How to : DVD & Video to Xoom with DVD Catalyst 4

[mount.evans.co]

It could be an issue with the trial version limitation. It closes the file at 25%, but if it takes too long to close, there is a chance the file doesn't get the full header written properly, resulting in an unplayable file.

Indeed. I bought the full version, made an MP4 of the "Dancing Matt" video, and it is playable with sound and video perfectly synched. Thank you for your help. Here is a puzzle, though: The MOV file is 1280x720, but Catalyst created an MP4 with resolution 1280x752. I know that is the dimension of the XOOM screen, but I thought that Catalyst was only supposed to downsize, not upsize.

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[dvdcatalyst]

Indeed. I bought the full version, made an MP4 of the "Dancing Matt" video, and it is playable with sound and video perfectly synched. Thank you for your help. Here is a puzzle, though: The MOV file is 1280x720, but Catalyst created an MP4 with resolution 1280x752. I know that is the dimension of the XOOM screen, but I thought that Catalyst was only supposed to downsize, not upsize.

Thank you.

The resolution difference is a setting called "minimal upscaling" which slightly increases the resolution if the resolution of the source is very close to that of the selected resolution in order to eliminate black borders. The stretch is minimal, but is less anoying for most people than a black border.

You can turn it off in (enable Power User) Global Settings > Tweaks.

[DavidLM3]

Welcome to the forum,

It depends on the quality setting you use for your conversions, but using the plain "Xoom" profile, which is the one I would consider the best for DVD-sized content, you end up with about 1.5GB for a 2 hour movie so thats about 20 movies on the 32GB memory of the Xoom, or 40 hours of TV shows (about 4 full seasons of "Dexter" or 2 seasons of "24").

I have been using the "Xoom" profile with success. I do have some 1080p (Blu Ray) sized content, what profile would you recommend other than "Zoom" and how much more space than 1.5GB might it take up? Finally, when you recommend video players, I think you recommend both the stock player (Gallery) along with MovieGallery, correct?

[dvdcatalyst]

I have been using the "Xoom" profile with success. I do have some 1080p (Blu Ray) sized content, what profile would you recommend other than "Zoom" and how much more space than 1.5GB might it take up? Finally, when you recommend video players, I think you recommend both the stock player (Gallery) along with MovieGallery, correct?

Hi David,

Thank you for using DVD Catalyst,

For DVDs, the Xoom profile (or the recently added Xoom HQXT one) works great.

For your 1080 files, it depends. If you intend to use the files for something else as well, maybe a HD Media Player like a WDTV, then using 1080 HQXT would be my choice, but since the Xoom doesn't output 1080, I would stick to the non-1080 HQXT profile for your conversions.

However, one thing I would recommend to enable for sure, CRF.

I haven't had the time to write a full article on it, but in the release notes for the latest version of DVD Catalyst,

DVD Catalyst 4 v4.1.3.1 Release Notes | Tools4Movies

I explain a bit on what it does and how it works, and because it overrides the bitrate by using a fixed-quality setting, you end up with amazing-looking video files at the optimum filesize.
I use it myself set to 22-24 usually, and I love it.

The filesize of your files depends on the type of activity in the movie. slow/romance movies end up smaller, fast-action movies a bit bigger.

Using the Xoom HQXT profile with CRF (Global Settings > Tweaks) set to 24, the created video files (from DVDs) look great, and the files are very reasonable in size:


Faster, 753MB, GI Joe, 1139MB, Harry Potter 2, 1203MB, Pirates 4, 1201MB, The Departed, 1030MB, The Postman, 1744MB, The Rundown, 1223MB, X-Men First Class, 956MB


Without CRF, the video files created from these movies, using the Xoom HQXT profile ends up a bit larger:


Faster, 1329MB, GI Joe, 1601MB, Harry Potter 2, 2192MB, Pirates 4, 1851MB, The Departed,2058 MB, The Postman, 2419MB, The Rundown, 1414MB, X-Men First Class, 1788MB

for playback, you are correct, either the stock Gallery player or MovieGallery.
Some of the market players, Dice and MX, install plugins, which can cause complications with the build-in video playback.

[dvdcatalyst]

updated links and guide

[Astrix]

updated links and guide

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[hsteph]

After reading the thread I bought DVD catalyst4 to convert some video's for my xoom. The files seem to be converted into MP4. I can play them on my computer running windows XP. The problem is when I go to ransfer them to my xoom I get the error message that says the format is not compatabe. The only options in the error box is to skip or cancel. In either case the files wont transfer to the xoom. Anyone have any idea's? Thanks

[dvdcatalyst]

After reading the thread I bought DVD catalyst4 to convert some video's for my xoom. The files seem to be converted into MP4. I can play them on my computer running windows XP. The problem is when I go to ransfer them to my xoom I get the error message that says the format is not compatabe. The only options in the error box is to skip or cancel. In either case the files wont transfer to the xoom. Anyone have any idea's? Thanks

Hi hsteph,

Thank you for your purchase,

Did you have a look at the xoom guide mentioned in the first post of this thread?

Ultimate Motorola Xoom Video How To Guide | Tools4Movies | DVD Catalyst 4

If your message looks similar to this:



just click yes.

If you do not have the option to tap yes,

make sure you have the latest Windows Media Player installed on your computer:

Windows Media Player - Microsoft Windows

and you might have to install the Xoom drivers as well

USB and PC Charging Drivers - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA