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Been using this last few days and overall am quite impressed. It is pretty fast, has all that froyo goodness....Flash works though video is still slow and jerky
Have following issues:
YouTube- shows but videos don't play in app
Music- my mp3 which play on autonootered 2.1 don't work.
Statusbar shows no service cell reception icon and lockscreen says no service.
Wifi not always reconnecting from sleep without manually turning off/on.
Anyone else have any of these issues? Any fixes?
What are your pleasant surprises so far?
I think you need to look here.
And here.
BigBadger said:
I think you need to look here.
And here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I guess. Red all the threads and am reporting my issues and seeing if they really unique to me as most I have mentioned are not discussed,....
mp3 the no service message on lockscreen.....
On YouTube, you may want to look at the "HQ" YouTube thread I started here and detailed a tidbit more in my blog (fineoils.blogspot.com).
Takes a careful deleting a stock youtube.apk.
If it won't work (me, I run simply Auto-Nootered and partially tweaked NC with stock A2.1, and HD YouTube is working just fine) then this is your "usability" at this stage.
You fail to mention Flash 10.1 in your list of problems with Nookie Froyo, does it mean you can watch HQ/HD Flash video already?
Don't get me wrong: the move to Froyo is a great development. But so far, it's more of a proof of a concept. For usability, it may take tons of tweaks and optimizations of Cyanogen class, plus backporting the best features and kernels of Android 2.3
aludal said:
On YouTube, you may want to look at the "HQ" YouTube thread I started here and detailed a tidbit more in my blog (fineoils.blogspot.com).
Takes a careful deleting a stock youtube.apk.
If it won't work (me, I run simply Auto-Nootered and partially tweaked NC with stock A2.1, and HD YouTube is working just fine) then this is your "usability" at this stage.
You fail to mention Flash 10.1 in your list of problems with Nookie Froyo, does it mean you can watch HQ/HD Flash video already?
Don't get me wrong: the move to Froyo is a great development. But so far, it's more of a proof of a concept. For usability, it may take tons of tweaks and optimizations of Cyanogen class, plus backporting the best features and kernels of Android 2.3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is beyond proof of concept and 90% works as good or better than 2.1
Flash works. But seeing embedded flash video on some sites the video framerate is slow and jerky. Some sites play well. I suspect the 800 MHz processor and no hardware acceleration are the culprits and so OC to 950-1 ghz and hardware access might make it more useable.
So far I seem to ne the only one stating I can't get mp3 music playing so don't know if this is a known problem.
With all the different roms and different versions I'm getting really confused and which roms can do what.
I've tried phiremod v2 and cm7 nightlies and the youtube app doesn't work at all in either. Youtube in the browser I couldn't get to work in phiremod v2. I can watch youtube if I change my user agent to desktop with cm7 nightly but it's choppy.
Can somebody enlighten me as to what I should be running if I want working and smooth flash videos?
This is not an answer to your question -
But if the widespread rumors are correct, then the B&N Stock NC will be updated to 2.2 with Flash by the end of the month, and then if you root that, you will be able to sideload Youtube App for Froyo to that. In fact, the update is supposed to include a B&N Market, and one would expect B&N to have all the Free Google Apps in their Market at startup. (But that's just speculation.)
Flash Player 10.2 working for me
I downloaded Flash Player 10.2 earlier today and it installed and works much better. I am running Phiremod 4.1. I got the APK from: freewarelovers(dot)com/android/app/adobe-flash-player
It's important to remember that Flash is an application framework that can deliver video among MANY other things. If you're looking for a FLV video player, then the performance still is not here: it requires hardware support and we don't have the drivers yet.
BUT, if you want to play games and use interactive websites written in Flash, then try out 10.2. It is WAY more functional.
Interesting. Are you saying that there are no roms with smooth playing flash video? It seems odd to me that everybody is so happy with these roms when they can't watch any flash video smoothly.
flammenwurfer said:
Can somebody enlighten me as to what I should be running if I want working and smooth flash videos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To specifically answer your question, smooth video is supported in Eclair (the native Nook rooted ROM) and, I think, it plays acceptably in Froyo; although I could be mistaken.
A lot depends on the size/quality of the video; standard definition (640x480) should play acceptably well in either of those OS versions. Higher definition may stall from time to time.
Gingerbread 2.3 (CM7, etc) still does not have working drivers for the hardware assist features of the chipset, and hardware assist is essential to smooth video playback.
Here are the specs on Nook Color CPU/GPU (from Androidtablets.net):
CPU Processor: ARM Cortex A8-based Ti OMAP 3621 @ 800 MHz (same processor as Droid 2 and Droid X)
GPU Processor: PowerVR SGX530 Graphics Rendering: Open GLES1.1/2.0 Hardware Scaling: 854x480 scaled to 1024x600 Video Formats: .3GP, .MP4, .3G2 ** Video Codecs: H.263, H.264, MPEG-4, ON2 VP7 ** Image Formats: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP ** (same GPU as Droid 2 and Droid X)
As you can see, the GPU can support a native resolution of 854 x 480 (which is scaled in hardware to 1024 x 600); H.264/MPEG4 video (which FLV is a kind of) can be decoded in the hardware with the appropriate drivers. At present, all the players have to do this through software, which frankly is beyond the capability of the CPU at 800 MHz or even overclocked at 1.1 GHz.
We need to be patient; those hardware drivers will come.
Ok, I think I get it now.
