Portable MP4 player

[vcd_user]

My firend got a 2.2" portable MP4 player from China. It has terrible manual and comes with software that convert video files to AMV. But the player does not recognise .amv file extension. The device has marked on the player itself saying that it is an AVI player. It contains a demo avi file which plays reasonably well. That's why he bought it and brought it back to Canada.
He tried to load up some avi files which plays on his computer. But the portable player says incorrect format. We are new to this. I think that we probably need some conversion before the regular avi files which plays on larger screens can play on the 2.2" player.
Can some one suggest what we can try so that we can use the portable player. We were thinking if we can decode the demo avi file, we can try to convert other avi files to the same format and hopefully they will play on the player.

[Soopafresh]

Really, really, really hard to say without seeing the thing. I'd suggest you try this site, as they cater specifically to your style of player:


http://www.mympxplayer.org/dload.php

[Bjs]

A couple of tool's ...

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Encoders-Converter-DIVX-Related/AMV-Convert-Tool.shtml
http://www.brothersoft.com/mp3_audio/players/mp3_player_utilities_50889.html

From here , you have the same tool's mine came with ... the video's converted using the first listed tool work on mine .

And as it's amv ... there not mp4 player's ... and a possibility your friend got ripped off ... just like those who bought what they thought were 4 gig mp4 player's in ebay .

Here's a good link on all this stuff :

http://www.s1mp3.org/en/ ... have a sticky in the forum for help on these device's coming out of china ...

By they way , if the device starts generating funny file's of various size's that you didn't put on the player ... then the reported memory max capacity has been tampered with using a hacked firmware .

In my case , all the doc's , receipt's , and the device were handed over to the authorities too deal with fraud ... I don't care if I don't see my money back ... but sting me for financial gains via misleading advertising , and their screwing with the wrong person ... I bite back hard .

[vcd_user]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll go through them carefully. As I mentioned the player has avi marked at the back of the player and the demo sample file has .avi extension, so I am not surprise that it does not support amv even for whatever reason they gave me the software which converts files to amv.
If it supports .avi, I am still not clear (perhaps after I read all the replies it will be clearer to me) if I need to convert standard avi files which plays on my computer before it can be played on this type of portable players.

[Bjs]

Copy the file from the device to the pc , and flash it through gspot and mediainfo tool's and see what they have to say about the file's internal makeup ... Then you'll know what it want's you to convert too before they become actually playable on the device .

What tool was supplied with it to convert to amv ? .

Just thinking it could also be a naming error ... if the file that play's has no space's in it's name , and the file you wanted it too play dose , and failed too , then that would be one problem simply fixed .

Another come's in the form of idiot programs converting to a format with a specific file extension , yet has a double named extension ... such as ...

Myvideo.amv.avi ... or the other way round ... real screwup's .

Then you might actually get somewhere with the device

[DVantrease]

I just got one of these devices too. While it's advertised on ebay as an 'MP4' player, you actually have to convert your videos to AMV format. But, mine came with a mini-cd with the conversion program, plus it's available as a free download from MxMPXPlayer.org . I don't know about your video with the avi extension, as mine will only play amv's. On a good note, the conversion program is free, very easy, and very fast. I can convert a 30 minute tv episode in about 7 minutes. And you can use any format video as your source.

I love my player, I just wish I would have sprung for a larger screen. Mine is only 1.5", but then it was only $40.

Dave

[pmpvictim]

I also recently got a PMP from China:
2.4" screen
2G internal + MiniSD slot.
It comes with AVI convertor on miniCD which is actually a GUI to Mencoder with 9 predefined settings in an ini text file

The ini

[parameter]
1-1-1=-ofps 24 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=500:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=6 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=128
1-1-2=-ofps 24 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=500:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=6 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=128
1-1-3=-ofps 24 -vf-add scale=320:180 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=500:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=6 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=128

2-1-1=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=300:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64
2-1-2=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=300:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64
2-1-3=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:180 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=300:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64

3-1-1=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=150:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64
3-1-2=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:240 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=150:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64
3-1-3=-ofps 25 -vf-add scale=320:180 -vf-add expand=320:240:-1:-1:1 -srate 44100 -ovc xvid -xvidencopts bitrate=150:max_bframes=0:quant_type=h263:me_quality=4 -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=mp2:abitrate=64

However the converted video has audio up to a couple of seconds ahead of the video!

The demo.avi file examined with various tools including gspot is:
24fps, xVid, 320x240, 596kbps, MPEG1 Layer2 Audio (MP2) VBR(!) 96kbps.

A Xvid with MP3 doesn't play at all. It definately only wants MP2.

Even at 300kbps and 20fps the audio is still ahead of the video.

It uses Rockchip Chinese MP3/MP4 decoder
Similar to this model
http://www.diytrade.com/directory/global/buy/products/2578870/Hong_Kong_Manufacturers-...Card_Slot.html

Any ideas how to encode/fix AVI?

