Supercard DSTWO Video Plug-in

[Ethevion]

not everyone here is 13, and needs their parents driving them around

Where else would you watch a movie on a 4.2 inch screen?

 

[Recorderdude]

not everyone here is 13, and needs their parents driving them around

Where else would you watch a movie on a 4.2 inch screen?

Man, I watched fifty episodes of an anime on my 2.5 inch Mp3 player. The DS is a huge step up.

*looks at my 32" LCD in room*

...And the TV is a step up from that, but I can't take it everywhere!

 

[RoMee]

not everyone here is 13, and needs their parents driving them around

Where else would you watch a movie on a 4.2 inch screen?

not in my parents car

 

[Veho]

Where else would you watch a movie on a 4.2 inch screen?

On the bus.

 

[RoMee]

Where else would you watch a movie on a 4.2 inch screen?

On the bus.

at the doctor or dentist
or at gamestop before the store is open, on the day the 3DS is released

 

[Rydian]

While waiting for a ride.

Hanging out between classes.

Out running errands with family any time I need to sit and wait.

 

[Veho]

In bed!

That's what she said!

And in fact, pretty much everywhere. That's the point. It's really really portable.

 

[Another World]

IS there a video quality difference compared to dpg? I mean, if its looks the same as dpg there's no point of having a larger file unconverted file.

considering that I was able to do some remastering (which I was trained in) on the source and thus able to make a DPG of DVD quality without dithering, it is hard to answer this question. For the normal users who is use to seeing the DPG pixels, you should not see that stuff on the video player. I still have more testing to do, as watching videos for problems takes some time, but my initial reaction is that avi container videos (such as xvid) look as good on my DSi XL as they do on my computer. However, keeping in mind that it is very possible to see the pixels of the tiny DS screens when holding it close to your face -- so its not HD quality as it might be on some high end vid cards + high end screens.

I can imagine that by throwing videos through DivX converter, using the mobile profile (320x240) and renaming the .divx files to .avi files, this Video plugin will play them back beautifully.

I can't wait to try it out!

I actually haven't seen a .DIVX file in a VERY VERY long time. Most of the modern encoding software I use wraps then in .avi containers by default. So I'll suggest this, send me a file that was converted the way you said it was and I will test it for you. If you can get me the file in the next few hours it will be included in the hands-on impressions. Feel free to PM me a link to your file, and try to make it a short 30 second encode of something that isn't copyrighted! =)

yeah i noticed that i love the series, where did you hear they are making season 3? i was just about to buy the complete series on blu ray today too, i may wait.

Season 1 (and i think 2) they didn't have the rights to mass produce some songs that aired on TV so those songs were left off the DVD/Blu-ray sets. I could be wrong but I know I read that somewhere.

It's cool that you can watch videos now, but the screen is too small to be enjoyable. If you downloaded a movie and want to watch it at home, use your PC. If you want it in the car, burn it to a DVD and play it using the DVD player in the car.

I don't agree with that. I've watched full shows on the DSlite, DSi XL, MP3 players, Dingoo, etc. It isn't somethin you want to do all the time, and I don't expect anyone would start watching a full series on the DSi XL with a TV in the house. This is an option for when you travel. Bringing the NDS for a short trip vs. a computer or DVD player is a much better solution. Watching on the DS lite doesn't really bother me but on the DSi XL its a given that people will use this. Also consider that the 3DS has larger screens and a larger form factor. SuperCard claims they can get their kits working in DS mode on that system. The point of these toys is to appeal to the new generation and not to appease the old who haven't moved past their DS Phat. The DSi XL is down to $149 in the states, which is 2 weeks part time at any normal job.

Just a few questions:
-How is the quality (video quality) comparing to the iPlayer?
-Can it run large sized files with no slowdowns?
-MKV supported?
-Does it support softsubs?
-Can you change from 16:9 to full screen and vice versa? (I'm pretty sure the iPlayer could do that... or something like that...)

