Good For Video And Audio?

[J-Stik]

Continuing my look at the handheld, i've been wondering if the gp2x is good for video and audio? I've read that the gp2x runs Divx videos (.avi) which arn't really too small and convinient for the little SD cards. With the .avi's i would be able to fit about 3-4 hours of video, which also takes the space for audio and gaming. Is the video feature really that great on the gp2x?

And the same thing with audio, I don't think it would be particularily good for that either, again, because of it's space consumption. And for someone who likes to listen to long progressive rock, like myself, needs quite the amount of space that the gp2x doesn't really seem to support.

Do you guys use your gp2x for these tasks at all or just for the games (which, really is good enough, i'm just curious here). Do you guys use something to compress those videos or use any other method to cope with the space consumption, or should the gp2x be mainly used for gaming?

 

[Morpheus384]

Continuing my look at the handheld, i've been wondering if the gp2x is good for video and audio? I've read that the gp2x runs Divx videos (.avi) which arn't really too small and convinient for the little SD cards. With the .avi's i would be able to fit about 3-4 hours of video, which also takes the space for audio and gaming. Is the video feature really that great on the gp2x?

And the same thing with audio, I don't think it would be particularily good for that either, again, because of it's space consumption. And for someone who likes to listen to long progressive rock, like myself, needs quite the amount of space that the gp2x doesn't really seem to support.

Do you guys use your gp2x for these tasks at all or just for the games (which, really is good enough, i'm just curious here). Do you guys use something to compress those videos or use any other method to cope with the space consumption, or should the gp2x be mainly used for gaming?

GP2X For Video is Excellent!

I usually use "Pocketdivx" encoder, set to the iriver settings which are 320x240, which is the GP2X's native resolution. A huge amount of space can be saved since most divx/xvid files are scaled at 700/640 or higher for a much larger screen. It also cuts down on battery usage since when the rescaling chip is used it draws more power than the whole unit usually (the result is that battery life is cut in half).

By checking the advanced tab in "Pocketdivx" and clicking Xvid/HQV I can convert almost any divx,Xvid movie at 700 mb+ down to a 200 mb or less Xvid (avi), per movie. I get about 90 mb for an hour long show.

I leave 500 megs of space free on my 4 gb card just for video so I can carry a couple of full length movies, or a full length movie and 5-6 eps of southpark, family guy etc. etc.

The quality of the converted file on the GP2X is excellent/on par with the original movie file. And even if viewed with TVout using the recaling chip the quality on screen is commensurate with SVCD quality at this resolution.

For audio is space is a concern, convert your tracks to Ogg Vorbis. The sound quality is superior to MP3 and the file sizes are much smaller.

[edit: Typos]

 

[J-Stik]

For audio is space is a concern, convert your tracks to Ogg Vorbis. The sound quality is superior to MP3 and the file sizes are much smaller.

how do you convert the mp3's?

Oh and btw, thanks for the reply

[edit]

while i'm at it, and since this is related and i don't want to start a new topic, how is that tv out cable that you can get for the gp2x? Is it worth getting? And I heard that it's got some weird pluggins that us on the western hemisphere might have trouble with.

 

[Fishbong]

Don´t buy a GP2x, you´re not 1337 enough. Better buy a Harddisk PMP. It will have more space than the GP2X, but be inferior in any other way. But at least you won´t bug us with your stupid questions anymore.

I mean, you got to know if 4 GB is big enough for you and if you had any Video encoding skills, you´d know 1 GB is enough to store a full movie in DVD quality.

But you don´t; so go buy an Ipod Video.

 

[MiL0]

that's not very nice is it!


I'm new around here as well but imo the more people that buy and use the gp2x the better :]

 

[xiaorico]

i just got a gp2x yesterday and the tv out cable. There are the red and white rca cable things, both female, and some black cord, not sure what it is really. Search on the forums here for "tv-out" or something and you'll find out that there are some different ways to connect it to tvs. Also the cord is about 6 inches long so you'd probably want to get extension cables anyway.

 

[Shikaku]

The black thing is called S-Video

The TV-Out adapter is called an "ADAPTER," which means you will need cables for it...

 

[Morpheus384]

that's not very nice is it!


I'm new around here as well but imo the more people that buy and use the gp2x the better :]

I agree, its the elitist attitude shown by some Post Nazis here that is a real turnoff to both nubis and those folks willing to help out and answer some questions. Theres nothing about the GP2X that an average person that is willing to cannot learn. Being "1337" is not a prerequisite. Everyone can make a contribution to the scene.

When I first got my GP2X I had absolutely zero encoding skills, never used Xvid or Divx files, and had never used a Torrent Client. Thanks to helpful tutorials by Shikaku and others and a willingness to learn, figuring it all out took about 1 day......Wow I feel 1337 now! <_<

Either be constructive and answer the question, or show folks how to find it for themselves; Otherwise, for the love of God....... just SHUT THE F#@K UP!

 

[J-Stik]

1337? what the hell?

