Download videos and images from a cell phone

[SCDVD]

I just got an LG VX8300 cell phone which has a camera in it that takes both pictures and videos. It uses a Micro SD card. The manual describes how to send pictures and videos, a service they happily charge for. My question is; can I plug the micro SD card into a card reader and transfer these pictures and videos to my PC in a readable format? There is no information about this in the manual.

[hech54]

The phone probably came with a MicroSD(since the MicroSD is so small) to SD card adapter. Just buy a card reader (cheap...about 5$) and connect the MicroSD to your computer that way.

OR you may be able to connect the phone to the computer directly via a cable.

OR you may be able to do it via Bluetooth.

[hech54]

Google is your friend:
http://vx8300.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-get-pictures-off-your-phone.html

[SCDVD]

The phone has built-in memory with a Micro SD slot for optional additional memory. There is no connector for any sort of cable. My question is; will the image and video files store3d on the Micro SD card be in a recognizable format on my PC?

[SCDVD]

Google is your friend:
http://vx8300.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-get-pictures-off-your-phone.html

Thanks hech54! I guess the reason that Verizon doesn't mention this in their manual is they would rather charge to send images and videos over the cell phone line - at 25 cents each!

[hech54]

Is there a "sneaky" solution to your problem on that site?

[Supreme2k]

There has to be a slot for a cable. Most phones can connect a data cable to the same port for recharging. They usually cost $5-15. You can also get a bluetooth dongle (like a thumb drive) for under $10, and transfer using bitpim.

[SCDVD]

Thanks Supreme2K, I'm going to try to find a cable. There is a Bluetooth connection but I understand Bluetooth is quite slow. I suspect you are right about the connection being through the charging connector. The thing that is so frustrating is that NONE of this sort of information is in the manual. Verizon deliberately hides this because they want to make money from you by "forcing" you to use the cell phone line to transfer images or videos. The phone is made by LG. I am going to try to find LG's manual on the phone. It probably has a lot more information than the sorry-ass manual that came from Verizon. I am not picking on Verizon in particular. They just happen to be the provider that I use. I hear the other providers are just as bad or worse in this regard.

[byteguy]

I am going to try to find LG's manual on the phone. It probably has a lot more information than the sorry-ass manual that came from Verizon.

Not really. I have a VX5200 and the manual I found from LG is almost the exact same thing.

But... it's very easy to do what you want.

1) Go to ebay or google and find a cable. You should be able to get one for less than $1 with $5 shipping. Don't waste money on a "CD full of wallpaper and ringers."

2) Go get the drivers for your phone. You can download them from iGoneMobile or just google away

3) LOAD THE DRIVERS BEFORE YOU PLUG IN YOUR PHONE!!!! You'll actually load three drivers (USB Cable, Modem, and Phone) so it seems odd since you keep having to say "yes, load the darn driver and NO don't go looking on the internet for updates." Since you use the same drivers as I do... go check out the VX5200 Group on Yahoo Groups. Look in their "Files" section for instructions on how to load the drivers.

4) Load BitPim

5) Plug in the cable... connect your phone... have fun.

[SCDVD]

2) Go get the drivers for your phone. You can download them from iGoneMobile or just google away

I intend to only download pictures and videos from the phone. I don't have any need to upload anything to the phone. With that being the case, is it necessary to use BitPim or are the USB drives all that I need?

[hech54]

2) Go get the drivers for your phone. You can download them from iGoneMobile or just google away

I intend to only download pictures and videos from the phone. I don't have any need to upload anything to the phone. With that being the case, is it necessary to use BitPim or are the USB drives all that I need?

Your computer still may need "drivers" to recognize the phone and the cable.

Another thing. Celll phones don't take HUGE pictures. Bluetooth might be slower
than the cable from the phone to the computer but if the pics are on the phone's built-in memory...they can't be all that big.
I Bluetoothed pics from phone to phone and it was anything but painfully slow.
The cable would be easier to figure out I'd imagine but...keep a little Bluetooth
dongle stuck to your computer's USB port in mind. I can run out and buy one right now and I'm pretty sure you could too.

[theewizard]

get a card reader, put the microSD in the adapter, put the adapter in the card reader, any pictures saved OR moved to the card will be in the my_pix folder, videos will be in the my_flix folder

visit HOFO's vzw-lg forum http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=295

for lots of info about your phone

I have the LG enV, the wife has the samsung u740, and we have (2) lg 8100's as backup phones

[edDV]

get a card reader, put the microSD in the adapter, put the adapter in the card reader, any pictures saved OR moved to the card will be in the my_pix folder, videos will be in the my_flix folder

visit HOFO's vzw-lg forum http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=295

for lots of info about your phone

I have the LG enV, the wife has the samsung u740, and we have (2) lg 8100's as backup phones

I used the Micro SD card adapter for my Motorola phone and the file played in VLC. I can't remember the format. Sort of a toy. Did it once to show it works than never used it again.

[byteguy]

I intend to only download pictures and videos from the phone. I don't have any need to upload anything to the phone. With that being the case, is it necessary to use BitPim or are the USB drives all that I need?

The drivers just make it possible to talk to the phone. BitPim does all the real work since there is a whole interconnected file system on your phone. Even if you just download, it's still a great thing to have and learn.

As for "downloading only..." I've found that it's easier to highlight all the pictures I want, download them, hit delete, then tell BitPim to "update" the phone. Otherwise, I have to view each picture, choose "options," choose "delete," and say "yes" for EVERY picture I want the phone to delete itself. More than a little annoying.

BitPim is also useful for making backups of things like your phone book.

[SCDVD]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful information!

[theewizard]

I use bitpim, but for videos and pictures, the card reader and memory card is fastest and easiest way

I make a backup of the empty phone, before I add anything to the phone, I also use bitpim for backing up my contacts , and for adding custom ringtones to the phone,

the video format is is 3g2

videos from the the phone are 3g2 with vorbis audio stream

video files can be converted and place on the memory card allowing you to have a portable video player, my wifes phone has a 1 gig memory card with about 90 mp3 country and old rock&roll songs and 50+ country music video clips on it. and room left over

when converting the format is 3g2, mpeg4 codec, acc audio at 56k sampling, screen resolution for the 8300 is 176*144 and 192k video bitrate

also this phone has internal memory partitions, internal memory is divided for each file type and limited to approx 3 meg per file type

when using bitpim to place files in the phone internal memory, you must be careful not to exceed this, you can brick your phone

bitpim does not see the OS parameters for the file limits

place too much of any file type in the internal memory, and it over flows this artificial boundary the physical memory doesn't care

but the OS crashes when it trys to read from a certain area during boot up and encounters file data that is not expected and it will not process it