Help Best settings for video transcoding for LG Optimus V?

[r00t]

What are the best settings to transcode videos to this device? Is it limited to the codecs on Froyo or can other apps increase more compatibility?

 

[TVCCS]

What are the best settings to transcode videos to this device? Is it limited to the codecs on Froyo or can other apps increase more compatibility?

You can play back videos with other file formats besides MP4 and 3gp with players like RockPlayer, but I have been doing H264 MP4 for years since it first came out, and prefer it.

My ideal settings after a lot of testing are 512k H264/AVC video, 64k AAC audio (22050k) and the 480x320 native screen resolution at 15FPS. The playback codecs can be finicky in that I've had trouble using the free FormatFactory to generate videos for the V...I think it's likely the base encoder they use. I have several paid encoding apps that work well...but the V wants a lot of video bits or you get blockiness in video playback. Even 512 isn't perfect but it's usually only an issue in the most intense moving scenes. I also have to crank the encoder's audio boost plus 100% to get sound at a level I think is decent through the speaker.

The settings I use are designed to get decent playback with the least possible use of SD card memory, as I load a lot of video on the card. If you use higher bit rates you'll get somewhat better quality. The V's camcorder records at a video bit rate of 2000kbps, which I find pretty astounding for a phone, especially with a Class 2 card supplied OEM.

Cross your fingers the boys over at CoreCodec go forward with releasing an Android Player soon. They are the masters of video playback via phone and have been for years, and have been working on their Android CorePlayer for some time. That'll help.

 

[xbrokdikdogx]

I used this and it works great. Except if you uncheck Keep Aspect Ratio sometimes the video looks stretched. I haven't had a problem leaving the aspect ratio checked.

How to convert videos and transfer them to the LG Optimus S - Know Your Cell

 

[TVCCS]

I used this and it works great. Except if you uncheck Keep Aspect Ratio sometimes the video looks stretched. I haven't had a problem leaving the aspect ratio checked.

How to convert videos and transfer them to the LG Optimus S - Know Your Cell

Gotta be a Mac guide, alright...file size means nothing.

 

[cowbaka]

I recently got an Optimus V and found that the files I had encoded for PSP wouldn't play on it.

When I started messing around, I found the culprit to be B frames - when I reduced them to 0 it works. CABAC also seems to not be supported.

However, B frames are useful to anime encodes and CABAC to any encode, so I had to up my bitrate a tiny bit to compensate.

Using Handbrake I'm doing a 480x272 (for widescreen - 432x320 was the calculated size for full screen items)

I do a H-264 2-pass encode (turbo first pass) @ 375 KBps

The H-264 settings are mostly default, but I do change the Motion Estimation to Uneven Multi-Hexagon - if your PC has a lot of CPU this won't be noticeable, but with a slower computer, this option can make encodes take longer. If you remove that, you probably will want to up your bit-rate a little.

Here's the full setting from Handbrake's H-264 tab:
level=30:bframes=0:weightp=0:cabac=0:vbv-maxrate=1500:vbv-bufsize=2000:analyse=all:me=umh:no-fast-pskip=1sy-rd=0,0:subq=6:8x8dct=0:trellis=0

 

[cowbaka]

oh, and these encodes will play on my PSP also - though by using B-frames (I use 5 for anime) and CABAC I get similar results but @350 KBps all else being the same.

If you're encoding live action, you may want to increase your bitrate, but with the 2 pass encode, you shouldn't need to go any higher than 500. I'll encode something live and see how it turns out.

 

[cowbaka]

I recently installed QQPlayer and V Player and they both were able to play the PSP encoded MP4 files that I had downloaded, as well as files encoded with DVD Fab directly to 480x272 (or equivalent per aspect ratio) without having to reencode. That means that they're supporting CABAC and B Frames. The playback is good - not great, some frame drops or quality drops to eliminate frame drops (both players are configurable). QQ is free, but the interface sucks, V Player is trial-ware, but has a much better interface.

 

[spacecake222]

@TVCCS
Thank you for the information. I'm really surprised at how complicated putting a video on my phone can be. I can tell you did a great deal of work finding this answer for yourself and then sharing it. thus saving allot of time for whoever reads your post.

I followed most of your instructions and it took care of the video quality issue but the 64k audio did not sync with the video. so i simply tried matching it by cranking the audio up to 512k and that pretty much worked. also "dvdfab" didnt have and option for avc, only aac. and another also: the stock video player didnt open my file but "mobo player" did (after i long click it and choose "soft decoding") The video works almost perfectly now... kind of a bummer it takes so much work to get it "kinda perfect" i hope Android or someone comes up with some solutions for high quality video. again... Thank You! (=

 

[mkbkr1]

I use Handbrake to transcode AVI to mp4. You can download it for free, just Google it. Set the output for mp4 and change the audio output to stereo. I have been able to change the max file size to 300k and still get excellent quality on both the video and sound. This will allow you to put more movies on your card and not skimp on quality. I tried many different free converters and this is the best, fastest, and delivers the best quality output. Once you get the settings to what you want, you can even save them as a new profile.

 

[asiir]

When I started messing around, I found the culprit to be B frames - when I reduced them to 0 it works. CABAC also seems to not be supported.

However, B frames are useful to anime encodes and CABAC to any encode, so I had to up my bitrate a tiny bit to compensate.

Using Handbrake I'm doing a 480x272 (for widescreen - 432x320 was the calculated size for full screen items)

I do a H-264 2-pass encode (turbo first pass) @ 375 KBps

The H-264 settings are mostly default, but I do change the Motion Estimation to Uneven Multi-Hexagon - if your PC has a lot of CPU this won't be noticeable, but with a slower computer, this option can make encodes take longer. If you remove that, you probably will want to up your bit-rate a little.

Here's the full setting from Handbrake's H-264 tab:
level=30:bframes=0:weightp=0:cabac=0:vbv-maxrate=1500:vbv-bufsize=2000:analyse=all:me=umh:no-fast-pskip=1sy-rd=0,0:subq=6:8x8dct=0:trellis=0

I closely followed these instructions. Note that I couldn't get audio to come through with MP3, though it does seem to work with AAC (faac) wtih mixdown set to stereo and bitrate at 48 kbps. In advanced tab, keep reference frames at 2, b-frames at 0, and the next three boxes unchecked (CABAC, 8x8, and weighted p-frames).