Anyone Able To Watch A Full Movie/tv Show?


evilsaywhat

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Nov 6, 2005
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I thought all October machines would be shipped by yesterday but I've yet to get an email stating mine has shipped (replaced my order on Oct. 31.)

I've read so many threads on here about people having problems with the machine crashing or losing sync while playing video. Now, I know I expected to wait a bit for good emulation to come on the machine, but as it's marketed, I did expect to have pretty stable media playing abilities right out of the box.

Just about all the tv shows I download are in Xvid. I don't download a lot of movies, but those that I do, and also those that I like to keep "on demand" are also encoded in Xvid at various resolutions. Many things have been said about video only playing for a minute or so before crashing and also that shows encoded in Xvid lose sync etc... Would people with their machines please post some detailed accounts of what they've been experiencing?

While I'm sure I'll love the emulation soon, I'm really looking forward to the media functions of the unit. I don't have much time to watch TV shows when they come on, so I normally download what I want to watch, then view them when I have the time. Right now I'm looking for mainly a media player which is why I'm not that worried about waiting for the emulators to come (but emulators are a major benefit over the PSP). I know that on the GP2X that when it is working properly, I should be able to just put any video file on an SD card and view it on the machine without having to transcode the file, which is a plus...but with being able to have pspvideo9 and Videora automatically convert my torrented videos into psp-viewable format, the GP2X loses a little bit of its edge.

If the firmware on the machine right now was production-stable I'm sure I'd love it. I'm starting to debate if it was a good idea to spend $230 (1-2day delivery included) on the GP2X. I know good emulators are coming, but I'd like to at least be able to watch video files right now. I can pick up a used PSP for $165 anytime I want. I guess I'm just starting to doubt my purchase thanks to all the negative stuff I've been reading on here.

With the current firmware, what kind of "video playing" performance can/should be expected from the machined I'm likely (hopefully?) to be receiving this week?
 
I cannot say anything for sure, but I do believe DivX videos play excellently. XviD has had reported problems, but you can get around that be re-encoding the video.

PocketDivXEncoder: Encode videos designed for handhelds /
http://divx.ppccool.com/

At any rate, XviD support WILL be improved. So if you don't mind re encoding videos until that happens, you're all set.

Encoding time depends on the PC. While its never "on demand", it is fairly quick on newer PCs.
 
I had two AVI files

320x240
Audio:
51 seconds
24 kbps audio
Mpeg layer-3
Video:
29 frames per second
110 kbps data rate
24bit video sample size
DivX codec video compression

Runs perfectly without a problem
The other....

400x300
Audio:
2 minutes 11seconds
127 kbps audio
Mpeg layer-3
Video:
30 frames per second
87 kbps data rate
24bit video sample size
XVID video compression

is a bit on the wonky side. it played a few times but now seems to crash every time within 10 or 30 seconds of starting... although this could be because I've been using the MP3 Player sporatically for a couple of hours wearing down the batteries.
 
Anyone using PocketDivXEncoder? What settings are you using? Am I correct in saying that it looks like this program is capable of increasing the volume of a video file? Is it easier to use or better than AutoGK and VDUB?
 
I cannot say anything for sure, but I do believe DivX videos play excellently. XviD has had reported problems, but you can get around that be re-encoding the video.

PocketDivXEncoder: Encode videos designed for handhelds /
http://divx.ppccool.com/

At any rate, XviD support WILL be improved. So if you don't mind re encoding videos until that happens, you're all set.

Encoding time depends on the PC. While its never "on demand", it is fairly quick on newer PCs.
is that a really good program? Ive never been a real video-on-a-handheld man, so i dont really know.
 
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is that a really good program? Ive never been a real video-on-a-handheld man, so i dont really know.

I have no idea. I have only heard several people reccommend it. It also seems to be designed for this type of application. Something that is designed for application A and application A alone seems to always work better than something that is designed for applications A, B, and C.
 
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Still recommending Avidemux, myself. Converts films zippily, with average show episodes (20min) taking five minutes or so to convert. Feature films take perhaps a half hour, and I can still actually browse the internet.
 
There is another program Iriverter recommended by someone i cant remember, works pretty well and u can create a new profile for ur GP2X.
 
as sayd many times, i didnt have a single crash yet, only problem i have is that some xvids are totaly out of sync.
All crash issues seem to be bad battery related to me.
 
