VideoNow Color (and Jr) Video Conversions

[tgraf75]

Hi. I hope this thread is still read by someone. I'm new to this forum. I just bought my soon to be 6 year old a video now xp and I have read the posts on how to create my own PVDs. I am having trouble with something that is probably the simplest part of the procedure. I have videonowtogo and virtualdub but I cannot figure out how to get the shows off my dvds and into virtualdub . I have tried dvd-decrypter but virtualdub doesn't recognize the file type that is created. Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million!

[VideonowDude]

but I cannot figure out how to get the shows off my dvds and into virtualdub . I have tried dvd-decrypter but virtualdub doesn't recognize the file type that is created. Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million!

You need the VirtualDub-MPEG version that can directly read the VOB files that dvd-decrypter produces. If you have the 1.1 version of VideoNowToGo it lists it in the Software section. The original VirtualDub can only read MPEG1 files.

[tgraf75]

Thanks. I figured it out right after I posted. I do have one other question. When I load my video into VirtualDub, I get the following message:

[!] MPEG: Anachronistic or discontinuous timestamp found in video stream 0 at
byte position 53252, from 86400 to 172800. This may indicate an improper
join.

Can you tell me what this means?

Thanks.

[VideonowDude]

[!] MPEG: Anachronistic or discontinuous timestamp found in video stream 0 at
byte position 53252, from 86400 to 172800. This may indicate an improper
join.

Can you tell me what this means?

Thanks.

No idea, sorry. Sounds like something is up with the mpeg stream, but it shouldn't matter for converting to VDN. Unless your kids get annoyed by tiny lip sync issues, which I seriously doubt they can see on a 2" screen

[craniac]

The VideoNow is at my local Walmart for $6.50. Very tempting, especially with the software and physical mods. I hope someone more energetic than myself compiles all of this thread into a FAQ.

[craniac]

Here is a youtube video that shows how to do the physical modding of the case to use full sized CDs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMufTJyMLJ8

[santa-noob]

WoW..the forum is alive...I just got 3 of them to play with at walmart for 7$ ...I have followed the guide to a T..But still doesnt work...got any ideas..I am just glad someone is on this thread..lol please respond

[babydolljai]

For those of us who are technology deficient , has anyone considered selling these. I would be interested.

[DrZip]

So I really tried to get into this VideoNow thing, but I am being met many obstacles. I have a VideoNowXP, and I've followed VideoNowDude's Tutorial, which is extraordinarily helpful (but intended for VideoNow Color and JR). I've modded the player to hold standard 120mm cd's. I can create cd's for the player, but in order to get them to work I have to trick the player into reading the disc. To do this, I begin with inserting an actual disc made by VideoNow (Simple Plan - Welcome to my life), and then pause the video, quickly switch out the discs, then press play and next till it reads. Though this works.. it's not exactly an effective solution. If I just insert the disc normally it always turns up a "No Disc" symbol. I'm sure that weight isn't an issue as I've experimented with running two discs on top of one another, and was able to read the VideoNow Color CD on the bottom.. I've tried making discs of various capacities.. using different brands of cd's (all cd-r).. still no success besides the disc swap. I'm thinking that perhaps the initial starting file (VideoNowDude's - VDN Track 00 (First)) isn't what the player is searching for, or it's not being written correctly. I'm using Nero Burning Rom, audio cd, unselected "eliminate noise at end of track" option, ordered the VDN Track 00 (first) first, then my parts from VirtualDub, then the VDN Track 99 (final), removed the pause between all of the parts excluding the first, and burning. Again, I've tried making the disc length anywhere from 20 mins to 75 mins, still no dice. Any input/information/suggestions would be awesome! I'm really running out of ideas (wink wink to VideoNowDude).

Thanks,
DrZip

dsc02716.jpg

[og style]

I hope this is still monitored. I am trying to make a video from a avi file. I can get clear to the last step on virtualdub where I put the play button. When I push it the program shuts down. I am clickon on the playbutton with the 0 on it.

Can someone please help me?

Thanks

[loveofpm]

Hey all, been a stranger fr a while, though have easily created many disc...
The number one key is using Virtualdub 1.5.1 something in the newer versions doesn't work, never has

[og style]

I will give it a try. Thanks for the reply.

[og style]

How do I change the framerate to 18 on v1.5.1 It does not have this option

[og style]

I think it is working right. I used v1.5.6

[justannie01]

I am far less tech savy them most on this site appear to be and feeling denser by the minute. I am trying to following Videonowdude's instructions for virtualdub and have ran into a roadblock. I am have added the filter, I am able to open the video I want to convert and make all the setting changes that are outlined. I do not however, know how to start the video conversion process once I do that or where to find the file once it coverts. Is there anyone that can help me with this issue?

[justannie01]

I have identified some of the problem. When I open Videonowdude's guide it is missing the pictures. I have identified the output playback button but I am still unable to locate the output directory that it is suppose to go to once it is finished. Am I missing a step in the process?