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
flammenwurfer said:
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure whether the Froyo rom can play video smoothly. It does on Droid and other phones, so I would guess those drivers have been tried out. I had Froyo on my Nook Color for a while, but frankly can't remember how the video was.
flammenwurfer said:
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends on what you need/want. For me, the text handling of Froyo was awful. I have a HTC EVO 4G (with Sense UI on top of native Froyo). On my phone, I can type pretty effectively. The user dictionary is fast and smart and if I make a mistake, I have an arrows-equipped keyboard to move the cursor to the text I want to correct and fix it.
Froyo (Android 2.2) on both my Nook Color and my Viewsonic G-Tablet were nothing like my Evo. The keyboard often got what I typed wrong and when I tried to set a cursor to make a correction, it would end up one letter off. I tried out a bunch of keyboards - some with arrows - and had an OK Froyo-based system, but as soon as a decent Gingerbread-based ROM came along (and Phiremod's is EXCELLENT!), I went with that.
In Gingerbread, you have a much more accurate keyboard and dictionary lookup. The keyboard still doesn't have arrows, but you have a very nice cursor positioning tool, plus the ability to select a little or a lot of text and copy/paste it anywhere throughout the system.
But, as you note, certain of the multimedia features aren't there yet. Since I use my tablets more as very handy computers and less as multimedia entertainment systems, the choice was pretty straightforward for me. I can wait a few weeks for video playback.
And, frankly, the reason a lot of people get excited about roms - and having lots of different roms - is because they are fun in and of themselves. They like to tinker. And with the Nook, if you have a few bucks to buy a couple of micro SD cards, you can have two or three swap-in brains that completely transform your tablet. And take them out and still have a factory fresh Nook reader. It's really kind of awesome when you think about it.
But your mileage will certainly vary. If high definition is a deal breaker for you, you may find the Nook ultimately inadequate even when the Gingerbread drivers (and eventually Honeycomb drivers) come out. There's only so much power under this hood. A tablet based on Tegra 2 (like the Viewsonic G-Tablet or Xoom) may be more what you're looking for. With the right drivers, though, we should get perfectly acceptable 480p playback.
glg
The rom you are looking for is nookiefroyo. I have great YouTube playback in app including high quality. In browser 360p plays fine, but anything above that is choppy.
I also have tested other flash websites. CNN was perfect, as was megavideo.
I purchase my nook a few days ago and thus far nookie froyo looks to be the latest and most complete rom out. That plus the softkey theme I installed and the honeycomb keyboard makes this tablet a force to be reckoned with. I might even have to post a video soon because I'm so amazed atnhow well this thing runs.
I'm on CM7 Android 2.3.3 and am very happy. Not sure if it's the websites I've been on or what, but pretty much all non-HD flash works flawlessly for me. I've OCed my NookColor to 925mhz and have tried probably 5 or 6 different websites (including youtube and zomganime) Certain embeded flash players work better than others I"ve noticed, also, so not sure why that is, but so far I'm very happy. I even was running 3 flash videos (just to test it out) at once the other day, only one was choppy beyond watching. Oh I'd also like to note that it SEEMS to work better with Dolphin Browser, but that could again just be the website(s) I was on.
Sure not having a YouTube app kinda sucks, but the desktop website works fine.
Just a little notice, YouTube app doesn't use Flash for playback, it grabs MP4 version of a video stream, which is meant to play on mobile devices.
JLCollier2005 said:
I'm on CM7 Android 2.3.3 and am very happy. Not sure if it's the websites I've been on or what, but pretty much all non-HD flash works flawlessly for me. I've OCed my NookColor to 925mhz and have tried probably 5 or 6 different websites (including youtube and zomganime) Certain embeded flash players work better than others I"ve noticed, also, so not sure why that is, but so far I'm very happy. I even was running 3 flash videos (just to test it out) at once the other day, only one was choppy beyond watching. Oh I'd also like to note that it SEEMS to work better with Dolphin Browser, but that could again just be the website(s) I was on.
Sure not having a YouTube app kinda sucks, but the desktop website works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As in audio and video actually work smoothly (and are in sync)? What version of CM7 are you on?
I would like to know as well.
I'm on the latest CM7 Nightly and just installed the OC kernel. Youtube videos at 360p are playing ok now, but the audio is out of sync.
I might have to give Nookie Froyo another try. Interesting that the Youtube app works so well for you. I could have sworn that I would just get an error every time I tried to play anything.
flammenwurfer said:
Ok, I think I get it now.
So the stock rom is the only option at the moment for smooth youtube and flash, correct? The Froyo, Gingerbread and Honeycomb roms do not have hardware decoding support?
So why are so many people running these other roms if they are missing a major function like that? What does CM7 and the other roms do that the stock rooted rom can't? Market?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eclair does hardware video decoding but no flash. Froyo and cm7 both do flash and froyo has you tube and video harddware support. However froyo for me at least has buggy wifi and screen of death issues which made it non viable for me. Hope this helps.
From Nook Color dual boot with CM7
That does help. Thanks for the clarification.
I've heard good things about Nookie Froyoa so I will probably give that another try. I find it a little frustrating that there is not a single rom with everything working, but I know that's just the norm for hacking together roms. Oh well... Hopefully the update coming from B&N will help iron out the few issues that are left.
Honestly, most of my time will be spent reading, web browsing and playing a few games. I would just like to be able to pull up a funny video for friends every once in a while. I don't plan on watching movies or anything on it.
flammenwurfer said:
That does help. Thanks for the clarification.
