• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help How to convert my DVD's to watch on Droid X?

I went ahead and did four different tests. I think I got some pretty good results here. Please note that all of these conversions were done within Handbrake. I was going to test doubleTwist but I do not have a device to sync to at this time, and there doesn't appear to simply be an option to convert a video.

Star Trek - sample.mkv - No, I'm not a Trekkie lol. I happen think that the special effects in this movie are ridiculously epic.
File Size: 5MB
Length: 1:14
Video
Encoding: H264 - MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1280x544
FPS: 23.97
Audio
Encoding: MPEG AAC Audio
Sample Rate: 48000
SCREENSHOT: http://a.imageshack.us/img31/1236/originalie.png
Note: I realize the screen shot might seem blurry, but the scene is in rapid motion. I figure it's best to choose this scene so that the converted samples truly show all potential pixelation and visual flaws.

Test #1
SETTINGS
Mpeg-4 FFmpeg 1000kbps bit rate @ 854x480
AAC audio @ 160kbps
MP4 Container
Click to expand...
NOTE: I clicked on, "Regular," then, "Normal," first.
RESULTS
File Size: 10.9MB
- Significant and easily noticeable quality loss both visually and audibly
SCREENSHOT: http://a.imageshack.us/img826/1683/test1t.png

Test #2
SETTINGS
h.264 2457kbps @ 848X480
AAC @ 128kbps
MP4 container
For settings I have just used the iPhone setting and then changed the screen size.
Click to expand...
NOTE: I clicked on, "Regular," then, "Normal," first.
RESULTS
File Size: 26.4MB
- Incredible quality. Very watchable. On the verge of somehow being higher quality than source.
SCREENSHOT: http://a.imageshack.us/img822/797/test2v.png


Test #3
SETTINGS
FFMPEG 1500kbps @ 720x480
AAC @ 128kbps
MP4 container
Click to expand...
NOTE: I clicked on, "Regular," then, "Normal," first.
RESULTS
File Size: 15MB
- Definitely a little bit of quality loss visually, but certainly not unwatchable. Audio quality seems fine.
SCREENSHOT: http://a.imageshack.us/img807/429/test3.png


Test #4
SETTINGS
iPod Legacy settings - Width: 848 Height: 480
Click to expand...
RESULTS
File Size: 14.5MB
- Slightly better result visually than in test #2 and obviously a much smaller file size, but otherwise identical in every way.
SCREENSHOT: http://a.imageshack.us/img535/7944/test4h.png


File sizes (#1 being smallest):
1.) method #1
2.) method #4
3.) method #3
4.) method #2

Quality (Visual+Audible [#1 being best]):
1.) method #4
2.) method #2
3.) method #3
4.) method #1

Time taken to encode/convert (#1 being quickest):
1.) method #3
2.) method #1
3.) method #2
4.) method #4


Conclusion: I personally recommend either method #4, or method #2 for encoding your videos to put on your device. I didn't test any other video samples, but this sample's source is supposed to be that of a 720p HD movie. Method #4 is superior because of not only its quality, but ease of use. It's a two-click conversion. You select, "iPod Legacy," under, "Legacy," on the right panel, then click, "Start," and you're done. It's that simple. This method takes the longest of the four, but none of them took longer than five minutes, so you don't really have much of a wait either way. Method #2 is a nice alternative, but you'll find that you have a much larger file size and it takes a minute to set up the conversion before you can actually being converting. The other two methods aren't really worth mentioning due to the sheer amount of quality loss.


I hope this helps someone. Enjoy your videos on your shiny new Droid X. :)
 
DVD Decrypter works flawlessly for me. I simply downloaded the default free program from the link on their website and it ripped a DVD that I bought from a local video rental store without a hitch. The movie was a pretty recent release too. You can choose the format to rip the file to, or rip it to an ISO file. You can even choose to keep DVD menus and such. It's a very nice little program. Just the right balance of user-friendliness and functionality IMHO.
 
Ripping from an MKV was a total waste of time, the results were garbage...

So I ripped a few dvd's to iso's on my hard drive and have been experimenting with DVD Fab, DVD Catalyst and Handbrake and to be honest I have yet to find an adequate quality for play on the Droid X.....

How difficult can it be to find a decent quality format for the Droid X???
 
When you say the results were garbage, I really hope you don't mean my examples, because method number four turned out great. The original movie is in very good detail. I took the screenshots from a moment when the picture was in rapid motion, as I said in my previous post. The way the original screenshot looks is simply how that particular scene looks. The SFX are blurred at that moment.

