Video Confusion And Mame Concerns

[daybreaker01]

Hi all! I just got my MKII the other day and have spent hours trying to figure it all out. While I think I have most of it down, I am still puzzled with the video playback and issues with the MAME emulator.

First off, I was under the impression that the GP2X played several different video formats. In reading here it seems as though DIVX and Xvid are the only ones supported. So I downloaded the DIVX package with the registered converter and all plus the PLATO DVD to DIVX ripper. I ripped a DVD using PLATO and copied the files to the SD card in the Movies folder and they seem to work fine. Then I took an AVI file of a full movie and copied it over. It would not show in the list on the GP2X. I went back and ran that movie throught the DIVX converter. After a couple of hours I now had the DIVX file which played fine on my PC. When I brought it over to the GP2X it still would not show in the file list. Next I renamed the file with an AVI extension. On the GP2X it now showed in the list but when I try to play it is says the file format is not yet supported. Obviously I am missing something here. I thought it was a relatively easy thing to do to get video on the unit but now I am having doubts.

Second, I have the MAME emulator installed. When I add new rom files to the ROMS folder I only see a few of them that I added. They just don't show up in the list. I have a few thousand rom files, not all on the card, of which I know the ones that work on my PC emulator. Some of them, however, just won't show up on the GP2X. Is there some step I have overlooked in geting them to play? I know if I putz around with it long enough I will figure it out but with all the experts here I figured I should ask.

By the way, thanks to all of the developers out there who are making such wonderful stuff for this platform. You guys rock!

 

[woboton]

AVI is just the file container. there are a wide range of video formats that files within it can contain. i rip and encode in mpeg4 video format, and mp3 for sound, and AVI works great for me. you could try re-encoding the file and i expect it will work OK.

as for MAME, you're probably using a newer ROM set, especially if you took it off your PC. strange but true, you need a ROM set that matches your MAME version, which is 0.34 and some from 0.35b work as well, apparently, but i haven't tried that yet.

http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/MAME_GP2X

you may be able to convert your ROM set if you follow the instructions for ClrMAME at this link.

 

[daybreaker01]

AVI is just the file container. there are a wide range of video formats that files within it can contain. i rip and encode in mpeg4 video format, and mp3 for sound, and AVI works great for me. you could try re-encoding the file and i expect it will work OK.

Thanks! I guess I'm just a bit confused still. I tried an MP4 file that I had played on another portable device and it did not work on the gp2x. When you say you encode Mpeg4 with mp3 sound and AVI works great for you, what exactly do you mean? Is the file mpeg4 or avi when it's on the gp2x? And what do you use to encode? Will the apps I have already do what needs to be done?

As for the MAME, I'm downloading another set of roms to see if they work any better. If not I will try the convert. But in looking at it there seem to be plenty of sources to get the correct ones already.

 

[woboton]

Thanks! I guess I'm just a bit confused still. I tried an MP4 file that I had played on another portable device and it did not work on the gp2x. When you say you encode Mpeg4 with mp3 sound and AVI works great for you, what exactly do you mean? Is the file mpeg4 or avi when it's on the gp2x? And what do you use to encode? Will the apps I have already do what needs to be done?

As for the MAME, I'm downloading another set of roms to see if they work any better. If not I will try the convert. But in looking at it there seem to be plenty of sources to get the correct ones already.

i'm personally using handbrake ripper/encoder on the mac. anyway, to clarify, the file produced should have a .avi file extension but if you change an .mp4 or .mpeg file extension to .avi then it won't work. what you require is an encoder that will encode these formats and write out a file with a .avi extension.

i know, it makes little sense, but that's the way it is! AVI isn't a file format, it's just a file extension encompassing many formats, but it has header information that must be a particular way. i'm getting beyond myself a bit here...

you've got the right idea with MAME though. wink wink

 

[Samba Pa Ti]

i suggest using the xvid codec for the video files (its free and superior to divx) could use virtualdub to convert videos to this format or autogk or super (if you run windows)

theres some scripts for using with virtualdub on the archive and they are pretty good for reducing the file size (if you want to watch on the 2x screen) http://archive.gp2x.de/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi?0,0,0,0,15,1957

Edit just tried this again to get some numbers, not bad for a 2 hour movie $$

file used : hunt for red october 1GB avi (xvid rip from my own dvd)
Total time estimated : 39 minutes
projected filesize : 150MB