viDrop - free open-source converter for RockChip players
 

This is better than the default software that comes with most of the rockchip players - has more options, and CAN embed subtitles in movies.
MPlayer & MEncoder based.

Download links: The latest version 0.57.3 is here:

http://www.vidrop.vpunk.co.uk/vidrop-0.57.3-install.msi
ftp://guest%40learnfree%2Eeu:guest@l....3-install.msi


Currently there is no helpfile, but the gui is self-explanatory (just look at the hints that show up when you hover the cursor over some option).

Screenshots:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9...8487yg3.th.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/459...3907ap0.th.jpg

If you encounter bugs, or have comments - send me a PM or post here.

Thanks for sharing this lokster.

Did you create the software yourself? Is there any more information about who created the software etc....?

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Yes, I created this software. It's made in the AutoIt scripting language. For those interested - the source code is included in the installer. It's the "viDrop.au3" file.

I must say here, that the encoding itself is made in mencoder. viDrop is just a GUI frontend to mencoder (which is only command line application). And the installer is so big, because it includes mplayer and mencoder.

lokster,

Thanks for sharing this.
Can it convert Real Media files to .avi as well?

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Fantastic...no more editing convert.ini files !... thank you...

Is it possible to add a feature whereby a number of files to be converted can be selected at once and then all converted using a single setting selection such as your medium.ini? ... as opposed to having to load each file individually to the batch...thanks...

Your medium.ini setting is what I independently found to work well for my player...the 96 kbps audio is a noticeable improvement over 64 kbps when listening to video using the built in speakers on my OptimusX/Vista rockchip...

This feature already exists - check "Auto add to batch", and then just select all the needed files in windows explorer, and drag&drop them to the green input box.
Finally, hit "Run batch"

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

This is a very good front-end as far as I can see. :)

But to make it the best all around add an option to rotate resulting video, which is Mencoder option rotate=2, if I am not wrong.

There is lot of Rockchip devices... and Meizu M6... that work with image rotated to the right.

I am sure you'll be a success!!! :D

Tried converting a video clip for my T29 which uses Xvid too, but could not play. Not very sure where the problem lies.

Is it my computer, that the converted videos do not have sound? i've tried both "mp2" and "copy" options, but the final conversion ends up with no sound.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

lokster: Thanks for the reply. Missed having to drop the batch directly on the green box.

A couple of things I've noticed. Will convert flv files but must manually change extension to .avi and sometimes aspect is not 320x240 but could be 320x242 or 318x240. These won't play on my rockchip but if run them through AVIConverter will correct to 320x240 which will play.

Also, for the same file your converter takes about 20% longer to convert than with AVIConverter. Any idea why?

Thanks. Its great to have all the conversion parameters that you've included that can be changed incrementally as well as to have the drag and drop batch function. Well done.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

lokster:

Forgot to ask if there is any way to increase audio volume during processing with viDrop?

Thanks.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

New version of viDrop available! - 0.51

Fixed some, bugs, added new ones... :)
A lot of GUI improvements
- added Picture properties control - gamma/brightness/contrast/saturation
- auto update function (download updates from internet)
- encode only selected time interval
- rip DVDs. Note: to rip a DVD you must enter your DVD drive letter in the "Advanced Settings" -> "DVD", and then in "Main settings" -> "Input A/V File" enter "dvd://" (without quotes) and press ENTER. Then convert as usual. For now there are no extended DVD options - no language/subtitle select etc... Maybe in the next version.

If you want to rotate the the picture add "-vf-add rotate=2" in "Advanced settings" -> "Extra mencoder parameters". This will rotate counterclockwise. Add "-vf-add rotate=1" to rotate clockwise.

here are screenhots:
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/426/vidrop1mn4.png
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/8203/vidrop2po3.png

And here is the download link: http://users2.titanichost.com/lokste...51-install.exe (7.7 MB)

@jp - a little delayed answer to your questions - maybe you can increase the volume by checking the "Normalize" option in "Advances settings" -> "Audio".

1. now the output file extension is allways .avi
2. make sure you allways select the Pan&Scan option in "Advanced settings" -> "Resize method"

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

hello lokster

i dont know how to use this...

can you show me how?

