mpeg problem

[Ghost Toast]

Hi All,

So I had a mpeg video file ready on my mp3 player, I opened it with the mpeg player, I selected start from beginning, and then there was a blank screen, I had to reset the player in order to get it turned off.  Can someone please explain to me what I did wrong?  My video file is 43MB.

Any help is appreciated.

SupEvery1

P.S.  I had to convert the file first.  Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place.

[AlexP]

How did you convert the file, what format is it, what size is it, what bitrate is it, what MP3 player....

Details!

[Ghost Toast]

As I said, the video file is 43MB.  I have a Sansa e270, and I used the Prism Video Converter to convert it from VOB format to MPEG.

[AlexP]

By size I meant dimensions - these need to match your player.

What bitrate is it?

What version of MPEG?  Rockbox plays only 1 and 2, not 4 for example.

We need the details about the video to be able to help.

[Ghost Toast]

Okay, it was MPEG2, and it turns out the problem was it wasn't the right screen size.  I converted it again and told it to shrink it to 176x220 and it worked properly.  I think this topic is over.

Anyway, thanks for the help

EDIT:  I got them to work but the screen size is small and it's at the bottom of the screen.
Do you know the problem?

[GodEater]

If it's too small, it sounds like you're still specifying the wrong size to convert to.

176x220 is the wrong aspect ration for the sansa e200, you should use 220x176.

[Ghost Toast]

OK
EDIT:  I'll try 220x176, but with 176x220, it was at the bottom of the screen, not in the center.  Can you tell me how to fix this?

[cool_walking_]

it was at the bottom of the screen, not in the center.

I don't think I've ever seen that.  Are you sure the (converted) video file doesn't have black bands?

[Ghost Toast]

What do you mean by "black bands"?  And how do I get rid of them?  Also, my video is widescreen, if that makes any difference.

[cool_walking_]

What I mean is the actual video file itself could have black borders, like this:
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596100766/figs/d1e13212.png

To get rid of them, you have to encode the video again, and tell your encoding program to cut them off.  You should read the documentation and ask the people who created your encoder how to do this.  Some functionally limited encoders may not even be able to do this, but I know for a fact that all those listed on the PluginMpegplayer wiki page can (although the wiki doesn't tell you how).

[royphil345]

Is there a format, bitrate, etc... for video that some of you have found works best with Rockbox and the E200?

I'm new to this and want to start converting some video. Is there a free converter that most people prefer? I will be converting from DVD (ripped with DVDFab) and from XviD.

At least with the Sansa firmware there were no choices to make when encoding video... lol. Couldn't be much simpler.

[cool_walking_]

The PluginMpegplayer wiki page lists some encoders and instructions on using them.  If any part of that page is unclear, tell us the part you don't understand so someone can fix it up.

ffmpeg (and the ffmpeg-based programs WinFF and MediaCoder) won't be able to convert directly from an encrypted DVD (most commercial DVDs are encrypted).  mencoder can do so by using the command-line switch "-dvd-device d:" and an "input file" of "dvd://1", where "d:" is your DVD drive, and "1" is the DVD title to convert.

Some links:
http://lifehacker.com/397573/master-your-digital-media-with-vlc
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Rip_DVD_mencoder