Re-Encoding/Convertion Thread

[RyFish]

x264 does not support the Baseline profile needed to work with the Archos player.

Yes it does, it all depends on which switches are used

[bobcat56458]

Hi RyFish, while it is true that the x264 codec does support the baseline profile, the VFW version that VirtualDubMod uses does not let you select it in the compression settings configuration of it. If you are using an application like meGUI you get another configuration setup window that allows you to select, and configure the codec, and it allows you to use the Baseline profile. If you have successfully encoded a H264 video that plays on the Archos by using VirtualDubMod as the encoder, and x264 as the compressor please share the ÔÇ£switchesÔÇØ that you used.

[RyFish]

As you suspect I don't use the VFW version - not least because it hasnt been updated in absolutely ages and is missing a huge amount of features now available in the command-line version.

[musicalfruit]

I've been using Handbrake for Windows a bit and it seems to produce pretty good results for H264 files. The lack of a proper autocrop is annoying but you can always set the crop manually.

[dr150]

Is there any way to get rid of the black bars when you encode "Lord of the Rings" for instance?

I use 480x272 and 16:9 for encoding.


What am I doing wrong?.........
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P.S. Does it make a difference using 128kbps instead of 64kbps for sound? And 48KHz instead of 44.1KHz for sound?

[bagman]

You don't need to remove the letterbox during encoding,

During playback press Menu, goto format and select maximised.

Bars gone....

However you can now only see the zoomed centre of the picture, but you can't have everything.

[RyFish]

But removing the black bars is generally a good idea if you can, otherwise you lose precious bitrate by encoding blackness!

As far as I'm aware, most encoding progs can crop the black from a frame.

[signals]

Is there any way to get rid of the black bars when you encode "Lord of the Rings" for instance?

I use 480x272 and 16:9 for encoding.


What am I doing wrong?.........
.
.
.
.
.

P.S. Does it make a difference using 128kbps instead of 64kbps for sound? And 48KHz instead of 44.1KHz for sound?

I am using DVDFab with the 504/604 profile for encoding at 480x272 for true widescreen (2.25:1) movies and have no black bars at all without using maximize. It depends on the video size of the original DVD. The ones that are "widescreen" encoded 4:3 letterbox will always have black bars with "Original" selected.

[dr150]

But removing the black bars is generally a good idea if you can, otherwise you lose precious bitrate by encoding blackness!

As far as I'm aware, most encoding progs can crop the black from a frame.

But if you crop the video, the movie goes vertically stretched.

I guess there's no easy way to get a good aspect ratio without getting the sides chopped off, yes?..........

[cjcox]

But if you crop the video, the movie goes vertically stretched.

I guess there's no easy way to get a good aspect ratio without getting the sides chopped off, yes?..........

No offense... but duh... stretching or otherwise, you can't have the full format of the movie visible and remove the black bars at the same time without distortion. Cheaper films are produced at 16:9 format... so just watch cheap films!!

Magic doesn't come built into the Archos player... and I don't anticipate it getting added. It's not even an add-on or plugin.

[GRP05]

If I play the same 2hr movie at different qualities (size, bitrate, resolution, etc.), what kind of effect will it have on battery? Will some aspects make a bigger difference than others?