1. Make sure that your player CAN play AVI files with XVID video and MP2 or MP3 audio. If it can't - this software is not for you.

2. Check the screen resolution of your player, and set the program to use this resolution in the "Advanced settings" in "Video" - Width and Height (this setting is MANDRATORY. You MUST set the proper resolution, otherwise you will get "File format error" when trying to play the file on your player). Set the proper Audio codec - mp2 or mp3. For the rockchip players it's mp2. This setting will also cause "File format error" if incorrect.

3. Go back to "Main settings". In "Input A/V file" enter the filename of the video you want to convert and press enter (OR drag&drop the file from windows explorer to the green input box OR press the "..." button and select the file).

4. If the video is some RIP-ed movie, you can embet subtitles directly in the picture, so you can see them on your player. If the subtitle file has the same filename as the input A/V file, they are automatically detected and opened. Otherwise - you must select them by pressing the "..." button in "Input subtitle".

5. Select the output file - this is the file that will be created, and will be playable on your player. By default it is created in the same directory as the input a/v file, only it has the "_converted.avi" suffix.

Basically, that's all. Hit "Convert" button in "Current file". And wait...

If you want the output file to be smaller, you can lower the video and/or audio bitrate.
For 320x240 videos, video bitrate below 200 is stupid, and over 500 - maybe too high to be played smoothly on our cheap chinese players. The default value of 300 is very good for most purposes.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

lokster: Thanks for the program update and revisions. They will be very useful.

Volume during processing can be increased by adding the following into the extra mencoder parameters box in the advanced setting section:

-af volnorm=2:0.7

I'm not sure if this corresponds to the Normalize function that you've already included.

In my Volume normalization I use only -af volnorm
Adding -af volnorm=2:0.7 to the additional parameters will override it. I think that this will do the trick. (I have to check the mencoder manual...)

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

lokster:

-af volnorm=2:0.7 ... I often replace the 7 with 5 so less distortion...but can use 7...default is 0.25 I believe... so I use...

-af volnorm=2:0.5

MediaCoder which is based on mencoder and ffdshow has a dB setting that can be adjusted progressively like your other settings...I wonder if it is possible to incorporate this in your program? The only other adjustment that I use that I don't think you've included is a sharpness adjustment but this may not be possible?

Thanks so much for all your efforts !!! Your program is what I use preferrably. Great job !!! The FLV files seem to be converting at 320x240 consistently now.

In the next version of viDrop (which is on its way...) there will be options for setiing sharpness and amount of volume normalization.
I just need some time to add these features.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Hello, I wanted to say that I love this converter, a lot easier to use than the avi converter, but I'm having trouble converting some mp4 videos. For some reason the sides of the videos get cropped, but I'm using the same settings that I use on other videos and they work fine.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ertedavi_0.jpg

The only thing that I can think of that would cause this is the fact that the videos have more of a wide screen format. Is there a setting that would fix this?

Yes, there is. In "Advanced settings", in "Resize method" select "add borders". This way, if the movie's aspect ratio is different than the aspect of your player, the movie won't get cropped, but resized proportionally to the specified width, and then expanded vertically with black borders, so it's height is equal to the specified height. Here is an example of the three resize methods:

Pan&Scan:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6...andscangc8.png

Keep aspect:
http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/6...paspectkk5.png

Add borders:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8...bordersvb5.png

For our RockChip based players, "Keep aspect" does not work, because the movie resolution must be equal to the player resolution.

(these screenshots are from Transformers too ;) )

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Thank you! It works perfectly now.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

I've just started into the world of mp4 players and converters, etc. I noticed on at least two of my conversions using this software (which works GREAT!) the sides are cropped a bit. Would the "add borders" fix this problem or am I using a different setting then I should? 320x240 seems to work well otherwise. Thanks!

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

my mp4 player is not detecting the .mp4 files and the avi files that i am converting ...they are giving a message .. WRONG FILE FORMAT... can someone help? its a rockchip mp4 player like the one knob posted to reset

roman,
just make sure aviconvertor is set to 220x176 and the video should play fine.
aviconvertor is set 320x240 by default, this is wrong, you need to change it to 220x176 BEFORE you start converting.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Hi folks!
I just released the new version of viDrop.
Hopefully, I have fixed the bug with some mpeg or flv movies not resizing correctly (which leads to "File format error" when played on the player). Also, fixed erroneous behavior of the "..." button for selecting subtitle font.

There are some new options:
- adjust subtitle font size
- rotate the picture
- flip the picture

For those of you who want to donate to the development of viDrop, there is a button "Donate!" in the "Information" tab, from which you can diectly donate via PayPal.

But REMEMBER: viDrop is FREEWARE, and always will be.

Here is a screenshot

You can download viDrop 0.53 here

Or use the "Check for update" button in viDrop "Information" tab.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

I love your program.

It is really quick on most computers as well.

Just wondering how to select different chapters when ripping content of a DVD because at the moment i am trying to rip a DVD and it detects it but only converts the security warning and not the actual movie!

Perhaps in the next version you could provide more dvd ripping utilities.

Thanks for this fantastic program

Will

Dvd ripping ?
 

New Version is great btw

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

I am having trouble converting VOB files. Is there a fix for this?

Dave

Exactly what problems do you have? Be more specific, otherwise I can't help you...

@wipsomass - about the dvd problems - try opening dvd://1 and press "Preview" (or dvd://2 or dvd://3 etc...), until you find the desired dvd title. According to mencoder manual, if you specify only dvd:// (without the title number), it will rip the largest track... You can try this too.

Also, if you want to specify the audio language of the dvd, add -alang lang to "Extra mencoder parameters", where "lang" is your language code - en for english, ru for russian, bg for bulgarian etc...
Sometimes, if you don't specify the audio language explicitly, certain dvd's will give you the directors commentary instead of the movie audio.
And if you want to specify the subtitle language, add -slang lang - again, "lang" is your language code.

Maybe in the next version I will add this functionality in the GUI...

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Vob files.

The program will not recognize VOB files. The drop down menu in the Select av file does not include files of VOB type. I use "DVD Shrink" to extract the chapters or the Movie only from a DVD. I have to use "AviConverter (which does recognize VOB files) first, then redo those with your v.53 ViDrop to get the audio and video the way I want it.

Actually, viDrop recognizes VOB files. If you open windows explorer and then drag & drop the vob file to the green "Input A/V file" field in viDrop, it will recognize it.

The problem is that I forgot to add .vob file extension in the "Select input A/V file" dialog.....

This will be fixed in the next version.

:EDIT
If somebody wonders why the program is called "viDrop": it's short for "video drop" - because you drag&drop videos onto it :) It has nothing to do with the linux "vi" editor :D

Just a couple of newbie questions, guys... :)

1. Does the encoding process create temporary files? If so, where are they located normally?

2. Is it possible to have 2-pass or 3-pass encoding? :)

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

fparri: I don't think temporary files are left on your computer if infact they are created. Also don't think there is an option for multipass encoding.

In the past someone posted an ini file to be used with AVIConverter that allowed for multipass. It's on this site somewhere. It gives instructions how to encode without leaving temp files. Also Batman converter allows for multipass but no temp files left I believe.

I haven't found multipass to be worthwhile with my rockchip players. Didn't improve quality and took a lot longer. On the meizu forum, is suggested but rockchip play video better than the meizus according to dual user reports.

AVIConverter may convert files slightly faster than viDrop, however the conversion speed and ease of use of viDrop in dropping files singley, in batches, and successively makes it by far and away my choice of all the converters out there. The newest version has lots of options.

While lokster has worked on this, I still find the occasional file that misconverts dimensionally. Can be 318x240 rather than the required 320x240 for rockchip. These tend to be captured flv vids from youtube,...

The workaround for this is to insert the code below into the extra parameters box in viDrop. I stripped them out of AVIConverter ini. They override any other selections that apply.

Copy and paste each, select your other preferred parameters, then rename and save your new settings in the preset box at the top of the window. I convert to 20 or 24 fps with a normalize of 0.6 so that my speaker plays loud enough without having to use headphones.