Well whatever, what are Ogg files you were talking about? How do you convert mp3's into ogg's?

 

[GPM2k6]

There's commercial programs out there for Windows that convert mp3 to ogg. But there's some free ones that do a good job as well, just don't expect official customer support.

Download -> http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlmp3ogglab.html
Works good, and is pretty easy to use.

If you lower the bitrate, the file becomes smaller, and since it's ogg format, the loss of quality is hardly noticeable.

Enjoy

-----

Oh and as for 1337 , that means elite, it's "gamer/hacker" talk , or at least it was (you use #s instead of some or all letters, for example 1 5p34k 1337)... If you're still confused about it, then it's just another number.

 

[LordFu]

mp3 and ogg are both "lossy" codecs, meaning that if you convert an mp3 to ogg it sounds like crap. You'll want to rip your cds into ogg, though. It save a lot of space.

 

[Morpheus384]

1337? what the hell?

Well whatever at what are Ogg files you were talking about? How do you convert mp3's into ogg's?

"1337" or-"Elite" is geek speak for someone with above average computer skills in a given field, usually hacking or coding etcetera. Dont feel bad about not knowing about the term. I myself detest the term, as the people who use it to describe themselves usually have a stick so far up their butt their tasting hickory...lol
[edit:Sorry GMP2k6 I didn't see you'd already answered this one]

Thanx GPM2k6 for the input, That is an excellent conversion program.


LordFu is quite right about converting mp3s to ogg. I had ripped my cds to mp3 and after I learned about ogg and my GP2X ,I re ripped them to ogg to save space and to have in my opinion, better sound quality.

 

[LordFu]

Oh yeah, and the GP2X rocks for video, too. Use PocketDivX, like Morpheus384 said, to re-encode your DVDs and downloaded videos, using the iRiver template. The videos look great and play flawlessly.

I probably use my GP2X 70/30, video and music / games. It's possibly the cheapest way to get DivX and XviD on your tv, and it's a great little digital juke-box when hooked up to your stereo or car.

I use Easy CD/DA Extractor for ripping CDs into Ogg/Vorbis. There's a 30 day free trial on download.com.

And ignore the forum Nazis.

 

[J-Stik]

i decided to fool around with the mp3 2 ogg lab 2004 you guys linked me to and when i convert the mp3, where does the ogg end up?? I've checked the directories in the mp3 2 ogg lab and i can't find them anywhere.

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

Don´t buy a GP2x, you´re not 1337 enough. Better buy a Harddisk PMP. It will have more space than the GP2X, but be inferior in any other way. But at least you won´t bug us with your stupid questions anymore.

I mean, you got to know if 4 GB is big enough for you and if you had any Video encoding skills, you´d know 1 GB is enough to store a full movie in DVD quality.

But you don´t; so go buy an Ipod Video.

That really was NOT a very helpful reply, we don't need to scare people away with attitude. The guy asked a real question and you gave him abuse. Try to be a little more helpful in future please.

 

[Aninhumer]

I guess what fishbong was trying to say (In a rather foul way):
If you only intend to use the media functions, a dedicated PMP is probably a better idea. It is likely to have more storage space and battery life. (Although perhaps not TV-Out)
However if you intend to use games as well, get a gp2x.

Fishbong:
His questions were all perfectly valid, and I would only ever use 1337 as a compliment.
Until recently, I didn't know anything about video encoding. It doesn't help people trying to learn if you just insult them.
What's more the iPod Video isn't as good for video (Bad battery life).

 

[gaterooze]

I agree, the GP2X is actually a good learning tool for several things.

 

[Fishbong]

Don´t buy a GP2x, you´re not 1337 enough. Better buy a Harddisk PMP. It will have more space than the GP2X, but be inferior in any other way. But at least you won´t bug us with your stupid questions anymore.

I mean, you got to know if 4 GB is big enough for you and if you had any Video encoding skills, you´d know 1 GB is enough to store a full movie in DVD quality.

But you don´t; so go buy an Ipod Video.

That really was NOT a very helpful reply, we don't need to scare people away with attitude. The guy asked a real question and you gave him abuse. Try to be a little more helpful in future please.

I am very sorry to have overestimated your sense for irony. It won´t happen again. Sorry.

 

[Draken]

I am very sorry to have overestimated your sense for irony. It won´t happen again. Sorry.

Yes, you are a bad boy, don't do it again. :rolleyes:

On topic:

I encode my videos to 300 - 400kb/s bitrate. I get 50mb for 1 episode of Family Guy for example.
I have a 2gig sd card so that leaves a lot of place for video and enough for audio and games.

As for audio, I usually don't bother reencoding, not worth the trouble imo.

 

[Moonchild]

I think it's really pretty easy to learn to encode your videos and such like, I use my Archos for media but it's the same premise as encoding for the GP2x, there are a lot of people here that are always ready to help. TV-Harmony actually encodes for GP2x, but that stopped working on my laptop for some reason. Pocketdivx is the best encoder for handheld media devices anyway.