This workshop will explain in detail on how to convert videos to DiVX AVI format using a free PC tool called PocketDiVX. You will need the following tools :-
Contents
For PC
1. PocketDiVX encoder (get it from https://divx.ppccool.com/)
2. Free 5.21 (or higher) DiVX codec (get it from http://www.free-codecs.com)
For Symbian (Series 60, Series 80, Series 90, UIQ) smartphones.
1. Smart movie player (and it’s codec) from https://www.lonelycatgames.com
2. DVD Player from https://www.vikinggames.hu
Installation
First, you need to install the DiVX codec on your PC. This is important to enable file conversion into DiVX format. Don’t do anything with the DiVX setting, just install it.
Install SmartMovie or any other DiVX compatible players on your Symbian smartphones.
Loading file
Now, open PocketDiVX encoder (Just click on the PocketDiVX.exe, no need to install) and load the video. Click the Open File icon. Select the video that you want to convert and after that, you will be brought back to the main screen.
Output Options
There are 2 sliders in Output Options, the Video Quality and Audio Quality sliders.. To make sure the converted video output suitable to be played on Symbian smartphones, the values need to be as minimal as possible. If you set the values too high, the videos will be jerky and not smooth.
Video Quality
Set to low. Drag the slider to the left (number 2)
When you drag the slider, pay attention to the numbers under it. It shows the value of the bitrate. For Video Quality, make sure the bitrate is between 98 to 150 kbps. If you want higher quality video, just drag the slider to the right to select the number. If you select more than 4, it is too high.
Audio Quality
Set to low, drag the slider to the left (number 1). There’s a left arrow on the left of the audio the slider. Click on it. Another audio setting property will appear. Make sure you follow the following setting :
16 kbps | 16000 Hz | Mono
You can set these values higher but it wont play right on your Symbian smartphones because the total combined bitrates for both video and audio must not exceed 150 kbps.
Cropping and resizing
PocketDiVX is a very flexible tool where you can resize the video to fit into Symbian smartphones’ screen. To do this, simply click on the Change button where another option window will appear. Please bear in mind that Symbian smartphones in general are powered by a 150MHz processor and will not play videos with larger dimension than screen sizes. To make sure the output videos can be played by Series 60, UIQ, Series 80 and Series 90, I use a setting for Series 60 because the screen size is smaller.
Make sure you clicked on the Maintain Aspect Ratio. Then, click apply. It is also perfect to crop videos to get rid of the black bars around the videos. If you want to crop the video, just click on the Crop button. However, most videos do not need to be cropped unless there are black bars around them.
Screen size and orientation
Click on the phone model picture, a selection window will appear. Select Windows Smartphone and set the Orientation to Portrait.
Advanced setting
Click on the “Advanced Setting” button and check the following settings :
Framerate (per second) : 10
VHQ (Very High Quality) : Tick
Audio Normalisation : Tick
Leave others untouched
Setting summary
At the bottom of the PocketDiVX window, there’s a summary of all values that have been set. Please make sure you read it before pressing the Encode Now button.
Converting videos
Press the Encode Now button and wait. A new window will appear on your PC to show the conversion process. Depending on your source file, the time taken to convert videos may be long or short. For example, a 57MB file will take roughly 30 seconds.
After the conversion is completed, go to the folder where you save the source video because by default, the output video will be saved into the source folder. Transfer the video to your memory card using USB card reader.
Avoiding lip-synching problem on SmartMovie player
Launch SmartMovie player and go to Options and set the Audio Preroll Time to -40 (negative 40)
On Series 60, press left on the joystick/d-pad/navigation button, on Series 80, press left arrow, on Sony Ericsson UIQ, press the jogdial. This is very important to set the audio video synching correctly to avoid lip-synching problem. If this is not set properly, you might experience problems like the audio played first before the video or the audio played later after the video.
For this article, I have included a sample video which was converted using the above setting. Try to play this video on your Symbian smartphones and see the difference 🙂
My eternal gratitude to Aiwarikiar for the inspiration and support!
Download this article in PDF format (327 KB):
ENJOY!!!