Video Conversion Guide For N80/N73


Part 1: Information
Part 2: Conversion Guide
Part 3: Disk Space Usage
Part 4: Hints and Tips



PART 1: INFORMATION

A lot of people are being misinformed and mislead into using inferior quality codecs when converting videos for using on their NSeries phones.

There are two big issues. Firstly people are being advised to use a third party applications/programs like SmartMovie or DivX Player to use with their AVI format videos...

*FAMILY FORTUNES INCORRECT SOUND EFFECT*
WRONG!!!

Even lower end laptops struggle to smoothly play full screen AVI format videos so expecting this from a phone that has a hundred other features fighting for resources is a completely wrong way of thinking. Yea sure all them original state AVIs on your computer will play using these apps but unless you like stuttering audio and unwatchable frame rates of something like 2 frames per second, these files need to be converted into a more mobile friendly state and here in lies the issue. If CONVERSION IS MANDATORY why not use the standard built in video player and put less pressure on the ever unstable resources of your NSeries phone… QUALITY!! I HEAR YOU SCREAM.

*FAMILY FORTUNES INCORRECT SOUND EFFECT*
…AGAIN

This is where people make the 2nd mistake. People confuse formats and conversion codecs. The NSeries out of the box player for videos is the Real Player which supports Real Media formats (confusing and difficult conversion), 3GPP (crap quality), MP4 STANDARD (file size and quality issues) and MP4 AVC. People who I have seen in video conversion topics on this board have not always been been able to distinguish between the various formats. The Mp4 AVC is a high quality / low bandwith / low file size format that’s been made the Official Standard for Digital Video which means from now on it will be used in almost everything to do with digital media (unless a megalomaniac behemoth is involved *cough* Microsoft *cough*). The advantages of this format are obvious, amazing quality video, low file size. I’ve noticed people using the lower quality 3GPP and MP4 Standard codecs to convert files which is like your NSeries phone being a DVD player but you choosing to play VCDs on it only.

Unless your struggling for disk space there is only one logical choice. Converting your videos into a format that’s high quality, playable as standard on your NSeries phone.



Part 2: CONVERSION GUIDE

To convert your video files into the best format playable out of the box on your NSeries phone you need three things.

- eRight Super
(Advanced Video Converter, Freeware, LINK: http://updat4.free.fr/AD93AFC5EB9F4D9DBA9FDE/SUPERsetup.exe)

- The Super NSeries AVC Profile
(Created By Yours Truly, Attached To This Post, LINK AT BOTTOM OF POST)

- Video You Wish To Convert
(obviously lol)


1) Once you’ve installed Super and extracted the profile to somewhere on your hard drive start up Super.

2) Import the Profile (which tells Super what settings to use) by right clicking anywhere on Super’s Main Window and select "Import (Load) An External Super © Profile" and directing Super to where you extracted the Profile and selecting it.

3) Select the video file to be converted, right click anywhere on Super’s Main Window and select "Add Multimedia File(s)” then direct Super to the video file you wish to use and select it.

4) Click on the “Encode” button and wait until Super finishes the task (PLEASE NOTE: The Progress bar which shows up is for display purposes only it does not function so it will keep restarting)

5) Transfer the file from the “Output Folder Destination” (usually “c:\Program Files\eRightSoft\SUPER\OutPut”) to your phone using your usual method.

6) HEY PRESTO. You should now be able to play the video file in Gallery under Images & Videos.



Part 3: Disk Space Usage

An hour episode of something like Lost or Prison Break is about 140mb with the original settings from the profile. With a fast 2GB memory card goin for around £30-40 its worth getting one if you aint got one cause the quality is really comparable with lower end portable DVD players.

You can reduce the sound quality to mono by selecting "Channels" as "1" instead of "2" this usually reduces the file size by about 15% without much reduction on quality.

You can also set the "Bitrate kbps" to "228" instead of "336" this reduces the file size between 10-20% without any apparent quality loss.



Part 4: TINTS & TIPS

I've come across a bug in Super thats unrelated to the settings above. Sometimes the program randomly produces a corrupt file that will not be deteced on your phone in the Gallery. When this happens it lets u kno there was an error in red text under the audio section just delete the the file produced and start encoding again. Its a software bug which will get fixed next release seems this happens if a screen saver starts up or the computer goes into stand by mode so disabling these before conversion for larger files such as movies is recommended.
When playing videos back on your phone try not to have a lot of apps running at the same time as this reduces performance.