Thanks

I don't have the iPlayer so I won't be doing any comparisons between the two. Video quality is very nice and I have not found any slowdowns yet. Most of the files I've tried at 700-800 MB in size. I will keep testing but I won't be doing any special encoding for a hands-on impressions post. I don't have a MKV file to test with as of yet but I'll see what I can get. If you have a legal 30 second clip send it my way and I'll see if it works. I have some external subs I can test I just need to dig out the files. Also some of these are better questions to post on the SuperCard Forum as they made both cards.

QUOTE(Jakob95 @ Oct 22 2010, 07:04 AM)

So what is the point of the iPlayer now?

Sadly, the iPlayer was a testing ground for the SCDS2. They wanted to see if the card would work. Their mistake was actually selling it when instead they should have sent it out to 200+ people for BETA testing. Now users who purchased it feel left out, and I fully understand that.

QUOTE(SixtySixHundred @ Oct 22 2010, 12:53 PM)

Any news on what video formats it will support? 3gp? MP4?

No official word yet. I've been told from a source that MPG, DivX, AVI, and XVID all work and that FLV should work soon. i hope for RMVB and MKV support, but lack files for testing right now. I also will not be downloading any 4GB high-def files to test with, although I somehow doubt they would work correctly. =P I'll try to come up with a list of what works and what doesn't for the impressions. Already this is shaping up to be a mini-review with the amount of testing people are asking for.

-Another World

 

[Etalon]

Sadly, the iPlayer was a testing ground for the SCDS2. They wanted to see if the card would work. Their mistake was actually selling it when instead they should have sent it out to 200+ people for BETA testing. Now users who purchased it feel left out, and I fully understand that.

If it would be that easy, they could simply offer an exchange. Team Acekard did that with Acekard 1 / Acekard +.

But I guess Team SC wanted to see if they can sell the iPlayer in normal stores as a non-piracy device.

 

[I am r4ymond]

This is great news.

I can't wait to watch videos on my DS! Just in case I can't go on the computer to do so.

 

[Escape]

-Can it run large sized files with no slowdowns?640x480 or 800x600 (or the anamorphic variant lower than those) will likely be the highest supported. I mean it WILL be downsampling them to 256x192 anyways. It's not going to play your 720P MKV quadruple-audio anime. You're likely going to have to convert the files anyways, just the quality will be a whole lot better than DPG. I think the MKV container might be out due to overhead, but we'll see.


Ahh, sorry for not being clear, but by saying size, I wasn't talking about the resolution, but the file size, as in in KB/MB/GB etc...

QUOTE(Escape @ Oct 22 2010, 07:01 AM)

Just a few questions:
-How is the quality (video quality) comparing to the iPlayer?
-Can it run large sized files with no slowdowns?
-MKV supported?
-Does it support softsubs?
-Can you change from 16:9 to full screen and vice versa? (I'm pretty sure the iPlayer could do that... or something like that...)

Thanks

I don't have the iPlayer so I won't be doing any comparisons between the two. Video quality is very nice and I have not found any slowdowns yet. Most of the files I've tried at 700-800 MB in size. I will keep testing but I won't be doing any special encoding for a hands-on impressions post. I don't have a MKV file to test with as of yet but I'll see what I can get. If you have a legal 30 second clip send it my way and I'll see if it works. I have some external subs I can test I just need to dig out the files. Also some of these are better questions to post on the SuperCard Forum as they made both cards.

Thanks for the answers.
I've uploaded an MKV file for you to test (if you don't mind

):
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BQETDC4X
I codeced it myself. It's the first 34 seconds of the 5th or 6th opening of KHR. MKV container MPEG4 codec 480p... or something like that.
BTW, what do you mean by "legal"?

 

[9th_Sage]

If it's got the kinda' power needed to downscale on the fly, I'm pretty sure it'll be able to play at a better quality than DPG.

But that's the thing, it has to downscale on the fly, while the DPG converter has all the time in the world to downscale and resample the video, with double passes and fancy resampling algorithms and all that jazz. The iPlayer has that same hardware, and the reviews I've read still say the quality is about the same as a high quality DPG.

