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Converting video for the Video iPod

« H E email
posted Thursday, 1 December 2005
There are many programs currently available that will convert video of various kinds to a format compatible with the video iPod. While none of these are prohibitive in cost, I didn’t feel like spending lots of time downloading trial versions to figure out which one might work best, nor did I feel like spending on one that a few people like only to discover there’s another that actually does a better job. Since the video iPod is so new, many software companies that make converters are just now modifying their products to include conversion options for the iPod. Maybe in a month or two the dust will have settled a little more and we’ll start seeing some in-depth reviews comparing some of these applications to one another.

(Note: after writing this article, I've done much more research on putting videos on an iPod and wrote up a new article that covers this in more basic terms - A Beginner's Guide to Video for the IPod. I urge you to read that article first, especially if you don't have much or any experience with digital video, the iPod, or both together)

In the mean time, as far as I’m aware, the only free program that’s been available is one from the same people who brought you PSP Video 9 (a video converter for the PSP) and Videora. The name of the program is “Videora iPod Converter” and it has a wide (and sometimes overwhelming for a newbie) assortment of settings one can manipulate for your conversions. Aside from the obvious ones like resolution and bit rate, there are others like Qscale, and conversion mode that are not nearly as well known.

As with much freeware, there’s no real documentation available, nor is the program very straightforward to use. You need to create a profile for a given collection of settings, or use one of the programs presets. If you choose to use your own settings, you’re in no way guaranteed that they will work with the iPod. You may be able to get them into iTunes but they won’t transfer to the iPod if some setting is off.

A Quick Note:  I've done some additional testing and posted some updates to this entry, so if you've found it via Google, please see my Converting Videos for iPod, Take 2 entry after you've read this one.

 

 

Screenshot of Videora iPod Converter converting a file

 


Screenshot of Videora iPod Converter Profile Screen

 

The two settings that this happens for most often is bitrate and resolution. The iPod will only handle resolutions that add up to 230,400 pixels - whatever the width and height dimensions are, multiplied they can’t add up to more than this number or the file won’t transfer. Similarly, for H.264 files, iTunes will not transfer it if it has a higher bit rate than 768Kbps – although at least in this latter case there is a hack to get around this, thanks to a user on the Videor iPod Converter board named DaProphecy.  Apparently the chip in the iPod that plays video has the ability to play higher quality video than Apple lets on in their specifications. iTunes prevents you from transferring in this higher bitrate despite it being playable, so you basically have to trick iTunes into transferring the file. This, of course, is ridiculous and should not require a hack to get around. Hopefully Apple will update iTunes and make this a non-issue.

Because of the massive numbers of settings, and no real clue as to which ones would work best in which cases, I determined to spend an inordinate amount of time transcoding a 55-second video clip into as many of these as made sense at the time. In all, I made 40 different conversions, although I’m sure I barely scratched the surface in terms of what I could have done. Still, I wanted to get a general sense of what each setting would do, how they would compare to each other in terms of the amount of time the conversion took, how big the file was, and what the quality of the video was both on the iPod and when exported out to a TV. I figured if I was going to convert my 200+ DVD library to video files for the iPod, that I should be fairly certain what settings to pick so that I don’t waste time converting to something which in the end wasn’t as efficient as another format in terms of time and storage space.

I set about creating an Excel spreadsheet, linked here, which contains all my data, as well as my impressions of quality. The first sheet shows various conversions to H.264, whereas the second sheet displays results for conversions to MPEG4. Both of these are compatible with the iPod.

To summarize my findings, much of it was predictable. Usually the higher the bit rate, the better the quality, although occasionally it was hard to tell the difference. When exported to TV, the higher the resolution, the sharper the image. However, there were some findings that I hadn’t expected. First of all, making a 2-pass conversion usually did not improve the video noticeably, but did double the time needed to convert. File sizes for 2-pass conversions were almost always about the same give or take, the only big exception being MPEG4 > QC-VBR mode, which decreased the file size by about 2/3, although unfortunately this smaller file size also equated with much poorer quality video.

