Please Help With Regards To Video

[martymcfly]

Hey, i would be very grateful if somebody could help me with regards to video.
I don't have a dvd drive that works at the moment, so i can't rip my own dvds. Instead i decided to just use afew axxo ones i had. However, i loaded them onto an sd card , and the divx wasnt recongnised(even though the gp2x box says it plays divx and xvid!)
So i decided to convert it to a lower file size using VeMODE (which i didn't want to do, i mean i wanted to tv-out a full size file!)
ANyways, the lower size file now works on the gp2x, but the sound is out of sync by about a second! Iv played this file on the pc and the sync is fine.
My question is: why won't the original file work in the first place?
My second is: why does the new converted file play, but with lapsed audio.
And my final question is: does anybody have a nice easy converter that will convert but not screw up sync?

I'm sorry as i know this is a long post, but any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Blah]

People say to use something like PocketDivx (set to Iriver mode).

I use virtualdub, its a bit more complex.

 

[martymcfly]

Okay i used pocketdivx and now the audio is in sync. However, it sounds much lower quality, even though i set it as the hightest quality possible. Through the gp2x speakers it sounds much more tinny (headphones aren't too bad tho)
Any suggestions for a perfect result? I'm willing to do whatever it takes?

Edit: i need a way to keep a regular size, and good quality for tv out, that will play. Tv out on these smaller files looks absolutly dog ugly. Please help i'm getting very stressed, this is why i wanted a gp2x!

 

[Blah]

Well I've never actually used PocketDivx, but I guess you could try a different mode.

 

[martymcfly]

Thanks for the advice.
Nah what i mean is, a way to make my divx's that for some reason won't play, so that they will play, in sync. Basically, i need somebody who plays videos on their gp2x tv-out in good quality, to explain how they do it? I'm really frustrated, i assumed it would jus play divx fine, like it said on the box:-(

 

[Blah]

Well for a high-bitrate file you need a fast SD card.

 

[PokeParadox]

If you are wanting quality vs filesize, your best bet is to read up on encoding.
Doom9 Have some nice walkthrough guides.
I'd also suggest you look up Gordian knot. It's not as easy as things like I imagine Pocket DivX would be... but you shouldn't have a problem with file quality if you do things correctly.
I think AutoGordianKnot would be easier to use but I've never used that either.

 

[martymcfly]

I have a fast one, its a sandisk ultra 2.
How do any of you guys get good results? I mean the bos says it plays divx, so why won't it play mine? and iv seen youtube videos of tv out with high quality video on a gp2x...so how do you get those results? I'm annoyed that the gp2x is supposed to play the file, AND upscale it for tv so it looks great, but i can't get the file to work in the first place!?

 

[PokeParadox]

Some videos are encoded at too high a bitrate and this can cost in performance playback.
Make sure you use the "full" mode when you are playing back your videos.
If you are planning to watch on the LCD resize the video to 320x240 as the scaler draws more power. (You'll also save space)

Another problem is the feature-set of the XVID/DIVX video. I can't remember which advanced features cause problems, but try disabling things like GMC QPEL.

 

[martymcfly]

Sorry, i don't usually make my own film files you see. Films i want to just watch on gp2x i have sorted out fine: Pocketdivx works a treat, files is 300 meg.
However this is useless for tv-out, which i spent alot of money on extra cables for etc.
Is there a way to make my divx files that don't seem to play, convert them into something that will play(its plugged into the wall anyway) with audio in sync and no stuttering, and output to tv out so it looks good quality? (i.e convert them to be playable, but still same size/quality)This is my main goal, and i can't find any info anywhere. Does anybody actually use tv-out to watch films?

 

[martymcfly]

ah well i'm off to bed, looks like the gp2x can't do what i wanted it to do after all...3 hours searchin and no luck :-( i'm close to throwin it out the window

 

[PokeParadox]

Did you make sure that the player is in "full" mode?

 

[ViperKnight]

Try disabling "B-Vops" or "B-Frames". It tends to have sync problems on portable devices
Also make sure that the audio is 44100hz (44.1khz). I don't know exactly how the GP2X video player is coded, but if it doesn't have anything to resample the audio frequency then the sound will go faster or slower than the movie.

