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MPEG-4 codec (Compression/Decompression)
In order for MPEG4-Translator to compress the video in a fi le of the format
MPEG-4 SP that the Gmini™ 402 can read, it requires an MPEG-4 codec
to be installed on your computer.If you do not have the approporiate
codec installed, MPEG-4 Translator will tell you on start up which codec it
requires. You will be able to download it for free from the Internet.
Virtual Dub
™
A utility for transcoding one video fi le into another. This is a general purpose
transfer and cleanup utility which has many options allowing for even the
most diffi cult video translations. When you install it with the ARCHOS™
Installation Utility, it will automatically unzip. It will prompt you to save it to
C:\Program Files\VirtualDub. You should use this default directory location.
Otherwise you will have to instruct the MPG4 translator program where to
fi nd it.
MPG4 Translator
This program, developed by Archos, is a “Front-end” for the Virtual Dub
program. It has a simple interface which you use and it then tells Virtual
Dub how to process the video fi le. It sets all the parameters for Virtual Dub
specifi cally to create a video fi le in the right size and format to be read by
the Gmini™ 402. When you run it for the fi rst time, the MPG4 Translator will
need to locate the Virtual Dub program. If you did not install Virtual Dub
in the default location, you will have to show the program where Virtual
Dub is.
MP3 Sound Codec
If
MPG4 Translator
detects a suitable
MP3 codec on your PC, it will use it, and
your video fi le sound track will be MP3.
Otherwise, it will use the standard IMA
ADPCM codec. There are MP3 encoders
(usually packaged together as an encoder
and decoder) available on the Web for you
to download. If you choose to use the LAME
codec, make sure that you have a version
built with the ACM front-end. You can fi nd
other MP3 codecs on the web by using the
search terms ACM, MP3 and CODEC in your
favorite web search engine. Once this MP3 codec is installed into your
system, MPG4 Translator will be able to create fi nal video fi les with MP3
sound, even if the source video fi le does not have an MP3 sound track.
If you are unsure what codecs (audio and/or video) have been installed
on your computer, you can see the list by going to the following location.
For Windows XP, click on Start > Settings > Control Panel > Sounds
and Audio Devices Properties > Hardware > choose Audio Codecs,
then click on Properties. You will fi nd a list here of all the audio codecs
that are installed on your computer. Decoding of MPEG 2 video fi les is
currently not supported by MPG4 Translator. These are usually .mpg or
.mpeg format fi les, not the required AVI fi le. There are other tools found
on the Internet (FlaskMPEG, Rippack, etc.) that may be downloaded
in order to help you with these fi le types. A good starting place is the
website www.digital-digest.com.
9.2 Using MPG4 Translator
Here you see the image of the main MPG4
Translator program. When you fi rst run
the program, if the required codec has not
been installed yet, you will be notifi ed. You
should download the codec and install it on
your computer. If the Virtual dub program
has not been installed, you will also be
notifi ed, and you should install it (either
with the ARCHOS™ Installation Utility or the
Virtual Dub website). If you have placed
the Virtual Dub program in a folder other
than the installation default folder, it will
ask you to locate the fi le.
Select Source & Destination Files
In the example above, a source fi le 24 hours of Lemans.avi has been selected
as the source video. You can see on the bottom of the window its original
characteristics (width 720, height 576, frame rate 25). Next, you must then tell
the program where to place (Set Destination fi le) the newly recorded version
of the fi le (don’t worry, it will not erase the original). You should give it a new
descriptive name, such as shown above Lemans_Gmini402.avi. Make sure you
add the .avi extension.