m4v converter (video on new ipod)

pengu · 05-28-2006, 10:16 AM

Does anyone know of any linux software that will convert mpeg/avi to m4v (quicktime) format?

I just bought a new video ipod and would like to get some movies on there. I have them in mpeg and avi format.

Gtkpod will allow me to put m4v format video clips onto my ipod. Is there any software to convert into m4v, or any software that will put other formats onto the video ipod, thx.

PS: mp3 and cover art sync works perfect in amarok

peter72 · 05-28-2006, 11:43 AM

I use all the vlc packages. I have the followin vlc rpm's (using Mandriva, but they should be similar):

mozilla-plugin-vlc
svlc
vlc
vlc-more-skins
vlc-plugin-a52
vlc-plugin-aa
vlc-plugin-alsa
vlc-plugin-arts
vlc-plugin-dvdnav
vlc-plugin-esd
vlc-plugin-faad
vlc-plugin-flac
vlc-plugin-ggi
vlc-plugin-gnutls
vlc-plugin-lirc
vlc-plugin-mad
vlc-plugin-mod
vlc-plugin-mpc
vlc-plugin-ncurses
vlc-plugin-ogg
vlc-plugin-opengl
vlc-plugin-sdl
vlc-plugin-speex
vlc-plugin-xosd

I thing the -faad plugin is the key one. It is the mp4 plugin. Then I use a script for vlc. to expedite matters:

Code:

#!/bin/bash

base=`echo $1 | gawk -F. '{print $1}' `

echo "$1 $base"

vlc -vvv "$1" :sout="#transcode{vcodec=mp4v,vb=1024,scale=1,acodec=mp4a,ab=128,channels=2}:standard{access=file,url=$base.mp4}"  vlc:quit --aspect-ratio "4:3" --sout-transcode-width 360 --sout-transcode-height 240 --sout-transcode-fps 30

If you convert it to batch file for win32, vlc will also work on windows. Save this to a file called something like ipod.sh, and make it executable.

chmod +x ipod.sh

Then run it like so:

./ipod.sh vidfile.avi

You can also lower the video bit rate a bit if you want to. 1Mb/s is a bit high for such a small screen.

Good luck,
Pete

pengu · 05-28-2006, 01:03 PM

thanks i'm trying to get vlc now, but i'm in major rpm dep hell with it. Sounds good though.

what formats will that work with?

peter72 · 05-29-2006, 10:03 AM

With all the plugins, just about everything. Now, one thing I found out. If you are transcoding to x264, do not stop the process. If you stop it early, or try to view it prior to finishing, the video is unviewable. You must let the encoder finish.

Cheers,
Pete

pengu · 06-15-2006, 05:30 PM

sorry if i'm a bit late- but I just swiched to Kubuntu and was able to install vlc.

I tried your script again and it worked- but there is now sound on the output file. Is there any way to fix this? music videos...

peter72 · 06-16-2006, 01:47 PM

Does the original file play fine with vlc? If it does, the decoder is working. I would be safe to assume it is probable the aac encoder.

Pete

pengu · 06-16-2006, 10:45 PM

yes, the original plays fine.

how would I install the acc encoder- I thought I had them all installed

thx for your help

koy · 07-02-2006, 12:43 PM

nice script peter72, works perfectly!

what would be the easy way to batch that script to do more avi's at a time?

peter72 · 07-05-2006, 12:12 PM

I would do a simple for loop wrapper. ie

Code:

user@comp>$ for i in *.avi ; do ./ipod.sh $i ; done

sharperguy · 12-30-2006, 02:48 PM

It is possible to reverse this process (ie: convert m4v to mpeg or other)?

dmbkiwi · 01-18-2007, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koy

nice script peter72, works perfectly!

what would be the easy way to batch that script to do more avi's at a time?

Have a look at http://thinliquidfilm.org. It's a gui that'll do batch video conversion for the ipod, and upload it as well.

everthonvs · 08-15-2008, 08:34 PM

to convert video files to view on my iPod Nano, I use ffmpeg with this very fast and good quality configuration:

ffmpeg -y -i "in.avi" -f mp4 -vcodec xvid -me full -subq 5 -refs 3 -bt 700 -bf 0 -level 13 -maxrate 768 -b 700 -qmin 3 -qmax 5 -bufsize 8192 -mbd 2 -flags +4mv+trell -aic 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -r "23.976023976" -acodec aac -ac 2 -ar 48000 -ab 128 -s "320x240" -aspect "4:3" "out.mp4"

everthonvs · 08-15-2008, 08:35 PM

P.S.: from How to FAST convert your videos to iPod MP4 on Ubuntu

Kaizien48 · 01-07-2024, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter72

With all the plugins, just about everything. Now, one thing I found out. If you are transcoding to x264, do not stop the process. If you stop it early, or try to view it prior to finishing, the video is unviewable. You must let the encoder finish.

Cheers,
Pete

Thanks for the tip, Pete! Patience is key when transcoding to x264. I'll make sure to let the encoder finish to ensure a viewable video. Cheers for the advice!