I've heard good things about Nookie Froyoa so I will probably give that another try. I find it a little frustrating that there is not a single rom with everything working, but I know that's just the norm for hacking together roms. Oh well... Hopefully the update coming from B&N will help iron out the few issues that are left.
Honestly, most of my time will be spent reading, web browsing and playing a few games. I would just like to be able to pull up a funny video for friends every once in a while. I don't plan on watching movies or anything on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed I had thought froyo would be best compromise as it was fast had dsp and flash working, but the sleep of death and wifi connection issues led me to rebooting the thing many times/day which was a real pain.
For now I have a dual boot setup (see thread in development forum) So that I boot into eclair or CM7. This way I do most of my activities in or other rom and reboot into the other when I need say to watch a video or use stock B&N reader.....
Another thing I haven't really thought about. How does battery life compare between the roms? I seem to remember comments here and there about CM7 roms having worse battery life than froyo or stock.
I would suggest to those trying Nookie Froyo on eMMC now to try the kernel posted in post #770 of the Dalingrin kernel thread on the development forum. For myself and several others this kernel is solid and yields no wake or wifi issues whatsoever. Until a more stable interactive govenor kernel is developed this is the one I'll stick with.
glgehman said:
And with the Nook, if you have a few bucks to buy a couple of micro SD cards, you can have two or three swap-in brains that completely transform your tablet. And take them out and still have a factory fresh Nook reader. It's really kind of awesome when you think about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. I'm a nooknoob but long time techie and am brimming with questions. Is that quote accurate -- that reverting to "factory fresh" state can be as simply as removing your SD card? (Because that's not the impression I've been getting; I thought you needed to do the 8 failed boots thing and/or reload ROMs.)
Hmm, guess not. I just noticed the thread titled "[HOW-TO] : Restore Nook Color back to stock EASILY".
I believe you can run most of the roms from the sd card without modifying the internal system. I don't know if you can do it without rooting though. You might have to root, then you an try roms on sd card. Someone else will have to confirm that or tell me I'm wrong , as I've not tried any of the sd card versions.
The first post is always updated to show the "how to do it quick" that I arrive at after my long series of "doing it painfully slow." All the other posts are simply notes I share while "doing it painfully slow."
I'm always trying to remember something I forgot, never something I remember.
I'm also new to the platform so I'm remembering things for the first time, which makes this a perfect time to document these learnings.
Sharing files over Wifi with Tablet:
http://www.redmondpie.com/access-ftp-sites-natively-in-windows-7/
I followed these simple directions to map the tablet's FTP sever as a network drive. What FTP server? I'm using "File Expert" which seems to work well. There are many other apps available as well.
Using an external bluetooth:
Download "Bluetooth GPS" from the market. This will allow you to import the gps data. You have to turn on GPS on the tablet and enable mock gps locations in the menus (instructions in application in market.)
Rooting my (just about any) Android Phone
SuperOneClick: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=803682
Wow that was easy! Rooted my android 2.1 mb200 (Cliq) in 30 seconds. You need the drivers for your phone which you can get from the phone manufacturer's site. I got something called "MotoHelper" from Motorola's site.
Using your phone as a Wifi Hotspot:
android-wifi-tether is the program of choice. If your phone doesn't have a kernel that supports IP tables it won't work. Most phones probably don't have firewall capabilities loaded into them by default! If you want to do that: they support many phones. Check um out.
If you don't want to change the kernel and your phone is rooted, you can use the "Barnacle Wifi Tether" from the market. It turns the device into a mobile hotspot you can access with your android tablet. Works great!
Using your phone as an External Bluetooth GPS device:
Don't think it requires rooting. There are a lot of apps (a lot.. omg) that claim to do it. I was able to find ONE that actually works, for 10 minutes at least. It's only $1.50CDN (if you can get that **** to work) or $1.99 directly to unlock. Works great! It's in the market called "Bluetooth GPS Output". You can buy the $1.99 unlock code from their website. I spent hours hunting something free. haha
Watching video on CM7 (pre-hardware acceleration)
*NOTE* Getting audio in-sync is near impossible. I've given up. I don't think there is a way of accomplishing this without DSP support.
Download "MoboPlayer" and install w/ your favorite app installer. I use "File Expert" because of it's FTP server capabilites making copying super easy and wireless for me.
MoboPlayer is superior to RockPlayer for gingerbread (cm7) for software decoding. It has a silly "skip" button you have to hit when you start up. Not sure how to get rid of that. Yet.
Above is now depreciated with hardware accelerated video working in cm7.
Download the latest version of "Handbrake". I have attached a zipfile with a preset in it that you can import by clicking preset->import. You should then see a preset called "Chisleu High Quality (imported)" on the right side of the screen.
Step 1: Open your file to be converted
Step 2: Select the Preset
Step 3: Change your resolution if it is larger than 854x480.
854x480 is the maximum so set the width to 854 and make sure the width is under 480 (should be) but if not change it so the width and height are under 854x480.
It will always default to the original resolution if it is smaller than 854x480. It should default to 854x480 max if the source is higher resolution. If it doesn't include the 854x480 max, when you select it to encode a video, change the resolution to 854 width and save the preset.
Pairing/Using Zoom 9010 Bluetooth Mini Keyboard w/ NCEncore
Hit the button on the bottom of the keyboard. Go to the bluetooth menu and select the device to pair. It will ask for a pin. Type in 1234 into the tablet. THEN type 1234 into the keyboard and hit enter on the keyboard. Enjoy keyboard!
More to come!
