Guide: Converting incompatible WMVs to Zune Playable WMVs (WMencoder 9 - Free)

[TheRealStJimmy]

I've already covered converting files such as AVI/MPG/DVD etc to Zune playable WMVs, but what about all those WMV videos you have that are not in Zune compatible format, I know for a fact certain, more mature  , websites offer nonDRM full size WMV downloads. Want these on your Zune? Read on...

First off, get yourself Windows Media Encoder Series 9, its free and can be found here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx

Once you have it installed, run it. you will get the 'New Session' box appear...



Choose 'Convert A File' and click OK.
Now you will get the screen to select your source file and destination file...Choose your files and then click NEXT.



At the next screen just choose 'File Download (Computer Playback)' and click NEXT. (We will edit the settings properly in a minute.)



At the next screen IGNORE what it says and just click FINISH. (We will adjust bit rates etc in a minute.)



When you click FINISH, you will be presented with the 'Session Properties' window on the left of the screen. (You may have to click the 'Properties' Icon along the top of the window just under the title bar too make it appear).

Leave the first 2 tabs, 'Sources' and 'Output', alone and go to the 3rd tab 'Compression'... And click EDIT:



You will get this screen:



ONLY change the settings inside the red boxes that i have indicated. This includes the recording mode (CBR or VBR etc), the codec (I find the ones shown work best) and your format, NTSC or PAL (Im in UK so Im PAL).

When thats done, choose the next tab in the window, its usually called '5329 Kbps':



You should have the same settings as I have above for the best results (bear in mind that if using NTSC video your frame rate will 29.97), you may wish to change the audio format but don't go higher than the setting I have!)

The last thing is the box called 'Video Smoothness'. For general movies/tv shows '50' gives a good balance between sharp and smooth, but for sports (like my MTB videos) i use 75 to keep it on the sharp side. Up to you really.

When done and happy, click OK.
Your settings should now be displayed in the 'Details' box:



Everything is now set, the other tabs are fine we don't need to change anything, so just click APPLY and your settings will become the current encoder settings.

Now is the time to save your project as  .WindowsMediaEncoder to save the settings so all you have to do is change the source file each time under the 'Source' tab. Or you can just change the settings each time, up to you (depends on how much encoding with it you will be doing).

Now you are ready, click 'Start Encoding' up near the top of the window:



The window at the bottom of the screen will give you all sorts of info while it encodes, including estimated duration and such like. Your video will also play through in the preview windows, so you have some idea of how far you are to completion.

Thats it! Hope it helps.

Any problems, just ask.


EDIT: Just noticed a post about 16:9 ratios in Windows Media Encoder, I havn't really tried yet but as long as your source video is encoded with square pixels you shouldn't have a problem as WMencoder will interpet it and preserve the ratio in the output file. Not sure what happens with non-square pixel files, anyone who has tried any feedback?

[Bohlio]

Good guide i wish this encoder supported .mp4's.

[pspahn]

A few things:

1. When using the wizard - Before you click FINISH, disable the checkbox near the bottom labeled "Start encoding when I click finish".

2. Keep these requirements in mind - Windows Media Video (.wmv): Main Profile, CBR or VBR, up to 1.5 Mbps peak video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec., with Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio; Simple Profile, CBR, up to 736 Kbps video bitrate, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per sec., with Windows Media Audio up to 192 Kbps, 44.1 kHz, stereo audio.

3. You have 768Kbps as your video bitrate. This is roughly half of what the Zune is capable of, so keep this in mind when observing your final output quality.

4. You decide to use CBR encoding instead of VBR. This may be personal preference in many cases, but in others, it's possible to have a video encoded with VBR to be of the same quality as CBR while having half the file size. Another issue that comes up is battery life. Which consumes more battery? I'm really not sure myself, I'm not an electrical engineer, and I can think of ways to argue that either one uses less battery. For example, with CBR, the disk will be spinning at a constant rate, so it isn't spinning up and down as much (which may have more an effect on disk MTBF than battery life). Though with VBR, the file size in general is smaller, so there is less actual disk activity going on. If I were to guess, I would expect VBR to use less battery power, though having a shorter MTBF (mean time before failure). I suppose it's largely personal preference, but if your main concern is file size and cramming as much video onto the 30GB drive as possible, you will want to use VBR. Your mileage may vary.