While I probably will not use it extensively, the iPod’s ability to pipe the audio and video out to a TV is something that really interested me. While critics complain about the size of the iPod’s screen for video, you can’t complain about it if you pipe that video out a 27” (or greater) monitor. I own a 34” widescreen TV which I suppose is about the same as a 27” standard (4:3) TV and used that for testing these conversions (as well as viewing them on the iPod itself). One thing I found interesting was that some video artifacts were much more noticeable on the iPod than on the TV– for example some pixilation when clashing colors like red and green were adjacent to each other. Even some of the “blotchiness” of certain colors seemed less noticeable sometimes on that large screen. I was viewing it from about 5 feet away, which I think is equivalent to holding the iPod about 5 inches from my face! I expected all the defects to be much more obvious, but perhaps the interlacing of a TV screen somehow smoothes out some of these.

What I did find was that some of the higher resolution conversions I made, when played on my TV, were excellent in quality. Perhaps not quite DVD quality, but maybe equivalent to a VHS tape if not even cable or even satellite. Unfortunately, these same files, when played on the iPod, had artifacts that made them difficult to watch – similar to the “banding” that one might get and worn VHS tape. This was particularly evident whenever the camera panned at all. So my initial hope that I’d be able to convert one file and have it play in optimal quality on both the iPod as well as the TV was not to be. The lower resolution conversions are not terrible when viewed on the TV, but it’s pretty obvious that something’s off, at least from 5 feet away. The picture just isn’t very sharp, even with the best conversions. It’s a little like watching a 30-year-old TV.

As far as the conversions themselves go, they took a bit longer than I expected. Even the shortest one took about 15% more time than the clip itself, and the worst took 700% as long! Then again, you may have different results. I converted these on a 2.5-year-old laptop with a 2Ghz P4 processor and 1.25GB of RAM. Very possibly you have something newer and faster. File sizes varied greatly as well, from a small 3.4MB to a whopping 25.6MB for just this small clip. Luckily, the 2nd Pass, which normally doubled the time to convert, was usually not a factor in terms of quality. And file sizes didn’t always equate with quality either. 

 


This photo was taken from my TV.  It was a lower bitrate setting and you can see blotchiness, pixelation, and other artifacts pretty clearly.

 


Here's another picture off of my TV, but this one at a much higher bitrate.  While still not crystal clear, it definitely looks much better than the first image!

 

I have to divide my conclusion into to separate categories – best for iPod and best for iPod to TV. If one is mainly concerned with playing on the iPod itself, it seems the winner is probably H.264 > CBR at 768Kbps, 1 Pass. This has one of the smallest file sizes and fastest conversion times. It’s certainly possible that some may find some of the other modes to edge it out slightly, but most of those modes produce files that are at least double the size, maybe more, and take at least a little more time to convert. But if storage isn’t an issue (on the iPod itself, even at the higher 60GB level it still IS an issue), and your system is incredibly fast, or you have extra machines to do conversions for you, you may find it more worth it to try some of the other settings.

For iPod to TV, the winner seems to be MPEG4 > CBR at 544x408, 2500Kbps and one pass. This had one of the shortest conversion times and the smallest file size for a higher-resolution conversion, and rivaled or beat all of the other such conversions.

A final disclaimer: these quality settings are of course subjective. As they say, your mileage may vary. I’ve compared a pretty limited range of video information in a 55-second clip, and I’ve done this for each of the 40 files on both the iPod and the TV. That’s a lot of stuff to compare even for a relatively short clip. I’ve already spent a week or so transcoding and then reviewing all of these, but I can see where to really scrutinize this stuff in detail, one would need a larger clip with a lot more variations in color, motion, etc., and have the luxury of being able to review each clip about 20 times to note various things down. I’m not even an expert at any of this and so my impressions are from someone who is not a videophile per se, but just a gadget freak who also loves to watch DVD’s. So please take this all with a grain of salt.  I did the best estimation I could within my limited timeframe, expertise, and tools, but I can’t claim this as being at all definitive. I look forward, in fact, to those who might be able to clarify, confirm, or dispute certain findings so that a more accurate picture for all can be obtained. In the mean time, I hope this serves as a decent primer for those who, like myself, found themselves lost in the sea of possible settings with no idea how they might translate into quality, time, and space in the real world.

 

Update (12/23/05): It turns out this is far from the end of the story.  I've discovered some new peculiarities with video for the iPod that caused me to write a whole new blog entry, so if you've found this article via a google search or a link on a discussion forum, etc., you might want to check out my newest entry, Converting Videos for iPod, Take 2.