These are notes I made while making the "howto" which is in the first post. The final steps needed are above. If you are hacking your way through this stuff and looking for insights, the stuff below could be helpful. If you are looking for "how do I do this fast" then don't read this stuff, just refer to the first post!!!
Watching video on CM7 (pre-hardware acceleration)
Rockplayer seems to work very well. I'm hoping to figure out the "ideal" formatting for software decode.
It seems everyone has their favorite way to pull this off... I'm using the free program "Handbrake" to convert video files over.
Well, I have reasonable quality video playing well but the sound is being a problem. With my last conversion, the sound will just stop playing after a while and you have to move the video slider around a little to get it to start back up. not good.
848x480 video seems to be pushing it and the quality isn't that much better than 720, so I'm going to limit myself to 720x480max video.
Sample rate 48 audio was very quiet, turns out 41 is too! Use the DRC slider in the audio tab -> 4 to help compensate. I also turned the volume on the speaker up 10db w/ thee "DSP Manager" that comes with the distribution. Helps to boost the volume to less silent levels. Workable, but headphones of some sort are still required IMHO.
Nope. Still crappy. Worried I won't be able to play anything past cartoons!
Update: Rockplayer sucks!!! (for me, on this platform, etc, etc)
http://moboplayer.com/moboplayer_en.html
At another's direction, the v7 "Neon" version of Moboplayer is EPIC. Works much better. It plays my encoding of "BBC Planet Earth - Jungles 1080p". On a side note, if you haven't seen the Planet Earth series, get it. It is super fun to watch. very interesting.
I used these settings:
720x400 (720 max w/ automatic height)
48k / 128kbps AAC/faac audio.
51 minutes is 765mb. Pretty huge.
I mostly used the direcitons provided here:
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...using-handbrake-convert-video-nook-color.html
(3) On the Presets window, select High Profile.
(4) Click on the Source button, and load the video file you want to convert.
(5) Click the Browse, and select a destination and file name for the MP4 video file you will create.
(6) Go to the Picture tab. Set the Anamorphic menu to None. Enter 720 in the Width box, and check the Keep Aspect Ratio button. The Height should automatically adjust.
(7) Go to the Video Filters tab. Set Detelecine and Decomb to Off.
(8) Go to the Video tab. If you are using DVD source video, or standard resolution video, leave the Framerate option as Same as source. If your source is HD video (60fps), change the Framerate to 29.97.
(9) Go to the Audio tab. How many tracks appear? The goal is to end up with one track with an Audio Codec that shows up as AAC (faac) or MP3 (lame). If there are others, right click and remove them. On the remaining track, set Mixdown to Stereo, Samplerate to 48, and Bitrate to 128.
(10) Skip the Subtitles and Chapters tabs.
(11) Go to the Advanced tab. Set Maximum B-Frames to 0, and uncheck the CABAC Entropy Coding, 8x8 Transform, and Weighted P-Frames options.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm currently converting "Back To The Future 720p":
720x400:
average bitrate 800kbps (2pass)
44.1/128 MP3(lame)
Remember to jack up the DRC (I've been using the max setting of 4) which will help compensate for the low speaker volume. I also configured the DSP EQ for up to 5db of boost (mid range) curving down to 1db at the extremities.
Damn I love this platform.
EDIT: Retried my 854x480 conversion (high bitrate, 1gig/51minutes) It plays just great with MoboPlayer Neon. I'm going to watch the low bitrate encode of Back To The Future 720p (720x400 ~800kbps video 766meg/1:56). It is transfering now but my firewall isn't N-capable so it's slow!
I'm mainly checking to see if that quality is decent (low bitrate and 2 pass encoding)
Then I'm going to do a "final settings" encode to test out max quality.
I'm also going to do a 1024x600 video just to see if it's possible to play. I think it's probably overkill. I think the playback will suffer. 854 seems to really eat CPU as it is. We will see.
EDIT: Downloaded a 1 minute 1080p test video to use to test resolutions/such with to speed things up a bit.
http://www.fileserve.com/file/SdtfFxh/hd_other_sony_hd_experiment.m2ts
EDIT: Droid does!!! DRC doesn't! Specifically, it doesn't boost volume very much. It is really just normalization. Not encoding using DRC anymore. If you want to watch videos... use headphones.
EDIT: Wow, much faster using a 1 minute file plus the math is easy to determine 1 hour file sizes. hehe.
EDIT: 1024 width doesn't play.
EDIT: Uhm, maybe it does. for some reason MoboPlayer is calling it HD and trying to play in hardware. I can play the 854 w/ software decode so I'm reencoding... stop deleting stuff even if it doesn't work the first time dude...
EDIT: so.... many... variables....
EDIT: door to door salespeople suck... no this isn't an ipad, and no I don't want your cleaning products.
EDIT: Got a quality configuration working!
My 1 minute test video ended up at 5,487KB which puts us at roughly 330MB per hour. Acceptable size for me. This is a 2-pass 600kbps video stream. The 500kbps had noticeably less quality. Higher quality encoding does improve quality, but seems to have video sync issues.
Encoding a lower resolution (but longer) file now w/ my settings to test.
Successful video!!!! I converted Zombieland.720p into the format above and she plays wonderfully in software mode with no sync issues!!! Fantastic!!!
If you are looking to convert video for travel or the like, this is the ticket!
Feed your source material into HandBrake, select the Universal preset, get rid of the AC3 soundtrack if it's included in the source (since all you really need is the 2 channel stereo track), add subs if required, encode, put it on the NOOK Color, you're done.
No need for two-pass encoding as HandBrake's newer CRF based encoding methodology (for the x264 encoder) saves time and gets pretty much equal results in half the time.
