get rid of the <> around the files.

and also include the FULL file name of the input file... i am sure you do not have a file with no extension

Hope you dont mind I added this to the BlackBerryFAQ wiki:

hxxp ://blackberryfaq.com/index.php/8100_Series_FAQ%27s


Awesome tutorial.

note: I changed up some of the formatting to make it more "wiki" compliant, but its pretty much the same ;).

(I cant post links here yet apparently so hxxp=http)

Note to those who are having problems:

If you are trying to use mencoder with a DVD and are having trouble getting it to recognize the VOB files, replace the input file string with dvd://1

That tells mencoder to encode the first track on the DVD, which is almost always the track with the movie on it. You don't need to specify a drive letter or path; it will find the DVD by itself.

Your input string would be something like this:

mencoder -vf scale=240:180 dvd://1 -o <output file> -of avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230:acodec=mp3:abitrate=64

Question: Where can I get video to convert from?

how many megs does an hour and a half movie end up being? I am going to try this tonight with jackass 1...

There's no 1x1 ratio of minutes to size as there are TONS of factors in determining file size (like the input file's aspect ratio, frame rate, sound quality, etc), but if you want a general idea of what a 90 min movie i encoded ended up being:

Mplayer took a 716 meg divx movie i had and sized it down to 224 megs

Just gave this a try with Jackass 1 and Kil Bill Vol2,,, both are giving me this:

----------------------
Compiled with runtime CPU detection.
Reading disc structure, please wait...
libdvdread: Can't open file VIDEO_TS.IFO.
Can't open VMG info!
File not found: '1'
Failed to open dvd://1.
Cannot open file/device.

Exiting...
Press any key to continue . . .
--------------------------

Any ideas?

Hmmm.. I'm trying the SUPER method, but none of my .avi files that are output by the process have video... They do have audio (when tested in Windows Media Player)... On the Blackberry they show as "file type not supported" and don't play at all Any ideas?

SUPER Settings for BlackBerry Pearl: (the ones i use)

container: avi
Video Output: H263
Audio Output: mp3

Video Settings:
-176x144
- 4:3 (i convert youtube vids and such to my phone)
- FPS: 14.985
- bitrate: 576
- options: default (HQ checked)

Audio Settings:
- sample: 22050
- 2 channels
- 96kbps
- default audio track

click encode>choose H263

done. i'm surprised people are choosing method 1 over this one. lol

edit: oh i forgot one thing, when the encoding is done, find the finished file (set SUPER to output to your desktop for no problems finding it), and set windows to display the extensions for known file types.

- in explorer, Tools>Folder Options>View>uncheck Hide Extensions for Known File Types

then go to the finished file and change it's extension from AVI (yes it's in caps) to avi (not in caps)

BBPearl seems to have trouble recognizing the capped extension. i don't know why.

Does anyone have any videos already converted that they can upload for us to try ???

of course, i'll PIN you with the address.

edit: done. sent to your 8100 PIN.

ditto!

Hey Guys,, any idea with the ripping dvd thing? thanks!

for some reason... its not working
i did exactly as you posted
i got it working with this setting Super 3GP: 3gp nokia, h.263, aac, 176x144, 11:9 aspect ratio, 12.5 fps
screen is small though... i guess i just gotta play around with it and find a setting that will work. hopefully bigger resolution.
thanks

hmm, i actually have no idea why. what did you try to rip?

edit: oh i see. 3gp works as well. as noted by some of the earlier posts hopefully you followed my instructions to the letter. (especially the very last part).

i got it working with 220x176 resolution as well.
3gp(sony), mpeg-4, aac, 220x176, 5:4, 14.985, 96 kbps

i will mess with the settings little more but as far as now, quality seems pretty good and it feels the whole screen. ^^
thanks

SHin.

For one, I've also gotten an error while using "dvd://1" I fixed it by pointing it to the VIDEO_TS folder on the DVD itself. It was able to find the dvd file find then.

