Database Users

HDMI out not working?? What am I doing wrong here?

I know that there are conflicting reports as to what plays and what doesn't through the HDMI port.
I finally bought a cable. I plugged it in to my phone and the TV. The tv automatically switched to "480p" and goes black (like it is about to do something). But it stays black. For anything.
Also, someone told me that there should be a little "HDMI" icon in the stop left of the phone when it is plugged in. I don't have this on my phone. Nothing happens on my phone at all.
I have 3 HDMI inputs on my tv. It's a viewsonic, if that matters.
Can somebody please help me diagnose this problem?? This is one of the reasons that I bought the phone.
Thanks for any help.

Have you tried the YouTube and Gallery apps? Those are supposed to be the only apps that work.

Only having YouTube and the gallery work with hdmi is another reason to be pissed off about the dos cap. HTC really thought watching YouTube clips were so important that they needed to limit the screen for it?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Dumb question, but just so i'm clear. I have a ripped version of a movie on my phone.. i "should" be able to play that via the HDMI cable using the video gallery app right?

jrun said:
Dumb question, but just so i'm clear. I have a ripped version of a movie on my phone.. i "should" be able to play that via the HDMI cable using the video gallery app right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently not.

I have a HDMI cable and a sony bravia and I get 720p and 480p perfectly fine. I encoded some of my blurays to 720p with handbrake and they play perfectly and amaze everyone I show it to. Some things to take note of the video player cant access any movies over 2gb so I just split them since some movies like Avatar can take up 2.5gb alone at 1280x720p using x.264 codec at 60% constant quality and 128 AAC for the audio.

P_Dub_S said:
I have a HDMI cable and a sony bravia and I get 720p and 480p perfectly fine. I encoded some of my blurays to 720p with handbrake and they play perfectly and amaze everyone I show it to. Some things to take note of the video player cant access any movies over 2gb so I just split them since some movies like Avatar can take up 2.5gb alone at 1280x720p using x.264 codec at 60% constant quality and 128 AAC for the audio.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only slightly off topic, so I will post here. Care to share your handbrake settings for encoding, in further depth than what you posted above? I have read every darn post/thread on the forums and even on internet for handbrake encoding that will work for movies on the EVO, but I fail everytime. I'm thinking it might be decrypting issue, but can't validate that. I get audio, and pixelated video that looks like it might be the copy protection messing with me. I have a 64 bit Windows 7 machine, and have the DVD43 plugin in the background for decryption, but still can't figure it out. Ideas? Point me in the right direction? Sorry if this is too off topic...It relates to the way I want to try and use my HDMI cable...

Sure i use AnyDVD HD for my background decoding and I always rip the movie first to my harddrive using ClownBD http://www.clownbd.com/ that way I have a single M2TS file to work with and it really seem to be faster for me this way as I also keep the uncompressed versions for my home computer system.
Handbrake settings are as follows
Container: mp4
Picture settings: width 1280
Notes: your gonna have to play with aspect ratio settings sometimes because of cropping and ratio settings the video will sometimes want to drop below 1280 to keep aspect ratio what you have to do is set anamorphic to custom then modulus to 16 and set the display width to 1280 you really have to play with the settings and do tests encodes of 3 minutes or so to find the right settings I have only had to do this with one movie so this will not always be the case often your encode will be straight set width to 1280 and check keep aspect ratio and set anamorphic to none.
No Filters
Video: X.264 codec, same as source FPS, constant quality 60.78% RF:20
note: some people have used 2 pass encoding and 1500 bitrate I haven't tried this yet since this is the old way of encoding video files using the x.264 codec but the developer on Handbrakes website had some suggestions himself that the codec is actually better off using a 1pass quality setting so that's what I have been doing since he released the newest version.
Audio: select your source track AAC codec and Dolby Pro Logic II Mixdown sample rate auto and bitrate 128 or 160 doesn't matter just don't go over 160
No Subtitles or chapters or advanced stuff needed from here start encoding and it works. Once your movie is done if it's larger than 2gb than youll need to either split it using another piece of software or try lower quality settings on your encode.

P_Dub_S said:
Sure i use AnyDVD HD for my background decoding and I always rip the movie first to my harddrive using ClownBD http://www.clownbd.com/ that way I have a single M2TS file to work with and it really seem to be faster for me this way as I also keep the uncompressed versions for my home computer system.
Handbrake settings are as follows ................
Container: .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks P. I'll give that all a shot. I suspect it's an encrypting issue that I'm experiencing, so I'll start by trying AnyDVD, and proceed to try the other steps from there.