If you spot any mistakes, have any problems or wanna make a comment feel free to post them here.

Enjoy.

your settings didnt work for me, I tried a couple movies that I have already previously converted with smartmovie (so I know they should convert ok), and I keep getting error, both movies are in the output folder, and I transfer them to my phone, and neither realplayer or smartmivies can find them, when I locate them with the file system and try to open I get message that its not recognised...

I think I will stick with smartmovies, there is already an N80 profile in the program that works really well..

Cheers any way ..

Really have you got a screen shot of your Super window cause these settings work perfectly for me.

Really have you got a screen shot of your Super window cause these settings work perfectly for me.

I will convert another file later when I have more time and take a screen shot to post ..

I tried it and the quality of the converted film was good. Thank you :)

Ok I tried these settings on another computer with the same files and it worked fine, and quality is very good indeed, I think I must have something conflicting on the first computer I tried.

Thanks for settings, will use these from now on :)..

PIN PLEASE

Video Conversion Guide For N80/N73


Part 1: Information
Part 2: Conversion Guide
Part 3: Hints and Tips



PART 1: INFORMATION

A lot of people are being misinformed and mislead into using inferior quality codecs when converting videos for using on their NSeries phones.

There are two big issues. Firstly people are being advised to use a third party applications/programs like SmartMovie or DivX Player to use with their AVI format videos...

*FAMILY FORTUNES INCORRECT SOUND EFFECT*
WRONG!!!

Even lower end laptops struggle to smoothly play full screen AVI format videos so expecting this from a phone that has a hundred other features fighting for resources is a completely wrong way of thinking. Yea sure all them original state AVIs on your computer will play using these apps but unless you like stuttering audio and unwatchable frame rates of something like 2 frames per second, these files need to be converted into a more mobile friendly state and here in lies the issue. If CONVERSION IS MANDATORY why not use the standard built in video player and put less pressure on the ever unstable resources of your NSeries phone… QUALITY!! I HEAR YOU SCREAM.

*FAMILY FORTUNES INCORRECT SOUND EFFECT*
…AGAIN

This is where people make the 2nd mistake. People confuse formats and conversion codecs. The NSeries out of the box player for videos is the Real Player which supports Real Media formats (confusing and difficult conversion), 3GPP (crap quality), MP4 STANDARD (file size and quality issues) and MP4 AVC. People who I have seen in video conversion topics on this board have not always been been able to distinguish between the various formats. The Mp4 AVC is a high quality / low bandwith / low file size format that’s been made the Official Standard for Digital Video which means from now on it will be used in almost everything to do with digital media (unless a megalomaniac behemoth is involved *cough* Microsoft *cough*). The advantages of this format are obvious, amazing quality video, low file size. I’ve noticed people using the lower quality 3GPP and MP4 Standard codecs to convert files which is like your NSeries phone being a DVD player but you choosing to play VCDs on it only.

Unless your struggling for disk space there is only one logical choice. Converting your videos into a format that’s high quality, playable as standard on your NSeries phone.



Part 2: CONVERSION GUIDE

To convert your video files into the best format playable out of the box on your NSeries phone you need three things.

- eRight Super
(Advanced Video Converter, Freeware, LINK: http://updat1.free.fr/AD93AFC6A3D0FD9DBA9FDE/SUPERsetup.exe)

- The Super NSeries AVC Profile
(Created By Yours Truly, Attached To This Post, LINK AT BOTTOM OF POST)

- Video You Wish To Convert
(obviously lol)


1) Once you’ve installed Super and extracted the profile to somewhere on your hard drive start up Super.

2) Import the Profile (which tells Super what settings to use) by right clicking anywhere on Super’s Main Window and select "Import (Load) An External Super © Profile" and directing Super to where you extracted the Profile and selecting it.

3) Select the video file to be converted, right click anywhere on Super’s Main Window and select "Add Multimedia File(s)” then direct Super to the video file you wish to use and select it.

4) Click on the “Encode” button and wait until Super finishes the task (PLEASE NOTE: The Progress bar which shows up is for display purposes only it does not function so it will keep restarting)

5) Transfer the file from the “Output Folder Destination” (usually “c:\Program Files\eRightSoft\SUPER\OutPut”) to your phone using your usual method.

6) HEY PRESTO. You should now be able to play the video file in Gallery under Images & Videos.



Part 3 : TINTS & TIPS

File sizes are usually about 70mb for 30 minutes of video,
Quality is superb.

When playing videos try not to have a lot of apps running at the same time as this reduces performance.

If you spot any mistakes, have any problems or wanna make a comment feel free to post them here.

Enjoy.

Thanks for the application,
Converted a movie file (Pink Panther) and I have to say that the picture quality is the best I have seen yet on this phone. I have tried IMTOO convertor and Smartmovie and this beats them hands down. My only gripe is that the file size is quite large 311 mb. What settings could I change to bring the file size down a little without affecting the quality.

Sorry to moan on my first post, but i can still get MUCH better results from smartmovie than with the settings described above, have you actually tried smartmovie lately???

WTF is *FAMILY FORTUNES INCORRECT SOUND EFFECT*

It's the sound effect used in the long-running UK Game Show "Family Fortunes"

Here's the sound: http://intranet.yorkcollege.ac.uk/yc/lessonplan/sound/soundfiles/uh-uhhh.wav

More Info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Fortunes

Sorry to moan on my first post, but i can still get MUCH better results from smartmovie than with the settings described above, have you actually tried smartmovie lately???

Can you let us have your smartmovie settings so i can try them out please, the standard N80 settings that come with smartmovie are not as good as the settings above

Obviously files are larger, but the quality is beautiful

I have tried the settings for the Super software - have converted video files, transferred to phone, but can't get them open on the N80.
Not showing up in gallery. Did try File Manager but ? icon next to file and when try to open it comes up with error file not recognised.
What am I doing wrong I wonder?
Any suggestions?
Thanks

I have tried the settings for the Super software - have converted video files, transferred to phone, but can't get them open on the N80.
Not showing up in gallery. Did try File Manager but ? icon next to file and when try to open it comes up with error file not recognised.
What am I doing wrong I wonder?
Any suggestions?
Thanks


Yea I've come across this weird bug in Super thats unrelated to the profile above once in a while randomly it produces a corrupt file usually when this happens it lets u kno there was an error in red text under the audio section jus delete the the file produced and start encoding again. I think thats what might have happened wid CASH originally. Its a bug to do wid the software which will hopefully get fixed next release seems this happens if a screen saver starts up or the computer goes into stand by mode and sometimes when theres other programs running.

REGARDING DISK SPACE

An hour episode of something like Lost or Prison Break is about 140mb with the original settings from the profile. With a fast 2GB memory card goin for around £30-40 its worth getting one if you aint got one cause the quality is really comparable with lower end portable DVD players.


You can reduce the sound quality to mono by selecting "Channels" as "1" instead of "2" this usually reduces the file size by about 15% without much reduction on quality.

You can also set the "Bitrate kbps" to "228" instead of "336" this reduces the file size between 10-20% without any apparent quality loss.



gakman...

Using your settings for smartmovie how big is the produced file?

could be a screen saver problen, the first films I converted were full films and the computer screensaver kicked in, and I had this error, the last film I converted was a short film and the screen saver didnt kick in, and this worked fine, no other progs were running when I was converting...

Ok, unfortunately file size for a 30 min Tv show is roughly 200meg, but as I said, the quality is mint

It's a compromise between disk space and quality. I dont think its posibble to get any better than the quality produced by my guide to justify more than double the disk space for the same time frame, as well as all the areas i already touched in my guide such as having no need for any third party applications such as Smart Movie.

It's a compromise between disk space and quality. I dont think its posibble to get any better than the quality produced by my guide to justify more than double the disk space for the same time frame, as well as all the areas i already touched in my guide such as having no need for any third party applications such as Smart Movie.


smart movie is way better qual... higher resolution... native res from the nokia... avi encoded with smart movie isn't bigger than your file size.. it's even less...

an episode southpark... your settings... 70 meg.. with smart movie.. 40 meg... and way better quality!

