Review: Spb Mobile DVD
Introduction
We all travel around with our various devices, Smartphones, PDAs and PDA Phones. We probably listen to our music collection on our devices. A few of us even watch video on our devices.
I catch trains a lot and I see people regularly pulling out a full sized laptop and inserting a DVD and then struggling to get enough space to actually watch the thing! I, on the other hand, slip out my XDA Exec (Universal), plug in my headphones and tap the icon for The Core Personal Media Player (TCPMP) and within seconds am watching Shrek or Pirates of the Caribbean or whatever I have taken with me. I have no issues with space, I don't make other people watch because my device is personal and not 17" wide and showing the world my taste in Movies!
Users not familiar with PDAs (including some owners) are completely non-plussed by this little device showing a full film on a small screen. It really grabs attention - more so than the latest 17" Widescreen uber-laptop!
If you want to put iPod owners to shame with the versatility of your device and learn how to get your DVD movies onto a PDA then Spb have a simple answer for you in the form of
SPB MOBILE DVD
Supplier: Spb Software House
Product: Spb Mobile DVD
Cost: $24.95
Supplier Web Site: Spb Software House
Product Web Site: Spb Mobile DVD
Other Requirements: Software DVD Player/Decoder installed (e.g. PowerDVD, WinDVD)
Trial Available?: Yes, 15 days
Thanks go to Vassili at Spb for the pre-release review copy
Installation
Firstly - don't get confused! This is a Windows program - not a Windows Mobile program so we don't have to worry about whether to install to Storage Card or Program Memory etc. It needs Windows 98, 2000 or XP (also runs under Vista too - I tried it with RC1!).
The installation package is just over 8MB, unless you are on dial-up this is not too onerous to download. Installation is quick and easy as per most Windows programs.
The only
other requirement, and something Spb have investigated closely, is to have the relevant codecs installed as they are not part of the package. But don't worry because most of us have a
DVD decoder installed - such as PowerDVD or WinDVD - and these provide the necessary codecs as part of their installation...
Video Features and Options
After installation, the first thing you will want to do is to get converting!
It can convert DVD and Video files and the first choice is which to do? I tried both a DVD - the recent (Region 2) Pirates of the Caribbean 2 as a Windows Media Video conversion (wmv) and then some Digital Video (DV) from a day out as XViD (avi).
So from a feature perspective, we can choose from Windows Media Video or XViD, note DiVX is absent. I don't know how important this is to you but I've used DiVX many times in the past and found it great when it came to quality and file size. There are no lost marks for the omission - just be aware of it.
We'll explore options for both Windows Media and XViD but before we get there we have to decide whether to convert the entire DVD/File or just a portion (see screenshots right for DVDs).
Video conversion options are: -
Windows Media Video (20fps) - wmv
Windows Media Video (25fps) - wmv
XViD - avi
Output screen dimensions (four are supported - plus points here!!)
PocketPC qVGA (320x240)
PocketPC VGA (640x320)
PocketPC (240x240) - YES! Square Screen Support!
PocketPC (480x480) - Ditto!
Depending on the video source - Aspect Ratio can be selected to maintain or crop the output and will really depend on your screen type.
Next we have to choose the zooming mode: -
Small (Fit to Screen) - may produce black bars but all video shown
Medium (Best Fit) - may crop slightly and still give small black bars
Big (Fill Screen) - Crops significantly to fill screen
Lastly we have to choose output quality or file size.
Video Quality Options are Poor, Normal, Best or Custom with file size increasing over the first three options and custom allowing you to move a slider to select an appropriate level between Poor and Best.
Instead, the other option you can select is to aim for a specific file size (in MB). Remember here that a full movie is not going to squeeze down to 10MB!! You have to be realistic - my wmv file of Pirates of the Caribbean was 323MB for a film of over two hours. My estimation is about 100-150MB per hour of video at Normal Quality, qVGA output and Small (Fit to Screen) zooming mode.
Output and Options
Once we've decided on the video and output options we can start to think about where we want to store it and how we want our PC to convert it...
Firstly, the options on storage are: -
Local Hard Drive
Memory Card (attached to PC)
PocketPC (attached to PC)
My recommendation is to get yourself a USB2.0 card reader and save straight to card unless you want to put it on more than one card - in which case use Local Hard Drive. I wouldn't recommend PocketPC as ActiveSync is notoriously slow at copying files and can bomb out part way through...