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Due to comment spam, your comment will be posted only after it is reviewed, thanks! (68)


1. Dinyar left...
Friday, 2 December 2005 1:33 am

GREAT info.

Saves me all the effort in finding out Exactly what you have done.

Thanks for taking the time to share all this with us.

Dinyar


2. connor left...
Friday, 2 December 2005 2:38 am

thank you, i appreciate you spending the time to do that, this helps me a lot as i mainly use the ipod to output to my in-car tv and not for use on the ipod. thanks again.


3. Cecilia left...
Friday, 2 December 2005 10:49 am

Thanks, great info, since limited support at Videora! I've been transcoding most of mine as MP4s on the movie default, with a few minor changes, but this will give me an excuse to experiment some more.


4. Radek left...
Saturday, 3 December 2005 1:23 am

Thank you,

  • for very nice comparison of video formats for iPod.

  • Radek


5. balint left...
Wednesday, 7 December 2005 3:15 pm

thanks for working instead of me :)


6. tyler left...
Saturday, 10 December 2005 3:40 am

i cannot get 544x408 2500 to play or copy onto my video ipod. what do i need to do?


7. Levi Wallach left...
Saturday, 10 December 2005 8:22 am :: http://twelveblackcodemonkeys.com

Tyler, I would first of all turn on the enable console debug in Videora (under the console tab in Setup). That might give you a clue as to what the problem is.

But my guess is that you've run into one of Videora's bugs. The particular bug I'm thinking of is the one where you try to save a new profile but it saves the old info. So even though it says that those are your settings, they actually aren't. The debugging should actually show this.

The bug list that's on the Videora discussion board includes this and other bugs and workarounds. The bug I mentioned is the last one listed:

http://www.pspvideo9.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2705&sid=618


8. Matti left...
Tuesday, 13 December 2005 2:57 pm

Amazing work. Thank you. This is just what I needed.


9. Stephe left...
Thursday, 15 December 2005 3:39 am

Wow! now I have a practical application for this fucking video screen. Thanks a ton!


10. richard left...
Friday, 16 December 2005 12:54 pm

i cant transfer the converted ipod file to itunes.


11. jim left...
Saturday, 17 December 2005 11:02 pm

Does anyone know of a decent setting for widescreen conversion (that will be outputted to a TV?) Thank you for all of your effort. I'm going to try the settings you recommend above for my 4x3 programs.


12. Levi Wallach left...
Sunday, 18 December 2005 8:03 am

Jim, widescreen should generally work the same way. So use the bitrate and mode that looks the best on the spreadsheet. However, you just need to change the resolution to fit whatever the content is. Not all widescreen movies are the same dimension. Some are 16:9, others are more. The DVD's should tell you, or search for the info on the net.

Now that I think about it, it's very possible that those wavy banding patterns I saw with MPEG4 conversions at higher resolutions may not be as much of an issue if you pump up the resolution on widescreen movies - since a lot of those seemed to be at the top of the image, and since widescreen movies have the black area at the top and bottom... Maybe it would work out well...


13. jim left...
Sunday, 18 December 2005 9:51 am

I guess what I need explained to me is WHAT ARE the 16x9 resolutions I can use. I don't quite understand the math behind it. Or maybe I just didn't get enough sleep...


14. Levi Wallach left...
Sunday, 18 December 2005 10:54 am

Aha! Yes, the math in all of this is a bit of a pain sometimes. I should have included a link to this freeware application called Ratio Calculater that helps you figure out the various resolutions that conform to the one you need. Here's a link:

http://www.1-4a.com/ratiocalculator/

Just specify the ratio and it will give you many different resolutions that conform to it. Just make sure the total pixel count (in this program it's "Area (h*w)" ) for MPEG4 is no more than 240,300. It needs to be even less for h.264, but I don't have those numbers in front of me. They are least 64,000, since I know it will display 320x240. Actually I think it is somewhere around 178,000, but not positive.

I'll probably update this blog entry just a bit in the coming days with this and some additional info as I make a few more tests.


15. Jim left...
Sunday, 18 December 2005 1:13 pm

I'm trying the calculator and running a conversion now.