If you meant a personal MKV file, then may I ask what kind of file and settings you used? My test turned out great.

EDIT: Handbrake now freezes the moment I try to select a source file, regardless of what source file I select... Looks like I need to try a different program.

EDIT2: Nevermind... it seems to be happening to every single converter program that I try to use. Handbrake doesn't appear to be the problem. I probably have some other software interfering or something. I'll figure it out tomorrow though, as it's already 2:30AM for me. Getting too tired to deal with this right now.
 
Paycer said:
When you say the results were garbage, I really hope you don't mean my examples, because method number four turned out great. The original movie is in very good detail. I took the screenshots from a moment when the picture was in rapid motion, as I said in my previous post. The way the original screenshot looks is simply how that particular scene looks. The SFX are blurred at that moment.

If you meant a personal MKV file, then may I ask what kind of file and settings you used? My test turned out great.

EDIT: Handbrake now freezes the moment I try to select a source file, regardless of what source file I select... Looks like I need to try a different program.

EDIT2: Nevermind... it seems to be happening to every single converter program that I try to use. Handbrake doesn't appear to be the problem. I probably have some other software interfering or something. I'll figure it out tomorrow though, as it's already 2:30AM for me. Getting too tired to deal with this right now.
Click to expand...

<grin> I'm not offending you Paycer, if you are anything like your avatar I won't want to.... Spartarrrrrrrrr....

On to the MKV's. My MKV's are obviously not the best quality out there so using these as the source file is not a great idea. I have ripped a few DVD's using DVD Fab to rip main movie only (no menu, extras needed) to iso and I can say that as long as my media extender (WD LT Live Plus) can read and play them on my HD TV (not tested yet) then this will be the method of choice. Takes up more space but allows me option to burn back to new DVD if I want at some stage. Just picked up another 2 TB drive for $99 shipped so space is no issue....

So far I have tried Handbrake (poor quality), DVD Catalyst (graphical glitches) and DVD Fab (not settled on format yet) with the MP4 container (set as Ipod Legacy or iphone) and have not seen anything approaching the quality of the same film on my ipod touch. Now I know that the resolution is different but I have not been able to custom the resolution to my liking, perhaps this is my experience with these programs and my new Droid X.

I assumed that the resolution was around 850x480 it certainly is not standard widescreen format so some black line is inevitable.

Any further settings you can recommend will be appreciated.

Cheers,
 
Handbrake is awesome once you get the settings to your liking.

If you're converting from a DVD, most DVDs max out at 720x480, so there's no need to go the full 850x480 res of the X. Just set the max width to 720 and let handbrake auto-calculate the height for proper ratio. You'll save yourself some file space. For HD video conversion, then the 850x480 resolution will be beneficial.

For h.264 compression quality, play around with different levels for CBR. At the X's screen size, I can't tell a difference with anything higher than 59. YMMV. Handbrake warns that higher quality settings may result in an outfile file larger than the input file.
If you truly dislike h.264, you can use mpeg-4 for higher quality (and larger file size).

For me, a full dvd movie converted to h.264 mp4 with video quality around 59 results in a ~1GB mp4 file. Plays well using the stock media player (no syncing or stuttering issues). I prefer to use the cinema app due to better ff/rew/pause.
 
Footman said:
I assumed that the resolution was around 850x480 it certainly is not standard widescreen format so some black line is inevitable.
Click to expand...

850x480 is actually the standard widescreen aspect ratio (16:9), but not all movies are 16:9.

Also note that if you're converting from standard DVDs, you'll actually want an output resolution of approx 720x405 (for 16:9 aspect ratio movies), as NTSC DVDs have a max resolution of 720 wide. Outputting 850x480 from an NTSC DVD results in a larger-than-necessary file. If you have a 16:10 movie, then you'll want 720x450, and so forth. It's easier to let handbrake detect the source aspect ratio and calculate cropping automatically.
 
Has anybody been successful at converting the "Dark Knight" dvd into a quality/viewable MP4. I have tried Nero 7 Ultra, VLC, and a couple others, and the final product on the X is static or choppy. It is even like that when I play it on the computer. Most other movies have worked perfectly.

P.S.
Don't know if Lion King is old Disney movie with old gen DRM, but I was able to copy and view that without problems.
 
ptown434 said:
Has anybody been successful at converting the "Dark Knight" dvd into a quality/viewable MP4. I have tried Nero 7 Ultra, VLC, and a couple others, and the final product on the X is static or choppy. It is even like that when I play it on the computer. Most other movies have worked perfectly.