Once decided, click Start to be presented with the Progress screen (see right)..
If time isn't of the essence, you can click on Smooth Preview but as it can take an hour or more for a full film - you don't want to sit and watch it anyway.
If you want to carry on working on other things, click the Background Conversion (Low CPU Consumption) box, otherwise the conversion process will consume most of your CPU cycles. Naturally clicking this will increase the length of time it takes to convert the file(s)
Lastly, and usually an option I take, is to do the conversion at the end of the day and tick the box to 'Shutdown the computer after finish' That way you can set up the options, click Start and turn off the monitor and walk away! The following morning I turn back on the check the file - no issues so far I am happy to report!
With regards to timings and output file sizes. Spb reckon on the following for conversion...
100-150MB per hour of DVD video to convert to Windows Media Video at the 'Normal' quality. This will vary depending on the amount of colour in the film and the amount of movement in frames.
Time wise, my experience with Pirates of the Caribbean took just over 1 hour to convert (AMD64 3000+, 2GB RAM) which I didn't think was bad. Spb's timings were as follows: -
Common configuration:
DVD Player: InterVideo WinDVD
Movie: Star Wars: Attack of Clones (2h 20mins)
CPU Format FPS Output Zoom Quality Size Time Speed
Pentium 4, 3GHz XVID 25FPS 640x480 Big Normal 596M 0:56 x2.50
Pentium 4, 3GHz WMV 20FPS 320x240 Big Normal 293M 0:40 x3.50
Pentium 4, 3GHz XVID 25FPS 320x240 Big Best 515M 0:35 x3.97
Pentium 4, 3GHz XVID 25FPS 320x240 Big Normal 300M 0:32 x4.37
Pentium 4, 3GHz XVID 25FPS 320x240 Small Normal 322M 0:28 x5.00
Pentium D, 3GHz XVID 25FPS 320x240 Small Normal 322M 0:22 x6.36
Results
Well I must say I am impressed with the results. I have been doing this sort of conversion manually for a number of years and it can take hours with the various stages.
SPB Mobile DVD has changed that. Insert DVD, set the options and hit start. Come back later to a finished conversion - excellent!
The quality of the wmv files is superb with enough clarity and high enough frame rate to not have to bother with the VGA quality mode. My Exec is a true VGA device but qVGA looks so good that going to VGA resolution on such a small screen size would waste space on your Storage Card in my humble opinion. Stick with qVGA I say and put two movies on the card!
XViD conversion gives equally impressive results and usually results in slightly smaller file sizes. I tend to stick to XViD because of this reason.
The only issue I came up against was a particularly strongly protected DVD that Spb Mobile DVD couldn't convert. The Region 2 version of Police Squad. I've not got to the bottom of why yet but it certainly stalls the conversion process. I might pursue a few avenues and report back on the results in case there are other DVDs out there causing similar issues.
Overall though, top quality results quickly and effectively!
One nice touch is the Windows 'AutoPlay' option built into the program (see screenshot). Insert a DVD and the AutoPlay function pops up and one of the options is to convert the DVD!! Extra Marks there too!
Pro's
Quick conversion
Simple interface and options
Covers DVDs and Video Files
Shutdown option
Square Screen Device Support
AutoPlay feature
Con's
Require's a DVD Software Player installed for codec support
Costly
Can be tripped up by some DVD copy protection systems
No DiVX support (but not a real issue)
4WM Rating
80%
Conclusion
If the program hadn't been tripped up by the Copy Protection mechanism on my Police Squad DVD then this program would have merited a Gold Award, however, it was so I have to claim a little back from them on this.
That said it thoroughly deserves its Silver Award based on the sheer quality of the video conversions it produces coupled with the simplicity of interface and speed of conversion. Both Windows Media Video WMV and XViD AVI output are clean and clear with no visible artefacts or similar. Sound too is fine and clear with no clipping or sibilance.
Support for VGA, qVGA and both square screen sizes is also a plus and to be commended. Remember, you can play the output on any recent Windows Mobile device with a screen resolution supported. I personally use TCPMP but Media Player will accept them just fine too!
The price of $24.95 was my only real disappointment with SPB DVD Mobile. I do find this a bit steep considering they are relying on codecs and decoding from other software you have to have installed. Only you can make a judgement on whether you feel the convenience and speed of conversion is worth the price - it would make me think twice however.
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