[justannie01]

Okay... I understand how to work the virtualdub now. My problem is the virtual dub is not working because I have one of the later versions and it is crashing before creating the file. I am not able to find the earlier version that is suggested in the forum. Does anyone have any suggestions on where I can find the earlier version?

[justannie01]

Okay I have managed to succesufully create a VDN file but I do not have the version Nero that Videonowdude used. The version 8 will not let me record onto a pvd... it wants a CD-R. Does anyone know a program that I can burn onto one of the Hasbro PVD after I created the file using Videonowdudes instructions.

[JasonB]

Just to say thanks to everyone and let VideonowDude know that his / her work is still
being greatly appreciated.

I picked up a VideoNow Color for 1GBP/2USD in a UK charity shop and thought, "There's
got to be something I can do with that!". Turned out I was right, thanks to the help here.

I decided not to mess about with cutting CD's to size so set about hacking the case. I
used wire cutters and nibbled away at the bits in the way; quite easy going. Got my
MPEG converted, burned and working on the first try. FYI, Windows 98SE, Nero Burning
Rom 6.6.1.15, unbranded CD-R.

I think mine's been dropped at some point, or I was a bit too violent when hacking the
case ( no PVD to test with before hacking started). At power-up when laid flat it goes
clunk-clunk-clunk as it forever head seeks but it works okay with lid open, positioned
as an A ( disc facing inwards and down ).

Video quality wise it's not going to win any prizes, but not that bad, and excellent value
for what I paid, a lot of fun getting it to work, and it does indeed work. I think I'll turn it
into a digital video picture frame. Now to find 22 minutes of aquarium footage

[Frustrtated]

This is really a confusing site, I can't find Post New Message anywhere. I have the VideoNow Media Wizard and every time I try installing it, I can't get it to finish. It says it has been interrupted during installation because I don't have Quicktime 4.1 or higher and yet I DO ! I uninstalled Quicktime 3 times and reinstalled it, then reinstalled the software for VideoNow. Same error on installation came up. Anyone who knows what is causing this problem please reply. I am using Windows XP. As far as I know this Media Wizard only came in one version. It never does actually install the program, only puts it in my Downloaded Programs folder. Won't work there either, says I have to use Setup.exe to install it. Could this be a defective disc ?

[VideonowDude]

I think its just crappy software, to be honest. I refuse to install any version of QT on any of my machines, as the older versions had really nasty installers (though I think the newer ones are much less nasty). Plus I am vehemently anti-Apple anyway.Have you tried Fisher Price for support? Good luck.

[daeab]

Well I have followed videonowdudes instructions as exactly as I could. Since I normally use Nero 9 for all of my burning purposes I could not use Nero 6. So I read through the entire 11 pages of posts and came up with a post from a gentleman claiming that he was using cdrwin to burn his videonow movies to CDR. Since cdrwin was not compatible with my DVD writer I went out and purchased a used CD writer (10$) that was compatible with cdrwin.

So currently using an HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8526B (f/w 1.02) from LG I have created many coasters in an attempt to create a working PVD for my VideoNow Colorfx (Puchased for 2$ cdn at Walmart).

Originally I was cutting down the discs and using Nero 9 to make my PVDs but this always resulted in a no disc error on the videonow (after reading all of the posts I realized that this was because Nero 9 was converting the audio files, wasted some time to see if this conversion could be disabled... nope).

Moving on I created a cuesheet for cdrwin and burned the disc which I then cut down to fit in the player:

File "VDN Track 00.wav" Wave
Track 01 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 02 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 03 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 04 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 05 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 06 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 07 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 08 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 01.wav" Wave
Track 09 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00
File "VDN Track 99.wav" Wave
Track 10 Audio
Index 01 00:00:00

You're not imaging things I used the same track "VDN Track 01.wav" 8 times to get over the 40 min mark for the PVD.

When I put the "PVD" in the Videonow I didn't get a no disc error all I got was the clock that spun around a few times and stopped at midnight.

On the assumption that perhaps my disc cutting ability left something to be desired I modded the player to fit an uncut CDR, redid my video conversion and tried again...

Same problem, no "no disc" error all I get is the clock that spins around a few times and stops at midnight.

Here is the disc layout report from cdrwin:

================================================== ==================

DISC INFORMATION

Number of Tracks : 10

Total Disc Time : 44:42:02

Media Catalog Number : Not Specified

================================================== ==================

TRACK/INDEX INFORMATION

Start Length
TRK IDX TITLE/ISRC TYPE COPY EMPH 4CHN MM:SS:FF MM:SS:FF
----------------------------------------------------------------
01 AUDIO No No No
00 Pregap 00:00:00 00:02:00
01 Track 00:02:00 00:11:68
TOTAL 00:13:68
----------------------------------------------------------------
02 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 00:13:68 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
03 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 05:46:69 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
04 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 11:19:70 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
05 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 16:52:71 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
06 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 22:25:72 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
07 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 27:58:73 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
08 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 33:31:74 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
09 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 39:05:00 05:33:01
TOTAL 05:33:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
10 AUDIO No No No
01 Track 44:38:01 00:04:01
TOTAL 00:04:01
----------------------------------------------------------------
LeadOut 44:42:02

I have tried writing in both normal and Raw mode and I can assure you that the videonow responds in exactly the same way, just a never ending clock that is stuck at midnight...