The only question I have is what set of numbers from the columns I should use. According to what you told me I should not go over 240,300 so I have to choose from 640x360 or 640x480? I'm going to try one, but it will take awhile to convert so if you come up with an answer before I'm finished I can abort and try again. (thank you again for all your help)


16. Levi Wallach left...
Sunday, 18 December 2005 8:07 pm

Jim, if you multiply 640 by 360, you get 230,400, so that will work. 640 x 480 comes to 307,200, which is over. As I stated in my previous post, it's the "Area (h*w)" column. Vertical pixels times horizontal pixels equal total number of pixels. Just like length x width = area.


17. Marco left...
Friday, 23 December 2005 12:05 pm

Thanks man! You changed my disappointed face with your comments and xls file. Trust me when I tell you that reading this page was like finding water in the desert. Living in Mexico being unable to purchase songs & videos from iTunes AND owning an iPod video sucks bigtime.

Althoug I'm having trouble with A/V sync only in movies, my downloaded and converted music videos work superb. I'll see what I can find out by changing settings in Videora and post my comments on this matter.

Merry Xmas to all of you!


18. jo left...
Friday, 30 December 2005 10:51 am

i just wanted to say THANK YOU for the help. even after upgrading to quicktime pro i still had difficulties transferring videos to my ipod (what a waste of $32). videora is much easier for me! thanx again!


19. darren left...
Tuesday, 17 January 2006 3:52 pm

hi my wife bought me a ipod for christmas and i have down loaded videora ipod converter i have not got a clue what to do have looked at forums and also read what you have written and to be trueful i seem to be getting more lost could you please help me could i even phone you and go through the process over the phone thankyou darren


20. Levi Wallach left...
Tuesday, 17 January 2006 4:01 pm

Hi Darren, before calling me, hold on for a bit as I will soon be posting another entry about converting that will hopefully help a lot of people converting video successfully, especially non-technical people.


21. jack left...
Tuesday, 24 January 2006 10:34 am

Nice post


22. Upde left...
Thursday, 26 January 2006 9:47 am

I purchased one of the Have Gun Will Travel videos from Google thinking I could convert it to my IPOD Video. Didn't read close enough to realize that was going to be a challenge. Do you have a solution for this? I have a Win XP OS.

Regards, Dave


23. Matt left...
Friday, 27 January 2006 6:19 pm

Hi Levi, hopefully you can help me out here!

I'm trying to use your settings as described in "times3.xls", section 'MPEG4-SP Take 2'. The column I have my eye on is as follows: MPEG4, A-VBR, 320x240, 1500kbps (min=768, max=2500).

Basically, when I input all that into Videora, the output file is nowhere near 1500kbps. It'll range anywhere from 650-900kbps, meanwhile the original video that I'm converting from has a bitrate of 1400kbps.

Does this make sense? Is it possible for the output to be ~1500kbps?

Thanks!

PS. I have the audio set to 160kbps, framerate and bitrate set to Input, as well as I'm using the 'custom FFMPEG flag' "-async 1".


24. kenno left...
Friday, 27 January 2006 9:22 pm

I must say that for your aid I (sniff) I think I love you man. However, on a more serious note the length of the video is 1 hour 40 min 54 sec and is an anime. the picture is far beyond expectations but the audio started lagging behind about halfway through the move up to two seconds which becomes really grating. What should I do?


25. Levi Wallach left...
Saturday, 28 January 2006 8:13 am

Matt, first off, I suggest you specify the frame rate as 29.97 to avoid audio synching issues. Where are you seeing the bit rate measurement of 650-900kbps? I never really tried to confirm the actual bit rate after the fact. Is there a problem with the video - does it look like it's poor quality? I'm not sure what to suggest except to up the minimum bitrate or even use a different mode, like CBR...


26. kenno left...
Saturday, 28 January 2006 9:27 am

oh sorry you explained it in an earlier response. Again thank you


27. Matt left...
Saturday, 28 January 2006 5:54 pm

Hey Levi, Thanks for the tip.

I'm going to have to assume that it's some bug or limitation in the software that's keeping me from my desired framerate.

I verified the new framerate by checking Videora's own Debugging Console (Setup>Console>Enable Debugging Console) which showed the framerate of the new video every few frames or so. As for how I verified yours, I simply did the following:

1. 10320Kb (your output size) * 8 (bits per byte) 2. Divide by 55 seconds (length of video clip) = ~1500kbps (combined average for video and audio)

As for the video, it didn't look too bad at all; I was more trying to figure out how you got yours to be close to double of what I was able to reach. I just tried 1500kbps CBR and that didn't give any real improvement. If you figure something out, please do let me know; Otherwise, no worries!