The option you should add is "-dvd-device g:\VIDEO_TS" where g:\ is your dvd drive. This option is in addition to "dvd://1".


Another problem I've had is that the DVD audio volume is way too low when played on the 8100. To solve this, you can use the LAME audio encoder, which allows you to adjust the volume level on-the-fly.

Here is the command line I use to encode DVDs, which includes using the LAME audio encoder and ramping the volume up by "9", whatever that means

Trying to encode an avi from my Canon SD700, but for the life of me, i can't get it to work. I've search thru the forums for anyone have the same output problem of...

"couldn't open codec mp3, br=64"

so i'm not sure what happened. I ever tried downloading the codec package from the mplayer website and that didnt help.

the command line i used was.

mencoder -vf scale=240:180 MVI_0321.avi -o fire.avi -of avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230:acodec=mp3:abitrate=64

any ideas? I have the mvi_0321.avi in the same directly as mencoder.exe so its not a location error. I'm also at work on a windows xp machine, do i need ot download a separate mp3 codec?

thanks in advance,

*EDIT* Came home from work and tried it agian. FYI: The Mplayer would not fix the avi's from my Canon sd700 but the SUPER would. I'm happy now! Must have been the corporate computers.

To the people who figured this out... I give you MAJOR props! When I discovered the issues w/ video playback (not using the right settings) the first thing I did was get in touch w/ my Blackberry rep, who forwarded the (incorrectly formatted) videos and NEVER got back to me. Even when I tried to follow through asking what the settings should be etc. etc.

You all need to be working for RIM. If their techs DO indeed know all of this, they didn't bother writing me back to provide me any help with this. Of course on the other hand, to give them the benefit of the doubt I'm absolutely sure that they're very busy people... and I've found the info that I sought nonetheless so yeah. THANK YOU Half of the appeal in getting this Pearl was how sharp video playback looked. I'll definitely be utilizing that 1 gig TF card I have for movies and sitcoms now .

Great site/posts/etc. I unzipped all of the files to C:\mplayer as well as the file I want to be converted (testing with a simple music video). When I paste:

mencoder -vf scale=240:180 dipsetanthem.mpg -o dipsetanthem.avi -of avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitarate=230:acodec=mp3:abitrate=64

I get after the "CPUflags:" line:

Compiled with runtime CPU detection.
Option lavcopts: Unknown suboption vbitarate
Error Parsing option on the compand line: -lavcopts

Exiting... (error parsing command line)

Can anyone help me with what I'm doing wrong? Thanks!

Nevermind, figured it out! Must have had an extra space somewhere I'm guessing... New to the whole BlackBerry thing... You're telling me someone can send me videos through the BlackBerry Messenger?

Edit: So it seems that I've lost my Browser icon completely after double-checking in "Organize Applications." I might have messed it up myself by installing the update, then restoring... I'm guessing I tried restoring my phone the wrong way. Can anyone help me get back to normal?

Edit: I finally found my browser through Application Switcher, and when I try to load it up, it says:

Your device does not currently have any Browser Configuration Service Book Entries. Please contact your service provider to enable the Browser on your device. (Uhhh....)

is there a way to get the video to play full screen on the Blackberry using Super

try 220x176
thats what im using right now its pretty good

where is 220x176 option?

When I plunk in the settings Posted above by zenxacred
"SUPER Settings for BlackBerry Pearl"
container: avi
Video Output: H263
Audio Output: mp3

Video Settings:
-176x144
- 4:3 (i convert youtube vids and such to my phone)
- FPS: 14.985
- bitrate: 576
- options: default (HQ checked)

I only see 128x96, 178x144 and 352x288

just curious, is it normal for the pearl to kinda lock up while playing a movie...? I mean it plays the movie fine, but the rest of the phone functions suffer. like I cant pause it or stop it. it always takes like a minute for it to do anything as long as the movie is playing and it takes me like a minute to stop the movie. maybe im doing something wrong? lemme know thx. guys.

