I have been working all day trying to convert dvds that I have to mp4 format so I can play on my fin. and when I finally got it loaded on the sd card which I had to get a reader because my computer won't read my fin or a 8gig sdhc (win xp). does anybody have a sure way to do this? I have dvd decyrpter and videoer ipod converter which is suppose to work

thanks for the reply I was able to figure it out so here is what I did to get movies on the card to play on the fin.

first I download a dvd decrypter next I used an all video converter and then I put on the card using a usb card reader since my hardware wouldn't read the 8gig micro sdhc it worked great I was able to get the whole godfather triolgy and scarface and xmen on one card and still have more room.

in regards to the h264 question there isn't much info on it right now. the format that the fin uses is mp4 which is h264 but I'm guessing more compact. you are right about the time to convert it takes 4-6 hours somtimes to convert the files. if I find any more info I'll be sure to let you know. my experiance is little on this I just started to learn about it.

i have a .MP4 files that plays on my fin, the resolution is 512x384 hope that helps

You need to understand mp4's a bit better. Think of an mp4 as a container - it holds the stream, the metadata about what codecs to use, the metadata about the video itself, and possibly some subtitles. Here's a good wiki page about it. And here's a good wiki about the "container concept" in general.

Knowing the file is a mp4 is worthless knowledge to you if you don't know what specific mp4 a/v codecs are on the device you're using. The only way to know this, and we could use some helpers here (thinking about making a recruit topic), is to test all known mp4 codecs. However, mp4 is only one container - we also need to study the 3g* (3gs, 3gp, and 3g2) containers.

First three words tell me where this was going. Ouch. I had no idea about your experience with the format. But I do know one thing...I'll get to that at the end.

The metadata isn't complete for the mp4's for the MI Trilogy, but they are mp4's nonetheless, so obviously it can play certain mp4's. In the metadata, it says the video is "mp4v" - a quick google yields the 3ixv and xvid codecs (something about fourcc). I doubt xvid was used, because in my experience they result in bigger files than that. I have no experience with 3ixv though. It still would be a good idea to use both for testing.

[edit]By the way, did any of the cheekiness appear to come from my new sig? It's very cheeky if you read it wrong, I guess.

I guess we need to know what the limitations of an unmodded Fin are. I'll get back to this soon. I wonder if this is the only codec for mp4 on the Fin...maybe.

And yeah, sometimes I make boo boos in what I say. I'm still waiting for the day that someone won't forgive me though, so I got that going for me. Oh wait, one of my coworkers thinks I'm the devil - forgot about that one.

I looked into 3ivx, and was able to create a mp4 that runs on my Fin.

Here is a quote from Wiki:

FourCC code appears to be "mp4v", and is considered MPEG-4 Part 2.

I was able to recreate the settings you posted about the MI.mp4, EPIC WIN
There was still some artifacts in the vid, but I only did single pass. I'm going to try double pass tomorrow.
Audio was very clear. 

Now, the next thing to discover is if the Fin is limited to this codec for mp4 (Recruit thread go!). It does play h.264, but that results in the buggy behavior I initially posted... That may not be the case, just my case. I have only played around with videos that I have made... Either H.263 .3gp or H.264 .mp4 (excluding my latest atempt with 3vix).

I can't conceive the issue is due to hardware, like the Wiki implies when it says "designed around a need for decreased processing power"... In my experience, what ever codec I start with, H.264 is always better for my needs as a final output setting. Does better mean more taxing on the poor tiny processor in the Fin?

Also, I need to find a way to create mp4's that any Fin user can reproduce. Currently I need an obscenely expensive Mac with insanely expensive software... Not to mention you have to pay for 3ivx. LAME!  I am using the 30 day free trial.