28. Levi Wallach left...
Saturday, 28 January 2006 6:23 pm

Matt, I wonder if it has anything to do with the video source? Who knows. I could provide the original file I used, but a) it's copyrighted and b) it's 42MB, and I think my bandwidth limitation would be reached with only a handful of downloads!


29. kenny left...
Saturday, 28 January 2006 6:44 pm

the audio on a 1hour 40min 54sec anime movie has problems syncing up after time progresses could you tell me what I'm doing wrong

the video sttings are

mode:MPEG-4 Bitrate: 768 kbps

res:320x240 Framerate: 29.97fps

one pass

cust ffmpeg files: -async 1

Audio settings

Bitrate: 128 Channels: Stereo

Sample Rate: Input


30. Matt left...
Wednesday, 1 February 2006 1:05 pm

Hey Levi,

You're right; it looks like it's the source. After trying many different sources, I was finally able to get some that encoded at a higher bitrate. Thanks for the offer with your file, but it looks like I've figured it out! =)

Now I just gotta figure out how to split my Zeppelin DVD into chapters so I can watch it on my iPod!

Kenny, I don't have enough experience with this program yet to tell you what you're doing wrong. Sorry =\


31. Sheri left...
Wednesday, 8 February 2006 9:09 am

Hi, I'm trying to convert a 1 hour tv show that was recorder with Win Media Center which is a dvr-ms file format to a MPEG 4 to be used on my iPod.

I'm using the following settings: Video: Mode: H264 / CBR; Bitrate: 768 kbps Resolution: 320x240; Framerate: Input Passes: 1 Audio: bitrate; 96 kbps; channels: stereo; sample rate: input

I have started the conversion and it seems to run through fine, but then the progress bar reaches 100%, but the elapsed time and file size continued to change. This went on for several hours before I aborted the conversion. Any thoughts?


32. Levi Wallach left...
Wednesday, 8 February 2006 4:02 pm

Sheri, I'm not sure what dvr-ms file format is. If it's a non-standard file format, there's a good likelihood that NONE of the various file conversion programs will convert the file, including Videora. You might try some other converters - even iTunes - but you may need to convert your file first into something more standard...


33. Sheri left...
Thursday, 9 February 2006 3:21 pm

It's the file format for Windows Media Center Edition. I have another tool that I used to convert the file to MPEG 4 without commericals and then used Videora which did work. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use two different products, but it looks like I will at least for now. Unless I spend some money which may be worth it. Thank you for your instructions on this product it made it much easier to use and understand.


34. JP left...
Monday, 13 February 2006 8:00 pm

ok so...i bet u get this one a lot...but after lotz of research and stuff(you helped a lot)...i finally got a DVD onto my ipod...itunes says it is in the right format, it's in h.264 at the most kbps itunes accepts without being tricked...i used videora and im not sure how many pixels it is...anyways, the video is on the ipod, but when i go to play it i only get a black screen w/backlight for a few seconds, then the movie is "over" and my battery meter is very low(red)although i have plenty of battery left...thanx 4 all the help so far and hopefully u can help with this


35. Ranz Blacker left...
Tuesday, 14 February 2006 6:21 am

Hey levi, I was reading your article and 230,400 pixel limited. My problem is tht i was using a H264 encoding to create a file of resolution of 640*288, which i believe is within the pixel limitation. Still Im unable to transfer the video.

One another limitation is that using the video hack to transfer large bitrate H264 files, Im ale to transfer the file, the file even runs on my PC from connected iPod(file stored on iPod), but when i try to run the file on my iPod it just displays black screen for 5-10 seconds and then goes back to menu. This is really frustrating, and id greatly appreciate any help. Thanks.. Ranz


36. Levi Wallach left...
Tuesday, 14 February 2006 9:11 am

Ranz, the 230,400 pixel limit is only for MPEG4 Simple Profile, the H.264 format has a much lower limit - around 178,000, as I mentioned in an earlier comment if you read through them. Now that I'm doing a little digging, it seems the total may be a lot less, at least according to this: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2006011307200996 which seems to say that 76,800 (or 320x240).