In conclusion some help that does not involve "use nero 6 I did and it worked" would be greatly appreciated. If no one reads this post or replies anytime soon... Oh well I'm only out 12$ and a bunch of blank CDRs.

[daeab]

Alright, I managed to find a Hiliary Duff PVD forsale at Zellers for 2.09$ No comments please about it being Hiliary Duff as it is the only PVD I have been able to find over the past couple of weeks. Anyway here is what I learned:

1) My modded VideoNow colorfx does still work.
2) Not one of the discs that I burned play in it, from a cold start.
3) If I trick the player in the same way that a kid on youtube did (mainly put in a real PVD until it has loaded and the introduction has finished, then swap for one of my burned discs) I can watch a corrupt video with no sound of my converted video. Only the discs that I burned using cdrwin show anything at all after applying the trick.

As an FYI, in case I was getting too cute with the cue file (pun intended) I copied the track 8 times and tried again with a sperate file for each track, still no "no disc error" just a stuck clock, like all of my other discs it played with a corrupt video and no sound after applying the above mentioned "trick".

Well I'll go back to Videonowdudes conversion instructions and see if I missed something or if there is something I can tweak... any bets on how many more coasters I am willing to make?

[Supreme2k]

It's funny that people are still interested in this thing. Even when it came out, portable DVD players were not much more, and you also didn't have to deal with conversion and shitty vido quality.

Now, they're about $60-$80 dollars, and still much more of a bargain than even a $3 VideoNow, since you don't have to be bothered with all the crap overhead that comes with it. It seems almost like, with even CDs slowly making an exit, someone's trying to make a portable 8-track

[daeab]

*shrug* I would never cut up or otherwise destroy a working portable DVD player, at least I haven't yet been given a reason to . As for why do people still mess around with the videonow? You may as well ask why did Edmund Hillary climb Mt. Everest? I'm sure that our answers would be very similar... because I could(can).

[Boy447374]

Using videonowtogo I am getting an error when I try to convert the video clip. It is tlling me there is a problem with the audio file. Must be 17640 8 bit streo. I made sure that I was converting the audio file properly first but it's still not working. Any ideas why?

[daeab]

Using videonowtogo I am getting an error when I try to convert the video clip. It is tlling me there is a problem with the audio file. Must be 17640 8 bit streo. I made sure that I was converting the audio file properly first but it's still not working. Any ideas why?

I would be willing to bet that you did not extract the audio before attempting to convert the video using the videonow plugin.

"Extracting the Audio
VirtualDub video filters have no access to the audio track, so it is necessary to extract the audio first as a separate step. With your video clip is still loaded:

Go to the Audio menu and select Full Processing Mode
Click Audio / Conversion and set a Sampling Rate of Custom, 17640, set Precision to 8-bit, and Channels to Stereo (picture)
Click File / Save WAV... and save this as say VDN Audio.wav
When done it is important to select Audio / Direct Stream Copy afterwards, else VirtualDub can become unstable and crash"

Otherwise make sure that you are using an older version of virtualdub, I have been using 1.5.10 .

Good Luck!

[somethingrandom]

Hello,

I was wondering if some one would be able to help me. I have a VideoNow Color disc that I'm pretty sure contains video that isn't commercially available on DVD. I see you all have been doing a lot of tinkering with encoding video on to PVDs, I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me go the other way, rip the video and audio off of a color PVD and re-encode it into an avi or other PC friendly format.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[pugvader]

Hi I'm not being lazy, but I was curious about finding a way on how to burn discs to play on a video now for my child. There is the old black and white thread and now this color one.

By an chance can some one quickly sum up the steps to get this done? I understand you either need to cut the disc or mod the case, but I'm confused on the steps to get avi's or ripped dvd's on a disc to play in this thing.

[dommromm]

I know that this is going to be a long shot, but....

1) Does anyone knows if someone was able to create a program to rip Videonow Discs on a PC and convert them to Avi, MP4 or any format (without the need of using 5 or more steps to convert them)?

2) If not, does anyone know how to add A/V jacks to the unit so it can be connected to a PC to convert it?

3) I recently tested my Videonow XP and I noticed that the volume dial isn't working. The volume is now stuck at the higher level and I can't lower the volume. I would like to replace the dial but I can't open up the unit since the placement of the screws are underneath the disc lid and it's hard to use a screwdriver to take them out.

So my question is does anyone know how to dis-assemble the unit so that I can replace the damaged part?

I know that it's been awhile that anyone has been here but I am still interested in this unit. Hope someone can help me out.