[KevMiami]

After weeks of playing with different software, reading mis-leading or incomplete posts of settings, I have finally arrived at a solution that allows me to consistently watch full length movies of very good quality on my Treo650 without ANY A/V sync issues (Secret is splitting avi into six parts using AviSplit; then MMPlayer plays them all together ). I'm sure there are other software/settings/combinations that will work, but no one seems willing to post ALL of the information/settings; partial posts of settings is just aggrivating, when it does not work:

Ripping DVD's (you own, for fair use): DVD Decrypter - very powerful (Matrix, etc., no problem), very easy to use (all settings are default-Select Mode-File), very fast and very free www.dvddecryter.com (www.videohelp.com for all kinds of how-to help). This rips the "VOB" files to a folder you designate.

Converting VOB files into an AVI file: Dr. DivX (1.0.6 Build 105 $29.99 at www.DivX.com). Tried and tried Pocket DVD, easier to use than Dr. DivX, but couldn't get consistent results - finally gave up.

- Load VOB files (Secret): Select the VTS_01_0.vob file and the program will select the rest of the correct VOB files. After its analysis, besure to select proper audio (otherwise you may end up with Director's comments) and Check boost Audio. You know you have selected the right VOB file if duration is about 2 hours (some DVDs try to be tricky and play with the VOB files).

- Setup a custom profile for settings: After MUCH testing, these are the settings that work for me. Not sure why, but reviewing the properties in Windows displays settings which are different then how I set them in Dr. DivX (but they work). Windows displays: Image - 320x240; Audio - 96kbs Mpeg Layer-3; Video - 11 fps (Dr.DivX indicates its 15fps) 36kbps 24bit DivX codec. 11 fps sounds low, but with the buffers set correctly on MMPlayer, even the car chase scenes in Ronin look very good (some pixelation on moving street). Dr. DivX Settings:
-- Basic Settings: Remove black bars, resize 320x240 (unfortunately, will not let you crop like Pocket DVD), Audio 96kbs/44.1khz, MONO (Secret - Stereo sounds like #$@#@, no matter the setting)/CBR.
-- Advance Settings: Ave Bit Rate 200kbps/1-pass encode, "x1/2" frame rate (Secret - this is key for success on Treo650; setting this at 1/2 reduces the workload and makes the video very watchable; never could figure out how to set this on Pocket DVD - this tip was on this forum somewhere else), Bicubic soft and left all other settings at default.
-- Encode - takes about 45-60 minutes and results in a movie that is 250-350mb.

Split avi into six parts: If your phone rings in the middle of a movie, it starts over from the begining and there is no easy way in MMPlayer to advance to the place you were watching. In addition, if you leave it as one file, the audio & video becomes more and more mis-sync'd (yes, you can keep adjusting - but it never is really sync'd). By spliting it into roughly 20 minute sections, you can just re-start watching in the section that is close to where you left off and the A/V is NEVER mis-sync'd- WooHo!!! Use AviSplit Classic 1.41 (Freeware www.bobyte.com) - Select your AVI, change the "parts" to six; takes less than two minutes.

Load the subdirectory on to your SD card using a card reader (I've been using SanDisk 1.0gb cards; don't seem to need Ultra cards).

Secret: Soft reset device before using MMPlayer - this made a huge difference for me. I run a lot of programs; use zLauncher and have between 7-9mb available. But I would frequently get errors when I would try to set larger buffers in MMPlayer; soft reset before playing eliminated these errors.

MMPlayer ($14.95 @ www.palmgear.com - After hundereds of $, I refuse to use Handango any more; they refused a refund, even though they had an old version of software posted): I loaded program and all related files in ram and moved to my "movie card" using zLaunchers move/short-cut feature. Use Plain.xml skin. Video: B-frame to 100; Buffers: Audio 256 & Video 512 (larger buffers seemed to cause more a/v mis-sync as the treo was working to fill buffers); Performance Warnings: Disable Too large video resolution & Too high video bitrate.

Select Movie: Choose the folder that contains your six avi files and select ALL/OK. MMPLayer will play all six together in the correct order.

Results: Crystal clear sound; no a/v mis-sync; virtually no skipping and very limited pixelation - WOW, what a fabulous piece of hardware. Enjoy/Enjoy/Enjoy; would love to hear if this works for you - Kevin.

[trjons]

Interesting.

I was reading yesterday about how the 650 can handle an MPG file so I was wondering about a program like Flash DVD Ripper that converts DVD to either AVI or MPG and then using PocketDivXEncoder to shrink it down and lower the bitrate for the 650 to handle.

[triacus]

Kevin

If I'm reading right, your settings get you video at 15 fps, mono sound, and will not allow you to pause and restart a video?

I too spent many fruitless hours trying to work with mmplayer, and finally gave up and went to kinoma. With kinoma, I get video files at 24 fps, incredible stereo sound with surround sound effects, and the ability to pause and restart videos.