P.S.
Don't know if Lion King is old Disney movie with old gen DRM, but I was able to copy and view that without problems.
Click to expand...

So I'm not the only one that was having this issue? You can put DVD Decrypter on the list of not working too. Heck, I can't even get the movie ripped in the first place, at least you got farther than me. :)
 
OrderFromChaos said:
So I'm not the only one that was having this issue? You can put DVD Decrypter on the list of not working too. Heck, I can't even get the movie ripped in the first place, at least you got farther than me. :)
Click to expand...

Were you tring to rip Dark Knight too?
I was using the latest 'DVD43' to get bypass the DRM. That worked. But as far as a good flowing movie after ripping, Nero failed to do that.
 
Well, Handbrake appears to be wanting to work today. It quickly scanned and accepted Independence Day 720p without a hitch. Time to start converting things while I wait for my DX to arrive. :>

Also, OrderFromChaos, I need to correct myself. When I said that DVD Decrypter was great, I misremembered what I used that night to rip that DVD. I actually use DVD Shrink. It works great. :D
 
ptown434 said:
Were you tring to rip Dark Knight too?
I was using the latest 'DVD43' to get bypass the DRM. That worked. But as far as a good flowing movie after ripping, Nero failed to do that.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was going through my movies and ripping them (been meaning to do this and now the X is my excuse), but Dark Knight kept failing. I had no issues with Iron Man, Boondock Saints, Idiocracy, and others but no matter what I did I couldn't rip Dark Knight.

So you had success with DVD43? I'll try it tonight and see if that works.
 
Paycer said:
Well, Handbrake appears to be wanting to work today. It quickly scanned and accepted Independence Day 720p without a hitch. Time to start converting things while I wait for my DX to arrive. :>

Also, OrderFromChaos, I need to correct myself. When I said that DVD Decrypter was great, I misremembered what I used that night to rip that DVD. I actually use DVD Shrink. It works great. :D
Click to expand...

Don't worry about it.

Hey ptown434, the link in my previous post for SUPER works now. You can try that software to encode the movies. It takes longer than Handbrake but it might be worth a shot. At the top of the website click on Freeware->SUPER->Download.
 
Paycer said:
Well, Handbrake appears to be wanting to work today. It quickly scanned and accepted Independence Day 720p without a hitch. Time to start converting things while I wait for my DX to arrive. :>

Also, OrderFromChaos, I need to correct myself. When I said that DVD Decrypter was great, I misremembered what I used that night to rip that DVD. I actually use DVD Shrink. It works great. :D
Click to expand...


I agree DVD shrink does work great. We also unchecked the box that says use Nero for burning (or something like that) and it does an excellent job most of the time, few exceptions being anything Disney and some new releases.....like SAW movies except I and II, Daybreakers, From Paris with love...ect.
 
Interesting results.... Literally I've wasted almost 4 hours on this crap....

As much as I hate to say this I can see why the ipods and ipod touches were great media players....Itunes converts perfectly all the time from multiple formats for their mobile devices.....

However I am fond of open source and this is why I chose the Droid X and not the iphone 3 or 4.......

Where am I at, well DVD Cat 3 and DVD Fab were able to convert from my DVD iso's on my pc however there were issues with watching on the Droid X, pixelation and pink rectangles.....

Back to handbrake, this was able to convert from my DVD iso's to the Droid X but getting the image to fill the screen without distortion has been impossible with the presets...

For example Star Trek, in Handbreak if I set resolution at 720 (max for dvd) hight is set at widescreen 303 but when i look at it on the Droid X it makes the image look 'fat'.... If I adjust resolution to 854x480 then the image becomes grainy and still out of proportion....

How do I get Handbrake to convert in the correct ratio, I do not like my actors to look short and fat (unless they actually are :-) ) and how do I get handbreak to fill up the 854 screen without looking like garbage (unless any larger than 720 pixels is the issue)....

Thoughts much appreciated....
 
Hmmm so far as resolution is concerned, it looks like Handbrake automatically sets resolution parameters based on the source files, so perhaps I should just set height at 480 and let Handbreak convert the source file to the correct width:height ratio based on the height of 480 only? I wonder if this will work?

Obviously this might create an image that is wider than the original 720 (DVD standard resolution) but it should be in proportion.... This would be a kind of upscale like DVD players try to do with 720P and 1080P...

Wonder what this will do for quality....

Only one way to find out...

Back to Star Trek....
 
Finished and success....................

