Videos that matter (to me)
So, to start out on video conversion for Zune, let me lay out the video types that matter to me.
- wmv videos (home videos, etc...)
- divx videos - encoded using a variety of encoders, especially doctor divx
- dvr-ms videos - tv recordings from my media center
Right now, the Zune only supports the first natively, so I need to do some transcoding.
It's also important to remember that you not only need to make sure a video matches the codecs on a Zune, but also in resolution. So you'll need to transcode down to 320x240 for the device if it's a wmv even though the device supports the codec. So I typically need to transcode almost all of my videos.
Fortunately, I've found some really good tools.
3 Comments:
Um, sorry, Microsoft attempted to control the media format market over 5 years ago, and it got passed by in the last 4. Not only is AAC support now important for audio, but mpeg-2, mpeg-4 (generally), and H.264 (specifically) are important.
Nobody I know cares about Microsoft formats anymore except for the fools than think Media Center is a good product.
Agreed re aac for audio.
not as clear re mpeg-4 and h.264 (given that most of the content in these formats is locked up tight as a drum in Fairplay so nobody can interop with it). But there is a growing presence in video podcasts so I tend to agree.
mpeg-2 is a strange thing to get excited about. I suppose if you rip DVDs and don't recompress?
Surprised you don't mention divx, which does have massive content, or mp3, which is the real universal music format.
Why can't the Zune store and play 640 x 480 WMV content without transcoding to a lower resolution? Can't the Zune scale down the video while playing? Is it technically impossible? Since you can connect your Zune to a TV, why would you limit it to a dreadful 320 x 240? I just don't get it. I know it eats up more space... but you need at least 640 x 480 for decent TV playback.
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