Video File Size.....Size Matters!!

Idwadi · 02-10-05, 01:33 PM

I have been working on placing movies to my Axim X50V.
I have taken some of my favorites and shrunk them with DVDshrink.
After this process I use the Pocket divx encoder to encode them.
The result is a file that is, in one case 331Mb, the other is 779Mb.I used 320x240 format for size. everything else was textbook.

Quality and sound are great and I will play them on a Beta player.

Questions:
1. Is there a way to get these files even smaller?
2. Does that file size sound right/ballpark?
3. What size card do most of you use and how many movies can I
get on 1?
4. Can movies be loaded directly into memory? Pros/Cons.
5. How are the movies loaded onto the card?

Please answer in the above formatted style so I can understand.
Thanks

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idwadi

I have been working on placing movies to my Axim X50V.
I have taken some of my favorites and shrunk them with DVDshrink.
After this process I use the Pocket divx encoder to encode them.
The result is a file that is, in one case 331Mb, the other is 779Mb.I used 320x240 format for size. everything else was textbook.

Quality and sound are great and I will play them on a Beta player.

Questions:
1. Is there a way to get these files even smaller?
2. Does that file size sound right/ballpark?
3. What size card do most of you use and how many movies can I
get on 1?
4. Can movies be loaded directly into memory? Pros/Cons.
5. How are the movies loaded onto the card?

Please answer in the above formatted style so I can understand.
Thanks

Sounds like you got it working anyway. That is a good start. I would recomend using FairUse and follow the FairUse Walkthrough It will allow you to tell it what size you want to limit the output movie to. It will also let you go form DVD to .avi in one step. This is then ofcouse played on BetaPlayer. As far as size goes you can make them what ever you want. Just keep in mind the bigger the size the better the quality. Most people have been using a rule of thumb around 100MB per 30 min of video. You can also change the sound to 96 and save some space that way. I limit mine to 240MB and think they are more then good enough for the Axim.

I use a 1GB SD card for my movies, Music, and Pictures. Depending on the size of the movie you make you can fit 1-5 I would say. I have two on there at all times. That leaves lots of room for music and stuff.

I don't think you should put the movies into memory. They would be to big for starters. Even if you could there would not be any room left for programs and stuff. Use a memory card.

For getting them on the card. You can use ActiveSync and explore to the SD folder and copy them in there. This will take much longer then if you just use a external card reader. That is what I do and a 300MB movie is transfered in less then a min.

Keep playing around and give FairUse a try. I have not seen anything that is as easy anywhere else. Have fun!

Adam

PS - If you search this site there are lots of threads on the subject as well. There are also some good info under the resources tab at the top there.

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 03:15 PM

I have put together a very easy and simple guide that takes you through the entire process to convert a DVD to your handheld. It includes FairUse Wizard LE. Plus, it adds the first step you need to know about DVD Decrypter.

Converting a DVD using FairUse Wizard LE

Excerpt: I have been in search of the simplest and easiest way to take a DVD and make a video that is viewable on a portable device, such as a Palm OS5 device or a Pocket PC device. So far in my search, I have come across a very simple way to take a DVD and make a video that is viewable on a handheld that only requires approximately 242 MB.

Best regards,
Lance

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 03:21 PM

Nice walkthrough, just wondering why you used DvdDecrypter first? I have always just used FairUse without creating an .iso file. Worked every time. Is there some bennifet I don't know about. Thanks~

Adam

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyACL

Nice walkthrough, just wondering why you used DvdDecrypter first? I have always just used FairUse without creating an .iso file. Worked every time. Is there some bennifet I don't know about. Thanks~

Adam

Here are a few:

You can queue several movies at a time using ISO files.
Just keeps your DVD player busy for about 20-30 minutes instead of keeping it busy throughout the conversion process.
Overall, it speeds up the entire process. Note: This is just from casual observation. I might need to conduct a proper test to verify this.

