Procedure to create files suitable for USB playback on budget TVs

[c_dunne]

Hi all,

I'm sorry if this is already well explained, if so point me to a guide please but I am trying to convert .rec files recorded on my Topfield hard disc recorder into a compressed video file suitable for playback via the USB port on my Bush TV (and a second TV that runs a similar low end firmware, both seem to cope fine with XviD but neither claim the DivX brand).

Presently I use Gordian Knott to encode the files as XviD using a .avi container and that works well. However, it's quite a long process (using Project X to create a trimmed mpeg2 video, creating a .d2v file with DGIndex then configuring the file size, resolution and selecting the correct audio in Gordian Knot).

I came across the dos program 'TFRecToTS' and thought I was onto something when this created a mpeg2 file rapidly that could be opened by Avidemux. Avidemux allows trimming then creates XviD 4 files in a avi output container rapidly. However, I've not been able to get these files to play on my TV. I came across an article that suggested running 'FourCC Code Changer' on the file but I've not found settings that work with the TV.

Does anyone have advice on making Avidemux compatible with budget TVs that play XviD files directly from USB? Or indeed how I can trouble shoot how the XviD files produced by Gordian Knott work but not Avidemux.

Thanks

Chris

[zakk]

look carefully on file analysis done by Mediainfo, use avic.exe, read your TV's technical specifications.

[AQUAR]

As zakk suggest:
With avic you can change the FourCC code from divx to xvid.
Set up the xvid encoding properties in avidemux to match those clips that play on the Bush tv.
Those properties are gleaned with mediainfo.

As a fallback, try avidemux 2.5.6 as it sets the FourCC to xvid rather than divx when using the xvid encoder.
It also has more options to taylor the encoding properties and so may give you the 'bush' fit.

[c_dunne]

Thanks, I'm in a rush to pack and go away for the weekend so won't get a chance to try properly until Monday. Anyway from my quick check I've used FourCC to set the description code to xvid and the used code to XVID as the other files although mediainfo still detects DivX4 whereas it detects XVID for the working files.

But it's probably the resolution that's causing the issues, mediainfo  detects it as 720 x 11456590! for the avidemux files but 480 x 352 for a working one. Is there any easy way to force a output resolution, it looks possible via a swsResixe filter and this sees the original as 720 x 576, not sure how the files gained resolution.

I'll try again when I get back but thanks for the help so far.