[HOW TO] Video Converter for Chinavasion mp4 players

[Hakimio]

HOWTO: Video Converter for Chinavasion mp4 players
Updated 2011-04

Intro
An acquaintance of mine needed a way to convert video for his Chinavasion (http://www.chinavasion.com) Touch Screen MP4 Player (aka chinese ipod touch clone) so I wrote him a bash script for that. The script is based on crmanski's video-convertor (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=62625) script. Changes I made to the original script are described in the Changelog section.

Features:

Batch conversion;
Linux, Mac OS & BSD compatible (here I will only describe how to get it working with Ubuntu/Debian systems);
Supports many Chinavasion MP4 player screens and support for more can be easilly added (contact me by posting in this thread or by sending private message if your Chinavasion mp4 player is not supported).
Supported resolutions:

320x240
220x176
160x128
128x96

Video quality can be selected;
Aspect ratio is automatically detected
settings are saved;
Can be easily translated (current translations include: english & lithuanian);
Appropriate video FPS are selected depending on selected resolution;


Installation

Download one of the scripts attached to this post (english and lithuanian versions available)
Place the script in the Nautilus scripts folder (/home/YourUserName/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts)
Make sure the file is executable

chmod +x ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/MP4-Player-Video
Install mencoder:

sudo apt-get install mencoder
Select some video files. Right-click, Choose Scripts->MP4-Player-Video.
Here is a video showing script in action:
mirror #1 (http://www.binaryworld.skynet.lt/Converter.avi)
mirror #2 (http://binaryworld.xz.lt/Converter.avi)
mirror #3 (http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=ab1d4f3024a2b33fd2db6fb9a8902bda)


Change log
0.1 Beta, April 2011

Easier translation
Automatic aspect ratio detection
awk expression bug fix (shows up with newer awk)
use xterm to tell about missing zenity
major code cleanup
don't show file path and extension in zenity progress dialog

Initial release (0.01 Alpha; Jan 2009); changes made to crmanski's script:

Settings are saved
All selected files are checked - not only the first
Cancel works correctly when pressed during conversion
MPEG file is correctly identified now
Newlines work when echoed
The checking if the file is video file ends instantly when any match is found


To do

test & fix the bugs (if present)


About Touch Screen Chinavasion MP4 Player

I don't own the player (http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info.php/pName/touch-screen-mp4-player-8gb-28-inch-tft-display/) myself, but anyway hare are few things you might want to know about it:
The Good

Really cheap, like 50$ for 8GB model without camera
Radio built-in
Doesn't require special software to copy files to the device (acts as ordinary flash drive)
Smaller than ipod touch (3.70x2.17x0.59 compared with 4.3x2.4x0.31)
miniSD slot (unlike ipod touch)
Built-in speaker
Optional camera
Up to 8GB memory
Radio
Picture viewer (JPEG)
Built in MIC
Pretty good screen

The Bad

No wi-fi
Touch screen is not really sensitive (should be ok when using stylus pencil though)
No firmware upgrades will be provided
Play/pause buttons are reversed

Video review (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xxpDBjkPlY&watch_response) by Citiclown

[tippyaloishes]

I am not only new to ubuntu, I'm new to PCs all together. I have a chinavision mp4 player and I can't convert videos. The convert disc I was given with it doesn't work. I want to do what you put on here but I don't know what you're saying exactly. Can you please explain how I can find a script? Or a file? Or a script folder? Also what and how would I use the codes you put up, like where do they go? Also what is nautilus and how can I find it? I found something that said nautilus on my pc but it didn't say what it is. Please help if you can Thank you..

[Hakimio]

I am not only new to ubuntu, I'm new to PCs all together. I have a chinavision mp4 player and I can't convert videos. The convert disc I was given with it doesn't work. I want to do what you put on here but I don't know what you're saying exactly. Can you please explain how I can find a script? Or a file? Or a script folder? Also what and how would I use the codes you put up, like where do they go? Also what is nautilus and how can I find it? I found something that said nautilus on my pc but it didn't say what it is. Please help if you can Thank you..
The script you need is in the archive which is attached to my guide. Download the archive. Then:

Open the terminal, which can be found in Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal
Enter:

nautilus ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts
to go to the folder, where all nautilus scripts are located.
Extract the script from the archive you downloaded to the folder you just opened in the previous step.
Close nautilus and execute in the terminal (If you renamed the script you downloaded, change MP4-Player-Video to the new file name):

chmod +x ~/.gnome2/nautilus-scripts/MP4-Player-Video
Find a link to the video tutorial, I posted in the guide.

[tippyaloishes]

Oh wow thank you.... I've been trying for weeks now. Thank you so much for the extra detail :)

[Hakimio]

Updated the script.