People really overcomplicate this encoding for the NOOK Color, way too much. It's not that hard. The Universal preset will adjust the resolution to fit (the NOOK Color has a maximum video pixel width of 854, period), and it uses a good baseline profile (what the NOOK Color is designed to play) without issues.
Everything is already in that preset, ready to go, and you're not really going to get much better quality with all the fiddling, all the command line options, etc.
Source > HandBrake > Universal preset > drop AC3 track, set bitrate as desired for audio > Encode > Put it on the device > Enjoy the movie.
Simple.
I love different opinions!
br0adband said:
No need for two-pass encoding as HandBrake's newer CRF based encoding methodology (for the x264 encoder) saves time and gets pretty much equal results in half the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 pass is vastly superior for file size. If you don't care about file size, ya you can use a larger file with great quality. But if you care about sizes (ie, using a CR of 40, which I did) it looks like crap. 2 pass encoding is vastly superior because it allows smaller size with dynamic bitrates and higher quality.
I'm not the "lazy" guy. I don't mind taking the time to figure out the way that is best for me. I am simply sharing that knowledge. A google search will reveal tons of different ways of doing this.
br0adband said:
Everything is already in that preset, ready to go, and you're not really going to get much better quality with all the fiddling, all the command line options, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That preset is also 720 width, not 854. I'm trying to maximize quality, minimize file size, and stay compatible with the hardware accelerator. Of course, once hardware accel comes out, one can up the kbps to 1000-1200 if you wish, although I do not feel it is needed.
My setup generates files ~ 320mb per hour. Comparable static bitrate quality would be much larger.
br0adband said:
Simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that Handbrake has the ability to import presets, it's super easy for people. Import the file (once) select the file, select the preset, change the resolution. done. super simple.
Of course this is only intended for CM7 users.
chisleu said:
Flash 10.2 (leaked)
[...]I would expect it will work much better on nookie froyo. so much so that I'm going to use my SD card to boot nookie and try!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it work on Froyo, and if so, did you notice any improvement?
TJNooker said:
Did it work on Froyo, and if so, did you notice any improvement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It "worked" on nookie froyo and rooted 2.1 (bn 1.1) to begin with (flash 10.1) but I would expect that 10.2 would give a dramatic improvement. The increase on CM7 was dramatic. I don't have a working froyo build to test though. enjoying CM7 too much.
br0adband said:
the NOOK Color has a maximum video pixel width of 854, period
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually software viewers will play up to a 1024x600 file at full screen. Anything less is scaled (software) up to that.
The hardware encoder will up/down scale to 854x480.
Also I just used your instructions above which is RF:20 encoding. that's ~19mb per minute. Compared to ~5.5 w/ my settings. The quality is noticably higher, but it could be accomplished w/ 1000-1200kbps settings with 2 pass. (9-11MB/min)
Also video sync is still an issue for some reason. I'm not sure what the problem is anymore.
I'm on the new 3/15/11 test version including DSP video support. It works and it stays in sync but the framerate is garbage. It's roughly 5-15dps at any given time. Progress is sexy.
It looks like we really just need DSP support if we are going to play videos in sync.
chisleu said:
It "worked" on nookie froyo and rooted 2.1 (bn 1.1) to begin with (flash 10.1) but I would expect that 10.2 would give a dramatic improvement. The increase on CM7 was dramatic. I don't have a working froyo build to test though. enjoying CM7 too much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get flash running on stock eclair?
ace7196 said:
How did you get flash running on stock eclair?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can not remember if I did or not. I believe there is a flash for 2.1 apk floating around if you look.
Chisleu,
why dint you try Vitalplaer neon. It has way better software encoding then rockplayer and moboplayer. Its the best I found so far fo xvid movies
zorvalth said:
Chisleu,
why dint you try Vitalplaer neon. It has way better software encoding then rockplayer and moboplayer. Its the best I found so far fo xvid movies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems to stay in sync more, but it also lags more. It also has ads on the bottom of the screen. I did try it, but as soon as I saw the ad I realized it wasn't for me.
But yes, unless it is lieing and really using the hardware to play, this is much better. I'm going to encode my test file to 1024x600 and see how it does in software with Vitalplayer Neon.
no 1024 didn't fly in software. Looks terrible, and lags/gets out of sync.
IMO, the argument is moot at this point. Vitalplayer isn't free, and software can't play video better than the hardware can (854x480)
Now that hardware acceleration is working the CM7 test it won't be long before it's in CM7, and I personally have no need for software acceleration.
Then again, for lower quality stuff that I don't want to reencode, vitalplayer is much better at staying in sync. Impressively so in fact.
I may buy it. Thanks for the tip.
I uploaded some test videos encoded to Nook specs at various bitrates so you could see and maybe avoid reencoding repeatedly to find a bitrate that works for you.
Original file is a 1080p Music Video for "Good Girl, Bad Girl" by Miss A. This is a k-pop group I love and they encourage redistribution of their music videos, so no issues there.
600kbps video 20mb
http://www.mediafire.com/?d42dmvva9vbigm2
1200kbps video 36.5mb
http://www.mediafire.com/?2lyb5qicpynz13a
2000kbps video 58.4mb
http://www.mediafire.com/?d42dmvva9vbigm2
I can not tell a difference between 1200 and 2000.
There is definitely a difference between 600 and 1200, but is the difference worth 4.3mb per minute? A 90 minute video would be an additional 387MB larger.
