The Video Thread

[Fields47]

Hello,

I start this thread hoping it will be the be all and end all of video questions.

Before anyone says, i have googled these questions many times and the google listings are just full of Aunsoft spam.

So i have a few 1080p films which are about 8g in size and i was wondering the best way to convert/copy/view them on my Tab considering the following:

• Files over 4g can't be copied.
• I haven't been able to navigate through MKV files on the Tab. (Everytime file is opened i have to watch from the beginning)
• Im using a Mac (Windows machine available if needed)
• Converting the video to smaller size would reduce the quality making having a 1080 film kinda useless.

I ask myself the question if 1080p is 1920 x 1080, 720p is 1280 x 720 and the Tab's resolution is 1024 x 600 isn't 1080p a bit pointless? wouldn't 720p have the same image as a 1080p film on the tab? After all wouldn't a bluray rip in divx have pretty much the same image too?

Any facts, ideas or your techniques would be grately appreciated.

 

[SeanBlader]

I ask myself the question if 1080p is 1920 x 1080, 720p is 1280 x 720 and the Tab's resolution is 1024 x 600 isn't 1080p a bit pointless?

Think you answered your own question there. Scale down the video's to 1024x600 and they'll come in well under 4gb. I put The Half Blood Prince on my tab and because of the native aspect ratio of 2.35:1 it came up at something like 1024x450 and as a relatively long movie over 2.5 hours it comes up at 2.93gb.

Scale them down to native resolution, you'll get better battery life while playing, the same image quality, and more titles in your available storage space. I use DVDFab on windows to convert them, lots of options, and easy to use.

 

[Fields47]

Ok on mac i have been using Handbrake to convert them.

My main concern was if converting reduces the quality. Can i keep the same video bitrate, reduce the resolution and still have the file reduced? Obviously i'd convert the sound to stereo as well.

And another question. If the resolution is 1920 x 800 and i want to convert while preserving the aspect ratio. should i make it 1456 x 608 as to use the whole Tab screen or 1024 x 432?

If i was to download videos which ones should i choose ? 720p?

Thanks for the reply

 

[Cobravision]

I actually get 720p microHD encodes that are 2-3GB per movie and just copy them straight to the Tab. If already downconverted files aren't available, I downcovert them myself to 720p using a program like Ripbot, but I'm not sure of that's available for Mac. I have a 61" HDTV and really don't see much of a difference between an 8GB 1080p file and a 720p mHD file, and Ripbot allows me to keep the AC3 soundtrack. For the 5+GB of extra space, it's really not worth it for me to keep the 1080p encode. I do know that there are a lot of people who think 2-3GB 720p encodes are junk, but I seriously don't think most people can see a whit of difference. And of course, there's no difference on the Tab because both encodes exceed the 1024X600 resolution.

 

[Fields47]

Ok i actually have a 65" HD television and thay was the next question so thanks for clearing that up.

Is there any difference between 720p and 720p microHD? Im guessing 720p IS mocroHD?

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

 

[Cobravision]

Generally speaking, the scene guys prefer 1080p at 8GB for Bluray conversions with DTS if available and 720p at 4.3GB for downconversions with DTS as well. There are some people who will use Ripbot and compress the video down further and swap out DTS for AC3, which results in a file anywhere from 1.5-3.5 GB which are dubbed microHD or mHD. Note that the 8GB and 4.3GB sizes are chosen to match single and dual layer DVD's even though they could compress it further without much of an impact on quality. In a past life I was a die hard videophile, but I've mellowed out enough that even if I could see a modicum of difference in quality, it's so minor that it's not worth all the extra GBs.

 

[Fields47]

Ok could you tell me what Ripbot settings you use or send a config file?
Or just a screenshot maybe.

 

[Cobravision]

I use the HIGH 4.0 Bluray profile. I leave it on CQ and the CRF to 22, but others swear by 24. If you're resizing 1080p to 720p, click on Properties and choose HD-READY 1280X720p resolution. You can play with a bunch of other settings here, but I haven't really played with them much so I'm not sure what's optimal. Once you choose mkv as the output file (under the output file field), leave audio at x.x COPY STREAM. BTW, the first thing Ripbot does is demux the audio and video streams to a temp directory, so it may appear to be doing nothing when you choose the file. Just be patient.

If you want to convert DTS or AAC audio to AC3, google "Popcorn mkv converter". Great tool. AC3 tracks are less than half the size of DTS, and I'm not sure if the Tab can actually handle DTS. There is a 5.1 setting in the default player, but my earbuds are kind of sucky so I can't tell if it's doing anything. I'd do the audio conversion before feeding it to Ripbot.

 

[Fields47]

So you still finish with a mkv file?

Can u play the video from any point or when u try to navigate does it always go back to the beginning?

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

 

[Cobravision]

As long as you choose mkv instead of mp4 with the radio button, it comes out mkv with AC3 audio. If you leave it at mp4, the audio gets converted to stereo.

The stock player holds my place as long as I exit the program gracefully. If I'm on the train and the Tab decides to alert me that it's roaming, the Video app force closes and it saves nothing (which is why I turn it to airplane mode before watching movies). But as long as I exit out of the program, it bookmarks my place. You can also manually bookmarks points in the file as well. The only thing I don't like about the stock app is the lack of transport controls -- if I wanted to jump back 10 seconds because I missed something, it's an adventure landing in the right spot.

If you tap the power button as you're watching, it locks the screen controls. You can still change screen orientation and volume, but the screen no longer reacts to touch. This is very handy if your five year old is watching a movie and doesn't inadvertently back out to the home screen. It's also handy for cleaning the screen with your shirt and not initiating random commands.

BTW, I've tried practically every media player out there, and the stock player is hands down the best one. I've uninstalled most of the ones I've downloaded because I don't need them.