I suggest you try downloading the free trial kinoma player 3 ex at kinoma.com, and download one of their sample videos as a test. If your setup is better, let us know and I will be the first convert, but I have a feeling you'll stick with kinoma.

[KevMiami]

I actually own the previous version of producer; just refuse to pay for the same software twice; might have let it slide, except they won't let you test a full version of the software - have to buy first and get a refund if you don't like it - NO THANK YOU. Multi-media on these devices are just too tricky to go the buy/return if you don't like route.

Does Kinoma pause your video, when the phone rings, and then returns you to same point when you return to the application? Frame-rate is a lot like CPU speed, it's just one component in a very complicated dance of variables - that's why everyone is using different settings for these programs, unless you document/isolate all the settings, looking at one piece of the puzzle is like trying to understand an elephant, but touching its trunk. Stereo would be really nice, but I listen with headphones, so I prefer no compression sound-effects (every compression/codec algorithm-Kinoma included makes trade-offs between sound versus video bandwidth).

[trjons]

Kinoma converts to .pdb, no?

[scotttreo]

Kinoma can convert to pdb but latest version offers mp4 format among others which are 1/2 the size of the pdb files.

Kinoma user as well. If I had to go through all those steps and split into multiple segments just so MMplayer won't be break, i probably would stop watching movies on my reo.

[trjons]

Don't you need both the Producer and the Player though?

That's a hefty investment.

[triacus]

KevMiami

After reading your post, I tested kinoma player. Yes, it does pause my video when the phone rings, and returns to the same point when I go back to the app. FYI.

[JohnH59]

Repost from another thread:

I start with PocketDVD and encode my DVD. Then I run the .avi file through SmartMovie Converter on my PC. I watch the movie using SmartMovie.

I usually get:
320x320
24fps
Video Bitrate: usually use 192 (works great)
Audio Bitrate: anywhere from 48 to 64 (sounds great)
File Type: xVid (not mpeg-4)

File size for a 2 hour movie: 144mb

Using SmartMovie. Audio/Video is in sync and I get the file size down by running the encoded movie through SmartMovie Converter on my desktop.

I use PocketDVD initially to encode my DVD's. I usually have the setting set high to get the best quality. This usually results in a file around 500mb. That's too big. I then run it through SmartMovie Converter on my desktop. The quality is still great, but the file size is generally around 150 to 180mb when finished. At this size, I can carry several on my 1GB SD card as well as all the other apps and docs I have plus around 100 mp3 and still have space left.

[KevMiami]

Resuming from same point after phone rings - Very Cool!!

[MacUser]

Has anyone successfully used Mactheripper and then Kinoma player and/or producer?

[clownracer]

finally im watching vids that dont look like **** my question is this what is the max FPS/bit rate i can run...what happens if i go to high? oh im on mmplayer btw i cant get kinoma to work

[Humptyjumped]

MMplayer is outstanding....I have been playing a 250 bitrate with no problems. I also noticed that if your audio is out of sync, you can sync it in MMplayer. NO NEED TO RE-ENCODE!! Don't waste your time!! Just press the red phone button until you see "AV" displayed in red. Then press up/down (depending on whether your audio is running ahead or behind the action). MMplayer will sync it up again. Very cool.

[johnski1969]

xvid is a mpeg 4 format

[Katway]

Has anyone successfully used Mactheripper and then Kinoma player and/or producer?

2 methods have worked for me when getting a DVD transfered over to the Treo:

1) MacTheRipper (freeware), 2) Dvision 3 (freeware), and 3) Producer

or

1) Handbrake (freeware) and 2) Producer

Handbrake reduces the steps, but sometimes crashes on the machine.

Basically, once you get an AVI, MPEG, or other file that can be converted by Kinoma Producer, then the program can convert it and set it up for optimized playback on the Treo.

[JohnH59]

xvid is a mpeg 4 format

I wasn't saying xvid wasn't mpeg 4. In my setup of SmartMovie there are two settings, one that says xvid mpeg 4 and other that just says xvid. I was listing the settings I use.

[trjons]

I tried DVD2AVI and ended up with a 2 hour long video clip and a 2 hour long WAV file....how do I merge them?

[TheTreoGuy]

It's amazing how tough it is to find an answer to this, but I'm just looking for a straightforward listing of settings that seem best (and result in smallest but nice quality for viewing and listening) for PocketDVD to use for MMPlayer playback. Anyone?

[Tekara]

I got some pretty good results using virtualdubmod with the 2 pass xvid. I think there's enough flexibility in the setup there that you could really adjust the result to exactly what you want.

[bobva6]

I think I have 4 of the 5 things needed to watch dvds on my 650.

1)DVDs
2)DVD shrink
3)
4)Kinoma producer
5)Kinoma player.

Am I correct in the order? What do I need for step three (preferably free)?