Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile......what am I doing wrong here? Thanks in advance!

Sadnly, CloneDVD Mobile doesn't have WMV output support, so it uses AVI (probably Divx) for the Smartphone output. I haven't tried it myself though, so I'm not sure...

[brianchris]

...despite selecting "Windows Mobile Smartphone" as the output type, it creates that video file in AVI format, which isn't a supported format in Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile......what am I doing wrong here? Thanks in advance!

Sadnly, CloneDVD Mobile doesn't have WMV output support, so it uses AVI (probably Divx) for the Smartphone output. I haven't tried it myself though, so I'm not sure...

Thank you for replying Jason! I'm surprised you haven't tried going to a Windows Mobile device. As such though, one thing you may not be aware of is that "Windows Mobile Smartphone" IS a device listed in the first screen of CloneDVD Mobile, yet that setting outputs an AVI file, which is incompatible with default Windows Mobile applications. Why is this? Its really no different than having the PSP device setting creating a file incompatible with the PSP!! As I see it, they should either truly support Windows Mobile (as they claim to now, which means WMV), OR remove the "Windows Mobile Smartphone" as a device from their list.

[Jason Dunn]

I'm surprised you haven't tried going to a Windows Mobile device.

I use Video Vault (http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/articles.php?action=expand,10494) when I need WMV output, though it's a much uglier program that I'm not very fond of.

As such though, one thing you may not be aware of is that "Windows Mobile Smartphone" IS a device listed in the first screen of CloneDVD Mobile, yet that setting outputs an AVI file, which is incompatible with default Windows Mobile applications.

You're right, it is rather silly that they list it - though, I should point out that you can very likely play the file with TCPMP:

http://tcpmp.corecodec.org/download

There are much better video players out there than WMP 10 Mobile (which really sucks in a lot of ways).

I will raise this issue with Slysoft though, perhaps they'll adjust their software...

You seem a bit ticked off about this - did you buy the software thinking it would export to WMV?

[brianchris]

You seem a bit ticked off about this - did you buy the software thinking it would export to WMV?

One thing I need to say is that, my previous post was done in a hurry on my Pocket PC......I failed to mention in that post that I *love* the SlySoft products discussed here (especially AnyDVD), and can't imagine life without them now. I agree with you that they are very well coded and thought-out.

With that said however, it was even more confusing to me that a "Windows Mobile Smartphone" device was listed within CloneDVD Mobile, yet the resulting file was incompatible, with no further explanation or instruction. It made me feel like I was missing something obvious, doing something wrong.....surely others can appreciate that?

I'm convinced I missed it, but I never saw anything saying CloneDVD Mobile would NOT export to WMV, either on their product pages or the Digital Media Thoughts review (I'm sure links will follow). THEN, when I saw "Windows Mobile Smartphone" listed as an output device, I just got my hopes up (can you blame me)? I still can't shake the belief that there's some reason why its there......like the AVI file is prepped for screen size (and other ways) for a Windows Mobile device, and they (SlySoft) just recommends third party utility "X" to convert the resultant AVI to WMV, because SlySoft didn't want to pay royalties to Microsoft for the WMV format (or something like that).....its hard for me to believe the inclusion of the Windows Mobile Smartphone device was just a mistake.

Again, all this is not a deal breaker for me though......just really confusing. I'm still a happy registered owner of these great products, and would recommend them to anyone!

Thanks again for your reply!!

[DaleReeck]

I think I'd hold off on any trips to Thailand right now considering there's a coup de tat going on right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html

[Phillip Dyson]

I think I'd hold off on any trips to Thailand right now considering there's a coup de tat going on right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html

Dale, you beat me to the post. I just heard about it on the radio today while driving home from work.

It does appear to be a relatively peaceful coup. Ignoring all of the tanks in the streets.

[Off-Topic]

Jason, any effect on Mobius? Or other plans?

[/Off-Topic]

[DaleReeck]

I think I'd hold off on any trips to Thailand right now considering there's a coup de tat going on right now.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/19/thailand.coup.rumor/index.html

Dale, you beat me to the post. I just heard about it on the radio today while driving home from work.

It does appear to be a relatively peaceful coup. Ignoring all of the tanks in the streets.

[Off-Topic]

Jason, any effect on Mobius? Or other plans?

[/Off-Topic]

I didn't reallize he had already left until after I posted. Hopefully it will stay peaceful, but a military coup is rarely a good thing. I'd be surprised if Mobius would be business as usual - though the new leaders will try very hard to make it so, assuming they survive. Its unclear if the coup will "stick". But if the people don't sense anything is wrong, that their routine is unchanged, coups tend to go smoother.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I didn't reallize he had already left until after I posted. Hopefully it will stay peaceful, but a military coup is rarely a good thing. I'd be surprised if Mobius would be business as usual - though the new leaders will try very hard to make it so, assuming they survive. Its unclear if the coup will "stick". But if the people don't sense anything is wrong, that their routine is unchanged, coups tend to go smoother.

Jason's ok - Mobius is going forward as scheduled, and its very much business as usual. Thailand has a history of bloodless coups, and this one seems to have a lot of popular support.

[signs]

With that said however, it was even more confusing to me that a "Windows Mobile Smartphone" device was listed within CloneDVD Mobile, yet the resulting file was incompatible, with no further explanation or instruction. It made me feel like I was missing something obvious, doing something wrong.....surely others can appreciate that?

Same thing happened to me. I did a litte search to see what mobile players would support avi and then found TCPMP core plyer. A free download. And I have been a very happy camper ever since. The core player is realy great and I can view my DVDs on my kjam with great clarity. So, the quetion of why Slysoft did not support WMP, well like Jason said, "It Sucks"(WMP that is).
But, still they should have at least hinted on this to save me the 2 hour search I did.
Still, I love their products.
Also, The Core player is going to have an update soon, which will make it support even more files.

***long quote edited by moderator JD***

[brianchris]

Thanks! Do you have a link to the core player? All google links I could find time out (which makes me a bit nervous about the player's quality, etc.).

I'm not as upset about it not supporting WMV as I'm confused about Windows Mobile being listed as a device, yet the output format for that device is AVI (don't worry, if that doesn't make sense, I won't repeat it again). Incidentally, Slysoft tech support replied to this specific question of mine by saying that "some Windows Mobile devices support DivX and MP4," BUT even that doesn't explain why it outputs AVI!! :roll:

I've given up on an explanation, and just accepted it. As I said earlier, other than this minor point of confusion for me, its great software!

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Thanks! Do you have a link to the core player? All google links I could find time out (which makes me a bit nervous about the player's quality, etc.).


Probably because you're using the wrong search string - it should be "TCPMP". In any case, Jason posted a link right in his last post. In case you missed it here it is again:

http://tcpmp.corecodec.org/download

I just tested it, it works fine.

[Jason Dunn]

With that said however, it was even more confusing to me that a "Windows Mobile Smartphone" device was listed within CloneDVD Mobile, yet the resulting file was incompatible, with no further explanation or instruction. It made me feel like I was missing something obvious, doing something wrong.....surely others can appreciate that?

Oh yeah, I can absolutely understand where you're coming from - Slysoft is making it needlessly confusing, and it's unfair of them to list Windows Mobile Smartphones without also including SOMETHING about the export not being WMV. I think they're maybe just a bit too eager to add devices to their list without really thinking about it...I've emailed them to bring up this issue. No response as of yet.