5. Here are some settings I use:

Destination: File download (computer playback)
Video: DVD quality video (1 Mbps VBR)
Audio: CD quality audio (CBR)

I choose CBR for audio because I'm not that concerned with manipulating audio to generate a smaller file size, I'd rather maintain a constant quality.

Click EDIT

Change Video mode to Bit rate VBR (peak). This is because we want to determine the peak bit rate, because the Zune can only go so fast.

Click the 1073 Kbps tab.

Change Audio format to whichever you like, careful not to exceed max spec.

Change Video size to whichever you like. For 4:3 videos, use 320 x 240, for 16:9 videos use 320 x 180.

Adjust your Key frame interval based on your preference. Use lower numbers for high motion video, use higher numbers for things with static backgrounds like a stage performance. Lower numbers increase file size, higher numbers reduce file size.

Adjust Video bit rate (average) to whichever you like. Obviously higher numbers will generate larger files. I leave mine at 1000Kbps.

Adjust Video peak bit rate to a maximum of 1500Kbps. Lower settings will generate smaller files.

Some help on Peak buffer size would be nice, I don't know how big of a buffer the Zune can have.

Change Decoder complexity to Main.

Double check your settings, click OK.

Here is the details summary:

Audio encoding mode:   CBR
Video encoding mode:   Bit rate VBR (Peak)

Audience:        1201.04 Kbps
Audio codec:       Windows Media Audio 9.2
Audio format:       192 kbps, 44 kHz, stereo CBR
Video codec:       Windows Media Video 9
Video bit rate:        1000 Kbps
Video peak rate:   1500 Kbps
Video size:         320 x 180
Frame rate:        29.97 fps
Key frame:        6 s
Buffer max:        5 s

6. These settings will encode video in two passes. Two pass encoding generates better image quality at the expense of longer encodes. If you want to use single pass encoding, you must change your Video encoding mode to either CBR (and ensure the "Use two pass encoding" box is not checked in the COMPRESSION tab of the session properties), or you must use Quality based VBR mode. The problem with Quality VBR is that you cannot predict bit rates or file sizes accurately, as it is entirely dependent on your video file.

It's all going to just depend on whether you want to spend more or less time encoding your video. Maybe for movies or other stuff you intend on displaying on a TV for your friends (TV, movies, etc.) use two pass, for simple stuff that's for fun where you don't really care about quality, use one pass (google, youtube videos, as their quality usually sucks anyway).

[XboxodX]

Good guide i wish this encoder supported .mp4's.

It does.  You just have to change the file type (when looking for the input file) to All files.

[Terabit]

Good guide i wish this encoder supported .mp4's.

It does.  You just have to change the file type (when looking for the input file) to All files.

Yes, but I have yet to find the right parameters to actually use to convert said files.  It usually errors out, I have some BMW QT movies that been giving me a hard time.   I finally had it working but a still picture was stuck in the middle of the screen for the whole movie.  I am still messing around with it and actually got it to convert some Real Player files for me.

[RSX WHEEEEEEEEE]

can i use this to convert my wma's from zunepass to bypass the deletion that will occur in 14 days?

[TheBigKahuna]

I had a 37 minute video already on my laptop, and wanted to convert it to put it on the Zune. I DLd and installed Windows Encoder 9. It was going to take about 18 hours to convert that movie. No thanks.

[Catalyst]

Good guide i wish this encoder supported .mp4's.

It does.  You just have to change the file type (when looking for the input file) to All files.

Tried that, says its not a supported format..

and then goes on to say a codec needed to pen the file wasn't found.

[Dino1956]

i had this encoder installed and it locked up on me almost every time. i did not use the settings you suggest above though. i wll reinstall and follow your directions when i get a chance. thanks. nice directions.