By Stevenator65

Judging from the huge amount of posts in the Multimedia forum here on Aximsite, it’s obvious that playing movies on the pocket pc is extremely popular and confusing.  There are several tutorials posted, and many, many questions as to how to best convert DVDs for viewing on a pocket pc.  According to Spb, 50% of pocket pc users watch movies on their pocket pcs.  I imagine more would do so if the process didn’t intimidate them.  Enter Spb Mobile DVD.  According to them, it’s possible to convert a two-hour movie in as little as 20 minutes, they offer a real time preview, an easy to use interface and more.  As a veteran of movie conversion, I’m skeptical.  Let’s go to the Stevenator65 labs and check this out.

Installation
This was a breeze.  It installs to your computer, not your pocket pc.  This is, after all, a desktop app.  The minimum computer requirement is: Spb Mobile DVD is compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. In order to perform conversion of DVD discs, a DVD drive along with up-to-date drivers and software is required.

I barely make it.  I’m running Windows 2000 on a AMD Athlon XP 2100 processor with a ½ Gig of Ram.  My pocket pc is a Dell Axim x50v 2003se.  My computer is on the slow end of today’s market, so I expect to be on the slow end of the results scale.

Installation also includes InterActual Player, which plays the movies on the movie preview screen.

Converting My First DVD
The first movie I convert should be a special one.  Which movie should I pick?  I got it!  Cool as Ice, with Vanilla Ice!  “Drop that zero and get with the hero!”  Just kidding.  I chose SeaBiscuit.  I read the book and loved it.  I’m taking the family to Disney World in a couple weeks, so I hope this works well.  I’m concerned about copy protection.  This movie is from 2003, and some of the newer movies have tougher protection schemes, but I can’t test that many movies.  That will come in time.

Step 1 Convert DVD or Video
The first screenshot shows that we can choose between converting a DVD or video.  I chose DVD.

Step 2 DVD Settings
Next, we will choose our DVD settings.  This picture shows the movie preview window loading the movie.

We can change language or add subtitles if we want.  I chose to just play the movie in the preview window.

The funny part is, you actually have to take your mouse and press Play in the preview window.  I didn’t realize that at first.  It took me several restarts to figure that out.  Once you press Play, the Next button activates.

Step 3 Choose Video Portion to Convert
Now we are ready to choose the video portion to convert.  You can convert individual chapters or the entire movie.  I chose the entire movie.

Step 4 File Format and Resolution
Then we are asked to choose the File Format and Resolution.  You can see from my screenshot that there are four options here. 

Why did I choose those?  Well, the first two are because I use TCPMP and I have a vga screen.  The 3^rd I chose b/c it looked better on the preview screen.  Same with the fourth.  That is the true beauty of the preview screen.  You can see what your picture will look like BEFORE you convert it!