ppppowerbook
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I figured out how to stream video to my Droid, so I thought I'd share my settings with you all here. I don't know a lot about video converting, so I'm just going to tell you guys the settings I use for ffmpeg. I use Sothink iPod Video Converter, but any half way decent program or GUI for ffmpeg should allow you to edit the options.
Also, please note that you need a direct download link to the video in order to stream it over the web.
Ok, for all videos, you need to set the video bitrate to 256 kbps, the audio bitrate to 96 kbps, and the audio sample rate to between 22KHz - 32KHz. I assume you all also know the correct audio and video codecs to set to so that your MP4 plays. (AAC audio and H264 video work for me).
This seems like it's horrible horrible quality, but I've found it very watchable and decent, and those settings are what you need in order to have the video play without any pausing for more downloading.
Ok so for 4:3 TV shows, the width and height should be 320x240, for 16:9 use 427x240, and for 2.35:1 movies, I use 424x180.
Now after you've converted your file to MP4 using these settings, there's one more thing you have to do. Use a program called "MP4 Fast Start" by the company Data Go Round, free (just Google it), on your MP4 files. I'm not clear on the details, but it makes it so that when you click on a link to an MP4 and try to play it on your Droid, it actually plays it rather than saying "Sorry this video cannot be played". Even if the video plays on your phone from the SD card, it WILL NOT stream from a link if you don't use that MP4 Fast Start program on the file.
So now you've got your file, in all its small glory, and you Fast Start'd it. The final step is getting a direct link to it. If you have a RS premium account, you can upload it to there, and then go to the link and sign in, and eventually when you get to the point where you'd download it on a comp, you can just say open with "movies" or Meridian on your phone. It doesn't matter how you do it, you just need a direct link to the MP4 over the web. I use both Dropbox and Sugarsync, not RS. Both of those have android apps, and you just select them and hit open, and then the browser opens and it asks you how you want to play the file.
When it opens, it will take between 10-60 seconds to load at first, but after that it should play continuously without the need to pause while it loads more. You cannot, I repeat cannot!, skip ahead and select a time other than starting from the beginning. I don't know why. I can skip ahead on Jetflicks movie files when I stream those. Perhaps I need to set it to even lower quality bitrate, I just don't know. Anyway, using the built in movie player, what happens for me at least is that it says loading video for 5-30 seconds, then the time thingy with the play and rewind buttons pops up at the bottom and says 0:00 on both end, then it disappears, "loading video" stays for another 5-30 seconds, and then the video starts playing.
That's how it works for me. Also, I've found that sometimes I get a "sorry this video can't be played error" on things that I know work when I haven't cleared the browser (and sugarsync/dropbox) cache. So force close everything, clear caches, and try again if you know for sure that the video is the right format and should play.
I hope this is helpful to every one. I have ditched my previous media device and just store all my music and movies online and use my Droid as my media player now. It's a bit of a hassle, after all it wasn't meant to be a media player, but by god it works!
Also, please note that you need a direct download link to the video in order to stream it over the web.
Ok, for all videos, you need to set the video bitrate to 256 kbps, the audio bitrate to 96 kbps, and the audio sample rate to between 22KHz - 32KHz. I assume you all also know the correct audio and video codecs to set to so that your MP4 plays. (AAC audio and H264 video work for me).
This seems like it's horrible horrible quality, but I've found it very watchable and decent, and those settings are what you need in order to have the video play without any pausing for more downloading.
Ok so for 4:3 TV shows, the width and height should be 320x240, for 16:9 use 427x240, and for 2.35:1 movies, I use 424x180.
Now after you've converted your file to MP4 using these settings, there's one more thing you have to do. Use a program called "MP4 Fast Start" by the company Data Go Round, free (just Google it), on your MP4 files. I'm not clear on the details, but it makes it so that when you click on a link to an MP4 and try to play it on your Droid, it actually plays it rather than saying "Sorry this video cannot be played". Even if the video plays on your phone from the SD card, it WILL NOT stream from a link if you don't use that MP4 Fast Start program on the file.
So now you've got your file, in all its small glory, and you Fast Start'd it. The final step is getting a direct link to it. If you have a RS premium account, you can upload it to there, and then go to the link and sign in, and eventually when you get to the point where you'd download it on a comp, you can just say open with "movies" or Meridian on your phone. It doesn't matter how you do it, you just need a direct link to the MP4 over the web. I use both Dropbox and Sugarsync, not RS. Both of those have android apps, and you just select them and hit open, and then the browser opens and it asks you how you want to play the file.
When it opens, it will take between 10-60 seconds to load at first, but after that it should play continuously without the need to pause while it loads more. You cannot, I repeat cannot!, skip ahead and select a time other than starting from the beginning. I don't know why. I can skip ahead on Jetflicks movie files when I stream those. Perhaps I need to set it to even lower quality bitrate, I just don't know. Anyway, using the built in movie player, what happens for me at least is that it says loading video for 5-30 seconds, then the time thingy with the play and rewind buttons pops up at the bottom and says 0:00 on both end, then it disappears, "loading video" stays for another 5-30 seconds, and then the video starts playing.
That's how it works for me. Also, I've found that sometimes I get a "sorry this video can't be played error" on things that I know work when I haven't cleared the browser (and sugarsync/dropbox) cache. So force close everything, clear caches, and try again if you know for sure that the video is the right format and should play.
I hope this is helpful to every one. I have ditched my previous media device and just store all my music and movies online and use my Droid as my media player now. It's a bit of a hassle, after all it wasn't meant to be a media player, but by god it works!