Bang3r said:
Thanks P. I'll give that all a shot. I suspect it's an encrypting issue that I'm experiencing, so I'll start by trying AnyDVD, and proceed to try the other steps from there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem let me know how it goes if you need any other help send me a PM

Excellent encoding tips, P_Dub_S, you should make a thread on this subject.
Just want to add something that I found out while making 720 rips of some BD movies, the Android player supports only AVC baseline profiles. This could explain why some people are having problems making playable videos. So for those using Handbrake (or any other MP4 compressor), make sure you don't use B-Frames or CABAC entropy coding. If this sounds confusing, just select the iPhone preset in Handbrake first, then make the changes P_Dub mentioned.
I also noticed the output range of the HDMI port is full range (0-255) rather than the more common limited range (16-235) that most consumer HDTVs still default to. So if the video looks overly contrasty (black crush), you might want to check on the HDMI level setting of the TV. If the HDMI driver ever gets re-written, it would be nice to have the output levels selectable on the phone.

HDMI used to work and not anymore
HDMI used to work on my EVO but for whatever the reason is I can get it to work anymore. Does anybody having the same issue and/or having a solution?

How about some details?
What ROM are you using?
What software do you have running?
Have you tried other TVs, other devices on that TV's HDMI connection?

My problem was a task killer, as soon as I rebooted the phone without running a task killer, HDMI out worked.

I am using Rom version 3.26.651.6. It used to work on my Samsung tv and no longer working. I even tried on a Panasonic tv and a gateway monitor with hdmi and no luck. I tried both YouTube and video record directly from the phone. I called Sprint and they are anxious to send me a replacement so not sure if it's a known issue with the EVO. I have the same issue on both phones. I will try Phancy suggestion tonight.

Some kernels break hdmi as well, should check the thread for your rom/kernel your using for issues, what works, what doesn't,etc... if your root.
Sent from my phone.

FYI: Handbrake preset for Atrix Video

Came across this tutorial for preset to convert your HD videos for the Atrix.
http://www.knowyourcell.com/motorol...d_transfer_them_to_the_motorola_atrix_4g.html

So does anyone think this is weird that dual core has to go through converting software while my galaxy tab and nexus s can run all my ha qualities from jetvd and tubemate without a hitch ....will there be updates that will help with video playback
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

^same outcry from xoom users

So far I'm not that impressed with the video playback of the Atrix, but I suppose we'll have to wait and see what the 1080p update brings with it.
Attached is a Handbrake preset that I've tweaked for the Atrix. I tried various settings and these are it.

I keep getting an error
I tried your settings and messing with a bunch of them. I can watch in in VLC on the pc, but no matter what player I use on the atrix I get "file cannot be displayed or played"...any thoughts?

Strange. I encoded a DVD movie, BBC Top Gear episodes (from XVID) and a couple of other stuff, all worked perfectly for me.
Under the advanced tab, try setting the reference frames to 0 and slide the Psychovisual Rate Distro slider all the way to the left.

Have you try Vital Player? It seems to play almost or a lot of stuff Im throwing it.

Curious, have any of you got a good rip from Ripbot 264? I have a couple of Blu Rays I've converted via MakeMKV, but then I need to run them through something else. These are in a VC1 format and Handbrake doesn't recognize them. Ripbot264 does but I can't get a good file out of it. Any help with the presets? I got a good one the first time, but it cropped out a lot... (my fault on the settings I think) and the 2nd try I set it to make an mkv, another oops as the atrix won't read it.

scottrleo1 said:
I tried your settings and messing with a bunch of them. I can watch in in VLC on the pc, but no matter what player I use on the atrix I get "file cannot be displayed or played"...any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you change the container to mkv, because the Atrix seems to hate mkv.

Bit of a bump but anyone had luck with this?
I tried above instructions, also made sure I started off with the 'normal' profile not high profile, still nothing plays. Is this the whole 'tegra2 can't play hi profile x264' thing, if so how do I get handbrake to output baseline?