I did it with your settings and it works... tried higher res.. and realplayer doesn't want to play.. but with higher res it was 120mb... so ye.. maybe I gotta buy smart movie.. but then again... who 'se seriously gonna watch anything on the tiny screen??????

Tried again with a couple of files.
Copied them onto my memory card and one was definitely identified by the phone as a video clip (had the roll of film icon beside it) but the other still had a question mark.
When I tried to open the file that was recognised it opened up Real Player which then said 'unable to play' or words to that effect.

Should it have anything to do with where you save it on the memory card? Should it be in a specific folder/directory?

Please can someone help me here as I'm really keen to make this happen but am having difficulties each time.

Many thanks

but then again... who 'se seriously gonna watch anything on the tiny screen??????

Well I for one actually watch a number of films on my N80, i travel alot and spend alot of time waiting around for hours in airport lounges, and to be quite honest the films are actually quite watchable, especially as the screen resolution on the N80 is very very good :)..

Well I for one actually watch a number of films on my N80, i travel alot and spend alot of time waiting around for hours in airport lounges, and to be quite honest the films are actually quite watchable, especially as the screen resolution on the N80 is very very good :)..

...which is why I'm so keen to make this happen! Please can anyone help...

millssteven -

Okay i generally tend to copy files to the "(memory card):\videos" folder but generally the Gallery is good at detecting files all over the place. Did follow the guide correctly? Correctly encoded MP4-AVC format video files have like a broken video reel icon without a thumbnail.

Can you post a screen shot of your Super settings and i see if i can assist you.

Hi
I've attached a screenshot to this message (sorry not sure how to copy image directly into the message). This shows settings in Super after importing the N80 file you provided, before trying to convert a file. Really hope you can help!
Regards

Them settings should work perfectly but so give it another go encoding a movie
do check that the under "H264 profile" which you can access by pressing the button in the video section options "Base Level" "1.2" is selected
lemme know how you get one

Them settings should work perfectly but so give it another go encoding a movie
do check that the under "H264 profile" which you can access by pressing the button in the video section options "Base Level" "1.2" is selected
lemme know how you get one

H264 profile settings as you said. Have tried numerous times with these settings and am getting no joy (and it takes ages each time I test - don't have a small video file to test with!)
Anyhow on the positive side, I have been looking around a bit online and came across this page:
http://users.skynet.be/yozy/tutorials/nokia/N/n-1.htm

The video clip it mentions (http://users.skynet.be/yozy/tutorials/downloads/forza-hd.mp4)
plays fine on my phone- it can be seen in the gallery and Real Player plays it a treat.
So if I can work out what the settings were to make that file I think I'll be in business- I tried the settings they provided on that page and once again had no joy :-(
So frustrating!!!!

H264 profile settings as you said. Have tried numerous times with these settings and am getting no joy (and it takes ages each time I test - don't have a small video file to test with!)
Anyhow on the positive side, I have been looking around a bit online and came across this page:
http://users.skynet.be/yozy/tutorials/nokia/N/n-1.htm

The video clip it mentions (http://users.skynet.be/yozy/tutorials/downloads/forza-hd.mp4)
plays fine on my phone- it can be seen in the gallery and Real Player plays it a treat.
So if I can work out what the settings were to make that file I think I'll be in business- I tried the settings they provided on that page and once again had no joy :-(
So frustrating!!!!

Can you try using another computer to test there may be something conflicting maybe with some previously installed codecs that are corrupting the process...

Just a thought

Can you try using another computer to test there may be something conflicting maybe with some previously installed codecs that are corrupting the process...

Just a thought

Don't have another computer...

Try uninstallin super
restarting computer
then re-installing see if that affects things

I did this- still getting very unpredictable results.
Often the program just crashes and closes itself midway during an encoding process.
I did manage to convert a small video file with the settings, transfer it to my phone where it played like a dream. Excited with this achievement I then tried to do the same with a 300MB file. Left it to encode overnight (as it does take some time) - came back this morning and the computer had mysteriously rebooted! There was a file in the output folder- not sure if Super had done its full job on it though as it wouldn't play on the phone.
Might it perhaps be an issue with memory or resources on my PC?
Pity Super doesn't give you an indication as to how big the new file will be. Or a percentage/progress bar. Does it need to do some sort of final conversion/tidying up of file after it's all converted (was just wondering as am tempted to try the file midway through conversion process to see if it's working or not).
Anyway I'm still keen to persevere- I hope I'm not creating too much of a nuisance here on the thread.
Thanks

no nuisance at all

Its obvious that your problems lie with the actual Super program. I think it does get unstable at times and this causes its encoding to crash which leaves you with an unusable file.

