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 G1 video encoding: How To

[Neverlate419]

dont know if this is covered but how do I make it side ways full screen for video??

[dLirious]

dont know if this is covered but how do I make it side ways full screen for video??

The video should flip to landscape when you turn the phone on its side. Is that what you're referring to?

[Neverlate419]

yeah i figured it out duhhh lol sorry

[Tremendo Slap]

For those that want help computing aspect ratios, here's a great little javascript dealy that I've been using alot:

http://www.continuum2.com/js_ratio.php

It's fast and simple.

Not sure what else to do.  Videos are still stretched, even when selecting 16:9 rather than 3:2.

It is the player causing the stretching.  It does not do this on my TMo Dash, Archos, or VLC set to auto aspect ratio.  Plays correct ratio
on all devices but the G1.  The player needs aspect ratio parameters unless everyone likes stretched video or finds videos that perfectly
fit the screen dimensions.

Confirmed- the player is doing the stretching.  I also tried Any Video Converter which has auto aspect ratio (by default). 

I really hope the author has aspect ratio adjustment in the next release.  Efficient app but dysfunctional without basic video options.

Speaking of Any Video Converter, it is better than Super C, because it does auto aspect ratio in batch mode for decoding.  256 bit rate looks good too.

Shame about the player we have having no aspect control- promising though.  Maybe if others asked for aspect ratio adjustments, Steve would update the player?  I already placed a comment.

By the way, H.264 definitely likes the G1.  G1 gets less warm and battery lasts longer than standard MP4.  Just wish the player played movies in correct aspect...

in the meantime, many encoders give you the option of adding black bars to your video to correct the screen ratio.  i know it's a lame alternative, but give it a try.

[rushmore]

SOG Video Converter options that give proper aspect ratio using 1.0 Video Player on G1 (SOG the only converter that I have tried that works for this)

Choose profile setting "to iPhone"

480X320, H.264: Excellent Quality  :  (I adjust the parameters as listed below)

Audio = 64
Video Quality = 312 (you can make it higher, this value gives more space for video files with good quality).
Frame rate = 23.97
Output Image = Keep Aspect Ratio (this is important)
Video resolution = 480:320

[forceofwillhk]

thanks for recommending this converter!
it works perfectly (tho abit slow in encoding...)

however, is it possible for me to normalize the volume of a output?
the original clip has a suitable volume when played in my laptop.
after encoding it, the volume becomes much lower even played in my laptop!!!
and same thing when i play it in G1!!!
what seems to me is that SUPER has reduced the volume to the encoded video?
my case is like:
for example, with the volume slider at 50%, it will already be almost inaudible...

so is that a way to tune up the volume of the output???
at least to the same audible level as the original video
is that related to the audio bitrate kbps setting in SUPER?

Thanks in advance!!!

[TexasAndroid]

Not everyone wants to use unknown package like Super C.  I own 5 video encode programs and want to use one of those.

Can you please specify a few things on the recommended settings?

#1/ Main, Baseline, or High h264 profiles?
#2/ While you state mp4 container and h264 codec, does it also support mp4 codec?
#3/ If support mp4 codec, which profile? Advanced Simple, Advanced Simple Realtime, or just Simple?

Thanks!

[rushmore]

Super C is free, but it stretches videos unless you adjust them to correct dimensions.  Even still, the current player does NOT scale, so they will be stretched regardless unless you use a decoder that allows you to keep the aspect ratio.  The only decoder I have found so far that gives an option for keeping aspect ratio is SOG Video Converter.

1) It is more space efficient
2) Aspect ratio is correct
3) Less CPU drain using lower bit rate (312K) with good results, (if the player had to scale, it would take even more cpu cycles).
4) Video looks MUCH better, because it is not distorting the video by stretching.

I am using SOG at a 312K bit rate and the movies look very good and no blockies in active scenes.

Everyone that is watching the movies stretched are missing out on how good the G1 screen really is with video.

Average size for a 1.5 hour movie is 250 megs and they look very good. 

[teckel]

It's easy to use Super to create videos with perfect aspect ratio and no stretching.  A little background.  Movies are typically 1.78 to 2.35 aspect ratio.  While you could display a 2.35 aspect ratio movie on the G1, the video would be very small as the G1 ratio is 1.5.  This would yield a small strip down the center of the screen with the movie and it would be hard to see.  Instead, it's best to do a combination of cropping and padding.  The end result is with a movie in 1.78 (16x9) you would have no cropping, with a movie at 2.35 the sides would be cropped and changed to a display of 1.78 (not stretched, just cropped).  It's important to note that the ratio is ALWAYS kept the same with these instructions, there's never any stretching, just cropping and padding.

