Video Tools
To do everything I'm going to talk about, you need some basic tools.
First, codecs. Your PC needs to have decoders installed for each type of content...
- For dvr-ms, you need an mpeg-2 decoder. if you have a media center PC, you've got the codec installed and it's probably capable of doing transcoding. If not, you may need to go get one. Try transcoding, and see. If you fail, lack a decoder. If video quality is bad, your decoder can't transcode and you'll need to get another one.
- For Divx, you need the divx decoder. http://www.divx.com/divx/windows/
- For wmv, you're all set if you run Windows
Next, you need a transcoding app. I have tried a lot of them, and they vary enormously in quality. Video transcoding is hard to do well, because of the variability in video content and codecs. Thankfully, I've found one I really like, but sadly it's not free. Tanstaafl.
TMPGEnc XPress is a first-rate pice of software. It works well and ingests nearly any video content, and produces great quality wmv video. One reason is that it comes with most video codecs built in, so they guarantee a great video end-to-end (sound familiar?). But that means they pay licensing fees for all of the codecs, which is expensive. I've been using the 3.0 version, but I'd bet the new 4.0 version is as good or better. It's (cough) $99.99. If time is valuable, it's worth it. My reasons for recommending:
- Supports the formats that matter to me, and to most people, both for input and output
- easy easy to use. sniffs videos before transcoding and is smart about picking arcane encoding params like frame rate, deinterlacing, etc...
- lots of optional power. modify while transcoding, filters, editing, etc....
- supports "profiles" and batch encoding.
In a bit I'll post a walkthrough of my workflow, but for now, check it out. Feature list is found here.
6 Comments:
How about posting how to convert for free?
- Paul
You must see there is a significant problem with video on the Zune at the moment - you can't seriously expect consumers to buy the Zune only to have to fork out another $100 just so they can convert videos they already have onto the device.
I really hope that native support for various key codecs are coming soon - cause either way most consumers still aren't running Quad (or even Dual) Core PCs - which would make the transcoding process somewhat bearable - even if it was free.
Got to agree with ya smotch, this converting crap is for the birds. What a hassle.
Not that I really see myself actually watching much video on a small screen BUT it is annoying to have to convert across so many different formats. I actually wouldn't care about converting if there was an easy tool provided by Microsoft to do it.
For those looking for a free way to do conversion check this out:
http://happybeggar.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=2
P.S. Are you a Heinlein fan? Last I saw someone using "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch" was in Robert A. Heinlein's "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls". Actually, I think it was that book but some of his work blurs together in my head.
One more thing, did you try WinAVI? It converts to WMV from almost anything and I'd be curious how it stacks up against TMPGEnc. It's also cheaper at $49 I believe.
Also, any difference between using WMV8, WMV9 or WMV9 VC-1? Does the quality of WMV9 even matter at the resolution of the Zune? Could it handle it? Thanks.
re: tanstaafl. Yes, that's a heinleinism. it crops up in surprising places though; economists have picked it up, and I recently saw a boat called the tanstaafl.
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