Maybe it is for you, and maybe it isn't, and maybe you will just go with 800 or 1000kbps if you want to split the difference.
These are just intended for you to have a jumping off point so you don't have to go to the lengths I have!
chisleu said:
It seems to stay in sync more, but it also lags more. It also has ads on the bottom of the screen. I did try it, but as soon as I saw the ad I realized it wasn't for me.
But yes, unless it is lieing and really using the hardware to play, this is much better. I'm going to encode my test file to 1024x600 and see how it does in software with Vitalplayer Neon.
no 1024 didn't fly in software. Looks terrible, and lags/gets out of sync.
IMO, the argument is moot at this point. Vitalplayer isn't free, and software can't play video better than the hardware can (854x480)
Now that hardware acceleration is working the CM7 test it won't be long before it's in CM7, and I personally have no need for software acceleration.
Then again, for lower quality stuff that I don't want to reencode, vitalplayer is much better at staying in sync. Impressively so in fact.
I may buy it. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know what you are downloading but Vitalplayer Neon is definitely free....
Sent from my NookColor
zorvalth said:
I don't know what you are downloading but Vitalplayer Neon is definitely free....
Sent from my NookColor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I miss the "ad" word in that sentence. It was meant to say "ad free".
I can't stand seeing ads. I don't mind paying for software I want, but I hate ads.
I bought the Vital Player Pro but we were unable to get it working and I was issued a refund. It would start up and immediately shutdown. I think there may be a problem with paid apps because I also can not get TapaTalk pro to work on my tablet. It keeps saying it isn't paid for. Tapatalk has much slower customer support than VitalPlayer did.
So now that hardware acceleration is enabled, do you still do the same handbrake encoding process as before? Or was that just a workaround for the software? Or because hardware acceleration is now enabled, are we able to handle more/different codecs?
br0adband said:
No need for two-pass encoding as HandBrake's newer CRF based encoding methodology (for the x264 encoder) saves time and gets pretty much equal results in half the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I apologize. This new 1 pass system is far superior to those of old. I bow to your wisdom. CF25 is about equal to 1200kbps video in both size and quality.
Thanks for posting up the sample vids. The first and third link are the same. Both go to Miss A Bad Girl Good Girl - Nook 2000.m4v
For me, the preset in the OP produces an image that is compressed horizontally. Anyone else seeing this? Using handbrake 0.9.5 and playing on the latest CM7 stock video player.
General Comments
I've created this thread to centralize video discussions, tips, issues, etc.
Please limit this only to those running CM7. Something that works or doesn't work in rooted stock or Froyo may have no correlation to CM7 at present. CM7 is using different codecs, different DSP kernel driver, different media backend, and different userspace ALSA.
To start things off I have attached a handbrake profile that has worked well for me.
I will update this post as more specifics are found.
A few things to consider: ALSA
Our ALSA implementation is picky about the buffer size. Other devices that use ALSA in the same fashion have had to reduce their buffer as well. This may be due to a limitation of what can fit in the DMA buffer on the McBSP. Because the ALSA buffer scales with the audio sample rate, I recommend using 44.1K instead of 48K when transcoding videos. This is contrary to every handbrake profile I've seen folks post on XDA for the nook.
CPU Governor
Some people have had better luck with the Conservative CPU governor rather than Ondemand or Interactive.
Bitrate
I have found it best to limit the bitrate to something under 1000kbps.
Resolution
The resolution should always be limited to 854x480. This is the maximum limit for the open source codecs. We do not have a license for 720P codecs yet. Perhaps B&N will get a license for their Froyo update.
dalingrin said:
I recommend using 44.1K instead of 48K when transcoding videos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I concur....I started doing this last night, coupled with a DRC of "3" and sound is better and louder.
360Razir said:
I concur....I started doing this last night, coupled with a DRC of "3" and sound is better and louder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree about DRC. I just updated my profile with dynamic range compression of 2.
Your preset causes an unhandled exemption for me when I load or use it in handbrake. If I try to play what it outputs, it doesn't play in the stock player.
I have to turn off Weighted P-Frames to get the nook to play in hardware (stock player.)
EDIT: Attached my preset. It has all the typical preset stuff, plus 44.1/128 audio like dal recommended, and it doesn't throw a fit when I import or select it in handbrake.
chisleu said:
Your preset causes an unhandled exemption for me when I load or use it in handbrake. If I try to play what it outputs, it doesn't play in the stock player.
I have to turn off Weighted P-Frames to get the nook to play in hardware (stock player.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weighted P-frames are off in my profile.
What version of HandBrake are you using? I have rev3736.
The other thing I have to test is my Droid X. Most of the Handbrake (HB) encoded movies I have were done for my DX last year. Like the NC, I set the movies to 854x480 for my DX and so that makes it nice to be able to test between the two devices.
My DX is now running (leaked) Gingerbread and playing the same videos between the DX and the NC, the DX is so incredibly smooth. No lag. No crackling. No slow-downs. No audio popping. Just buttery smooth. Now, I understand the screen is smaller, but again, same video resolution of the video. Not sure how the "guts" of the DX are vs. that of the NC, though?
However, what I can say, is that back in January when I first got my NC and went with AutoNooter, I was able to take my existing HB-encoded movies that I had lying around for my DX and play them perfectly on rooted stock. Since CM7, out of the 25 or so movies I have for the DX, only 7 of them play on the NC (using Act 1). The NC is picky, indeed.
The quest continues....
dalingrin said:
Weighted P-frames are off in my profile.