I tried -audio-delay:1.0 in the ini file, but perhaps I got that wrong as it didn't encode at all.
Both the demo.avi and the converted files by the custom GUI on mencoder play perfect in mplayer on Windows XP.

[pmpvictim]

BTW the eBook, MP3, lyric + MP3, FM radio, JPEG viewer and Tetris game are all fine. It does indeed appear on XP automatically as 2 drives (though on my laptop, only if it is turned off).

[lylewinton]

Hi all,
I posted my solution at the below link. Basically, these so called MP4 Xvid players only take a very specific AVI file encoded with MPEG 1 layer 2 audio, specific Xvid encoding, specific format and frequency. None of which I can be bothered to figure out. I think all of these chinese MP4/MP3 players are various versions of S1MP3 (see http://www.s1mp3.org/en/). If you use AVIConverter it will create AVI files that are the right format. My MP4 player and others don't seem to ship with this, only AMV and MTV converters which often don't work. Ask you're supplier where to get the software, mine happily obliged.

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1659923&sid=0cf98f7e957859ccff81c167a8cea836#1659923

As for audio/video sync problems... AVIConverter does a bad job converting from some file formats. I've had trouble with AVI and MPG (MPEG1 and MPEG2), regardless of frame rate etc. Try converting the file to something else first. Matroska MKV format works really well, audio in sync and everything. I used VirtualDubMod (just google search for it) to convert my existing AVI files to MKV, then AVIConverter to convert to AVI files that my MP4 player understands.

Trust me, I've spent a lot of time on this. Try some other file formats if you like. Let me know if you have any success.

Quick howto on VirtualDubMod and MKV...
1) Open original file. Always say NO to any question about fixing headers.
2) From menus select "Video" and "Direct stream"
3) Then "File" "Save as..." and select MKV format.

I know, I know. Technically this shouldn't work as MKV is just a container and you're not change any compression or codecs. But it does![/url]

[pmpvictim]

It's the later kind, not the S1M3, but Rockchip.

The AVI converter (or similar XVid & MP2 settings in other programs) all produce playable files that are perfectly in sync on Windows, but with badly out of sync in the China MP4 player, with audio far ahead. The demo.avi is 24fps with 50ms Audio interleave (=1.2 video frames). Everything I use produces audio exactly interleaved with video.(42ms if video is 24fps). At 24fps the video seems the correct speed. At 25fps the video runs much slower.
I'd guess it HAS to be 24 fps or 20fps and a fixed TIME audio interleave, not video frame interleave (which seems odd).

But ALL the videos are OK in Windows, inc the demo.ini but only the supplied demo.avi plays with audio sync on the China MP4 player.

The CD had ver2 and ver 3 of the AVI converter. Only difference is the resolution. (Ver 3.0 has the required 320x 240)

[pmpvictim]

I'll have a look at MKV.

[pmpvictim]

I found VirtualDub (not VirtualDubMod) will set audio interleave to ms instead of frames.
BUT even with copy video/copy audio, no recompress.
1) Normal AVI save is very bad
2) Old AVI save gives the same format as the demo.avi
3) Not matter what I set the audio Interleave in ms, it creats 72ms interleave, not desired 50ms
4) Makes the video play nearly 1/2 half speed.

So really I need to figure the "extra" mencoder settings in convertor.ini so the mencoder used by AVIconvertor does same settings as the working demo.avi (i.e. the 50ms Audio Interleave).

[lylewinton]

It's the later kind, not the S1M3, but Rockchip.

The AVI converter (or similar XVid & MP2 settings in other programs) all produce playable files that are perfectly in sync on Windows, but with badly out of sync in the China MP4 player, with audio far ahead.

Hi "pmpvictim". In my case AVIConverter does not produce files that are in sync on Windows. So your problem is different.

And, you'll really need VirtualDubMod if you want to give MKV files a try. One of the "Mod"s to VirtualDub is to support MKV.

[pmpvictim]

Ther seem to be no audio codec or audio settings at all in VirtualDubMod
I can't figure how MKV will help as the player can only read AVI. And very specific AVI at that.

I now have managed to make AVIs that are identically out of sync on Windows

The problem may be that the MP4 player only appears to play 24fps or 20fps properly and the frame rate conversion causes a problem.

Perhaps somewhere there is a tool that resyncs PAL VOD to 24fps without conversion of video.

[Cornucopia]

Have you tried giving the mp4 player an AVI (Xvid/MP2) file with audio in CBR mode as opposed to VBR? Maybe the player has trouble with sync because of the VBR audio...

Scott

[pmpvictim]

The sample demo.avi file is detected as having VBR MP2 by most analysis programs.

On lavac and toolame there does not seem to be an option to change how the MP2 is encoded other than bitrate, mono/stereo and sample rate.

I would have tried this if I knew how to.