CoriolisSTORM said:
....I have a couple of Blu Rays I've converted via MakeMKV, but then I need to run them through something else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After Blu Ray conversion via MakeMKV I've been running the files through the 'Badaboom 2' transcoder (using the AppleTV preset).
I did have to switch to 'MoboPlayer' because the 'Act 1' video player I was using would not play the AppeTV files.

thanks very much

After much experimentation I figured out the key is to encode in x264 baseline NOT normal or hi profile.
Basically use the same presets as iphone 3gs in terms of x264 parameters (not resolution etc.) and it will play.
A bit pathetic really since it can push jaw dropping 3D games but not video encoded with a spec that's pretty much mainstream. I'm not even talking about 1080p. Just be nice to be able to drop a typical 720p x264 rip in and play. DIsappointed

MKV to Mp4 for XOOM WITHOUT Converting Video

Under Honeycomb 3.1, playback of some high profile h264 files is now possible. This means it is now possible to convert many high profile MKV files to a format the XOOM will play WITHOUT the time consuming process of re-encoding the video. So for those who hate re-encoding, here is how:
Download and install the freeware app XenonMKV. It will allow one click conversion of a high profile 720p MKV file to an mp4 that the XOOM can play WITHOUT the time consuming process of re-encoding the video. Also it leaves original video quality intact and untouched. Special credit to parrotheadmjb for pointing us to this app.
Advantages of this method:
1. Converts only audio with no loss of video quality - video is untouched only audio and container are changed. No artifacts or distortion added by a video re-encode.
2. Much faster then re-encoding the whole video in something like Handbrake or DVD cat. 40 min TV show converts in about 5-6 min. Two hour movie in 15 to 17 minutes or faster depending on your system.
Disadvantages:
1. Will not work for main and high profile 1080p MKV - use DVDcat or Handbrake for these
2. One click version can be quriky with some videos. Manual tools may work better on these.
Some tips for XenonMKV
Setting aspect ratio manually may be necessary for some videos. Do this if your converted video appears stretched or aspect doesn't match original. I have found that using 16x10 rather than 16x9 works for XOOM even when original is 16x9. Setting 16x9 sometimes gave wrong aspect even when original was 16x9.
There is an option to manually select the audio track for multi-language MKV. Use this if its giving you the wrong audio track.
Alternate method using separate tools is shown below. Usefull for stuff that doesn't convert with Xenon. Harder to setup - not that hard really. Just got to download a lot of pieces and put them in the proper folders. After that you just make shorcuts to the desktops for the 3 tools and you are ready.
Very easy to convert videos once tools with Graphical user interfaces are installed -Just requires three separate manual steps.
1. Demux your video: This can be done using MKVtoolnix + MKVextract GUI
Once this tool is installed, you just load your video and click extract.
You should have a video file with h264 extension and an ac3 audio file.
2. Convert just the ac3 audio file to AAC. This can be done with eac3, but I have a paid copy of Ojosoft Audio converter, and I have been using that to convert the
AC3 audio file to an AAC audio file
With Ojo you just load the AC3 file extracted in step 1, select AAC and go.
3. Using MP4boxGUI, mux the original Video file back together with the new AAC audio file and you are done.
Again super easy. Just load the original video extracted in step one and the new AAC audio file made in step 2 and click mux. That's it.
I have specified GUI versions of all the tools for simplicity, however if you love the command line, have fun.
The whole process takes less about 10 minutes, and produces an MP4 video file with audio that plays back on the XOOM.
Disclaimer: I have just started experimenting with this process. Don't blame me if a particular video doesn't convert. Don't go buing Ojosoft and blaming me if you can't use it for your video. There are free ac3 to AAC converters out there.
Important note: You may need to manually set the fps in MP4boxGUI, don't trust the program to keep the original fps. If you don't know the fps of the original, try 23.976 or download mediainfo. If you don't set it manually, and leave it at default you may get audio sync issues.
Edit: So far have only tested with 720p high profile MKV's but its working very well - finally feel like I can watch videos on my XOOM the way they were intended. Going to convert a large number now and see how many work without problems.
Edit: Can't believe how well this is working. Finally an easy way to convert MKV for XOOM without re-encoding for hours. Even worked on a 720p [email protected] file. Perfect video and audio. Damn! I might stop considering the galaxy tab 10.1.

Nice to hear about this kind of progress and testing =)
now all we need is encoder software that'll copy original video but encode the audio with a simple click... batch processing and maybe copy to device in one go.
doesn't handbrake have a "keep video" setting? =)
looking forward to more tests.
i'm still hoping that when coreplayer for android gets released all our playback woes will be over...
@corecodec: "Subtitles completed for CorePlayer on Android and Windows."
Fred
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I was thinking that too. Would be nice to do it all with one click. But I haven't gotten that far ahead just yet. Now just trying all sorts of videos to see how many work.
But its still not hard once the tools are set up with GUI interfaces. If you just want to download a video and watch it right away without waiting to re-encode the whole thing it's great. I just put the links to the three tools on my desktop and go throught the steps and you can be up watching a movie or TV show in about 10 min after its downloaded.

