DVD's on HI-MD units

[1kyle]

Another great opportunity missed by SONY here.

I'm currently playing around with a W900i Sony Ericsson mobile phone. The Screen size on this is perfectly good for watching a DVD say in a Train or plane (around 2 in X 1.5 in) and sound more than good enough.

Quality is unbelievably good. I've never SEEN a USEABLE quality screen like this on a phone. (The Nvidia drivers are responsible Thanks Nvidia).

No probs with Battery life either and on the sort of trains I travel in there's plug sockets in the carriages that people mainly use for Laptops.

Just rip the DVD to MP4 and it works fine (no DRM or any other B/S).

If only Sony had built this into Hi-MD.

Maybe it's not too late for them to do another future model.

Forget the stupid UMD type of device. That's a load more EUR / YEN down the toilet as specified in the news section on this forum already.

If Sony had got together with Ericsson before then the SS Software would have been so much better and maybe a few decently thought out products instead of great bits on one and the missing bits on another problems could have been avoided.

We can live in hope as the RH1 is a great step in the right direction.

Cheers

-K

Edited April 9, 2006 by 1kyle

[FTS2090]

Sony did ..... they are called UMDs, they might not had built them into the sony ericsson.

either way they failed. I think that in the later part of the 90s Sony had a change in their corporate structure, because they have been having a lot of failures...

[Stuge]

PSP is already there then why you want Dvd & UMDs are there whihc can hold one movie but they are so costly that they are not universal at all .

[RobA]

We can live in hope as the RH1 is a great step in the right direction.

Personally, I feel the rh1 is a huge step in the wrong direction and will prevent users from coming to the format.

[The Low Volta]

RobA... please, for a lot of ppl searching for a recorder it is a great step especially as there really is no alternative... for ppl like you searching for a player only, it might be seem step backwards, but you HAVE got alternatives IMHO

I'm glad Sony finally chose a direction with HiMD and sorry if that is not your wish, but IMHO there are enough semi-succesful iPod-video wannabees out there and I for one do not need HiMD to go that way

before there was an RH1 but when there was a DH10P really you can't say the masses 'have come to the format' so your remark is simply besides the question... I guess the recording functionality of the RH1 will actually gain more users than the pseudo camera of the DH10P has and any half-true video playback will...there are thr devices for that already!

[RobA]

RobA... please, for a lot of ppl searching for a recorder it is a great step especially as there really is no alternative... for ppl like you searching for a player only, it might be seem step backwards, but you HAVE got alternatives IMHO

I'm glad Sony finally chose a direction with HiMD and sorry if that is not your wish, but IMHO there are enough semi-succesful iPod-video wannabees out there and I for one do not need HiMD to go that way

before there was an RH1 but when there was a DH10P really you can't say the masses 'have come to the format' so your remark is simply besides the question... I guess the recording functionality of the RH1 will actually gain more users than the pseudo camera of the DH10P has and any half-true video playback will...there are thr devices for that already!

I know HiMD is great for recording and that this unit is obviously aimed for at recording but what I like about past units (like my rh10) is that you have options. The recording features are there if you need them, but so is great playback. HiMD targeted both recording and playback needs perfectly with past models. This one only recording and nothing for playback. Sony should have kept it half and half. But that's why there is the rh10, which is far better than any ipod (god I hate ipods). I love MD and will never leave the format, it's essential to me, I just wish sony would not target only recording and continue to target both recording and playback like they have done in the past. Hopefully the 3rd gen will have more than just the rh1.

[jaylen]

I'm glad Sony finally chose a direction with HiMD and sorry if that is not your wish, but IMHO there are enough semi-succesful iPod-video wannabees out there and I for one do not need HiMD to go that way

Amen to that.

I remember that article (Why Sony Should've Put Its Weight Behind Hi-MD) that said something like, "If you can't beat Apple on Apple's turf, then beat them on your own turf." I would much rather Sony improve/advance/advertise/whatever their Hi-MD than try to incorporate functions into their units that iPod/Cowan/etc can already supply. Hi-MD alone would be a great way to lead the pack. Make more original Hi-MD units since there aren't very many Hi-MD anything out there.

Personally, I feel the rh1 is a huge step in the wrong direction and will prevent users from coming to the format.