When converting try to make sure you have enough disk space and memory available to convert the file without any limits being hit. Try and not to have any other resource grabbing task running or able to run Such as anti-virus, spyware protection and screen savers.

Whats your processor, memory, hard drive size?

Hi, I,m actually having difficulty downloading SUPER software in the first place. The link at the bottom of the page to download the software is merely reloading the page... Any suggestions or similar problems?
Thanks

Yea thanks for pointing this out super have changed their website
try this link...

http://updat4.free.fr/AD93AFC5EB9F4D9DBA9FDE/SUPERsetup.exe

*Main Article Updated*

Hey Millssteven I have exactly the same issue...I can encode a short film clip but when it comes to a proper length movie I get the error message...didn't have this issue with an old version of super (which I think I was using for PSP or iPod movies) but it doesn't seem to like encoding for the N80 format...Going to wipe my PC and reinstall everything again as its due for a clean up maybe this will work???????????????? :con?

Hey Millssteven I have exactly the same issue...I can encode a short film clip but when it comes to a proper length movie I get the error message...didn't have this issue with an old version of super (which I think I was using for PSP or iPod movies) but it doesn't seem to like encoding for the N80 format...Going to wipe my PC and reinstall everything again as its due for a clean up maybe this will work???????????????? :con?

Sounds like you are having the same sort of problems as me...
I'm tearing my hear out about this too.
Hoping I can somehow get it sorted!

Yup...got right to the end of a film....and the error came up..strange the file plays on my pc yet when putting it on the phone it doesn't recognise the file format have tried this twice now :mad: going to try it on another computer now!!!!!

IF you font mind framerate skipping then divx player is your best choice on N80. Realplayer seems to have a 320x240 limit on fullscreen. divx does 416x352 fullscreen.

Hmm...Had enough of Super and got myself SmartMovie...although it means I have to convert vob files to avi first before I can encode with Smartmovie...quality seems good so far and well worth the money...does anyone know if you can convert vob files directly with Smartmovie (I have downloaded and installed the recommended codecs from Lonely Cat Games) but Smartmovie just gives an error?

i've tried converting clips using super, all i can hear is sound but no picture? what do you think is the problem? some files can be opened but only showing the real player screen.

is there anyone here who shared the same experience?

guys i need some help.
i was able to convert files to mp4 using super. the original file was .wmv and .flv
in my pc it was working fine. sounds and video is ok
but when i transferred it to my n80, i can only hear sounds but no video? is the problem in my phone? or in my encoding process.
some videos work in my n80 though. but on those I converted using super. it was not working. can you help me investigate the issue?
will appreciate any reply regarding my concern :)

Hmm...Had enough of Super and got myself SmartMovie...although it means I have to convert vob files to avi first before I can encode with Smartmovie...quality seems good so far and well worth the money...does anyone know if you can convert vob files directly with Smartmovie (I have downloaded and installed the recommended codecs from Lonely Cat Games) but Smartmovie just gives an error?

divx player is better, smartmovie hicups.

like, 4Site wrote...
"check that "H264 profile" which you can access by pressing the button in the video section options "Base Level" "1.2" is selected"
and other thing...I want to make a perfect film full resolution ....416x352 pixels,but phone show me message..."can't play video and audio and try to play separately" and after this play only audio...
after this I make film with 320x240 and...surprise....when phone play,video stop for the second and after this jump to new position ..audio continued without stopping...
Anyone meat the same thing?

p.s. for me the perfect video (good quality and not big size) is H264 profile "Base Level" "1.2" resolution 208x176; 200 kb video bitrade and 32 kb audio bitrade eAAC

up

Max can u post a screen shot of your Super settings as well as checking the that the "H264 Profile" is set to "BaseLine" and "1.2"

Lemme know how u get on

Stefan Symbian 3rd Edition phones only support upto screen resolution 320x240 using the Mpeg4-AVC (H264) codec i think this is because of resource limitations.