Theres already a bunch of 1-click tools that will remux it for you.
XenonMKV works great, theres a number of other tools that were made for the xbox 360 that do this since the 360 will play mp4 but not mkv. Try out xenonmkv and see how well that works on the xoom, I haven't tried yet.. I did think about it a few months ago but never got around to it.
edit: also, if you want it to, it'll split the file for you if its >4gb since the file system kinda limits us to 4gb files

Not really a conversion tool but I use Plex (app and server on my PC) and I can stream anything over 3g and WiFi without having to do all this conversion mess. The app costs $5 but its well worth it, there was literally zero setup and my Xoom found my plex server instantly and I was streaming video/music anywhere I was. Obviously for 720 and 1080p videos 3g likely wouldnt be the best but I stream Blu-Ray rips (1080p) over WiFi and it looks and sounds great. I no longer have to convert anything (even plays .mkv's)

parrotheadmjb said:
Theres already a bunch of 1-click tools that will remux it for you.
XenonMKV works great, theres a number of other tools that were made for the xbox 360 that do this since the 360 will play mp4 but not mkv. Try out xenonmkv and see how well that works on the xoom, I haven't tried yet.. I did think about it a few months ago but never got around to it.
edit: also, if you want it to, it'll split the file for you if its >4gb since the file system kinda limits us to 4gb files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. I was looking for something just like this with no luck, but I downloaded this and tried it with a 720p scene release I had been meaning to watch with great results! Video plays great on the xoom, and it was larger than 4GB (4.1), so I'm unsure about that limit. Thanks, I recommend this for sure!

parrotheadmjb said:
Theres already a bunch of 1-click tools that will remux it for you.
XenonMKV works great, theres a number of other tools that were made for the xbox 360 that do this since the 360 will play mp4 but not mkv. Try out xenonmkv and see how well that works on the xoom, I haven't tried yet.. I did think about it a few months ago but never got around to it.
edit: also, if you want it to, it'll split the file for you if its >4gb since the file system kinda limits us to 4gb files
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great suggestion - I'm trying XenonMKV right now. Its basically an automated 1click way of performing the steps I outlined above and it seems to be working very well. It looks like we finally have a way of converting and playing MKV files on the XOOM fast and easy without waiting hours to re-encode!! Wow this really changes my opinion of the XOOM.

Tried Xenonmkv out on a 1.2 GB 720p high profile h264 mkv file with ac3 audio. It was able to change the container to mp4 keeping the video quality the same and reencoding the ac3 to aac and remuxing all in less than 5 minutes.

thor17 said:
Tried Xenonmkv out on a 1.2 GB 720p high profile h264 mkv file with ac3 audio. It was able to change the container to mp4 keeping the video quality the same and reencoding the ac3 to aac and remuxing all in less than 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What settings are you using? I am trying it now and it has been running for 40 minutes. Forgive my ignorance with this video stuff. It seems to be taking just as long as using DVD Catalyst or Handbrake.

keitht said:
What settings are you using? I am trying it now and it has been running for 40 minutes. Forgive my ignorance with this video stuff. It seems to be taking just as long as using DVD Catalyst or Handbrake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Somethings definitely wrong there. Try re-installing - downloading required libraries Nero- visual basic runtimes etc - also watch all the messages it displays as the MKV is being processed and observe what step it gets stuck on - that should give you a clue as to which tool or library is missing. Of course, its also possible you fed it a video it can't handle, for example I wonder whether it can process a file with DTS audio - something like that might make it hang or give an error message.

Digital Man said:
Somethings definitely wrong there. Try re-installing - downloading required libraries Nero- visual basic runtimes etc - also watch all the messages it displays as the MKV is being processed and observe what step it gets stuck on - that should give you a clue as to which tool or library is missing. Of course, its also possible you fed it a video it can't handle, for example I wonder whether it can process a file with DTS audio - something like that might make it hang or give an error message.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried a different video file and it worked much faster, 17 minutes. The one that took a long time did say "Detected video or audio codec: A_DTS". Not seeing any error though. If most are around 17 minutes, that is good enough for me.

keitht said:
I tried a different video file and it worked much faster, 17 minutes. The one that took a long time did say "Detected video or audio codec: A_DTS". Not seeing any error though. If most are around 17 minutes, that is good enough for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That seems about right - a 40 minute 720p MKV takes about 5 or 6 minutes on my computer.
A two hour 720p video takes about 15 minutes. It still takes time to re-encode that much audio, but still far less than something like DVD catalyst or Handbrake. And on a faster computer, I would imagine it would take hardly any time at all.
I assume from your results that the DTS file worked eventually, just took a long time. I was able to convert a two hour DTS file using the manual tools I listed above in conjunction with OjoSoft Audio converter and it took more than 20 minutes, so I gues DTS takes a bit longer than AC3.