37. Ranz Blacker left...
Tuesday, 14 February 2006 12:42 pm

Hey levi, thanks for the rapid reply.. however have you heard about the 2nd problem that im facing.. I think that using videora, if u make ne videos in H264 whose audio-bitrate is 128Kbps or more, it can't be played on the iPod. Thats what i think after experimenting with some videos, in H264 videos only with vbrate 768 and audbrate 96 Kbps are able to be played.

  • Thanks again for the reply. Great research done on the Ipod videos.


38. JP left...
Tuesday, 14 February 2006 7:58 pm

i think ranz may be right from what i've done, but i have no clue to why


39. JP left...
Friday, 17 February 2006 6:11 pm

ok...4 some reason h.264 doesnt seem to work at 768kbps if audio is at 128...but i can do my videos in mpeg4 anyways, the real problem now is, i decrypted a DVD onto my cpu and when i go to convert it takes one second and then says it is done...the file takes up no space. i have tryed uninstalling and reinstalling videora, and i have tryied decrypting the DVD multiple times in both aspect ratios(it is a double sided DVD). Other movies convert just fine, i am only having problems with this one and if anyone has any advice or expertise it would be much appreciated. thanx


40. Melvin Rivera left...
Wednesday, 22 February 2006 3:16 pm :: http://allforces.com

great article. can somebody shed some light on my issue please?

i am encoding using quicktime pro. using h.264 320 x 240 at 500kbps, 2 pass, baseline profile, aac audio at 128. with these settings the video will not transfer to the ipod. but if i do the automated "export to ipod video" it works fine. the problem is that this is a very long video clip and it's an 80 meg difference. 280mg vs 200.

i have been looking all over the net for an answer but have found nothing. according to what i've read my settings should work fine but it itunes is giving me the cold shoulder.

please help.


41. dregulator left...
Wednesday, 22 February 2006 6:35 pm

need help with conversion.....i had success on my first conversion but after that...PFFFFFTTT!!


42. DENNIS left...
Wednesday, 22 February 2006 8:35 pm

yea well i'm only 16 and just bought an ipod video and tried to rip a movie i own(BADBOYS2) onto my ipod first i used FAIRUSE to put it onto my comp (in AVI) and then i used Videora iPod Converter to convert the movie into ipod format once i did that i used ITUNES to put it on my ipod THE WHOLE PROSSES TOOK ABOUT 13 hours or so....i got the movie on my ipod now but once in a while the sound is a little late and sometimes a lot i dont know how to fix it what part of my prosses do i need to fix to make shure that theres no mistakes in the sound and its not late THANKS


43. John left...
Thursday, 23 February 2006 5:46 pm

Thank you for writing this, but i have a question. How come sometimes when i convert a video, the sound is off from the video? The video and sound are fine before I convert them, but they are off after. What shold i do?


44. Silent Bob left...
Friday, 3 March 2006 11:15 am

If you don't know which cropping, padding and resolution settings you need for Videora, you can use this online flash application: http://www.ipod-video-calc.ch.vu

Enter the Resolution of your Input Video and play a little bit with the zoom. That's it. You can also export the settings to FFMPEG Flags.


45. Andrew left...
Monday, 20 March 2006 7:09 pm

Yes im having a issue some videos i convert the sound is off from the video any suggestions?


46. andrew left...
Sunday, 26 March 2006 5:47 pm

i need instructions on how to use this i dont understan dat all how to use it how do i convert the files to put them on my ipod video it would be nice to have some specific instructions on how to use it. i would really appreciate it.


47. cali left...
Monday, 17 April 2006 2:04 am

help please, i am using ITUNES to convert to my ipod which is fine apart from the fact i am getting no sound,does anyone know why ?


48. cali left...
Monday, 17 April 2006 2:04 am

help please, i am using ITUNES to convert to my ipod which is fine apart from the fact i am getting no sound,does anyone know why ?


49. cali left...
Monday, 17 April 2006 2:05 am

help please, i am using ITUNES to convert to my ipod which is fine apart from the fact i am getting no sound,does anyone know why ?


