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Millennium · Feb 5, 2005, 08:21 PM

I have a fair number of DivX3 files on my Mac. This is a problem, because I also have an EyeHome, and while EyeHome can technically play DivX3 files it really doesn't like them. Files in this format don't stream properly, and often suffer from choppy playback. The quality of the source file is fine; it plays well on other computers, including the Mac that I use to serve stuff to the EyeHome.

The EyeHome seems to work much better with XviD-format videos, and so I'm looking for options that would let me convert my movies into that format. Re-ripping is unfortunately not an option, so I know I'm going to lose some quality, but I'd like to minimize that if I can. Batch-conversion ability would also be nice, but if there's any way of scripting the program (through AppleScript or the Terminal; either way works) then I can deal with not having it. What would people suggest for something like this?

Millennium · Feb 5, 2005, 08:22 PM

Oops; I should have put this in Software. Sorry about that.

OwlBoy · Feb 5, 2005, 09:22 PM

check out ffmpegx. Its a gui for ffmpeg and mencoder, it also has a queue and you can save presets, I find it to be a great encoder/decoder/demuxer.

And if you were really into mpeg4 you could even encode the xvid into .mp4 and the Eyehome would read it fine. (Should at least...)

-Owl

p.s. I personaly use a softmoded XBox to do what your Eyehome does, works nice.

midwinter · Feb 6, 2005, 07:09 PM

Yes. ffmpegx is what you want. And it's even easier now that the new version just came out. Drag the file to the well. Select the conversion you want and hit encode.

I'm doing the same thing right now...transcoding episodes of Lost from Xvid to something that'll play on my iPaq.

Superchicken · Feb 6, 2005, 07:22 PM

Can it use Quicktime? Divx doctor will convert avi files to .mov files.

mitchell_pgh · Feb 6, 2005, 11:44 PM

yah, I would have to agree with all the others ffmpegx is the only application that I know of that will convert the DivX3 files to XviD.

I own an EyeHome and love it, but I have yet to figure out how to make HIGH quality DivX files from a DVD. I've gotten some, but they don't look good on my computer.

Hmmmmm.... oh well.

Millennium · Feb 7, 2005, 06:58 AM

Originally posted by Superchicken:
Can it use Quicktime? Divx doctor will convert avi files to .mov files.

It can, and I've tried that, but it doesn't have any effect. It seems as though the EyeHome may actually be sensitive to the codec being used, rather than the container format.

Superchicken · Feb 7, 2005, 07:29 PM

Can you add codecs? Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Millennium · Feb 7, 2005, 09:04 PM

Originally posted by Superchicken:
Can you add codecs? Sorry I can't be of any more help.

Add codecs to the EyeHome, you mean? It's been done, but not by anyone other than the makers, and they only added DivX3 support recently.

midwinter · Feb 7, 2005, 09:06 PM

Originally posted by Millennium:
Add codecs to the EyeHome, you mean? It's been done, but not by anyone other than the makers, and they only added DivX3 support recently.

Well? How's ffmpegx working?

Millennium · Feb 7, 2005, 09:17 PM

Originally posted by midwinter:
Well? How's ffmpegx working?

It's not, at the moment. I'm having some other issues which are preventing me from getting that to work. I'll keep you posted, though.

mitchell_pgh · Feb 8, 2005, 11:25 AM

Originally posted by Millennium:
It's not, at the moment. I'm having some other issues which are preventing me from getting that to work. I'll keep you posted, though.

Millennium, what version of ffmpegx are you using... I've noticed that the newest version isn't working well for me...

Perhaps it's just me :-(

Millennium · Feb 8, 2005, 11:41 AM

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
Millennium, what version of ffmpegx are you using... I've noticed that the newest version isn't working well for me...

Perhaps it's just me :-(

FFMpegX installed fine; it's the other tools that it requires which I couldn't get to work. I think I've got that mostly straightened out, though, so I'm going to try again tonight.

BoulderDash · Feb 12, 2005, 01:05 AM

Hi there,
I'm trying to understand this EyeHome system, so sorry if my question is rudimentary:

- Will EyeHome play movies I own which I have placed on my computer using MacTheRipper (.BUP, .IFO, .VOB)?

I just started using MacTheRipper today and DVD Player seems to play them well enough by just selecting the folder they reside in. Apparently, EyeHome needs to have them converted to DivX? Won't that lose a lot of the "dvd quality" of it by compressing it to a different format than its native format?

Anyway, thanks in advance if someone can point me to a tutorial or give me an answer (in particular to EyeHome playing these ripped movies) so that I might be able to enjoy my library on my TV and not just on my Mac.

BD

Millennium · Feb 12, 2005, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by BoulderDash:
- Will EyeHome play movies I own which I have placed on my computer using MacTheRipper (.BUP, .IFO, .VOB)?

I've never tried doing it with an unencrypted VOB, but in theory it should work. The EyeHome supports the video and audio codecs used in DVDs just fine; the only thing I'm not sure about is the container format. I do know that it won't do anything with the .bup and .ifo files; all it can actually do is play the video. If that's all you need, however, then it ought to work.

Apparently, EyeHome needs to have them converted to DivX? Won't that lose a lot of the "dvd quality" of it by compressing it to a different format than its native format?

Losing some is unavoidable, but unless you have an HDTV screen you are unlikely to notice. Pre-HDTV screens actually aren't very good, and while this has its disadvantages, these screens can mask a lot of problems that crop up in video.

In any case, if you want to try playing the unencrypted VOB, just drop it in your Movies folder and EyeHome should take care of the rest. If you need to convert them, then things get crazier, but let's see if the plain VOB will work first.

midwinter · Feb 12, 2005, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by Millennium:
I've never tried doing it with an unencrypted VOB, but in theory it should work. The EyeHome supports the video and audio codecs used in DVDs just fine; the only thing I'm not sure about is the container format. I do know that it won't do anything with the .bup and .ifo files; all it can actually do is play the video. If that's all you need, however, then it ought to work.

Actually, be careful about this. Eye Home will ONLY play ac3 audio through the optical audio out.

BoulderDash · Feb 12, 2005, 02:33 PM

Originally posted by Millennium:
In any case, if you want to try playing the unencrypted VOB, just drop it in your Movies folder and EyeHome should take care of the rest. If you need to convert them, then things get crazier, but let's see if the plain VOB will work first.

Hey thanks,
I don't own an EyeHome, so if anyone can try and play an unencrypted .VOB file created with MacTheRipper or whatever... that would be of great interest to me! I do have an HDTV, so comperssing it with DivX would be noticeable.

Originally posted by midwinter:
Actually, be careful about this. Eye Home will ONLY play ac3 audio through the optical audio out.

My receiver has plenty of optical audio inputs free, so would that mean that I would get the audio of my unencrypted DVD's to play through it since it would be sent out through the EyeHome's optical audio out?

Boy, if I could play all my my unencrypted (and owned) DVD's "on demand" in their native DVD video and audio format; that would be great! Thanks for any further help,
BD

midwinter · Feb 12, 2005, 03:01 PM

Originally posted by BoulderDash:
My receiver has plenty of optical audio inputs free, so would that mean that I would get the audio of my unencrypted DVD's to play through it since it would be sent out through the EyeHome's optical audio out?

Yes, most likely.