Guide: Convert AVI/MPEG/VOB to Zune Playable WMV Using Encode360 (Free)

[TheRealStJimmy]

First off, I know EyeBaller has a sticky with this and it's a very good guide, but GaZa asked for this so I thought I might as well knock a quick one together.

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Important!
You MUST follow these pre-install steps for Encode360 to function properly. (If you have any of these to strat with, lucky you!)

Install M$ /NET Framework 2.0 - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en

Install Windows Media Player 11 Series - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/download/default.aspx

Install Windows Media Encoder Series 9 - http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx

Now you may have luck with your current installed codecs but if your worried i would advise a complete uninstall, system restart and then...
Install K-Lite Codec Pack - http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm

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Now, get hold of Encode360 from here - http://dcunningham.net/encode360/

(This is a great app, if you like it and use it please donate to support the development!)

Once you've downloaded and extracted Encode360, run it...you will get the following screen:



Now firstly, check your ssettings match what I have above...(Obv. your destination drive can be different...)

Now click on the '+' button in the top right to add your files to be encoded.

Select your files (AVI/MPEG/MPG/VOB) in the dialog box and add them into Encode360, they should appear in the Encoding box:



Now click the 'Advanced Settings' button down in the bottom right...



Now you want exactly the same settings as above...This will ensure that you can directly sync it to your Zune without the Zune software having to re-convert which is what a lot of these guides I've seen seem to leave with.

Note: You can change the 'Mode' if you want, to something like 'CBR-2 pass' or 'VBR' if you feel you want better encoding wuality but to be honest, with the time difference involved, there is a limit to what imperfections you can see on a 4" LCD screen so these settings have worked flawlessly for me so far.

When done, hit ENCODE and wait for however long it will take...and you should have your complete WMV file wherever you specified, ready to be sync'd to your Zune.

Hope it helps.

[derekgray]

All you hot-shots writing the guides -- can you at least write a damn guide to cleaning up all the codecs??

[DarkJake]

will this work on .mov and .m4v?

[kingt36]

When installing the k-lite pack, should I check everything or are there options that should be left unchecked?  I downloaded the full pack.

[Fapman]

I've tried it out and so far the video comes out great but I get no audio. It's a mpg file. Any thoughts?

[gtr4ever]

hi all,
 i am having one lil pesky problem. after enconding with encode360, theres a thin green line that shows up and blinks at the bottom of the video.. its not a huge deal, but since it shows up and comes on and off, its a lil irritatiing. i did not have this problem when i converted the vob file using videora converter(which converts to mp4, hence i used E360 to avoid a second conversion to get onto zune). anyone else have this prob or suggestions. i used the exact settings outlined in the first post to convert.
Thx.

[Hofdiz1]

when  you say "a complete uninstall" does that mean to remove literally all of the codecs listed under my sound, video, and game controllers tab of the device manager?

i guess another way to phrase that would be...does the K-lite full pack  have all of the codecs needed for everything to funtion, plus what i need for encode 360?

i dont want to go and remove something that i need!

[sumasage]

I get "[ERROR] Encode/FuncEncodeFile/EncoderPrepare: One or more codecs required to open this content could not be found" when trying to convert some .ogm files.  Where and which encoder do i need to download? i'm using Windows Vista. 

Thanks.

[BLACK.Zune]

hey the video and audio bit rate you have in your tut is that the maximum for the zune thx

[kcchiefsguru]

I am having a problem with some of my TV shows not transferring due the the kbps error.  I notice in the thread starter notes, he states to match the settings above but he does not have them listed anymore.  What were those settings?

The other problems I am noticing is that Encode 360 always makes my reencoded file bigger than my original DivX/Xvid file and that sound on VBR sounds tinny compared to CBR but I can't encode some files on CBR.

Could use some help.

[Zao]

I can't seem to get the converted videos onto the Zune software. I can't see the pictures the threadstarter has provided for some reason, but I can logically use the proper settings for the Zune. The converted video fits the Zune 80's file limits to a T, but the software won't recognize it. Any help?

[fix3r]

Website seems to be down in which the pictures are stored to.

[Kamiano]

Thanks.  Encoded a movie in about 20 minutes. Also, K-lite codec pack comes with the Encode360 when you download it.