BAMVC USER GUIDE
Bytessence AMVConverter
(BAMVC) is a front-end to the popular FFmpeg project that focuses on
the AMV files conversion. AMVs are a relatively new format for video
files introduced with the Actions chipsets. Actions chipset are very
common and they are found in cheap portable multimedia players
(chipods). The international market has been assaulted by these devices
which are very good because of the price and the features they have.
Usually, in the packages they come with there is a CD which contains a
multimedia converter. However, the application works only on Windows(R)
based systems and it's very slow. Therefore, the people at
AMV-Codec-Tools have managed to create a muxer/demuxer for FFmpeg that
is extremely fast and versatile. BAMVC uses the patched FFmpeg to
deliver you a free and solid alternative to the standard conversion
software. Also, BAMVC runs on two major platforms, Windows(R) and Linux.
Features:
- Very fast video conversion (based on FFmpeg)
- Very configurable (quality, resolution, FPS, volume, padding and cropping)
- Easy to use, good looking interface
- Multi-platform
- Supports translations
- Open-source, you can contribute to make it better
If
you want, you can translate BAMVC in your language. Send us the file
and it will be included in the official package. You can find a
language file template in the source archive (in the default BAMVC
folder, it's called SRC.ZIP).
Changelog for BAMVC:
* Version 0.8, 03 Jan 2008
- Dropped XPTtoolbar support for compatibility between all platforms
- Cleaned and optimized the code, splitted into modules
- Changed FFMpeg's quality values
- Added multi-language support
- Added settings window
- Added possiblility to avoid logging
- Linux version is now looking almost like the Win32 one
- Fixed some small bugs
* Version 0.6, 29 Dec 2007 - milestone
-Added progress status on Linux
-Added output log, to quickly diagnose problems
-Recompiled FFMpeg with support for many libraries
-Changed documentation model so it can be easily modified
-Added volume manipulation
-Added cropping option
-Added padding option
-Added auto path filling for output file
-Now the settings are stored automatically
-Many bug-fixes
* Version 0.2, 10 Dec 2007
-Fixed a mutex bug in both Win32 and Linux versions
* Version 0.1, 25 Nov 2007
-First version released
-Finished Linux port
-Created the help files
Lincense
BAMVC
is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This software
is Open Source Initiative approved Open Source Software.
Usage
BAMVC
works like the all the video converters. You have to add some videos to
the list, configure the way they will be converted and initiate the
conversion process. Next we will cover a simple conversion. The rest of
the options are self-explainatory.
1. Start BAMVC from the supplied shortcut or executable.
The
first step is to add the desired video file to the list. You can do
this by pressing the 'Add' button in the toolbar, by selecting 'File
-> Add video' in the main menu or by pressing Ctrl+A. A dialog will
appear on the screen. In this dialog we will configure all the
essential parts of the video file. First we must choose the input file.
Press "..." (near input) to choose the input video file. It can be any
file supported by FFmpeg. Output will be the destination file. Please
make sure you have enough space on your hard-disk. Typically, AMV's are
not very compressed and varying by quality they can be equal to the
input file or up to 1/3 smaller than the original file.
The
next step is to choose the resolution. This is a tricky part, since the
MP4 players have display sizes from 1.0 to 2.0 inches. The display size
is suggested near the resolution, so you should be safe if you follow
it. If you choose a resolution greater than the display size, it is
possible that the video will have latency when you play it and the
sound will be distorted.
Next,
we must configure the quality of the video file. This influences
directly the output file size. Choose whatever value you want in this
section, all you need is free space on the MP4 player's drive.
Next,
we will configure the frames per second. This is a critical step, since
all the players, no matter how big the display is, use the same chipset
as the smaller screen ones. So, if you have e.g a 2.0 inch player and
you choose a high resolution like 16 fps, the video will play extremely
slow on the device. I suggest that if the display size of the player is
1.0 to 1.8 inch you use 16 fps and if you have a 2.0 inch screen player
like the i-Glacier you choose up to 12 fps. This will give you the best
results.
After
you have configured these options, you can press 'OK' to add the video
to the conversion list or 'Cancel' if you do not want to add it. You
can always edit the settings (of course before beginning the
conversion) by selecting the video in the list and pressing 'Edit' on
the toolbar.
After
this, the video will be added and you can press 'Start'. The video will
be converted to AMV. You can track the progress in the list. Also, you
will be prompted as soon as the conversion process ends. After that you
can quit the program if you want (or convert more videos).
Short FAQ for BAMVC:
Why sometimes, when I try to convert a movie I get "FMmpeg error code 1"?
Not
all video files are compatible with FFmpeg. BAMVC assumes that FFmpeg
returns code 0 if the operation is successful, otherwise 1. If the
error code is 1, it means FFMpeg couldn't convert the file. This is not
a bug in BAMVC.
In what language is BAMVC built?
BIM
was programmed in PureBasic version 4.20, the most optimized basic
compiler. For more information about this wonderfull language please
visit http://www.purebasic.com. If you want to bring modifications to
the BAMVC project, you will need to get PureBasic 4.00 or later in
order to compile the source-code.
Support
Bytessence
Software offers online support only, via e-mail and on the support
forums. If you have any questions regarding our services and products,
you can contact us at support@bytessence.com. We will answer your
questions in the shortest time. Also, if you find any errors or bugs in
our software products, please report them and we will try to fix them
in the shortest time. Note that support is offered only to legally
registered users and only for the specified period of time, mentioned
upon purchasing of your Bytessence product.
Our website: http://www.bytessence.com/
AMV-Codec-Tools: http://code.google.com/p/amv-codec-tools/
MPX Community: http://www.mympxplayer.org
If
you find this program useful, please donate some money. Any amount will
help us further develop the software and to pay for the web hosting
services. Thank you.
All
files included in this package are Copyright (c) 2007-2008 Alexandru
Trutia, Bytessence software. All rights reserved. All trademarks
including but not limited to Windows, Microsoft, NT, Intel, IBM,
Internet Explorer are used for identification purposes only and are the
property of their respective owners.
Revision: 1.2, 03JAN08