What version of HandBrake are you using? I have rev3736.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours and the other guy's won't load without throwing an exemption which is where my confusion came from in the other thread.
Mine says 3728... it is 0.9.5 and says 2011010300 and says it is the latest when I try to update... going to redownload...
You are on the linux version aren't you?
Here are the videos with their specs that do currently work with Act 1 on my NC:
NOTE: most of my videos that work are in .m4v format. I had removed that setting in HB, but when I did, the video didn't play. I am sure it was probably something else getting in the way, but .m4v just seems solid for me right now, so sticking with that. To each his own.
As you can see from the attachment, the size, bitrate, dimensions, and frame rate are all over the map. Each plays well in Act 1 with Zoom set to "Aspect Full".
I will post my exact HB settings when I have something I have settled on and I am taking the suggestions from this thread, so thanks for that.
chisleu said:
... it is 0.9.5 and says 2011010300 and says it is the latest when I try to update...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here....Win7/32-bit
I am attaching my settings for HB that work well for me with regards to full-length movies. Has excellent audio/video sync, with no lag.
Highlights include:
[ Original Presets were taken from Regular > High Profile and then just tweaked accordingly ]
● Picture: Anamorphic Loose
● Video Filters: Off
● Video: H.264, Same as source, 2-Pass Encoding (Turbo 1st), Avg Bitrate (kbps) 2000
● Audio: Source (default), AAC (faac), Stereo, 44.1, 160, DRC = 3.8
● Advanced: B-frames = 0, CABAC & 8x8 & Weighted P-Frames = unchecked
Again, I am using Act 1 with "Zoom" set to Aspect Full.
Please let me know what you think if you dare to try.
EDIT: Video source is a regular DVD, widescreen, ripped into Handbrake directly
The dalingrin presets work for me with the Handbrake svn3907 on Ubuntu. My resulting conversion of my Letterman test video plays fine.
@dalingrin:
Any ideas as to why disabling WiFi would stop the madness of the lagging/stuttering in the video? Was it something my system was doing in the background or one of my widgets fetching data?
Is this just the case for my NC or can this be replicated? Any tests I can run for you to see if it is something you can help with? Thoughts? Thanks.
~ Razir
360Razir said:
Any ideas as to why disabling WiFi would stop the madness of the lagging/stuttering in the video? Was it something my system was doing in the background or one of my widgets fetching data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's always been my guess. Things never quite settle as long as they have access to the network.
Is this just the case for my NC or can this be replicated? Any tests I can run for you to see if it is something you can help with? Thoughts? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Same here. And, it's not just video... it makes Pandora rather unpleasant. Luckily, my primary use case for video is on a plane where network access is unlikely or expensive.
Have you tried using the Conservative governor? It helps my situation.
Some rules for this thread to consider
Let me extend this discussion and propose a few rules for this thread:
1. The source video should be made clear. If you start with poorly encoded video you're obviously going to output something similarly crappy. Provide a link to the file, or upload it yourself and provide a download link. It should be legal, i.e. if you ripped it from your blu-ray, or if you torrented it from somebody else who ripped it from a blu-ray, then it doesn't belong on this thread. My source video will be a 1080p trailer from The Eagle, downloaded (legally) from here: http://www.hd-trailers.net/movie/the-eagle/
2. The encoder and settings should be made clear. I never used Handbrake before, but this morning I downloaded Handbrake 0.9.5 and installed it on my Win7 64-bit desktop. I'm using the preset for "iPhone & iPod Touch". This defaults to H.264 encoding and m4v container. I then adjusted either resolution or average video bit rate but everything else I also left at default, since I mostly don't know what they mean anyway.
3. The player should be made clear. I used Titanium Backup to uninstall Music because of a prior FC issue, then sideloaded music.apk that I pulled from cm_encore_full-37.zip, thus I'm back in business with the stock Video player and no longer using Act 1.
4. Optional: upload your transcoded file and provide a link to it. I've made 2 clips of the eagle trailer which can be downloaded here:
Eagle trailer - 854x352 - 800K: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22573583/Eagle_854x352_800K.m4v
Eagle trailer - 576x240 - 800K: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22573583/Eagle_576x240_800K.m4v
The short of it is that both files play flawlessly on my NC running CM7 n37 with dalingrin OC kernel 040411, overclocked 300/1100 interactive. Here are some notable observations:
- The 480p-ish 854x352 resolution limited by our open-source license plays flawlessly for me up to a video bit rate of 1300K, at which point one or two random split-second audio stutters occur through the clip. You can download my 800K encoded video at this resolution. I've gone up to 3000K at 854x352 resolution with still very smooth playback. I've also been able to play an 800K clip resized to 1024x600, the native NC resolution, flawlessly.
- The 576x240 resolution for me is the sweet spot on the Nook. Text resolution is inferior to 854x352, but the playback is perfect and file size is more accommodating. Stutter-free at 800K (download my Handbrake encoded file if you want), and actually stutter free all the way up to 3000K. What's so incredible is that the high-speed scrub (put finger in middle of screen and slide right or left) at this resolution is buttery-smooth.
- Adjusting the CPU speed up or down and moving around governor setting didn't do anything good or back for video playback. Video playback was just as good at 800MHz as 1100MHz CPU speed.
I'm not an expert on video codecs and encoding, by any means, but I've been around HD-DSLR video and non-linear editing ever since Vince Laforet busted out with Reverie nearly 3 years ago.
I'll stand by my opinion, expressed previously on the kernel thread, that CM7 and dalingrin OC kernel in its current iteration (nightly 37 and 040411) absolutely rocks for properly encoded video.