If this is all too technical I apologize.  Basically, my instructions will make all movies at 16x9, keep perfect aspect ratio and no stretching on the G1.  Further, you can preview them on your computer and it will look the same as on your phone, so there's no surprises.

1) Codecs: MP4, H.264, AAC LC  (H.264 is easy on the battery)
2) Video size: 480:270  (480/270=1.78, which is 16x9)
3) Aspect: 3:2  (always use 3:2 so previews on the PC are correct)
4) Frames/sec: 23.976  (DVDs are 23.976 for movies so higher frame rates will actually lower quality)
5) Bitrate: 480kbps  (you can lower this if you want, but quality will suffer. 720kbps looks even better, but a much larger file size.  480kbps is a very good compromise, 288kbps is no good in my opinion)
6) Audio: 44100, 2 channels, 96kbps  (yields excellent quality.  You can go with 32000, 2, 64 if you're trying to pack as many movies as you can on a memory card)
7) Now for the options...
_A) Hi Quality and Top Quality OFF (Hi Quality does seemingly nothing to H.264 and Top Quality creates HUGE files)
_B) Other Opts: All unchecked except Adjust Volume which I'd suggest +13dB (click Other Opts button to close other opts window)
_C) Crop / Pad: Pad ON, top pad set to 24, bottom pad set to 26 (24+26+270=320 for no stretching), left and right pads to 0
_D) Crop / Pad: Crop ON, top and bottom crop set to 0, for the left and right crop see the math below, the formula is: C=(W-(H*16/9))/2

Everything else above stays the same for any movie source.  But, left and right crop in step 7D must be changed for each movie depending on source video size.  However, the math is quite simple: C=(W-(H*16/9))/2  Where W=source width, H=source height, C=values entered in crop left and right.  To make it easier here's an example.  I have a movie that's at 886x480.  480*16/9=853 (rounded).  You then take the width, which is 886 and subtract the 853 which is 33.  33 is how much the source video width need to be cropped to make it 16x9.  You divide this by two because you want to crop each side, 33/2=16.5 (round to 16).  Because you can only crop to even numbers you may need to "fudge" it a little.  A pixel or two won't make a difference as we're just every so slightly adjusting the aspect ratio, not messing with the output size which will always be perfectly sized to fit the phone.  For odd numbers, crop one side more than the other (for examle, if C was 21, you can set the left crop at 20 and the right crop at 22).

I've WAY over explained this as it's seriously just a 10 second calculation.  Also, remember that the only thing you need to calculate each time is the left and right crop, everything else stays the same all the time.  I think you'll be VERY happy with the results.  Note that this is for wide screen movie conversion, not SDTV.  SDTV would use custom video scale size of 432x320 (yes, 432x320), 29.97fps, crop OFF, set the pad left and right to 24, the pad top and bottom to 0, and everything else the same.  There's no math with SDTV because the aspect ratio is always the same.

Before playing video on the G1 do the following:

* TURN ON AIRPLANE MODE * (Home, Menu, Settings, Wireless controls, Airplane mode) The phone searching for GSM, Edge, 3G, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and apps trying to use connections will cause your video to slow down or even fail, it will also greatly extend video viewing time.

One would think this should be options in the next release of the Video Player.  This and refreshing the video list would be the obvious, seemingly easy, enhancements to make.

There you go!  Sorry it was so long.  Enjoy!

Tim

[rushmore]

Great post, Teckel!

I approached it for a general audience perspective, since SOG does the exact same thing without all the settings.  Simply select "Keep Aspect Ratio" and you are done.  No calculations needed and the results are very good at 312K a bit rate using H264.

Still, Super C is free to use, but the authors would greatly appreciate some monetary appreciation for a good package.  It just needs a Keep Aspect Ratio option to avoid the need for doing all the steps noted in your post.

[teckel]

Great post, Teckel!

I approached it for a general audience perspective, since SOG does the exact same thing without all the settings.  Simply select "Keep Aspect Ratio" and you are done.  No calculations needed and the results are very good at 312K a bit rate using H264.

Still, Super C is free to use, but the authors would greatly appreciate some monetary appreciation for a good package.  It just needs a Keep Aspect Ratio option to avoid the need for doing all the steps noted in your post.

I'm sure SOG and the keep aspect ratio work well.  But, what my setup does is not only keep the aspect ratio they also "correct" movies shot in Panavision 2.35:1 to 2.40:1 making all movies 1.78:1 (16x9).  Also, SOG is a paid product while SUPER is free, and does a fine job.  Further, all the settings I gave were set it and forget it except for the crop sides which requires one simple calculation.  Finally, since most of my movies are saved in 1128x480 for playback on my Xbox360 & PS3 from my media server, the calculation doesn't change from movie to movie (the crop is almost always 136 and 138).  So, I leave the crop sides at 136 & 138 except for those movies not at 1128x480, and since all my DVD movie rips are at 480, the math is even an easier (width-853)/2.