If anything, I think it may bring back oldschool MD users to the Hi-MD scene. I have no need for the RH1 and like you, I'd much rather see a new Hi-MD player or more options, but like you said, just the fact that Sony is releasing the RH1 gives me hope.

Edited April 10, 2006 by jaylen

[mercury_in_flames]

can you fast forward videos with that phone? otherwise the idea of movies on the w900 is useless im afraid. as for screen size, if you can get fatigued watching a movie on a psp, im pretty sure your eyes would get even more strained watching on a mobile phone.

[1kyle]

can you fast forward videos with that phone? otherwise the idea of movies on the w900 is useless im afraid. as for screen size, if you can get fatigued watching a movie on a psp, im pretty sure your eyes would get even more strained watching on a mobile phone.

I'll try it later. I'm still messing around with MP4 formats.

The screen is surprisngly good for a mobile phone. Don't confuse the screen (wide screen format) with the normal tiny one's usually associated with mobile phones.

I was on a train yesterday and got snippets of the Chelsea V West Ham game on the phone. Surprisingly viewable as well. Had quite a few interested viewers (mainly Chelsea supporters) too.

The screeen quality is awesome - so if you are on a train , in an airport lounge etc you really can view these, and the sound quality is great too.

I agree you wouldn't want to watch these for hours on end but for 1 - 2 hours with a glass of Beer or two (or three) it's quite viewable.

Of course the W900i has a penalty - it's slightly larger than typical phones but not unduly so and considering what it can do is not a high price to pay for the added functionality.

The Drag and Drop (especially for MP4 / AAC files) is absolutely great.

8GB cards will be available later too.

I'd certainly have a look at these before dismissing them as "unviewable".

Incidently if you don't like Vodafone (who seem to have the monopoly in the UK of supplying these) you can get them unlocked. I prefer using my own bookmarks for WAP than Vodafone Live.

BTW to get music from SS to the phone convert the PCM (WAV) to the format you want. The phone will also handle WAV files but I'm not sure at what sampling rate.

Don't forget when transferring large files use a Card reader these are usually much faster than using the phone's USB connection. (Could be the phone uses USB 1.1. Can't find any specs for this).

Cheers

-K

Edited April 10, 2006 by 1kyle

[Stuge]

can you fast forward videos with that phone? otherwise the idea of movies on the w900 is useless im afraid. as for screen size, if you can get fatigued watching a movie on a psp, im pretty sure your eyes would get even more strained watching on a mobile phone.

I will definately agree with you that screen for watching videos on phones & psp is quite small ...& can cause headache

[mercury_in_flames]

ive tried converting videos and playing them back etc on my k700i, while im sure the w900 is substancially better at playing videos, i still wouldnt watch videos on a phone. it's just personal choice, but i'd rather have a dedicated portable video player. Have you converted any dvd's yet? Have you had any issues with the syncing of audio and video?

[1kyle]

Hi Greg I'll try some in later this week. The Gas people are digging up the street and need to get in to temporarily turn off the Gas, so I'll be stuck at home.

I'm looking for some decent DVD Ripping software (DVD====> Mpeg4) at the appropriate frame rates.

A 2GB memory stick should be enough to get a (not too long) movie on it and from samples I've downloaded from th net the quality is hugely better than some of the DIVX rips I've seen.

Cheers

-K

[mercury_in_flames]

you can download sony image converted at atrac life, http://www.atraclife.com/downloads/files.php?cat=2

you basicly need to rip a movie using dvd decrypter which is at http://www.doom9.org/ in the download section, edit the options to not split the dvd movie when ripping, and then convert with sony image converter. I wasnt able to get the audio and video to sync properly when converting my videos to mpeg4.

[tommypeters]

I have a Sony Ericsson P900, which is a couple of years older technology than the W900 with max 128MB MS Duo. A DVD shrunk to fit into 128MB isn't any good, but the better quality option (taking around 150-200MB depending on movie length) is surprisingly good. Also the sound in the earphones. I have watched several DVD movies on it, no fatigue, even subtitles were clearly readable.

I had no sync issues whatsoever, however P900 uses a different format (though there may be mpeg4 hidden inside anyway).

Edited April 10, 2006 by tommypeters