360Razir said:
@dalingrin:
Any ideas as to why disabling WiFi would stop the madness of the lagging/stuttering in the video? Was it something my system was doing in the background or one of my widgets fetching data?
Is this just the case for my NC or can this be replicated? Any tests I can run for you to see if it is something you can help with? Thoughts? Thanks.
~ Razir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it doesnt stop it for me. no wifi. no bt. still stutters randomly on good files.
sinanju said:
Have you tried using the Conservative governor? It helps my situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I saw your post about that from the OC Kernel thread and so that is what I tried last night. It seemed to work at first, but then this morning it was also choppy using that governor. So, being on Interactive with WiFi off works.
My Droid X has many more widgets running and network access (both 3G and WiFi) and there is no hiccups or slowdowns whatsoever playing the same video. I know not apples-to-apples, but the quest is to get my NC to that kind of stability.
MedLine said:
Eagle trailer - 854x352 - 800K
Eagle trailer - 576x240 - 800K
The short of it is that both files play flawlessly on my NC running CM7 n37 with dalingrin OC kernel 040411, overclocked 300/1100 interactive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both of your videos are still choppy for me with WiFi enabled....meaning, something is fetching data in the background (Pulse, Palmary Weather, Plume, Engadget, or Google News, or even email polling) is messing with my video playback. Just wish the video was "shielded" from such things.
When WiFi disabled, all is good with your videos.
Which app you guys using to play videos? I'm using Rockplayer right now and getting audio sync issue. I had better luck with Mobo Player.
OK:
Using Sony's HD Experiment because it is short and high action.
http://www.demo-world.eu/trailers/redirect-high-definition.php?file=hd_other_sony_hd_experiment.rar
Encoding using the iphone and ipod touch preset.
I set 576x240 resolution and I can play completely smoothly with wifi on. File size is 4.44megs w/ RF: 25 (iirc)
I set 854x480 resolution and RF 30 it locks on whatever frame you start playing (black screen, etc.) Won't play. I set 854x480 and 800kbps avg kbps and it is also black screen. If I hit home and then go back and let it go, the video will change, but it doesn't seem like it will catch up. Definately broken.
I downloaded that 1080p trailer you linked.
start handbrake, load 1080p trailer, select "iphone and ipod touch" preset, select 854 width (auto height 368), changed to average kbps and set 800. My file size isn't exactly yours, but is very very close.
854x368 plays very well and looks fantastic, but it does have those pops/skips.
Disable wifi:
still get rare/random skips with my 854 file.
still get rare/random skips with your 854 file.
I turned "Disable Fullscreen" off on a hunch it was play a role in this:
My 854 file still skips from time to time.
My 576 file still skips from time to time, although more rarely. only once in 2 plays.
Your 854 file still skips from time to time.
Your 576 file still skips from time to time, maybe more rarely? Hard to quantify.
I encoded the eagle trailer with my 854 width, RF 25 "high quality" preset.
It is smaller than 800kbps (13.1M vs 18M)
It skips too.
tablo said:
Which app you guys using to play videos? I'm using Rockplayer right now and getting audio sync issue. I had better luck with Mobo Player.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are mostly using the stock player because it forces hardware accel.
I prefer VitalPlayer to all. If you are having sync issues it is probably playing in software mode. I should say, VitalPlayer has never given me any sync issues at all while playing in software. Wish I had discovered that before DSP was working. haha
XBMC works fine on my Nook Color, see details here: http://fineoils.blogspot.com
Has anyone got XBMC working? I installed the correct files from the link. After the initial loading screen, I just get a black screen. Using the 1/6/13 nightly. Any help would be appreciated.
emax said:
Has anyone got XBMC working? I installed the correct files from the link. After the initial loading screen, I just get a black screen. Using the 1/6/13 nightly. Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is 1/4/2013, but if it's not later than 1/12/2013 I think it doesn't matter. I also don't use 1100 kernel which was a reason for too much sorrow with apps, especially with 3rd party apps. For the XBMC on Android, there are some self-help forums popping up. Then, a good XBMC installation may take quite a time for online updating of video add-ons at the first start. Mine get stable after maybe 5 minutes. Every second start and launching other (new) add-on (apart from obvious 1Channel) takes more time.
Then, MX Player should be installed and tuned up first. It also should be started and exited prior to launching XBMC.
Then, tons of streams may not be there at a given time, or at all.
XBMC also works fine on my Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1010 (WiFi-only model) running Irish Gingerbread. No HW rendering though.
aludal said:
XBMC also works fine on my Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1010 (WiFi-only model) running Irish Gingerbread. No HW rendering though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has any of that been integrated into the XMBC nightly, or do your directions still apply for the latest nightlies?
I didn't use XBMC nightlies, I used xbmcandroid.com unofficial build + NEON MX Player of (I think) mid-January. They might have some better builds in their main trunks, but I don't believe these offer anything of HW rendering for TI OMAP3621 as it's above our SoC capabilities once the stream has above 480p resolution or too high bandwidth whatever hits first. Some 720p streams/static files play good enough (22...27 FPS) in SW decoding mode, but that's it, end of a story for poor Nookie.
I might be interested in XBMC-Android + BS Player combos once there will be indications that BS Player can buffer/decode better than MX Player.
TI OMAP3630 in my SGT P1010 is totally equal to Nookie in XBMC handling terms, and there's not a single line of code in GB Android for IVA2 that is replaced with something better in CM10.1 (JB) that I run now in my Nook.