50. jaitlyv left...
Wednesday, 19 April 2006 4:41 am

amazing information, even though some information is too techinical for me and I wish it was explained with some screen shots - still this is the best source of information I have found. I have tried IMTO, QUICKTIME pro, but have gone back to Videora software for all my conversions. Thanks again


51. JonY left...
Friday, 28 April 2006 11:59 pm

I downloaded a few LOST episodes (AVI files seemingly downloaded from HDTV). What I want is to convert these to MP4 using Videora. I've tried with the normal profiles but the problem is - IMAGE IS STRETCHED. The letterbox (black bars) disappear and image is distorted. This becomes more noticeable when I hook up my ipod to the TV.

My question is - HOW DO I convert from AVI to MP4 and retain the black bars so as not to distort the image?


52. wettham left...
Friday, 12 May 2006 9:15 pm

thanks for making this info available. Couldn't have done it with out it. That's it. THanx


53. B E E R left...
Saturday, 17 June 2006 11:36 pm

This thing is rad, I converted all my Barbara Streisand movies onto my Pod. Thanx a millii guys!


54. JB left...
Saturday, 24 June 2006 2:22 pm

H Iam from Portugal and i dont understand much english...I have the video toolbox program to say me the video´s settings and in one it says...resolut ion:320x288...Bitrate:1123kbps...FPS:25,00..Size:22,1Mb....0.45b/x...How configure my Videora ipod converter program for this video...? Sorry if you already explained this but iam very poor in english...Thanks for your time...


55. rachael left...
Monday, 26 June 2006 7:28 pm

Hi. I'm Rachael. I have a 60 GB Video iPod, and I have only had it for 2 months. But today I hit play on my ipod to turn it on. It lit for a moment before leaving me with a black screen and NO WAY to get it back to menu or get itunes to read it. It's not hot so I didnt think it was overheated. HELP! WHAT THE HELL DO I DO!?!?!


56. Nick left...
Tuesday, 27 June 2006 3:51 pm

When i use this prgram it downloads a little over 93,000 KBs and then stops. Just wondering if you can download the entire movie or if theres a way to get the other segments besides the first one downloaded


57. Nick left...
Tuesday, 27 June 2006 3:52 pm

When i use this prgram it downloads a little over 93,000 KBs and then stops. Just wondering if you can download the entire movie or if theres a way to get the other segments besides the first one downloaded


58. morton left...
Saturday, 29 July 2006 7:30 pm

tnx


59. surr left...
Friday, 11 August 2006 2:12 pm

hi i got one question for you i just got my ipod video and i tried everything to get the video on ,in my ipod, i am a simpsons fan so i limewired a couple of videos they are mpgs and i can get them in to itunes but they wont go on my ipod, i used the i tunes converter and it went on my ipod without the sound, so i tried videora and i dont think it did anything, can u help me figure out how to work the videora, if u do thank and ill aprreciated


60. nhut le left...
Sunday, 27 August 2006 6:04 pm

i know very little about computers or ipods, but reasonly just bought the 60gb ipod just for to put movies onto it. My question is this: i would like to know after the conversion of the movie from avi format to mpeg 4 what is the next step to put the movies into the ipod? well, first of all, i kept on dragging the avi/movie and putting it inside the library on the itunes screen but that is not an option. it wouldn't let me do that. can you please tell me the specific details and instructions to dragging and putting the movies into the itunes and ipod?


61. jizzaaa left...
Thursday, 31 August 2006 6:00 am

if you are having probs with uploading your videos to your ipod by drag and drop there are a number of things you can try: 1) take all characters out of your file name and make sure it is short (i.e less than 12 characters if possible) 2) go to your itunes library, go to file, add file to library and import it to there. Then drag from your library and drop onto your ipod. 3) failing these, drop your ipod on the floor and stamp on it, then repeat step 2.

seriously tho, step 2 should work fine. Don't use itunes converter, it's junk.


62. Jim left...
Saturday, 16 September 2006 12:02 pm

Great job. Quick question, once you convert the file to a mp4 using videora, where do you find the converted file, so you can drag it into the ipod? All I can find is the original. thanks


63. Pacho left...
Sunday, 24 September 2006 3:05 pm

Hi. i have a question. i downloaded the DVD encrypter and Videora iPod converter. I encrypted a DVD into a VOB format and then encoded it with Videora. as i result i got an mp4 file that i then transfered to the itunes and to my ipod. now, i can play it in the itunes OK but when i unplug the ipod i just cant watch the video. the screen goes black for about 10 sec. and then goes back to the menu. i found a post in one of the Videora Forum discussions that said if this happened to you, you should reset the iPod, which i did, but nothing happens. do u know anything about this problem? is it that i used a wrong setting with the videora?. i would greatly appreciate any help... since i'm getting desperate about owning a video player that won't play my videos...


