3rd party conversion for sansa fuze, solution for LAG and perhaps for linux users

[nietorigineel]

Seems the news hasn't reached ABI yet (or I'm looking with my nose, which is just as possible), but anyway: There is a program called Winavi which can be used to create files that can be played on the fuze. Is is not free, alas, but it does work.

From the standard settings to encode to AVI just make sure resolution (224x176) and fps (20) are changed to the correct values, and go. After encoding just drag and drop the files to your sansa.

No more lag, and perhaps it works on wine (haven't tested that).

[CrowdAds]

[zickZackMann]

I just checked that program, and I am quite amazed, that the generated video would indeed play on the Fuze. Conversion is incredibly fast and the filesize was about half of the size of the equivalent video generated by SMC, while quality looking very good (better than SMC generated vids to me).

There is a downside however - I wasn't able to fastforward the video. Whenever I tried, the playback was aborted.

[elerl1]

i tried the winavi to convert a video and play on the fuze and didn´t work.
here is a sreenshot of the settings i used.



can anyone post a screenshot of the settings that works. please

[elerl1]

problem solved!!! i was using the version 7 of winavi and chaged to v8. and the v8 of winavi did the job just like nietorigineel said (the v9 of winavi works too). all perfect.

here is a screenshot of the settings for reference.


now, can anyone give the name of the programs u use to analyze the videos. so i can post the analisys of the video i convert and see if there is any free converter that can do the job

finally an alternative to smc

[sansaguy]

what format is your video in before you do the WinAVI conversion..just asking?. Are you ripping from DVD's?

Reason for my asking is that most of my video is already in .avi format but I guess I still need to convert to MPEG-4 to be able to use it on the Fuze.

The 2 pieces of software that I use mostly are GSPOT (video analyzer) and MediaCoder for encoding...(mediacoder.sourceforge.net). Both are free.

How did the video turn out when using your method?.

[sansaguy]

couple of small problems when using Winavi...

1. Only frame rate that is compatible with the Fuze is 20FPS.

2. Resulting video cannot be bookmarked.

#2 to me is a deal breaker. If you can't bookmark a long video or movie what's the point of having it on your player?.

[Marvin the Martian]

I'm impressed with you guys' dedication, going through all the hassle to watch video on the Fuze's little screen Too much work for me though. And I don't know how anyone watches whole movies on a 1.9" screen(where did my glasses go?) lol

[nietorigineel]

Originally Posted by sansaguy

How did the video turn out when using your method?.

Quality is fine, size is a lot smaller than with SMC

Originally Posted by sansaguy

couple of small problems when using Winavi...

1. Only frame rate that is compatible with the Fuze is 20FPS.

2. Resulting video cannot be bookmarked.

#2 to me is a deal breaker. If you can't bookmark a long video or movie what's the point of having it on your player?.

1. That's because that is the only framerate the fuze can handle

2. I don't use my fuze for full length movies. Watching the occasional TV show I have no need for bookmarks.

Anyways, I was hoping maybe someone could use winavi to find out how to convert video's with some free convertor, but ik guess i was hoping too much?

[sansaguy]

Originally Posted by nietorigineel

Quality is fine, size is a lot smaller than with SMC



1. That's because that is the only framerate the fuze can handle

2. I don't use my fuze for full length movies. Watching the occasional TV show I have no need for bookmarks.

Anyways, I was hoping maybe someone could use winavi to find out how to convert video's with some free convertor, but ik guess i was hoping too much?

there is a free converter..MediaCoder. I use it for all my video. Works much like Winavi. I timed a conversion (50 min. tv episode) just today and it took 18 minutes to convert with MediaCoder + SMC. Small price to pay for a better outcome I believe.

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by sansaguy

there is a free converter..MediaCoder. I use it for all my video. Works much like Winavi. I timed a conversion (50 min. tv episode) just today and it took 18 minutes to convert with MediaCoder + SMC. Small price to pay for a better outcome I believe.

Exactly. No need to pay for these apps, free software can do it as well (usually even better).

[nietorigineel]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Exactly. No need to pay for these apps, free software can do it as well (usually even better).

There are many more free encoders, but the 'problem' is that you still need SMC to convert it once more. Files converted with Winavi can be directly moved to the player. Which is what I want (but preferably with a free/opensource alternative)

[cbeck1005]

Originally Posted by zickZackMann

I just checked that program, and I am quite amazed, that the generated video would indeed play on the Fuze. Conversion is incredibly fast and the filesize was about half of the size of the equivalent video generated by SMC, while quality looking very good (better than SMC generated vids to me).

There is a downside however - I wasn't able to fastforward the video. Whenever I tried, the playback was aborted.

I ran the completed video from winavi through smc and it now plays in sync with all the functions. It's a little work but worth it to me.