Thanks,
Lance

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lwehrung

Here are a few:

You can queue several movies at a time using ISO files.
Just keeps your DVD player busy for about 20-30 minutes instead of keeping it busy throughout the conversion process.
Overall, it speeds up the entire process. Note: This is just from casual observation. I might need to conduct a proper test to verify this.

Thanks,
Lance

Intersting, I will have to do some checking to be sure. But I know I have queued(sp?) several files in FairUse before. And I beleive the DVD only needs to be in the player during that first "scan" and that is only about 10 min. But I will have to check. I have no idea on the speed. FairUse usually takes about 45 min to do a two hour movie on my computer.

Seems like they are both good ways. Guess I just like the "one step" process of FairUse. Thanks for the info~

Adam

jhennig · 02-10-05, 04:19 PM

Fair Use is HAWT! I'm using it right now... finally a good converter!

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lwehrung

Here are a few:

You can queue several movies at a time using ISO files.
Just keeps your DVD player busy for about 20-30 minutes instead of keeping it busy throughout the conversion process.
Overall, it speeds up the entire process. Note: This is just from casual observation. I might need to conduct a proper test to verify this.

Thanks,
Lance

You learn something new everyday. Thanks for calling me on this one.

I plead ignorance. As I said in my guide, I am not an expert. After I looked deeper into this, my reasons for using DVD Decrypter are invalid. THERE IS NO NEED TO USE DVD DECRYPTER. FairUse Wizard LE decrypts the movie and copies the necessary information from the DVD when it builds the index. Thus, the movie does not need to be decrypted before opened with FairUse. In addition, after the index is built, FairUse no longer needs to read any information from the DVD. Anyway, I apologize for missing the mark on this. I plan on updating the article accordingly.

Embarrassed,
Lance

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 04:28 PM

Don't worry about it. It is a great walkthrough. If I remember right you are not the first one to use the decrypter first. I just never understood why. I figured I was missing something. But, because I had my system that worked I didn't want to try and change anything.

Now, if you want to make it up

I have another thread on converting a .tivo file to .mpg and I can't seem to get it to work.

Take care~

Adam

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyACL

Don't worry about it. It is a great walkthrough. If I remember right you are not the first one to use the decrypter first. I just never understood why. I figured I was missing something. But, because I had my system that worked I didn't want to try and change anything.

Now, if you want to make it up

I have another thread on converting a .tivo file to .mpg and I can't seem to get it to work.

Take care~

Adam

Well, I have not had to do the conversion, but I would start with this...

Converting .tivo -> .mpg without Sonic

Original Article Reference by First Link

I really imagine you have already figured it out from the

at the end of your note, but you did save me some time with my DVD conversion.

Take care,
Lance

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 05:57 PM

Thanks for the links, I have tried that route using the second link. But it is a little out of my league. The fist link has the same procedure but may do a better job with the set up. Maybe I will give it a try again. Thanks~

Adam

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 06:10 PM

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Lance

eugchen · 02-10-05, 06:35 PM

fairuse is the bomb...i use roughly 400MB per 100min of video

FlyACL · 02-10-05, 07:15 PM

I am sure they turn out good. Like I said before I have had fine results with a two hour movie under 240MB if you are intersted in saving space.

lwehrung · 02-10-05, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyACL

I am sure they turn out good. Like I said before I have had fine results with a two hour movie under 240MB if you are intersted in saving space.

I agree. Of course, this is very subjective. I know people that have been happy with a movie that would fit on a 128 MB memory card. Personally, I try to convert most movies at 484 MB. The only ones that are a little less ideal for me are the 3 hour movies (i.e. Lord of the Rings series). Then, if the movie is in full-screen, they need a little more memory for my taste. Anyway, I think the 242 MB mark for a two-hour movie at a 96kbps audio bit rate is a good place to start for most people. Just another two cents...

Take care,
Lance