Hi, I just got a HP iPaq 4150( pocket pc with Windows Media Player 9.0-- I supposedely can watch video on my handheld-- I also have heard that is possible to rip and compress dvds small enough to put on the sd media and watch them--well that would be swell but it is very hard to find up-to-date info regarding this process. What little I have found is sooo time consuming and suspiciously outdated-5-9 steps and 3-5 different programs that you need to download and install--there has got to be an easier way-- I already have DvDecryptor, Dvd2One, DvdShrink and DvdClone--from what I gather, I need DivX instead--ugh! Has anyone found anything reliable for us handheld users? Thanks!
It really depends on what viewing software you intend to use on the PocketPC to watch the video. If you plan on using the native Windows Media player, you'll need to convert your DVD files to either WMV or MPEG...I strongly suggest WMV as it's the best way to get the file down to a small size. I currently have a 1gig CF card on my PocketPC, and have 4 full-length backups of my DVD's on there at around 200 megs each in WMV format...they look and sound great! If you are using the Pocket Divx player, you could drop Divx movies onto your machine. However, the most current Pocket Divx player out there doesn't seem to support Divx5 format, as currently created by Dr. Divx, so I opted out of Divx for my movies. To get one of our own DVD's onto your PocketPC will require a few steps...but nothing that bad. You'll need a DVD decrypter tool (DVD Decrypter, Smart Ripper or DVD Shrink will work fine). Rip the movie as normal..assume you know how to do that. Once you've got the VOB's to your hard drive, you're safest bet is to use DVD2AVI to get the sound file out of the VOB and to put the VOB's into a simulated AVI file. Then use Windows Media 9 encoder (free from Microsoft) to convert it to a WMV using the PocketPC template provided with that app. WM9 encoder is slow...it can take 4 or more hours to re-encode to WMV in this format, but it works. Write back if you need some links that will help you with this...I've seen a few guides out there that make this pretty easy to follow.
Hey Gone4day, Thanks for the reply--I was starting to think no one would respond. I always use DvdDecryptor and usually Dvd2one. I tried using the Dvd2avi and was perplexed by it because the guide I was using was telling me about menu options I could not find in the version I had downloaded(?)Maybe I will download it again--so any helful guides would be great. I have also decided to try Auto-GordionKnot--I read somewhere it is a very easy tool for us Newbies to use for creating avi files--have you worked with this? About the Windows media player--I have version 9 player on my desktop-is the encoder in the options or do I dowload it from the Microsoft site? Sorry for all the questions--I have been reading forums and searching endlessly for help with this for the past 4 days. Thanks again. maya613
I've never used Gordian Knot...only use SmartRipper, DVDDecrypter and DVDShrink (mostly Shrink!). I've used this guide before....it's illustrated and only involves the use of freeware (SmartRipper, etc). You could probably substitute any other decrypting agent to get the VOB's out of your DVD of choice, but the WMV conversion part is here also: http://www.geocities.com/tcperconti/wmvppc/ Alternatively, this guide uses Flask...but I've never done it this way: http://ppcworld.home.comcast.net/dvdtoppc.htm And Windows Media Encoder is a different program than Windows Media...you can get it here at Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...02-e496-465a-bba9-b2f1182cdf24&DisplayLang=en If you are running WindowsXP, you may also want to check and see if you have a copy of "Windows Movie Maker" installed. It will read almost any type of AVI, MPEG or Divx file and give you the option to convert it to PocketPC format. It uses Windows Media Encoder as it's "engine" and provides a lot of good editing tools to help you edit the movie first. This is great when converting something like an episodic DVD into several individual WMV files for the PocketPC. I often will use this instead of Windows Media Encoder once I've got my VOB's to an AVI file using DVD2AVI. Then it's a simple matter of editing and encoding to WMV from there. One last place to look...the magazine "Maximum PC" did a two page, fully illustrated feature on how to convert DVD to PocketPC format. It had some additional "tweaks" you could apply inside of Windows Media Encoder to get the best looking picture. I usually use the default "PocketPC" profile, but on high action movies (eg; Blade), this can get very jerky. There -IS- a "one click" DVD to PocketPC tool out there, but I've only seen it on download.com as shareware....guess you could try it! Check it out here: http://www.makayama.com/dvdtopocketpc.html But keep in mind that even with these newer Xscale processors, this is a PDA....the quality is NOT DVD in my opinion...more like a VHS tape at best. Still quite watchable, and very cool "bragging" app to show to your friends and co-workers. I usually stick to drama/comedy DVD's for conversion to my PocketPC...TV episodes like Alias or 24 are also ideal for this tiny unit, and allows me to keep up with my favorite shows while flying. Also, I get about 6 hours worth of playtime on a fully charged battery...better than my laptop! On my last trip, my co-worker begged to borrow my PDA to watch the full "Where Eagles Dare" movie. When we arrived at our destination, he went to CompUSA immediately and bought the same PocketPC and had me show him how to backup his own DVD's to the CF card. Good luck!