Anyway, I'm not trying to take anything away from SOG and the ease of using the keep aspect ratio feature.  But, that wouldn't be acceptable to me as viewing a Panavision 2:35:1 to 2:40:1 movie on a small screen like the G1 is kind of hard (the G1 is a 1.5:1 screen, so a 2:40:1 movie without cropping yields only a 480x200 video on the G1, instead of 480x270 using my cropping method).

As far as the 312kbps video, I would classify that as okay to bad, not very good.  It all depends on what your standards are.  Try making a video at 720kbps and you'll see there is a huge difference when you increase the bitrate.  When doing my samples my notes were: 720kbps great, 528kbps very good, 384kbps okay, and 288kbps bad.  480kbps was selected as it was undistinguishable between 528kbps in samples and saved a little file size.  While it's possible that SOG does a better job of compression, I would bet they both use the same codec (both SUPER and SOG are just GUI front-ends, they just call libraries to do the decompression and compression).  If SOG was creating the video using 2 passes I would accept that the resulting video would be slightly higher quality (but at a penalty of twice the time to convert).  However, you can be assured that 480kbps looks superior with less blockyness than 312kbps.  Create two videos and watch them side by side, the difference will be easy to spot.  It's a preference thing, and what each person finds acceptable.  But don't confuse that with 312kbps being exactly the same quality as 480kbps, which it is not.

Tim

[T1 Connect]

i dont know if this has been addressed yet but if you have a zune the videos from that will work on the video player and also .wmv files so.

[teckel]

i dont know if this has been addressed yet but if you have a zune the videos from that will work on the video player and also .wmv files so.

It may work for some, but the WMV movies I had only played the audio, no video.  It could be that the G1 supports older WMV formats but not the newer ones.

Tim

[rushmore]

Good points Teckel!

I hope TCPMP comes out and then we will have more flexible playback options and not have to deal with this!

Still, I appreciate Jeff's effort for a first app- and at just 15K- impressive!

[qnsfinest127]

im lost wit the calc thign were can i find these numbers to plug them in ???

[dLirious]

This is how I find the values. After I've added the movie file just double click on the file and a window should open up with details about the movie file. Example below is highlighted in blue:

[teckel]

im lost wit the calc thign were can i find these numbers to plug them in ???

It's just the resolution of the video you're converting from.  dLirious' method of doing it works just fine, or if it's a WMV file if you just click the icon in windows it will show the resolution, or right click and select Properties->Details.  In any case, "these numbers" are just the resolution of the source video you're converting from.  Heck, you could even play the video on your computer and get the resolution in the Properties of your video player.  There's at least a dozen ways to get the resolution of the source video you want to convert.

I hope this answers your question.

Tim

[stout36]

oK YEAH i want the instructions for 4:3 i got boondocks season 2 that im trying to get on there so yeah that would be greatly appreciated! sorry for the super c coder

[jgos929]

Not everyone wants to use unknown package like Super C.  I own 5 video encode programs and want to use one of those.

Can you please specify a few things on the recommended settings?

#1/ Main, Baseline, or High h264 profiles?
#2/ While you state mp4 container and h264 codec, does it also support mp4 codec?
#3/ If support mp4 codec, which profile? Advanced Simple, Advanced Simple Realtime, or just Simple?

Thanks!

Then don't use it


What I don't get is I followed the settings to a tee and the movie I was encoding was about 650meg and when it was done encoding it was about 578meg.  What am I doing wrong????

[teckel]

oK YEAH i want the instructions for 4:3 i got boondocks season 2 that im trying to get on there so yeah that would be greatly appreciated! sorry for the super c coder

See this message:

http://forums.tmonews.com/index.php?topic=4644.msg72244#msg72244

What I don't get is I followed the settings to a tee and the movie I was encoding was about 650meg and when it was done encoding it was about 578meg.  What am I doing wrong????

When you encode something with a different compression format, and bitrate, the file size will change.  Heck, just recompressing the same exact video in the same compression format and bitrate will yield a differnet file size.  Remember that these are lossy compressions, so the more times you encode, the lower the quality.  If your source was only 650MB, you may want to consider a better quality source.  Consider that a DVD is already compressed and is tyically 4GB or more.  If that was compressed all the way down to 650MB, much of the quality was aready lost.  Compressing it again will only make it worse.

Tim