Which video conversion setting is wrong?

[dvdcatalyst]

I personally have found FFMPEG the only codec that works 100% of the time. I know others dont feel the same way, but it works for me.

ffmpeg is a conversion tool, which results in re-conversion of the video again.

Alright...back to the question at hand. First off, I didn't realize the creater of DVDCatalyst was the one helping me out. Thank you! That certainly shows the kind-of customer service you provide. I may end up going to DVD Catalyst; however, if I already have a program on my computer, I'd like to just try to use it.

Yep, it's me. Initially I signed up (back in november) on these forums to answer questions people had in regards of DVD Catalyst, and ever since I just try to help whenever I see a video-related post.

So, I tried what was initially suggested. I started with an IPOD Large setting. Then, I changed it to 720x480. The ipod had variable bit rate with target of 1 and maximum of 1.4. So, I used that, too. I also decreased the audio as suggested from 320 down to 160. The result was that I could actually see the video but after 3-4 seconds or so, Act 1 Video Player gave me a message saying the video could not be played (100,0 or something like that). The stock video player couldn't play it either.

Thoughts?

there is more to the H264 codec than just the bitrate. I don't have any Adobe software myself, and it's been a while since I last used it, so you have to do a bit of homework yourself on it.

Most likely the problem is the variable bitrate. Change that to fixed bitrate.
With VBR, the video adjusts the bitrate according to changes in frames. When you start a video, the change from nothing to something visible is quite large, so the bitrate goes over the maximum supported by the Droid. After a short time, it goes back to a normal bitrate, which is why it showed after a few seconds. Then, when there is a large change again (fast scenes, or with movies like Spiderman/Punisher/Iron Man, the Marvel logo animation with the comics flying through it for example) it goes back up again.

You are getting there though.

 

[grimloktt]

Thank you. I'll try to do a little more research and attempt to use constant bit rate. If I can't figure it out, I know what software I can fall back on!

P.S. You mentioned reconversions. I'm guessing some software re-convert whereas your does something different. Is there a FAQ somewhere that explains this?

Thnx!

 

[LtKen]

I personally have found FFMPEG the only codec that works 100% of the time. I know others dont feel the same way, but it works for me.

ffmpeg is a conversion tool, which results in re-conversion of the video again.

Touche, salesman. Still, it's the only thing that seems to work for me 100% of the time.

 

[dvdcatalyst]

Touche, salesman.

Salesman is pretty harsh don't you think. I'm not sure if you actually looked at some of the other 633 posts I have made on this forum, you will notice that I'm actually trying to help people rather than to advertise my own software. Hell, I dont even have my own links in my signature.

I am trying to keep this on-topic. The initial question was about Adobe, not about conversion tools, there are plenty of threads on that already.

You mentioned reconversions. I'm guessing some software re-convert whereas your does something different. Is there a FAQ somewhere that explains this?
Thnx!

It's all reconversion, just like the other conversion tools (including ffmpeg).

I do have something I am working on that works for MKV files that are already in H264 format to make them play on xbox/ps3 without reconverting them, but for the Droid, this doesn't work, because of the specific h264 options used to make the files compatible.

Adobe (as of CS2) I believe, has profiles for iPod/iPhone devices in the export, or export to Quicktime Pro, and set that to iPod/iPhone format, and it should work fine using the default settings. After that, it's basically trial and error to find the best options.

If you do go the reconversion route, regardless of what you use to re-convert the files, I'd suggest to export your video using a higher resolution than the resolution you need. Preferably double, but using a 1280x720 profile will work fine too. Doing this results in the best quality.

 

[LtKen]

Touche, salesman.

Salesman is pretty harsh don't you think. I'm not sure if you actually looked at some of the other 633 posts I have made on this forum, you will notice that I'm actually trying to help people rather than to advertise my own software. Hell, I dont even have my own links in my signature.

It was a Family Guy reference.... nevermind.

 

[Mbk]

Whatever his original source video format is, isn't he reencoding however you look at it? So if he were to take the original source video, and whether he used Adobe, DVDCatalyst, ffmpeg, or Super, he'd reencode that video.... so not sure why reencoding with ffmpeg or Super would be any different than Adobe or DVDCatalyst... except of course familiarity and ease of use?

 

[dvdcatalyst]

Whatever his original source video format is, isn't he reencoding however you look at it? So if he were to take the original source video, and whether he used Adobe, DVDCatalyst, ffmpeg, or Super, he'd reencode that video.... so not sure why reencoding with ffmpeg or Super would be any different than Adobe or DVDCatalyst... except of course familiarity and ease of use?

Maybe, maybe not. If he is using Adobe Premiere or Adobe After FX, he might be creating his own videos. Possibly he would be using some form of video (maybe from an HD video recorder) he is editing, but even then, Adobe has the capability to export video to various formats. The HD content would be converted, but to convert it again after you export it will result in quality-loss.