Watched 2 (actually 3) xvids
640x272 25fps (PAL), mpeg 3 stereo 44.1Khz
592x320 23.98 (NTSC), mpeg 3 stereo 48Khz

Both worked like a charm, the movies crashed now and then when I was using weaker batteries though.

Can't wait to get myself a tv-out cable and try them on my TV.
 
Still recommending Avidemux, myself. Converts films zippily, with average show episodes (20min) taking five minutes or so to convert. Feature films take perhaps a half hour, and I can still actually browse the internet.

if this is for linux, you should create a guide on how to convert videos with the program, and post it here: link to guide thread because i have no idea how to work with linux.

in addition, if anyone has guides for any of the programs mentioned, post them there as well.

just trying to get a guide scene going in the support forums.
 
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Pocket Divx Encoder (PDE) is the dogs proverbials, Just download it and give it a try, Oh, and it`s fast, Has a preview, Realtime video resize, Volume +/-, Predicted filesize, batch conversion, Oh and its fast.

Everything i have run through PDE has worked flawlessly (only have a 512MB SD card atm :().

EDIT: Missed an "s" :rolleyes:.

Trooper
 
Anyone using PocketDivXEncoder? What settings are you using? Am I correct in saying that it looks like this program is capable of increasing the volume of a video file? Is it easier to use or better than AutoGK and VDUB?
I'm using it because it's so damned easy and the output works without a hitch on my GP2X. And yes, you can boost the sound. Here's a screenie:

pocketdivx.gif
 
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With the current firmware, what kind of "video playing" performance can/should be expected from the machined I'm likely (hopefully?) to be receiving this week?

Very crashy at present for me, even with fresh batteries. However the place isn't consistent, so its not like its the codec not understanding part of the file. Machine in general is stable for _hours_ after video related crashes so I don't think its just batteries. It can't take _that_ much more current! Well it can, but it shouldn't... Might grab my ammeter and test!

I've not updated the firmware though. I believe there is a kernel.img patch - is that worth grabbing? Any howtos?

Mark
 
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Pocket Divx Encoder (PDE) is the dogs proverbials, Just download it and give it a try, Oh, and it`s fast, Has a preview, Realtime video resize, Volume +/-, Predicted filesize, batch conversion, Oh and its fast.

Everything i have run through PDE has worked flawlessly (only have a 512MB SD card atm :().

EDIT: Missed an "s" :rolleyes:.

Trooper
I found on every file i encoded the sound was out of sync by a fraction. I tryed playing them on my pc/pda/gp2x so its not a 2x only problem, seems to be pocketdivxencoder.

It is very very fast though!
 
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Pocket Divx Encoder (PDE) is the dogs proverbials, Just download it and give it a try, Oh, and it`s fast, Has a preview, Realtime video resize, Volume +/-, Predicted filesize, batch conversion, Oh and its fast.

Everything i have run through PDE has worked flawlessly (only have a 512MB SD card atm :().

EDIT: Missed an "s" :rolleyes:.

Trooper
I found on every file i encoded the sound was out of sync by a fraction. I tryed playing them on my pc/pda/gp2x so its not a 2x only problem, seems to be pocketdivxencoder.

It is very very fast though!

i've been having that trouble too..
 
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Thumbs up for PDE from me too

I could with not being so over-zealous with the resizing though (350Mb to 74Mb) the sounds not the best.

What sizes are you going for?
 
This is one of the most major selling points over the PSP, unfortunately this doesn't sound great if you have to re-encode all your movies. But claiming the gp2x as a portable and flexible movie player is not good idea until the firmware is patched or a divx\xvid player is developed. And why would you want TV out if the movies are a pain in the arse to play.
 
I just pick the profile (in PDE) that is nearest to the device i want to watch the video on (PocketPC in the GP2x`s case) and just keep the default quality that PDE sets. I just tweak the volume and resize the resolution using the change button.

As for file size, Depends on what i want to cram on the SD card in question.

Trooper
 
I've had trouble off and on, but every time I've checked the battery meter afterwards its said they've been empty.

That said, I've only been doing brief tests of video capability; no long journeys where I need it as yet.
 
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