Dvdcatalyst 4 seems to be working the best for me. Only 9 buks right now.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App

nubsors said:
Dvdcatalyst 4 seems to be working the best for me. Only 9 buks right now.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DVDcatalyst is an excellent program. And until now, was one of the best solutions for converting MKV videos for the XOOM. Only problem is, with DVDcatalyst and Handbrake and similar programs you are re-encoding your entire video - and in the case of DVDcatalyst, to a lower profile, with a potentional loss of quality. Using DVDcatalyst, I have noticed macroblocking and distortion on its fast, and HQ1 settings. And its HQ2 setting takes a very long time.
By re-encoding only the audio, with something like XenonMKV you are leaving the video un-touched with zero loss or change in quality.
Put more simply, DVDcatalyst and Handbrake are doing a tremendous ammount of unnecessary work to convert a video. Work which is no longer necessary under HC 3.1, because it is capable of handling many high profile 720p h264 files now natively, without conversion.

After viewing this posts, i think this is a good idea. but i still don't know how to operate. i usually use Fox Real Xoom video converter to convert mkv to mp4 for playing. i know it is sample, but i don't know if the way Digital Man provides is also simple?

Unless there is a freeware one click solution for this, there is no point for me, I can handbrake Tron bluray in under 20 minutes. Ripping from the disc takes about 10 more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

oh...your post seems really amazing, but i had took money to buy a xoom video converter. maybe i should watch your post earlier.

alias_neo said:
Unless there is a freeware one click solution for this, there is no point for me, I can handbrake Tron bluray in under 20 minutes. Ripping from the disc takes about 10 more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xenonmkv is a freeware one click solution.

thor17 said:
Xenonmkv is a freeware one click solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ummm what he said.
I think thats the whole point. We now have a one click solution that doesn't require re-encoding. (have to read the whole thread people - its really not that long!) I am not using my original steps anymore either. I am using the batch/folder convert in XenonMKV.
I think I will edit the first post in this thread and add XenonMKV as a better solution. Special thanks to parrotheadmjb for sugesting a one click solution in XenonMKV!

Good work, i kinda gave up on movies on my xoom as dvdcat took so long. Does this support 1080p rips? Is the file size cut down alot?
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

[Q] watching movies on the nook

hi,
I want to know whats the best way (format & quality, an app) to watch some movies on the nook. It no need to be in best quality but it should work.
;-) just for my wife to kill time before getting the baby in the hospital ....
do you have any suggestion?
thanks for your help!

My wife uses netflix, works great. What is the status of your nook? Stock or rooted?
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

If you're running CM7...
I just did a lot of this for my wife who was convalescing...To covert to a format I can watch on the NC, I use AVS Tools video converter, but any converter will work fine for media you have rights to; there is an M4v* conversion preset for the iphone (720p) which works great on nook color (I run CM7 & use standard movie player). NO tweaks really needed, but I set the frame rate to 29.97 to match the source. Smaller video sizes don't seem to make much difference in file size. With CM7 the google videos you can dnload work great on Nook Color.
For loading, I suggest transferring via your SD card, wireless transfers of movies takes forever.
* Nice format as I can then load same files on my wife's ipad. Yeah she gets the cadillac tablet, I get the tweakers tab...

If running CM7 -
I suggest mobo player with the moboplayer codec for armv7vfp3 (two separate apps on Google Market). I've had extremely smooth playback with software decoded files that I was too lazy to convert to a supported format.
If encoding for Nook Color in general (CM7 or stock):
MP4 container, H.264 baseline profile, up to 854x480 resolution. Technically the screen is 1024 x 600 but NCs have a hardware limitation for decoding higher than 854x480, YMMV with that.
I use DVD Catalyst 4 (paid software, was $10? I think) which has several Nook Color presets (and updated recently for Nook Tablet) as well as other tablets and phones, such as the Xoom. Just easier to click the preset, adjust for subtitles/alternative voice track if needed, then set a whole batch of videos to recode.
I've used free applications like Handbrake, for which you can get a preset profile for the Nook Color. I just like the ease of DVDC4 for converting both digital and hard media.