Scrap my idea for setting height, for widescreen it makes more sense to set width at 720, Handbreak will automatically set height and when the movie is played on the Droid it fits width perfectly, obviously black bar top and bottom with widescreen movie, but this is much more acceptable than out of proportion movie.

Star Trek plays with unbelievable clarity and detail using my settings, however the image takes up 1.4G, if you want less clarity then adjust settings below and the 2hour movie takes up 948mb....

Method and settings:

Currently I use DVD Fab to rip my movies to iso and these are saved on to my hard drive. I play these on any of my TV's using a media extender....

With my iso's as a source and Handbreak I created a new preset using the ipod legacy settings......

I have 720 set for width and height is automatically populated by handbreak when the source dvd is chosen. Cropping set to automatic. I have unchecked keep aspect ratio (Handbreak handles this in any event). Video Codec is H.264. Framerate is same as source. Average Bitrate is 1500 (excellent quality but results in large files 1.44ghz for a 2 hour movie), if I set at 1000 quality is still great but file size is down to about 900mb for 2 hour movie.
Audio codec is set for AAC , mixdown to stereo, sound sample at 48 and bitrate at 160.....

So far the results on my Droid X are astounding, better than anything I had on my ipod touch, roll on my next business trip......

Let me know if you have decent results.... I created a Droid X preset in Handbreak and now it's even simpler to rip for the Droid X.....

As far as moving to the Droid X I tried Double Twist, itunes and Media player and to be honest they all suck, I just mounted the Droid X and dragged the file directly on to the SD Card....

Perfect results........
 
Footman said:
Interesting results.... Literally I've wasted almost 4 hours on this crap....


Where am I at, well DVD Cat 3 and DVD Fab were able to convert from my DVD iso's on my pc however there were issues with watching on the Droid X, pixelation and pink rectangles.....


Thoughts much appreciated....
Click to expand...

email: dvdcatalyst@gmail.com about problems with DVD Cat 3 and converting to Droid X. he will help firgure out the problem. He is highly receptive of help customers out.
 
AJ_EVO said:
Install Handbrake. Encode with these settings:

Picture Tab
Anamorphic: None
Width: 854
Height: 480

Video Tab
Video Codec: MPEG-4
Constant Quality: 90% QP4

Audio Tab
Audio Codec: AAC
Mixdown: Stereo
Bitrate: 128
Click to expand...



When I try to set up the picture values it reverts back to 720 everytime. I tried to check and uncheck keep aspect ratio. Also I cant change any values unless there is a DVD in the drive. Can someone help? Thanks


J
 
Jayme said:
When I try to set up the picture values it reverts back to 720 everytime. I tried to check and uncheck keep aspect ratio. Also I cant change any values unless there is a DVD in the drive. Can someone help? Thanks


J
Click to expand...

The new version of Handbrake doesn't let you set it to any value higher than the source, i.e. 720. Your video play should render the movie to display on the full screen.
 
Jayme said:
When I try to set up the picture values it reverts back to 720 everytime. I tried to check and uncheck keep aspect ratio. Also I cant change any values unless there is a DVD in the drive. Can someone help? Thanks


J
Click to expand...

My version of HandBrake does the same thing. But if you set the height to 480 and just press Enter (w/ Keep Aspect Ratio), it will set the Width to greater than the source, 848 or whatever.

I created 2 short videos; one at 720x400 (what it calculated from my source) and a second "forced' in to 848x480. When I played them on the phone I don't think I could tell the difference between the two.
 
Thanks guys.

I was able to rip toy story and play it on the X. I have an issue now where I can play Toy Story from the start to finish no problem. If I stop it then restart it, the sound is track is off. Not sure why it does this either. ???


J
 
AJ_EVO said:
Install Handbrake. Encode with these settings:

Picture Tab
Anamorphic: None
Width: 854
Height: 480

Video Tab
Video Codec: MPEG-4
Constant Quality: 90% QP4

Audio Tab
Audio Codec: AAC
Mixdown: Stereo
Bitrate: 128
Click to expand...

What preset is used with these settings? Normal?

I have been trying to get a copy of my From Russia With Love DVD to my Droid X and always get the same results, 2 hours worth of pixelated (sp?) screen? I am using Handbreak with a DVD as the source. I have tried a number of different combinations of DVD's, settings, and presets and none of them work for me. This will be my third night of trying to get a movie onto my Droid X.

I hope these settings work. I'm going to give it a try.
 
Didn't work for me. Perhaps the problem is using the dvd as the source. Any advice would be appreciated. Has anyone else ran into this problem?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom