Where can I get free video clips?

[Janset]

Hi all.

I have seen some get video clips in the past, one was the John West Ad the other a musical novelty called Alien and a dancing mouse.

From where can I download these clips to play on my iPAC 3870?

Regards

[Milano]

You do not say if you already have watched the movies mentioned, on your iPaq or not.

If not, the Windows Media Player on the iPaq does not play MPG files, so you will need a player.
There are plenty of free players available. The most well known one is PocketTV, which can be found at:
http://www.pockettv.com/

You have to register and personally I use an email address which is used for potential junk mail lists, if you understand my meaning.

I use PocketTV, though there are others available at such links as:
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/gmm/fwvideoplay.html
I have not, as yet, tried any of them, but one of them may suit your needs.

Some free movies can be found at:
http://www.pocketmovies.net/
There are other links on the PocketTV site, but just search the Web and you will find some others, though a lot of them are heavily advertised and require registration.

I hope this helps. At least it is a starting point.

Don't forget to let us know if it is of help or if it does not apply to what you are looking for.
Milano

[Milano]

Ooops! The link:
http://www.webattack.com/freeware/gmm/fwvideoplay.html
is for PC players, not for the iPaq!
Sorry!

The other player I've tried is at:
http://home.adelphia.net/~mdukette/downloads.html#PocketPC
You may need to download other parts from their page.

Milano

[Janset]

Hi Milano.

My Ipac is bog standard and I use the standard media viewer that comes with Outlook 2002 O/S.

I have viewed the John West Ad, but regrettably managed to lose it some way or other, as I did with the musical clip of the singing Alien. (song "I will Survive").

The singing mouse I still have. (song "You Sexy Thing")

I don't know a thing about watching actual feature length movies on the iPAC as I do not have a memory card with enough free space to store the movie.

Are we talking about a full length movie here or just a video clip that would run for about 4 minutes, this I can save on the main memory of the iPAC.

If we are talking of a full feature length movie, how much memory are we talking about?

Regards

[mpholic]

The size of the file (full length movie) would depend on the codec used to produce the file. Other things would also have an impact on file size (video encoding bit rate, audio bit rate, resolution, etc.).

I use divx 5.0.5 for video at a bit rate of 180 and and audio (mono) of 64. This produces a file of about 230mb for a two hour movie.

[zach-2]

What type of video files will Windows Media for PPC 2003 play?

[AnswerDude]

Originally posted by zach-2
What type of video files will Windows Media for PPC 2003 play?

Windows Media Player plays Microsoft's proprietary video format (.wmv, and .asf extensions). It also play mp3 and MS's wma audio files.

[Janset]

Hi Guys.

Well I think I am starting to get the big picture, a lot of good info here.

I do have another question though and that relates to the video viewer "PocketTV" as a previous post suggested.

I downloaded the PocketTV Classic, for private users and under the Terms & Conditions section it states that it is free.

However when I installed it I find that they say I only have 7 days of usage.

Can anyone please clarify this, is it in fact free or is there a fee involved, and in fact not free?

I tried to contact them by email but all the links I tried failed.

Regards :rolleyes:

[Milano]

Janset,

I mentioned in the first posting that you would have to register PocketTV, but not PocktMVP.

On the main page of PocketTV, there is a link for "Register":
http://www.pockettv.com/register
Enter the code from the PocketTV program on your iPac.
Enter an email to receive the Key code.
Enter the Make and Model and click on "Send me my key!"
When you receive the Key code, (which is usually very quick) enter it into the program.

I've already mentioned the other player I've tried (PocktMVP). It is at:
http://home.adelphia.net/~mdukette/...s.html#PocketPC
You may need to download other parts from their page, but there is no registration required.

The link I also gave before at:
http://www.pocketmovies.net/
will show you the size of the files you can download. They can range from 2 Mb upwards, so some of the smaller ones will fit on the iPaq for viewing without a card.

Other movies that you can make or find on the internet, would usually be too big without an SD card. As the cards are relatively cheap it may be worth investing in one, as you can store a great deal more files and programs.

Milano

[mpholic]

I use pocket MVP and it is free.

[Janset]

Hi Guys.

Thanks for the updates. I have found the Registering link and have done so.

That suggested, Pocket MVP, does that accept more formats than MPG files?

What I am really asking, can I use, say "JUST THAT" player and do away with Windows media player AND PocketTV and thereby saving resources?

I will checkout the other sites also.

Regards :)

[AnswerDude]

Originally posted by Janset


That suggested, Pocket MVP, does that accept more formats than MPG files?


Regards :)

PocketMVP plays mpeg video and divx encoded avi video (and mp3 and wma audio). It will not play Microsoft Media video format.

[Janset]

Thanks again answerdude.

The question now is, is it worth loading this program and dumping PocketTV to save resources?

Regards

:confused:

[Milano]

Janset,

The PocketTV program takes up approx. 720K and PocketMVP takes up approx. 730K, so there is little in it. Someone else may know the space taken by any extra files the programs load into the Windows folder(s). The running memory needed for each program is almost the same, PocketTV using slightly less. PocketMVP has the edge as far as the formats are concerned.

You could experiment with the two until you decide, as they do not take up much room.

Windows Media Player cannot (as far as I know) be uninstalled as it is part of the OS.

Milano

[mpholic]

Media Player cannot be uninstalled. I choose not to use Pocket TV number one because Pocket MVP is free and number two I think divx encoded files take less space than the same video encoded using mpeg (depending on the bit rate selected).

[Janset]

Hi Guys.

I did not know that about Windows Media player, see I have learned something new today :D

The only question that really needs to be know now, of the 2, Pocket TV and Pocket MVP, which one supports the most formats?

From memory AVI and/or ASF files I find are either not recognised or played very poorly with PocketTV, I do not know about the other, Pocket MVP.

So at the moment I play some 'clips' with Windows and others with PocketTV, can get a bit annoying as I have do multiple clicks to access PocketTV because I have no more room to create a shortcut under the start panel.

Regards

[mpholic]

Keep in mind the AVI file format is more of a wrapper than a dedicated format. AVI files can be encoded using many different codecs and unless you have the appropriate codec installed in you iPAQ you will not be able to play the videos with anybody's player.

Pocket MVP plays AVI files encoded with the DivX codec. I produce my own videos from my personal DVD discs using a program called FlaskMPEG (it does not produce mpeg files) and a codec called DivX 5.0.5. The FlaskMpeg program allows me to crop (the black bars which take up file space) and resize the file to fit my iPAQ screen, the DivX codec allows me adjust the bit rate to control the file size. The DivX codec works within the Flask MPEG program so you are actually only encoding the file once. If you want to maintain the aspect ratio (widescreen) you can rotate the video so that you have to rotate the iPAQ screen.

It's actually a very simple process which on my P4 2.4 takes slightly more than 2hours for a 2 hour movie.

[Janset]

Hi there.

Mpholic, I can see where your interests lay. I am afraid I could not get that involved. With me, I may view a video clip a couple of times and then on to the next.

If I could get a free program that plays as many as possible, then all the better, otherwise I will just play it as it is.

I had a go with the conversion program that is recommended by PocketTV, called TMPGEnc, but to me, I did not notice any difference other than the fact that the file increased in size, a couple of times to almost double.

For what I want, I do not think it is worth the bother. My views may change in the future, but for the moment I have more pressing things on my plate. As is, already the wife has suggested that I move my bed into the computer room. :p

Regards

[mpholic]

They just don't seem to understand do they? Well its best in the long run to keep them happy as your PC isn't very good company late at night.