on cm7
moboplayer decodes and smoothly plays back every movie I've ever "obtained" from the internet
no need to convert anything

The vlc beta works really well. I like mobo too, just had some syncing issues with a few of my xvid avis.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the feedback. I have some DVDs she would like to see (means converting?) . I use the NC with CM7 (1 month old NL version) from SD.
So what's the best way?
Thanks!
Sent from my HD2 using XDA Premium App

Handbrake is definitely the best for DVD conversion. It has easy to use presets. I'be had good luck with iPod touch preset. Reasonable file size and decent video quality.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

I use Rock player to play my avi's
http://www.appbrain.com/app/rockplayer-lite/com.redirectin.rockplayer.android.unified.lite

Zirus69 said:
Thanks for all the feedback. I have some DVDs she would like to see (means converting?) . I use the NC with CM7 (1 month old NL version) from SD.
So what's the best way?
Thanks!
Sent from my HD2 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FREE: Handbrake with some preset profile, there were a few here. For a basic, no-frills, very customizable encoder, it's very good. And it's free.
PAID: IMO, DVD Catalyst 4. $10. I'm in no way affiliated with the company, just have been a very happy customer with the ease of use/results. With minimal tinkering I've gotten better results for some tricky conversions (e.g., multiple episodes, multiple sound tracks/subtitling options, widescreen) than with Handbrake. For me it's worth the money not to have to spend time tinkering with test encodes, tweaking settings, etc. so I can just batch jobs up and do other things.
YMMV, of course.

spr8dogg said:
Handbrake is definitely the best for DVD conversion. It has easy to use presets. I'be had good luck with iPod touch preset. Reasonable file size and decent video quality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Handsdown the WORST dvdripping software (experience) on the market, I have no idea why everyone reccomends it. I use Magic DVD Ripper. Simple easy to use interface, with advanced options if needed.

streaming videos from share to Nook Color
I "stream" all my videos to my Nook Color via 802.11g using CifsManager and VitalPlayer software decoding. Occasionally the video I'm watching will be hardware decoded by VitalPlayer if the codec is correct. And occasionally, if watching a big .mkv file I get a little chatter with only 54Mb 802.11g, but that's very rare.
It beats the hell out of copying video files to /mnt/emmc or /mnt/sdcard over wireless.
1) grab VitalPlayer from the Market (free version is OK, the ads only show up when the controls are visible)
2) grab CifsManager from the Market.
3) Configure your share on any old computer/NAS and put video files in it. Know these things: the workgroup, the share perms (username/password) and leave the NTFS perms at Everyone Full Control.
4) on your Nook Color, use Terminal to create folder /mnt/cifs
5) fire up CifsManager and connect to your share point, mounting it to /mnt/cifs, remembering to specify the path, workgroup, username and password. When the dot in CifsManager is green, you're mounted.
6) using File Explorer, or Root Explorer on your Nook Color (any Android file manager will do) browse to /mnt/cifs/[share name] and browse your video files. Select the video to play.
7) Select VitalPlayer if asked, and set to default if desired.
8) Wait a few seconds for VitalPlayer to start your video. Usually it will display "Software Decoding" before it starts playing.
I've never met a codec that VitalPlayer didn't like.

OR you could just download ES File Explorer and Rock Player from the market, and browse your Windows Media Server(s) on your network, playing files through Rock Player (which supports almost any file type for wireless streaming).

I use Mobo for the NC.
However, I do have a strange problem. On my Xoom, I can reach my NAS using ES File Explorer and it will stream to the Xoom.
If I use the NC to the exact same file, it will try to download the file and play it locally. I'm assuming that it will also only work for files that are re-encoded for the NC format and if its not, it will just simply chock on playback.
How does an app like Netflix do it? Do they have various encoded versions or is there some transition layer within the Netflix APK?

al mon said:
I use Mobo for the NC.
However, I do have a strange problem. On my Xoom, I can reach my NAS using ES File Explorer and it will stream to the Xoom.
If I use the NC to the exact same file, it will try to download the file and play it locally. I'm assuming that it will also only work for files that are re-encoded for the NC format and if its not, it will just simply chock on playback.
How does an app like Netflix do it? Do they have various encoded versions or is there some transition layer within the Netflix APK?
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Not sure - I have used ES File to access movies, and they stream. If it's the wrong file format though ES File will open a browser window. So make sure it's a m4v of the right dimensions etc & it should stream.