64. Derek left...
Sunday, 15 October 2006 7:03 pm

Hey, Just got my Ipod. I've been reading through your guide, it's been really helpful and I've successfully managed to get a couple videos converted.

However, my problem is this. I have this video that just will not open on itunes. I've converted it the same as I have for my other videos, which is MPEG-4/320x240/768kbps stereo/128kbps. That was successfuly converted as well, but when I went to add this file to my library on itunes, it just would not show up. I've tried numerous times, redownloading and reconverting the file, but it just will not open. It's not a big file, only an 11 minute video. So do you have any ideas?


65. Rob in Cleveland left...
Sunday, 22 October 2006 3:32 pm

There was a post earlier that stated during a 1 hr 40 min video file, the audio portion of the file becomes out of sync....that is true for me too...I have Saw in divx (AVI) format.....There is nothing worng with the file in it's AVI format....but when I convert it, i lose audio sync about 45 mins into the movie...this happened in Videora as well as the converter in iTunes....is there any way around this, or is this the real reason why I should do a second pass on the conversion.


66. Olly left...
Wednesday, 1 November 2006 10:31 am

i am having the same trouble as a lot of people. like JonY i am testing with lost first. in fact i probably have the same file as him as im having the same problem. the picture is stretched and the sound is out. i first used the default setting which i cant remember fully as im at work. i then did the same file again but changed some settings that i read on here and various websites. i remeber adding the "-async 1" without quotes to the Custom FFMPEG Flags in the Profile and changing the frame rate to 29.97 instead of 30. i also changed to these setting i got from... http://www.pspvideo9.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3864&highlight=works&sid=4b 387bb07b3ab7bc55f270fb48bc5cef eg. Videora iPod Converter Profile name: iPod

VIDEO mode - MPEG-4>CBR resolution - 320x240 (but i then changed to 320 x 176 as i read this would resolve stretching.) passes - one bitrate - 768kbps framerate - 29.97

AUDIO bitrate - 128kbps sample rate - input channels - stereo volume - 100%

by doing this i was hoping the stretched picture would be resolved aswell as the sound syncing problem... however, it was exactly the same.

i have read that AVI files might need some sort of syncing software. is this to sync the sound.

i have taken note of this website... http://www.ipod-video-calc.ch.vu/ and am gonna have a look when i get back so i can hopefully get a better picture. oh, fyi. my picture is perfect quality. couldnt ask for a better picture. the only problems are the sound and stretching.

Please please please could someone help me with this. i have read a number of posts complaining about the sound being out of sync but no one seems to resolved it 100%


67. Notorious BFG left...
Saturday, 11 November 2006 2:24 pm

ive followed everything you said on this page and evrything was going great ... i ripped the DVD , i converted it to the mp4 format , i stuck into my iTunes BUT! ... when i updated my iPod video (30G) it wouldnt come up =(


68. James Bond left...
Saturday, 9 December 2006 8:02 am

I founded the solution for the audio sync problem in another forum and I wanted to post it here

it's very easy..... and it works 100% of the time

I will tell you exactly what I do, this has solved all my audio synch problems!

1. Find the video you are going to convert - right click it for properties, advanced properties. Then find out what the VIDEO FRAMERATE is and AUDIO BITRATE. 2. Open videora and go to setup - profiles. Then type into the video framerate box the exact number you got from that particular movies properties. 3. The do the same for the audio bitrate box. 4. I didn't modify anything else, but I did save this as a new profile - you can name it whatever you want. 5. Then in videora click convert, open the file you want to convert by clicking transcode new video. Make sure you pick the converting profile that you just saved before you convert the movie! (this is where I was having problems (so simple I know!) I kept changing settings but never changed the profile so my changes werent taking effect!)

After the movie converts you can go through and see if the audio and video line up. Like I said this has fixed 100% of my problems. The only bad part is you have to find out specific video and audio rates per video and adjust the settings before you convert.