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DVDs on a Palm - it will never happen, or will it ...
posted Tuesday, 24 May 2005
Just a few notes on progress with converting DVDs to play on a Palm (or Pocket PC - depending on your particular posion).
Well, I've now purcashed PocketDVD for Palm (google search on PocketDVD). This is instead of my previous efforts with some freeware software. I must say, I liked the freeware software however it was the potential training overhaed for staff that put me off. So, it's commercial all the way :-(
The software is very easy to use, the hardest part is selecting the crop option (that simply involves choosing from an option). The training time is about 10 minutes. There are some nice touches, i.e., start recording and set it to turn your computer off when it's completed.
The outcome - well, Mike in the office had a look at the output and he thought it was very impressive and easy to watch.
I converted two films; Lord of the Rings and an educational DVD.
The lessons learnt include;
1. A three hour film can be saved and played (in an acceptable format on a 256 MB card). To watch that length film beware of your batteries ;-). Also, too much action in dark shots becomes a little confusing to watch (on Lord of the Rings - I was never quite sure who died or how they died).
2. On smaller films, such as those developed by the Dept of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol, we need to ensure that any screen text is not flush against the side of the screen. When this occurs the cropping process will chop bits of, also, try to limit the amount of menu controls through the film. For instance, if you break / pause in the mid film and include a "next button" this becomes very difficult to convert using PocketDVD.
The next step is to convert a complete educational DVD that was made in house, and then evaluate this with the developers.
Well, I've now purcashed PocketDVD for Palm (google search on PocketDVD). This is instead of my previous efforts with some freeware software. I must say, I liked the freeware software however it was the potential training overhaed for staff that put me off. So, it's commercial all the way :-(
The software is very easy to use, the hardest part is selecting the crop option (that simply involves choosing from an option). The training time is about 10 minutes. There are some nice touches, i.e., start recording and set it to turn your computer off when it's completed.
The outcome - well, Mike in the office had a look at the output and he thought it was very impressive and easy to watch.
I converted two films; Lord of the Rings and an educational DVD.
The lessons learnt include;
1. A three hour film can be saved and played (in an acceptable format on a 256 MB card). To watch that length film beware of your batteries ;-). Also, too much action in dark shots becomes a little confusing to watch (on Lord of the Rings - I was never quite sure who died or how they died).
2. On smaller films, such as those developed by the Dept of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol, we need to ensure that any screen text is not flush against the side of the screen. When this occurs the cropping process will chop bits of, also, try to limit the amount of menu controls through the film. For instance, if you break / pause in the mid film and include a "next button" this becomes very difficult to convert using PocketDVD.
The next step is to convert a complete educational DVD that was made in house, and then evaluate this with the developers.
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