It seems to me that the demo.avi is encoded at a fixed 4096 byte audio interleave rather than a more normal 1:1 video frame interleave. Gspot detects this as 50ms interleave. I can't figure how to duplicate this setting in mencoder.

I think a 4096 byte audio interleave at 24 fps will play, and nothing else.

[Cornucopia]

There is a GUI for toolame called (surprisingly!) "toolamegui" that you can get at the Afterdawn website. (Just checked it) It allows you to set CBR or VBR, as well as many other options.

Might make a difference...doubt it...but worth a try.

Scott

[pmpvictim]

Not on Afterdawn

http://guiguy.wminds.com/downloads/

But the site creates some nasty popups. close them on the task bar..

So I'm not sure how kosher the contents are.

[pmpvictim]

Very broken site. I'm sceptical it does anything not documented elsewhere

[pmpvictim]

The BeSweet GUI does tooLame, besweet and others

http://besweet.notrace.dk/BeSweetGUI0.6b61.zip

[Cornucopia]

You're right, site's not good anymore (but the app is):

I'll host it on my site for a short time. Try this: http://www.cornucopiadm.com/goodies/toolamegui.zip

Scott

[pmpvictim]

Ta.

I'll have a look when my head stops hurting. I'm sure is sinus and not building a Linux tool chain

[pmpvictim]

Downloaded it already if you want to remove the link and edit post

[vcd_user]

I thought that I had posted this a week ago. I am not sure why it is not here. Anyway I'll post again just in case, it may help someone.
After a bit of asking around. A friend of mine point me to a site www.a-grade.com.hk, there is a tool called AVI2.0. I used the tool to convert mpeg and rmvbs to avi and the resulting file plays fine on my friend's little player. Now we are happy. I hope this can help someone too. But the tool is in Chinese. I am running English WINXP. The chinese are displayed as ??? //// . With some guess, I was able to use it with all the default options. I did not change anything because I wasn't sure what those /// ??? are.

[pmpvictim]

I can't find it. I'm suspect it just a Chinese front end on mencoder.

Have you exact link?

Is the sound in sync with video?

[vcd_user]

I just tried it and it work. The site is in Chinese also. But this should take you to the download page http://www.a-grade.com.hk/download.htm. The page has a mix of chinese and English. But you should see "AVi2.0 under" MP4 Movie Converter.

[vcd_user]

Try to type in http://www.a-grade.com.hk/download.htm in the address bar instead of using the link from the forum. I thing the "." at the end will result in the link not found error.

[vcd_user]

Sorry, forget to answer your question.
Audio and Video in the resulting avi file are in sync.

[Estel]

Hello.

I got also the same sync problem with video when using my 2.4'' rockchip player, and Your discusion helped me much. Using Your advices, and my own ''research'' i was able to create working video without sync problems, with 50 ms audio interleave. In fact, cause i know my video very well, i think it got very, very smal (micro?) desync, after very long playback, (maybe what we need isent exactly 50 ms?) but really it isen't so big problem.

Maybe this info will be usefull for someone - to create video with 50 ms interleave i've used both VirtualDub and Xilisoft Converter. First, i used VirtualDub, setting video to no conversion ("source stream") and, most imporant, audio PCM (no conversion) and of course 50 MS interleave.

Next, i opened just converted video in Xilisoft, and there set audio to mp2, 192 bitrate, and video 24 fps, 320x240 resolution etc. Checking video with Gspot, i got finally file with 50 ms interleave, and it work fine for me, uploaded to portable player.

And it work fine for me. I think, that I can do the same things using only VirtualDub, but how the hell can i convert audio to mp2 in virtualdub? Maybe m just sleppy, (it's 8 aM here, after night of ''researchs'') but i cant find any option to convert audio using mpeg-layer II in VirtualDub. MP3, OGG, etc are possible, but mp2 not for me (and i have no problems, converting with xilisoft)

// Edit

Last thing - I'm certain, that all the sync problems portable players have cause their processors can't handle decoding videos with high bitrate. One time, i converted very high quality mpg file, (24 fps, of course) getting 1500 kbps video file in result, (+224 kbps audio) and in more ''dynamic'' moments, video slowdowns were just REALLY big, like 0.70 of normal playback speed or something. Video with low bitrate have no sync problems, but i think that audio interleave about 50 ms is ''trick'' to prevent desync due to video slowdowns.

[zapperredtank]

hi everyone just joined, i also have bought mp4 player fron uxcell , its silverado 2gb , i was having probs converting video by usual means i tried AMV ASF AVI none worked , it has a weird form of avi , after reading this topic then going to the chinese the guy pointed out i noted he sain AVI 2.0 , IF YOU LOOK HARD ON THE CD THAT COMES WITH THESE PLAYER THER IS A VERSION OF AVI 2 AND IT WORK S YIPEE , THANKS ALL SPEAK LATER