The guide is just awesome..
In the first place I had installed Smart Movie because I hoped it would do the job.. I had encoded a 260mb .avi file with very bad results... The movie wasn't watchable at all and it lagged like hell..

Tried your guide and it worked for me :) Space is not the problem (with a 2 gigs mem card on my N73 ME) so your solution is far the best :) Thanks a lot for sharing this information! :)

Just tried the program out but when i open it in the real player it gives me an error message and just plays the sound. But when i try it on the computer using quicktime it works.

The guide is just awesome..
In the first place I had installed Smart Movie because I hoped it would do the job.. I had encoded a 260mb .avi file with very bad results... The movie wasn't watchable at all and it lagged like hell..

Tried your guide and it worked for me :) Space is not the problem (with a 2 gigs mem card on my N73 ME) so your solution is far the best :) Thanks a lot for sharing this information! :)

Thanks man

Just tried the program out but when i open it in the real player it gives me an error message and just plays the sound. But when i try it on the computer using quicktime it works.

Yea Super seems to have a few bugs in it which will hopefully be rectified in the next release. Just delete the file create and re-encode again. Sorry i kno it can be tiresome just trust me the quality is worth it way better than even an iPod Video.

I'm trying to find an alternative program to do the guide with cause of Super's bugs. If anyone else knows a good freeware mp4 avc/h264 encoder let me know.

Try these settings in super and let me know...i tried the same setting for few of the divx movies and came out very clear and crisp....just rename this attached file from .txt to .spf and import this file in super(right click->import settings)....

I'm trying to find an alternative program to do the guide with cause of Super's bugs. If anyone else knows a good freeware mp4 avc/h264 encoder let me know.

for me, perfect program is meGUI

Just got on Super's site and there is a new version. The profile in the original post no longer works with the new version. I still have an old version in a different pc so I can copy the settings from there. I'll test out the new version and see how it works out.

has any1 got the correct settings for the latest version on the website

New version coming next week using new software.
Keep an eye out for it pinned in the N73

:) hey guys.. super is the best program ever.... ihave problem with the thumbnail.. anyone knows how to fix it ? ... plz help ..

Hi, I am a novice when it comes to conversions. I used super on my computer, with xp, and it worked great. I am having trouble converting on vista. any help would be appreciated

Delete Vista, it's a turd.

yup yup yup

supers new updated program works a treat :icon14:

dude 4site I just got Super BUT its the new version so your old profile doesn't work so please please please make a new profile and post it..i dont care much about disk space, i just put MUSIC VIDEOS on my N80 so saving memory is not an issue, so please please make a new profile with the best and i mean THE BEST possible video and audio quality playable on the N80...i dont care how big the file would get..so can you do it???????:)

worked great for me! :icon14:

You have helped me alot. thanks

Can anyone post up the settings for the new version? I am having some problems with smartmovie and would like to see if Super will work better.

:icon14: thanks! It is very useful me!:)

Now, I agree that MP4 (AVC) is probably the better codec, compared to DivX (at least for most mobile devices), but I find it extremely annoying that on my standard N73 realmedia player, I can't skip forwards or backwards. (ps. I have never liked realplayer to begin with, even on pc...)

I have found a good (and free) no-mess-no-fuss solution to play my AVI movies on the N73.

1. Recompress your movies instantly with Mobiola Video Converter (freeware, their symbian video player is not). Just select your phone from the drop down list, move the quality slider bar (low to high) drag in the movie file and ta da!

2. Play the movie with the free DivX mobile player (don't need Mobiola player)

I haven't tested this with a full length movie, but 40min TV episodes came out great. If you like tweaking video settings till you tap every last bit of quality out of every bit, then stick with super + divX/real player.

Let me know if it works well for you too.

Hey 4site I just got Super BUT its the new version so your old profile doesn't work so please please please make a new profile and post it

i dont care much about disk space, I just want the BEST possible video and audio quality playable on the N73..i dont care how big the file would get..so can you do it, would really appreciate it.

Thanks :)