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Old 10-08-2006, 02:06 PM   #1
SanFrancisco
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Default Pearl Video Player Issues

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In response to some posts on video player issues on the Pearl, mostly that the on screen controls do not work some discussion and "how to." This all may be an issue with the conversion program one is using to make your videos play on the Pearl.

In any event, here is what I noticed on using Super C conversion program and using the Sony Ericsson default settings.

These issues may apply to other formats and/or conversion programs.

Most important, may not be a bug with Pearl. In other words, it's you and I and what we are doing that is the problem, not the Pearl. I suspect that the problem with the lag is my using Super C's default settings under Sony Ericsson. I am sure I can tweak the individual settings but for now I am just happy to be playing music videos on my Pearl without having to do to much in Super C except to add a file and press "encode."

Again, these are issues when using Super C to convert videos into 3GP files. If you are converting video into other formats that will play on the Pearl, the lag issues may be caused by the format or encoding used.

Bonus Tip: The Sony Ericsson 3GP setting makes the Blackberry files very small. I like that a video file in this format is smaller than MP3 files, about 1MB per minute of video!


1. Stopping the Video - When you press stop the video does not stop playing.

"Workaround" - When the video is playing, the pause button should be highlighted. Press it with your trackball. This will eventually stop the video, but there is some serious lag between pressing the trackball [pause button]. About 20 to 30 seconds.

After video pauses, move the trackball to highlight the stop button. Press trackball and then escape/return key to get back to your video list.

Here is a video of the stop issue and fix:

http://www.heartinsanfrancisco.com/P...ayingIssue.wmv

2. Volume Control - Pressing the volume control keys on the right side of the Pearl do not work.

"Workaround" - Yes, the keys do work, but there is some lag time between when you press the keys to when the action occurs. So be patient.

Note: the volume indicator on the screen does NOT sometimes change to reflect a volume change. Just ignore it.

Here is a video of the volume issue and fix:

http://www.heartinsanfrancisco.com/P...ntrolIssue.wmv

3. Video Clarity - Some videos are choppy and not sharp.

"Workaround" - This apparently is an issue with the quality of the video you are converting and also the quality of the conversion program you are using. If either of these are only "good" or lesser, then the playback on the Pearl will be only good or lesser.

4. Screen Size - The video playing on the Pearl is NOT full screen, at least not to the size of the player screen on the Pearl interface.

"Workaround" - This seems to be a function corrected by the settings of your conversion program. I used Super C converter and tinkered with the "Aspect" and "Video Scale" settings/controls and was able to make videos play full screen [that is, full screen on the Player Interface, NOT the size of the Pearl display area].

5. On Screen Controls Inaccurate - Video counter and volume controls do not reflect what is going on when playing a video.

"Workaround" - The controls seem to suffer a lag time too. The counter is way off between how long a video has been playing to what is indicated on the screen. Same goes for volume. For now, I'd say just ignore what they indicate.

Note: I am sure that someday RIM will come out with an interface that allows you to play videos full size to the edges of the Pearl display area, with the video being controlled by key commands.

Note: To the extent that any of the above is caused by the 8100's OS [doubt the issues are caused by the OS] I am sure RIM will come out with a patch that fixes the lag time between pressing commands and when execution takes place. Overall on the control lag time issue, simply press the commands and be patient. The worse thing you can do is to keep pressing the buttons over and over because that will cause the player to crash.

Bonus Tip: I'd say just be happy that you are able to play a video on a 3 ounce cell phone that cost only $200 [upgrade price]. Reflect on that and all these little bugs seem inconsequential.


Lastly, if anyone knows and finds out the settings in Super C, using the Sony Ericsson as a default format, to eliminate the lag in the player controls, please update this thread.

Last edited by SanFrancisco; 10-09-2006 at 11:36 AM..
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Old 10-08-2006, 02:56 PM   #2
chreeschan
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is the video player always this slow? Or is it with certain video formats.
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Old 10-08-2006, 03:51 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chreeschan
is the video player always this slow? Or is it with certain video formats.
Do you mean the player controls?

I am planning on checking to see if it depends on the size of the video file.

I say this because on the "Beastie Boys" video the lag was longer between pressing pause and when the video stopped.

The "ABC" video stopped quicker. It was about 1.5MB smaller than the Beastie Boys video.

I suspect the player controls may be more responsive with smaller files.

Then again, it may, as you query, be a matter of the format of the video. But others have complained about lag when playing other formats.

And even more likely, it may be the settings and format I am converting to. As mentioned I used Super C with the default conversion settings for Sony Ericsson. There may be other conversion settings and formats that will eliminate the issues I mentioned above.

I'm just pleased to have the videos working on the Pearl. I'll tweak and fix things later.

Last edited by SanFrancisco; 10-08-2006 at 05:07 PM..
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Old 10-08-2006, 03:54 PM   #4
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I applaud you for your efforts.
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Last edited by jrdul6748; 10-08-2006 at 03:57 PM..
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Old 10-08-2006, 11:05 PM   #5
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I have encoded to 3G using Quicktime, video plays, but controls are slow. So add this format to the investigation.
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