Honestly, it comes down more to video encoding. IMHO a well encoded Divx file will probably look better than a lot (if not all) DPG files (which, IIRC are mpeg with mpeg-2 audio). At least those made with the included encoders if nothing else.

 

[Another World]

Sadly, the iPlayer was a testing ground for the SCDS2. They wanted to see if the card would work. Their mistake was actually selling it when instead they should have sent it out to 200+ people for BETA testing. Now users who purchased it feel left out, and I fully understand that.

If it would be that easy, they could simply offer an exchange. Team Acekard did that with Acekard 1 / Acekard +.

But I guess Team SC wanted to see if they can sell the iPlayer in normal stores as a non-piracy device.


you have to consider that supercard never admitted that the iplayer was their design. acekard also did the exchange because the + used a file system they no longer supported and almost as soon as it came out it was obsolete.

QUOTE(Escape @ Oct 22 2010, 04:12 PM)

BTW, what do you mean by "legal"?

something that isn't copyrighted.

-another world

 

[Etalon]

you have to consider that supercard never admitted that the iplayer was their design. acekard also did the exchange because the + used a file system they no longer supported and almost as soon as it came out it was obsolete.

Yeah. And the iPlayer is obsolete now as the first Acekard was...

@Team SC: Do something. Publishing the DLDI open source is not enough.

 

[chyyran]

Hope it gets released when my SCDS2 arrives from Shoptemp.

 

[SS4]

I really luv my Acekard 2i but man am I happy i recently got myself a SCDS2. That thing is awesome. This just reinforce my opinion although i still wont ditch my ak2i lol

 

[Veho]

Honestly, it comes down more to video encoding. IMHO a well encoded Divx file will probably look better than a lot (if not all) DPG files (which, IIRC are mpeg with mpeg-2 audio).

Initial encoding is important, but the DS2 does rescaling and resampling while it's playing the movie, and that will cut into the quality. After all, the DPG would also have been converted from that same DivX file, but the DPG conversion software has more time and resources to do the rescaling to DS' screen resolution, while the DS2 has to do it on the go. On the other hand, with the additional compression in DPGs, you can't avoid losses (but you can minimize them with some a lot of fiddling).

The DS2 has better quality in scenes with rapid movement, where DPG videos tend to get compression artefacts and get blurred and blocky (in general, and depending on the converter; you can avoid that, depending on how much time and effort you're willing to put into fiddling with the conversion settings), but according to the iPlayer reviews, the more static scenes look better in DPG, and that's due to the rescaling issues with the iPlayer. The DS2's player probably resolved most of the resizing issues, so let's say the static image quality is now as good as with high quality DPG videos. Which brings me to my point:

You can get the same quality video on your DS in two ways: take a DivX file, do some optimization, adjust the settings, fiddle around with the colors and the contrast and the framerates vs bitrates and deinterlacing and stuff, and run it through a DPG converter for several hours; or drag and drop the DivX file to the DS2 and start watching immediately.

Now that's a huge advantage, and I can't wait

 

[amiga]

Sadly, the iPlayer was a testing ground for the SCDS2. They wanted to see if the card would work. Their mistake was actually selling it when instead they should have sent it out to 200+ people for BETA testing. Now users who purchased it feel left out, and I fully understand that.

Yes, it is how I feel, I bought the iplayer because I knew it came from supercard team so I was expecting at least more emulators ( I bought it when they released the gba emu, so even I wasnt interested on gba I was expecting more emu in the future like neogeo or mame or even linux).

I think the problem is that they are not a big team so they dont have time for two of everything even if they are similar. And it seems like they are not longer interested on iplayer so at least they could release the sdk so everybody could do versions for iplayer.

 

[stanleyopar2000]

suppose to get my DSTWO from my sponsor today!

this will be awesome when it's released

kinda replaces the "INCOMPATIBLE" VLC Media Player for iDevice's (4G only models) that I can't use.