Rip dvds to play through X's HDMI output.

[Towelie]

so i have dvd catalyst. although you can use this program to turn a dvd into a playable mp4 video format, it kinda seems to play back better when i first convert to xvid using dvd decrypter and auto gordian knot, and from there then using dvd catalyst to convert that xvid into an mp4. Any feedback on that would be nice. Also i've gotten them to playback on the droid x screen kinda nicely, some of them lag a little bit. But i want them to look good on my hdmi output to my sony hd tv. They look pretty good but they can be slightly choppy. Will a higher class sd card help speed up playback in general? I constantly read that higher classes speed up write, but what about read? Thanks in advance! Please weigh in on hdmi output feedback and any other juicy details!

[Droid-X-Forums]

[kieran]

I'm not sure why you want to do this... there are so many easier, cheap ways to play ripped DVD's on your TV. Is your phone really your only mp4/divx player? Or are you just doing it for the novelty of it? To me the HDMI output is valuable for playing videos shot with the phone, on the TV, without having to transfer those files around (although I would eventually put them on my server anyway.)

Anyhow, more to the point of your question. I suggest you start reading sites like www.doom9.org which is jam packed with experts in ripping and converting video files and optimizing them to play on various devices, like the iPhone and such. I use the iphone as an example just because there is a plethora of info out there on optimizing video playback for an iPhone 3gs, and if it plays well on an iphone, it'll likely play well on the droid-x, since the dx is more powerful. Use the iphone settings as a starting point, then tweak to increase quality given the more powerful cpu you've got in the dx.

Also, Auto-GK is nice but a little dated. There are lots of better / newer codec GUI's out there. Again I recommend doom9 as a place to research that.

[Towelie]

Thank you for your reply. To answer your question, the reason I like for movies to be on my phone is the convenience factor. Wherever I am with my Droid X and the HDMI cable, I can play it on friend's TVs. Obviously I'm not going to be carrying DVDs in my pocket. And I'll admit, maybe it also is for the novelty factor as well. lol. Can anyone weigh in on having a higher class Micro SD Card?

[DebianDog]

I have noticed when you rip above 1100 bps you can get choppiness. Does not mater what software you rip it with, it is a matter of CPU on your phone not a matter of SD speed.

2 pass encodings with a constant bit rate should help

[Towelie]

Debian Dog thank you for the tip. I'm using DVD Catalyst 3. What are you using?

[Towelie]

Basically, all I want to know is, has anyone been able to rip a DVD, put it on their droid X, and have it play through HDMI out on their TV looking pretty decent, with no noticeable lag, distortion, and the audio matches their lips. LOL. If you have, please tell us how you did it. Programs used. Options used. What Kbps bitrate did you use? What framerate? Do you have the stock Class 2 SD card or are you using a higher class SD card?
Thanks in advance for any help!

[gustofusion]

Yes I use FFMPEG and wrote a batch file then place the batch file in the same folder where the videos are I want to convert are.

heres the contents of the batch file.
Note: up top in the batch file change the extension to match the extension for the file types your converting.




Color 0A
@ ECHO OFF
REM The following will convert all mov files in the current folder into mp4 files.
IF EXIST *.mov FOR %%A IN (*.mov) DO CALL :twopass "%%A"

:twopass
C:\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe -y -i %* -y -vcodec libx264 -b 5000k -minrate 5000k -maxrate 5000k -s 848x480 -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ar 48000 -ac 2 -pass 1 -vpre "C:\ffmpeg\ffpresets\libx264-fastfirstpass.ffpreset" output.mp4
c:\ffmpeg\ffmpeg.exe -y -i %* -y -vcodec libx264 -b 1100k -minrate 900k -maxrate 1200k -s 848x480 -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ar 48000 -ac 2 -pass 2 -vpre "C:\ffmpeg\ffpresets\libx264-hq.ffpreset" output.mp4
RENAME output.mp4 %*.mp4
ECHO.
GOTO :EOF
pause

:: sizing -s 320x240
:: frame rate -r 30
:: Codec for h264 -vcodec libx264
:: Audio Codec -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ar 48000 -ac 2
:: Aspect Ratio -aspect 16:9

[Towelie]

Okay sorry I have taken so long to post an update on my findings, but I do have some good news.
I have had great success using DVD Catalyst! It turns out, this whole time, all I've needed to do is adjust the bitrate up higher. For the longest time, I was going on a hunch that a higher bitrate was what makes it choppy. I got that idea after reading DebianDog's post on here. That person couldn't be more wrong.
Here's what you gotta do: Using Tools4Movies' DVD Catalyst 3+ pop in your DVD of choice. Under "video player device" select Android, and then select Droid HQ2 and then click Modify. Try to get the Player Screensize closest to whatever the source is.
For example: when I was ripping episodes of "The Office," I used 720 x 400 and it came out perfect. Some wider-screen movies will be closer to 720 x 320.
Now you want to set the "Video quality (Kbps)" to at least 2000. With that setting it'll be at least watchable. For better performance go to 2500. And to make it look pretty darn good during playback, select 3000. Do 2 Passes for the Video mode. And maybe set the framerate down a notch or two, or leave it as-is.

This came in handy when I went on vacation to Cali and we wanted to watch movies when we were chillin' in our hotel room that happened to have a flat-screen with HDMI input. This truly is practical, despite what Kieran said earlier about "there are easier ways to stream video". Yeah, well not while you're on the go.

[DebianDog]

Debian Dog thank you for the tip. I'm using DVD Catalyst 3. What are you using?

I am a non Windows user so I use Handbrake and VLC

[dennyjones]

I'm not an expert by any means but I use DVD Fab to convert files (any and all). I have copied .avi files from my computer to my phone both via cable and dropbox and they will play great with Rockplayer.

I have not tried to play them via hdmi though since I have other means of playing media files on my TV.