So it depends on the scenario. If he has home movies recorded and just wants them on the Droid, any conversion tool would be able to do the job, however, if he wants to edit it, add music/captions, cut portions, slowdown/speed up sections and all that, then exporting from the actual video-edit application to the proper format is the best choice.

There are plenty of people in the graphics/advertising industry that like to have demo-reels of their work on their phone so when they run into people who are interested in their work can have a look. If you just convert your existing demo-reels, they might not look right, which could result in a possible loss of a sale, so you put them through a professional editing application to make sure they are perfect.

 

[Mbk]

Whatever his original source video format is, isn't he reencoding however you look at it? So if he were to take the original source video, and whether he used Adobe, DVDCatalyst, ffmpeg, or Super, he'd reencode that video.... so not sure why reencoding with ffmpeg or Super would be any different than Adobe or DVDCatalyst... except of course familiarity and ease of use?

Maybe, maybe not. If he is using Adobe Premiere or Adobe After FX, he might be creating his own videos. Possibly he would be using some form of video (maybe from an HD video recorder) he is editing, but even then, Adobe has the capability to export video to various formats. The HD content would be converted, but to convert it again after you export it will result in quality-loss.

So it depends on the scenario. If he has home movies recorded and just wants them on the Droid, any conversion tool would be able to do the job, however, if he wants to edit it, add music/captions, cut portions, slowdown/speed up sections and all that, then exporting from the actual video-edit application to the proper format is the best choice.

There are plenty of people in the graphics/advertising industry that like to have demo-reels of their work on their phone so when they run into people who are interested in their work can have a look. If you just convert your existing demo-reels, they might not look right, which could result in a possible loss of a sale, so you put them through a professional editing application to make sure they are perfect.

You make a very point to output it correctly the first time from Adobe. But considering that we are talking about such a small screen, reencoding from h.264 to h.264 would hardly be noticeable on the Droids screen size...imho

 

[dvdcatalyst]

You make a very point to output it correctly the first time from Adobe. But considering that we are talking about such a small screen, reencoding from h.264 to h.264 would hardly be noticeable on the Droids screen size...imho

It depends on the quality needs and the user itself.

There are plenty of threads here on these forums where people are happy with movies encoded for an iPod/iPhone or a Blackberry, most of which are about 1/3rd of the resolution the Droid has, while others find that unbearable to watch, and rather have their movies at the full resolution and the maximum possible quality the Droid can handle.
And since Droid-optimized files play on an XBOX360 and a PS3, if you use the same files for that, you would notice the difference.

 

[grimloktt]

I can hear but can't see my videos. I'm using Adobe. Here are my settings:

Codec: Mainconcept h.264
TV Standard: ntsc
frame width: 720
frame height: 480
frame rate: 25 fps
field order: lower
pixel aspect ratio: widescreen 16:9
profile: high
bitrate encoding: constant bit rate 1 mbps

Thougts?

OK...back to the matter at hand. I tried a number of different things. It seems the closest I've gotten is it played 19 seconds before stopping and the video jumped, i.e. didn't play smoothly. I changed back to constant bit rate of 1mbps, I change the pixel shape between 16:9 and square. I just can't figure it out. Furthermore, it's shutting down my Market Place (refer to my other thread for details on that). Thoughts?

 

[dvdcatalyst]

try the iphone/ipod profile without any modification other than making it constant bitrate.

Download one of my zipped up trailers, and see if you play the file on your Droid if you run into the same issue.

 

[grimloktt]

Nope. This is fuggin frustrating.

I tried to download dvd catalyst, but there must be something wrong. It won't download properly. Story of my life...lol. I'm in afghanistan...

 

[dvdcatalyst]

Try these files:

Visit this link on your Droid. It plays while downloading (streaming)

www.tools4movies.com/Droid/IronMan2.mp4

If that works fine, download this to your computer, and copy the extracted mp4 file to your Droid and see if it plays.
www.tools4movies.com/Droid/IronMan2.zip

If these work, there is nothing wrong with video playback on your Droid (its unlikely, but at least it clears that up)

After that, try creating your video in Adobe using the default iPod/iPhone profile, no modification, or maybe (2nd try) change ABR/VBR to CBR

I'm not sure why dvdcat wouldn't download, unless its either your connection or the webserver is having some issues.

 

[grimloktt]

I'm sure I was unable to download due to my connection. As can be imagined, it's finicky sometimes.

I decided to open my CuCuSoft Converter that I purchased a while ago for my Zune. I converted a video with that and it worked with no problems. I tried a couple more and will see how they turn out.

 

[dvdcatalyst]

I'm sure I was unable to download due to my connection. As can be imagined, it's finicky sometimes.

I decided to open my CuCuSoft Converter that I purchased a while ago for my Zune. I converted a video with that and it worked with no problems. I tried a couple more and will see how they turn out.

the settings for the newer zune devices (the second generation, which can play MP4 files) is pretty much the same as the iPod/iPhone format.

DVD Catalyst does let you crop videos. It has a few different automatic settings for black bar removal, and in the Preview, it offers manual adjustment and brightness/contrast adjustment as well