Mpeg to Divx conversion over network?

jusatry · 11-02-2005, 08:05 PM

I know this isn't an HTPC forum, but ppl here are more tech-wise than most other forums i know. Also this could be useful if you wanted to have a daily show to watch in the car on the way to work....anyway here is my question:

I have a media PC/tivo type unit with wireless connectivity running GBPVR in the den. It records the Daily Show every night at 11:00. The recording is a ~700MB Mpeg-2 video. I have a desktop which I use regularly to rip/encode divx from movies in my room, and I have a 1GB SD card for my Dell Axim 30H handheld PPC. Both computers run Windows XP pro and the axim runs WM2003.

I want to be able to, at say 2 in the morning, copy the daily show episode from my media PC to my desktop, run a divx conversion (I use AutoGK, but this would be the same specs each and every time, so I am not tied to the easy UI of GK), and have it ready @ ~175-200 MB to copy onto my SD card and watch at my lunch break at work.

Any idea how to even start this project? I was thinking some combination of MacroMaker, FileSharing in WinXP, and AutoGK.....but i dont really know.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

jzgt · 11-02-2005, 08:22 PM

There's a program I've used before that can automate almost anything -- even website inputs, etc. Auto Hot Key. We've used it at work to end tedious data entry on some back end sites we use. I don't rememeber if it can do EVERYTHING you're looking to do but I *THINK* it can. It's a really cool program. You may have to write a macro with it and then call it with task scheduler. Could be pretty easy to do, actually. Here it is:

http://www.autohotkey.com/

How about VB -- do you have / know it?

- Jeff

tj!2k4 · 11-02-2005, 09:19 PM

auto hotkey or autoit

RPI Geek · 11-02-2005, 10:54 PM

Please don't watch TV shows while driving, we don't need carputers in general made illegal because of a few people who use them irresponsibly. Also, depending on where you live it is probably already illegal to watch video while driving.
I don't mean to seem short, but I was in a bad head-on accident a week and a half ago where the guy just came on into my lane. He wasn't watching videos, but I'm still pretty shaken up and I'm finding myself even more upset at people who aren't paying attention to the road.

That said, there are utilities out there that will rip the audio streams from videos. Here's one and here's another.

tj!2k4 · 11-02-2005, 10:58 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by jusatry

and have it ready @ ~175-200 MB to copy onto my SD card and watch at my lunch break at work.

!!

go beat up the cell phone drivers please

RoyN · 11-02-2005, 11:12 PM

wow, way to barge in, condemn the poor guy and then answer with something different....

anyways, i'd start out by mapping a drive on the PVR from your other pc... then find a divx encoder or whateve ryou want to convert the AVI to a smaller size, that has a CLI (Command Line Interface),,, then just make a small BAT file, and call it using AT (task scheduler)

it would be something like:

copy \\pvrcomputer\myshare\dailyshow\*.avi c:\dailyshow\
mydivxencoder c:\dailyshow\*.avi c:\dailyshow-compressed\Daily.avi
del \\pvrcomputer\myshare\dailyshow\*.avi (so you dont copy the same one again)
del c:\dailyshow\*.avi

this is really simple, you could prolly get different filenames and such but it would make it a bit harder

frodobaggins · 11-02-2005, 11:12 PM

scheduled tasks and a batch file or vbscript file

RPI Geek · 11-02-2005, 11:56 PM

Wow.
Ok.
I wasn't trying to condemn or flame him or threadjack anything, and if it came out that way I sincerely aplogize to him. I was responding in general to:

Quote:

Also this could be useful if you wanted to have a daily show to watch in the car on the way to work.

Next time I'll make it more clear to which sentence I'm responding, and maybe I won't get flamed for trying to make the roads safer.

jusatry · 11-03-2005, 12:21 AM

Thank you everybody.

RPI Geek - you are right, one should not watch videos while driving. I cringed as I wrote that part of my post, but i thought to myself that since this is mp3car i should prolly try to make it car-computer related if pos. Of course i had in mind stop and go traffic, combined with a show like the daily show which is mostly audio anyway.

tj!2k4 thanks for the support - you are right that I have no intention of watching said shows in my car (what with my carputer having been dismantled over a year ago).

RoyN - Mapping the network drive. great idea! now if only i can sort out windows directory sharing.....

Anyone know of a divx encoder that takes CLI? I know AGK does not, though I guess I could use some sort of macro to automate that part. CLI sure would be easier tho....

thatnks again for all the help!

roadhog · 11-03-2005, 04:26 AM

Not sure from the above how well your network is going, but here's a good step by step to sorting out file permissions etc with xp. Don't know if it will help with the wireless PC/tivo type thing or not.
Other than that I can only suggest browsing http://www.doom9.org/ for cli tools. Have you tried using avisynth?