Well, you have to consider that watching a movie takes a lot of the phone's resources, so things going on in the background could "suffer"

Ive noticed that 3gp is the only one that does this. avi format doesn't

3gp(sony), mpeg-4, aac, 220x176, 5:4, 14.985, 96 kbps
try that
it works pretty good

Why is everyone trying to figure out Super settings? Just use the first method. Its perfect...

For those using the mplayer method: the following string works well for increasing the volume on the final output. This is especially useful for DVD conversions, as the volume seems to be to low even at the highest volume settings on the device. Also, the control functions and file sizes are not affected by this modification.

mencoder -aid 128 -vf scale=240:180 "source file" -o "output file" -of avi -ovc lavc -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=64:vol=10 -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230

Hope this helps

it seems method 1 is perfcect for converting movies and such but useless when converting flvs, and somce mp4s (i've only tested a few) the audio is usually off. :(

i'll use method 1 for movies now.

edit: and that Batch file is great!! thanks so much, it's so much easier!

nevermind

Just an opinion, but I suspect RIM does NOT want to be accused of telling users how to copy or convert video.

From what I have seen in the posts, most users are trying to convert movies and TV shows. Well, a lot of that stuff is copyrighted and I suspect RIM does not want to be sued like all the other businesses that have published software to "backup" or copy DVDs or other video.

Also, remember Napster, which was simply a file sharing site, but the crux of the lawsuits that shut it down was the site promoted copying protected content.

Also, there used to be that DVD "backup" copy program called something like DVD X Copy. They got shut down because the program admittedly made copies of copyrighted DVDs. The Court even rejected the argument that the program simply allowed people to make backup copies of their legally owned DVDs. The Studios said that while that all sounds nice, people could still make copies of DVDs from any source, such as NetFlix.

So I'm not too sure RIM is ignoring people and their concerns about video formats, etc. They just have to steer clear of telling people "Oh, use this program and here is how you do it."

Again, just my opinion. I could be wrong.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this yet, but I found a freeware program to merge vob files from a dvd.

VOBMerge

After you merge your vob files you can then use the original posters suggested method to shrink them down to fit on your pearl. This way you don't have multiple files for one movie and you can play it straight through.

It worked great on my sla dvd for my sign language class. It was all in tiny episodes so kind of a pain in the butt to stop every few minutes and restart the next one. Now I can study at work

To take this a step further... Go to the DVD you want to rip and find out which TRACK is the main movie. The files will be named 'VTS_0X_Y.VOB' where X is the track name and Y is the part of the track (they are broken up into 1GB parts usually). Find the one with X that has the most files, or the biggest one. Or, if it is a season of a show, there may be more than one 'main track', one for each show. You can do each one seperately.

Then when you use the command substitute that as the number after 'dvd://'.

So, for instance, yesterday I ripped one and the movie was on track 3 so I used these options:

This way gets the whole movie, so you don't have to worry about merging .vob files or any of that. Hope this helps y'all out!

--mobrien

Hmmm... The code originally posted works fine for me. When I try this code I can play the avi on my computer, but when I go to load it on my 8100 I get the following error.

"Error Playing... The media being played is of an unsopported format."


This is an example of the code I'm using... What am I doing wrong?

mencoder -aid 128 -vf scale=240:180 original.whatever -o final.avi -of avi -ovc lavc -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=64:vol=10 -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230

If I do the same video with the following code everything plays fine, but the volume might be too low.

mencoder -vf scale=240:180 original.whatever -o final.avi -of avi -ovc lavc -oac lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=230:acodec=mp3:abitrate=64

I appreciate any help, some of the movies I have been putting on there have the volume WAY too low.

All I know is when I convert 30min episodes, my pearl plays fine.

Hour long + movies, does not load at all.

What's with that??

hmmm, this one has worked for all my full dvd/vob converts... try removing the -aid 128. This might help as it is selecting the language track to use. But otherwise I don't see anything different in your command line than the one I've been using.

Odd... All I did was remove the part you said, and the video worked fine!!! Although I lost audio all together... Any other ideas?