Aspect 4:3

-vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1

Aspect 16:9

-vf-add scale=320:180 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

very nice piece of software, here is what I think may be improved:

1 - installer on a weird language, my windows didn't understand and the buttons had trash labels, in the first try to install I actually canceled it.

2 - actually I don't like much installers, why don't you distribute just the exe file so we could easily run it from the player?
I may be on a cybercafe or just away from home, would be nice to always have it with me

3 - select folder for conversion
I use miro, and I may want to watch the shows on the go, so it would be nice to just select miro download folder and the files added to batch with current config. currently I could navigate to the folder and select multiple files, but miro creates subfolders..
and output all the files on a output folder rather than the same folder the original file was, so I can easily select the files for copy to the player

4 - does it have to print all that stuff to the console?
it just adds overhead, and not little, I remember my first semester at the university, we had an assignment to compare the processing cost between math operations and simple io.. well.. we learned that io is VERY expensive


btw, I didn't understand the difference between panscan, addborders and keep aspect..

addborders would add borders to a wide screen video so we can watch it right? like the pc players usually do? this is my understanding of keeping aspect ratio, I'm a bit confused

thanks

ok, so ive converted a couple videos and both have came out kind of blotchy.

i have used the 320x240_high default settings and used Pan Scan to fill the screen.

the blotchyness only shows up if there is a large area of the same color on the screen, such as close ups on faces and opbjects.

i have confirmed that it does show up on multiple players, and not just my main one.

I didn't had enough time lately to read the posts here...
I will answer some of the questions asked:

1: The encoding does not create temp files. Only the "Preview" creates "preview.avi" in your windows user temp directory, but this file is deleted automatically when you close vidrop.
2: Multipass encoding is not possible in vidrop. I don't see any real advantage of doing two pass encoding on low resolution videos... yes, the picture will be just slightly better, but the encoding time will be looonger...

1: I know about the installer... It will be fixed in the next version.
2: Maybe you don't like installers, but I do, and if I just put vidrop in 7z archive (because 7z format is free, and I don't like zip), there will be a lot of people who will ask me "how do I install this stupid program...". If you want your copy of vidrop to be portable, just install it somewhere, and then copy/move the whole installation folder to your player.
3: I think about adding options for selecting output directory - user defined or that of the input file (in the next version).
4: I think it's necessary to print all that "stuff" to the console. The information is useful sometimes when there are problems, and if you don't want to see it, just minimize the mencoder window :)

And finally, about panscan, addborders and keep aspect - just read one of my previous posts in this topic.


Maybe just the input file is broken? Try using some of the other presets, and see if the problem persists.
Also try different files with this same preset and see if there are problems.

i have tried many different settings and videos and they all come out blochy.

i have determined that its the player and not the software because the videos are great on the PC but suck on the player.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Hi,
Iam from Czech and my english is very poor. i think that this sw is excellent. but i cant convert correctly my video (688x528 Divx5). i try it many times, but vidrop give me video 312x240.
i set correct (in vidrop) 320x240, Pan&Scan resize.

very very please , H E L P M E.

thank you very much

paul

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

greenh007: I've occasionally had the same problem where a conversion doesn't end up being 320x240 but slightly off. What's worked for me is to insert the following into the Extra Mencoder Parameters box near the bottom of the second tab page. You can save a conversion profile with this addition allowing you to adjust the other parameters. Copy and paste the following:

-vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1

Let me know if it works. It always has for me.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

Hello!
Sorry for my English.
I can't download the program. This link doesn't work for me:
http://users2.titanichost.com/lokste...53-install.exe

So if somebody have a working link, Please help!

Thanks.

Re: Free Open-Source converter for RockChip MPEG4 (XVID) pla
 

lokster:
I've uploaded v0.53 to mympxplayer downloads as your download link seems to work sporadically and there have been several recent requests, on these forums, for a working download link for your excellent program.

====
Download link: viDrop v0.53 AVI XVid Converter.
====

bucigabi:
Once the upload has been vetted by admin it can be downloaded from the link above.