I suppose you already have the latest version of VirtualDub, if not, get it from
www.virtualdub.org. I always use the latest experimental build.
So let's start with opening your file.
Now open the Filters dialog in VirtualDub.
If your video resolution is high, add a 2:1 reduction (high quality) filter first.
Then add a Resize filter and set one of the resolutions to the screen resolutions of your player, depending on your screen aspect ratio and the way you want to do the cropping of the video.
I have a 1.5' player with an aspect ratio of 1:1 (square screen) and a resolution of 128x128 so i set the h-res of the video to 128 and then crop on the sides to get the v-res to 128 as well. Don't use the cropping option in this section, as it doesn't seem to work properly.
Hit OK and click Cropping, then drag the sides until you get the right aspect ratio:
Now add a HSV filter and change the saturation to 125-140% for more vivid colors.
And a Sharpen filter for better contrast. 20-25 should be enough for a crisp image, but preventing artifacts as well.
Hit OK.
That's it for the first part.
Part 2 will discuss framerate conversion for different AMV converter settings, and audio volume boost if the sound is too quiet on the player.
Stay tuned! 8)