The player is what supports the streaming Not the file explorer. Rock Player is the only one I've used that worked for streaming. ES media player would try and cache the file locally first.
Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App

unsivil_audio said:
The player is what supports the streaming Not the file explorer. Rock Player is the only one I've used that worked for streaming. ES media player would try and cache the file locally first.
Sent from my NookColor using XDA Premium App
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OK, makes sense...I was using Mobo when streaming.

viewing really wide screen movie
For those born before 1970, there's a great movie called How the West Was Won (HWWW). The aspect ratio is wider that 16:9. When I play on NC, the aspect ratio is wrong. Yet viewing the m4k file with VLC on my PC, the aspect ratio is correct.
TV shows and other movies display correctly on NC.
Why does the native movie player or the ES Explorer view change the aspect ratio. Any suggestions?

[Q] Do you convert your movies to play on the N7?

I have a few DVD and Blu-ray rips stored as ISO or mkv on Windows. Is it worth converting them to a smaller file size for storing and playing on the N7? If yes, what format for video/audio should I use and can you please recommend a good an easy to use Windows conversion program? Thanks!

sirxdroid said:
I have a few DVD and Blu-ray rips stored as ISO or mkv on Windows. Is it worth converting them to a smaller file size for storing and playing on the N7? If yes, what format for video/audio should I use and can you please recommend a good an easy to use Windows conversion program? Thanks!
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MX player (and many others) should play mkvs and avis just fine. Try it first, it doesn't take long to copy a video onto the device.
If you encounter problems with said formats, try converting to H.264/mp4, this should be natively supported by android (any many others - its like THE codec to use nowadays )

issak42 said:
MX player (and many others) should play mkvs and avis just fine. Try it first, it doesn't take long to copy a video onto the device.
If you encounter problems with said formats, try converting to H.264/mp4, this should be natively supported by android (any many others - its like THE codec to use nowadays )
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Thanks! Limited space on the device is of concern too. Any recommendations for a free converter program for Windows 7? A Google search comes up with a bunch of paid and what looks like scam converters.
If H.264/mp4 is *the* video codec, what is *the* audio codec to pair it with and *the* free Wnidows conversion software to generate these?

sirxdroid said:
Thanks! Any recommendations for a free converter program for Windows 7? A Google search comes up with a bunch of paid and what looks like scam converters.
If H.264/mp4 is *the* video codec, what is *the* audio codec to pair it with and *the* free Wnidows conversion software to generate these?
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All my movies were ripped using Windows Media Player. They came in as .avi files.
Those play directly on the Nexus 7 without conversion.
I hated converting movies for cell phones... this is a lot better.

Try Handbrake,
It's converted all the dvd's I've thrown at it recently

sirxdroid said:
Thanks! Limited space on the device is of concern too. Any recommendations for a free converter program for Windows 7? A Google search comes up with a bunch of paid and what looks like scam converters.
If H.264/mp4 is *the* video codec, what is *the* audio codec to pair it with and *the* free Wnidows conversion software to generate these?
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mpeg4aac, ac3
Usually when you select the desired codec (or profile in some programs - for Android for example) it chooses audio codec automatically, the one that's usually used with chosen video codec.
I recommend xilisoft for converting, it's not free, but it's really hard to get a good free converter. You might wanna try it on linux, just install Ubuntu in a virtual machine, I'm sure there's some freeware converters made for linux

I use BSplayer, it woks on everything i tried and you get subtitles.
/cazrack

cazrack said:
I use BSplayer, it woks on everything i tried and you get subtitles.
/cazrack
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Caz is right, do not convert your movies it is time consuming and unnecessary use BSplayer and VLCplayer they will play anything you throw at it with subtitles and time stretching if needed, VLC supoprts more formats but BS will do for the majority.