I haven't actually got a GP2X yet.....but I'm saving my pennies cos it sounds like a sweet piece of hardware

 

[martymcfly]

Hey guys thanks for the replies, its much appreciated.
I have already found an encoder to make smaller files with in-sync audio to watch just on the gp2x.
What i want to know is how to convert my divx files which wont play(although the box says its supported!), into a file that WILL play, around about the same size and quality(i.e space isn't an issue, 700 meg is fine!)
This is so i can take films to my gfs and watch them on the tv without poor quality.

 

[PokeParadox]

So the current file WON'T play at all? What is it's file extension? I can see what you want to do but you are not giving me enough info to help you do it.
DivX file will work but you have to rename the extension to AVI if I remember.

If it is an AVI file then it might not necessarily be in DivX or XVid format... it could be an MJPEG AVI or some other weird format.

Anyway let us know what actually happens when you try to play the video with as much detail as possible otherwise we are walking in the dark trying to help you... :S

 

[Vimacs]

it could be that your original files use ac3 or some other unsuported audio codec, try if it works with mp2x.

 

[Fishbong]

Hey guys thanks for the replies, its much appreciated.
I have already found an encoder to make smaller files with in-sync audio to watch just on the gp2x.
What i want to know is how to convert my divx files which wont play(although the box says its supported!), into a file that WILL play, around about the same size and quality(i.e space isn't an issue, 700 meg is fine!)
This is so i can take films to my gfs and watch them on the tv without poor quality.

Whoah there, calm down.
The GP2X can play videos with high resolution and quality, provided that the video hasn´t an unreasonably high bitrate. Also even if your video file is encoded with XviD or DivX, it can still be incompatible because it contains an unsupported audio stream like wma or ac3. You can reencode an incompatibe file without loosing much quality to make it compatible, but pocketdivx is not suitable for this as its meant to encode videos for small screens and low resolutions.

I would suggest you download VirtualDub and use it to determine what video/audio codecs your file contains (File->Properties). Then reencode the stream that is not compatible (compatible audio streams are wav, mp3 and ogg) to ogg or mp3 but make sure you use a constant bitrate (CBR) or else the audio might be out of sync.

If only the audio stream is incompatible, you shouldn´t reencode the video stream, it lowers the quality and takes time. Just enable direct stream copy (Video->Direct stream copy)

If the video stream is also incompatible, i suggest you reencode the whole movie with multipass encoding. (read up on it on Doom9.org) it keeps the file small and the bitrate low without lowering the quality.

 

[martymcfly]

Hey guys thanks for all the info, iv slept on it and i am abit calmer. Basically, its an axxo dvd rip. (divx)
Its has an ac3 audio track i have discovered, as do every single one of my dvd rips. I didn't realise this would be an issue. Thanks for letting me know it is.
What you said made alot of sense fishbong (thanks to the other guys as well!)
I am having abit of trouble converting just the audio into mp3 instead of ac3.
Can you help me just alittle bit more? If its a quick process and the video stays the same, i will be very happy! This community rocks.

Edit: iv selected video, and direct stream copy. But now i am at a loss at what to do next to encode a video with mp3 sound. Also, will i lose the original file?

 

[Vimacs]

try if your files play decently with mp2x http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi?0,0,0,0,6,1679
first before wasting your time re encoding the audio.

And in case you have to/want to reencode your audio i made a little batch file that reencodes the audio as 128kbps cbr mp3 using mencoder for you.
Just extract the two files and drag your file onto the target.bat, it will produce a filename.mp3.avi
http://vimacs.homelinux.org/x2lame.zip

You can also create a shortcut to the target.bat inside of c:\documents and settings \%username%\sendto for easynes of use, you can then just rightclock on any (video) file and select sendto > name of shortcut and it will change the audio codec to mp3 for you.

 

[martymcfly]

Thanks thats really nice of you, is there any way i can repay you?
I don't think that alternate media player will handle ac3 audio but ill give it a go.
One question i do have is, how come pocketdivx does fantastic video, but makes the audio tinny and muffled, even on the highest quality? Its annoying when i don't want to use headphones, as dialogue can't be made out.
(i am using the pocketpc option)
Edit: i tried the program you made for me and nothing happens...no new file is made. A dos window opens for a second too fast to see, but thats it.
Edit again: Thanks that alternate media player works a treat! Now i just need to fix the tinny audio when i convert files to a lower setting.