[mythtv-users] Mobile Video Player Recommendations (MPEG4)

Kevin Kuphal kuphal at dls.net
Fri Jan 26 15:31:48 UTC 2007


Jeff volckaert wrote:
>> Sounds interesting. The truth is these little devices are fun to play
>> with but I have found that I really don't want to watch a video on a
>> tiny screen when away from home - a book is more entertaining and
>> doesn't have the battery life problems of a video player :-)
>>     
>
> While I agree about the book part (when IS the next Harry Potter?)...
> I have to somewhat disagree about the tiny screen.  The Video Ipod
> screen is still a little small, but a 3.8" PDA screen is a different
> story.  When you are watching it from a foot away it is about the size
> of a regular TV screen across the room.  A good transcode with good
> audio is a joy to watch on the PDA.  I used to use 200K bitrate, but
> once I got bigger CF and SD cards I bumped it up to 300K.  It made a
> big difference.
>
> In the summer, I would rather watch a show on my PDA, in the evening,
> sitting in a rocking chair on the porch than watching regular TV in
> the living room.  Unless it's raining of course.  :-)
>
> I'm sure some people would disagree, but I would just like to say "Try
> it".  A small screen doesn't equal a bad viewing experience.
>   

In alot of ways, the PSP is a very good viewing device.  With built-in 
Wifi, it isn't hard to get it to stream content to the device either.  I 
believe ffmpeg has decent support (maybe even a built in profile) for 
transcoding content for it. 

The 4.3" screen is 16:9 and has ample storage options plus you get the 
bonus of some games (heck, Sid Meiers' Pirates is coming out soon and 
that could keep you busy for a long time).  I think they were under $200 
around Thanksgiving.

Kevin


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list