Conversion will save storage space on your Nexus. I use HandBrake set to H264, AAC, in an MKV (or MP4) container. With the proper settings a 90 minute DVD takes about 400MB. It takes about 30-40 minutes to convert the original DVD file on an average PC (Intel i3 or i5).

ripbot264 is a great free tool although it requires you install a few other bits of software first, avisynth, ffdshow etc as its basically a front end gui for x264. Once done though it will give you a decent compromise between power and simplicity and works on 64 bit for a small % speed increase on video.
The other option for space limited devices is streaming over your own network using DLNA or upnp which is what I do

DrEzkimo said:
The other option for space limited devices is streaming over your own network using DLNA or upnp which is what I do
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This works OK at home, not so much offline, e.g. the kids using the tablet in the car. I suppose an OTG USB dongle with a big flash drive would do the trick, but I'd like to keep it simple and have the movies on the built-in storage if possible to shrink them and fit more of them. I think the kids care a lot more about enjoying the content than some potential playing artifacts introduced by shrinking, unlike their dad

jinx100 said:
Conversion will save storage space on your Nexus. I use HandBrake set to H264, AAC, in an MKV (or MP4) container. With the proper settings a 90 minute DVD takes about 400MB. It takes about 30-40 minutes to convert the original DVD file on an average PC (Intel i3 or i5).
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Could you please post the "proper settings" you are using? Thanks.

I am using VLC and never had to convert videos. its working just fine for me.

vibraloop said:
I am using VLC and never had to convert videos. its working just fine for me.
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Playing any file type is fine, the problem is the limited storage. If a DVD ripped straight to mkv is about 3-4GB, you can't fit much on the device. Not sure what the shrunken target size for such a DVD should be so the quality doesn't suffer too much when played on the N7.

sirxdroid said:
Could you please post the "proper settings" you are using? Thanks.
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I use HANDBRAKE, just like at least one previous poster, and I've encoded 500+ movies for viewing on both Tablets (N7 and GTab) and smaller PC screens.
I target around 700mb for ~480p, 1gb for ~720p, and 2gb for ~1080p video; but I find -1gb works best for streaming (and I mostly stream via WIFI),
If you're worried bout quality over file size, set the "quality" target to no less than 1000 avg bitrate (kbps), on the "Video" tab. Even a 2700kbps file can get choppy on an N7, so there's no need to aim too high... but it's your call.
Otherwise there should be a "Presets" list on the right side of the main Handbrake window, the "Normal" setting, under regular should be good to start with.
-Then drop in a video,
-check the "Picture" tab to make sure the resolution and cropping are alright
+ I usually use "keep aspect ratio", and no anamorphic, with a modulus of "2"
-read through the "Video Filters" tab to see if any of those might be a good idea (not usually needed)
-make sure the "Video" tab shows H.264 for codec, you can either use the lower standard frame rate (23.976), or the one from the original video, and set your target file size or quality on the right (as described above)
-then hit the "Audio" tab, and choose appropriate audio (i use AAC, Pro Logic II, and 128kbps, with "auto" sample rate)
-add subs if needed on "Subtitle" tab (burn them in to the image if you arent using a Android player that lets you choose subs while viewing)
-then check and see where the file is being outputted, change location/name if needed, and ensure it's being outputted as an MP4, or MKV (nothing odd)
-then either "Preview" the video, "Start", or "Add to Queue"
When you find settings that work well for you, you can "Add" a preset to the presets list, and make it your default... If I remember correctly I had to do this a couple times cause a few of the settings didn't take, so check your preset by closing Handbrake, reopening it, and droppping a file in before you just assume it's all set and ready to go.
You can also skim through the preferences and set default output folders and such.
After you have things the way you want them you should be left to pretty much drop files in, enque them, and then hit start and walk away.
And if you're on linux, holler, I have dual boot with Handbrake on both Ubuntu and Win7, so I can walk ya through either.

I use Freemake
I use Freemake (http://www.freemake.com/) to convert my MKV and ISO files. Just choose the Android mp4 format.

Personally I haven't converted a movie since I moved to android from an iPhone. Personally I just have a 64gb usb on my keyring (which cost about $30), and plug into my N7 with a USB OTG cable when I want to watch movies. The usb connection isn't perfect, but it works, and will save you a lot of time converting movies. On my N7 I use MXplayer and highly recommend it. Great piece of software for free.
If you want to keep them on your N7 then it would be necessary to convert to keep a reasonable amount though.

@rckoegel - Thank you VERY much for the tips. I will have to go back and read your post a few times.

sirxdroid said:
Could you please post the "proper settings" you are using? Thanks.
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These are always changing but setting the video quality fairly low is the biggest help for small file size. The quality still appears quite good when viewing.

Another converter that is very handy is XMedia Recode. I use the portable version.
Painless setup:
Set input for DVD or Movie
Drag and drop video or Open DVD/File to convert
Set Output Format Profile to Google and Google Nexus 7
Set output folder
Right click video to encode->add job
Encode
You can tweak the output settings to anything you wish. It is a piece of cake to convert videos and twice as fast as HandBrake.