Video Podcast and TCMP
 

...from sony/th55/Isn't "true video iPod" a TH55 with proper software?




Cyker...I'd like to move this thread into the app/video forum. Can you elaborate on M4v podcast videos on a Zod. I know that tcmp can play mp4 files but will it play raw itunes m4v? if so and the codec on a palm is tcmp dependent then why can't other devices play the same codec?

If the Zod can play itunes m4v files then it seems that I might be able to sync video podcasts to my zod. Have you tried to do this yet? I know that tcmp does not have a conduit, but maybe there's a workaround. I'm a bit handicapped right now because I need a new battery for my Zod2 (I hope it's just a battery). I would really like to be able to set up my Zod2 with auto updated podcasts...audio and video!

I could never play itunes video podcasts on my Zod. The H.264 seemed too much for the Zod to handle. I installed the latest version of TCPMP on the LifeDrive and it can play back h.264 ipod encoded video perfectly fine. Guess the 416mhz processor makes a big difference.

I've dumped the h.264 ipod video versions of dl.tv, cranky geeks, diggnation, ask a ninja and a few others on my Lifedrive and all played perfectly. The LifeDrive also seems to handle Mpeg4 encoded 30fps, 720kbps, 480X320 video with no problems.

I download podcasts directly to my LifeDrive with Quick News.

Does quick news load audio and video podcasts?

Had picard already developed the ati plugin for tcmp when you where trying to handle these files on a Zod?

Are most podcasts h.264? I'm confused by the whole mp4 topic all together. Even on my computer I get mixed messages as to the file type of a video podcast. The icon that appears calls it an mp4. The "type" field in details calls it an mp4. The file extension is .m4v. Now I'm finding out it's h.264.

Ignore my lame babbling here...Whoa...(is this the cue for my "I don't have an appreciation "quality" as defined by Apple" speach? I quess they do all this weird stuff so that they can better control the "quality" (cough..."market"...cough) of their products).

I don't even know if itunes video podcast file types have anything to do with their weird propriotary stuff or not. I just feel really smart by complaining about it : )

I have an archos gmini 402 camcorder that can play raw mp4 files, but the itunes video podcasts will not play on it. Are the h.264 files supposed to be able to play on most mp4 capable devices or has picard just provided a bit more robust codec for tcmp i.e. do creative zen devices play these files?

The ati plugin was available, but I never had good success with h.264 on the Zod.

I have found that most of the video podcasts made for the iPod are now using h.264. It gives much higher quality video at the same file size, but requires a lot more processing power to run. I agree it is confusing because h.264 is still mpeg4, but just a more advanced version and the file extension doesn't always tell you how the file was encoded.

BTW, picard had to pull out most of the good plugins from the recent versions of tcpmp, but other people have filled the gap by putting back in the plugins. I'll try to find the site were I found .72RC1 with all the plugins.

If you go to http://worcell.com/product_info.php...523221cd6fcdf41
you can buy a 2500 mAh battery for your Zodiac

OT



Unfortunately it's not a battery issue. The unit can perform without the back cover mounted. After putting the back cover on the unit the device freezes and the the screen colors dull and distort. I placed the back cover from my Zod1 on my Zod2 and got the same results. There must be something shorting or something as a result of the normal pressure applied by the back cover.

This is so lame. The mother board on my Zod2 is the unit that I purchased games on. I'm glad that I at least have the Zod1 but will probably try to save up and buy a Zod2.

I put this in the previous thread, but I'll repeat for brevity:

Unlike any other PalmOS device, the Zod2 has an ATI chip which includes an MPEG4 hardware decoder similar to the one on several PPCs - This is as cool as the MP3 hardware decoder in most Clies.

This allows the Zod2 to playback *any* MPEG4 stream at full frame rate as long as the SD card can keep up the bitrate (Hint: Play movies off SD slot 1, not SD slot 2! SD slot 2 is the SDIO slot and is slower than slot 1)

Unfortunately, H.264 is NOT MPEG4.

Well, it is, but it's a different sort of MPEG4.

You know MP3? Well really it is MPEG1 Layer 3 because Layer 3 is the sound layer of the MPEG1.

MPEG4 is similar - H.264 is Layer 10 video, but the stuff we normally call MPEG4 is actually MPEG4 Layer 2 video.

Now, the Zod *can* decode H.264 using TCPMP's software decoders, but its 200MHz CPU is nowhere near powerful enough for all but the smallest videos.

The Zod2's main strength is MPEG4 - I find with TCPMP that DivX AVIs work the best: As long as your SD card can keep up the data-rate, the Zod2 can render it at full frame-rate.
It also renders most other forms of MPEG4; e.g. MPEG container (MP4) and QuickTime (M4V), but these are sometimes mis-labeled which can confuse TCPMP.

I currently watch the DivX or XviD encoded AVIs of stuff like diggnation and DL.TV and some films on my Zod2.

Hey Cyker...thanks for more follow up. I posted this thread the first day that I posted in the TH forum hoping to have moved the TH posts into a more general video forum.

Sorry, more OT :o



This sounds like it is a problem with the ribbon cable that connects the motherboard to the screen. Try reseating it gently and see if it works.

I have a tx how do i get the video podcasts to work? Just down load in mpeg then load them on sd card and find them using TCPMP? If this is true I can't get it to work. My tcpmp won't find the files on sd card.

You must be downloading video that TMPGEnc does not play. Files it cannot open will not even appear.

Hope this is the right place to post this! I just downloaded a tv show episode from iTunes. I have TCPMP (latest version) on my LifeDrive. I have the plugins installed. When I open the tv episode it shows up in TCPMP with the opening frame but it won't play. I am assuming it is M4V or H264. Can anyone tell me if these will play on my LD? I read in some other posts that people have gotten these to play except they're supposed to be choppy. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Cindy.

Anything purchased through iTunes music store will have DRM and will not be playable. Sorry. TCPMP will play h.264 files fine, but not with DRM.

Thanks so much for the response. I would assume then that there is no software to convert these either. Thanks again, Cindy.