Helix Producer

[Rabitier]

ok i have this program helix producer, but what i dont' get is what should i put for the
1.Constant Bit rate: 15,16 etc kbps
2.Voice codec:
3.Music codec:

does nebody know and could help me with that and or if there is nething else i need to do, cuz i want to convert my movies (badly, i'm very bored on the bus)

[coolice00]

Hi,

First of all I'd suggest getting yourself Smart Movie as this plays full screen, eg. 176x208, then once your ok with that play around with Virtual Dub to create the avi's to play on it.
It is by far the best converter & player package, then using Virtual Dub to make the video files the quality is as good as Real Player.

But for now here are some settings I have used to good effect, they are someone else's I have saved.

SETTING HELIX PRODUCER PLUS V9.0.1

Attached is the audience file you have to load into the settings (its says 3650 but it works with 7650 too). Put this file in your helix audiences folder.
(I had to rename this to .txt so it could get posted. Don’t forget to change the extension back to .rpad once you’ve loaded it)

Then click browse next to the input file and choose your movie.

Next click the audiences button under the left viewing window in the main screen.
YOu should see another popup screen with two columns.
Delete everything in the right column if there is anything (defaults to 4 audience files: 16 bit stream for 28k dialup, 28k dial-up, 56k-dialup, 256k DSL or cable) erase all these files on the right column, scroll down and find
"Nokia 3650" on the left column. Almost done.

Still in the same window; change audio mode to music if its a music vid or speech if its a movie/tv episode change video mode to smoothest motion the Real Codec HAS to be set to Realplayer 8, NOT 9 for it to work.

leave 2-bit coding and high quality resampler audio checked

check resize video and resize the WIDTH to 244. make sure "maintain ratio box" is checked and the height should resize itself.

Close the screen and youre ready to go. Press "encode" and wait it out.

Last tips: The previous version of realplayer (real 9.0.0.whatever) used to crash ALL the time for me. I looked around and found the latest version of Real Helix (9.0.1.whatever) I HIGHLY recommend you get this new version. If youre not sure if you have the latest version or not, see if the program tells you theres a new update when you first start it.

New Settings:
AUDIO MODE: music
VIDEO MODE: normal
VIDEO CODEC: RealVidel 8 (you must install RealPlayer Plus G2 version 8)...

check: use high quality resampler for audio
check: 2 pass encoding
check: resize video to (176x144)
uncheck: maintain aspect ratio
check: high quality resize

remove all audiences in job then create new... mine name "Mobile"...
Constant bit rate: 80kbps (i tried 72, 64 and 56... okay lang pero konti lang ang binaba ng size ng files)...
Target frame rate: 10 FPS... (okay lang ang 12 or 15... malaki lang ng konti pero 10 is great)...
VOICE CODEC: 8.5 kbps Voice (G2, RA8)
MUSIC CODEC: 8 kbps Music (mas maganda ng kaunti ang 16 kbps pero malaki ang file size)...

Audio only encoding: optional kasi siguradong video ang compress natin eh... heheheheh....
VOICE codec: 16 kbps Voice (G2, RA8)
MUSIC coded: 44 kbps Stereo Music - RA8

TIPS:
increase the AUDIO GAIN if you find the original audio source is low... mine always reach the peak but not too high... just it will reach at the top...

I have attached to settings files I have used to good effect, copy and paste them into the installed Helix directory on you PC, so you can then load the up.

Have fun,

Ian

[Space monkey]

Prob a stupid question, but can you use Helix to convert movies for Smartmovie?

[coolice00]

Hi,

No, fraid not mate. Helix produces .RM (RealMedia) files and for Smart Movie to play the files we need .AVI's.

Your best option is Virtual Dub : http://fcchandler.home.comcast.net/stable/

Smart Movie files created using Virtual Dub are far superior to one's made using the LCG's Converter, the picture is smoother and far crisper.
The only drawback is that it's a little more involved to make the files, as where as LCG's Converter has ease of use on it's side.

I've struggled to get audio on the Virtual Dub files, there was a thread on here once about it and various people said it can be done.
At the time I did ask for their processor settings and links to the right codec's etc. so we could download them and convert, but nothing came of it.
I have just recently managed to get sound, but every now and then there is a louder squeek so I think I may be out on my audio codec somewhere.

For video you use DivX_V5.1.1 codec,
Audio : Lame MP3 Codec V3.95.1

Combined with Virtual Dub and it makes a great package.

Ian

[tzeonn]

nice job for sharing the settings.

i will stick tis up ;)

[dark-ilong]

hi mr coolice u said that a combination of virtual dub and Lame MP3 Codec V3.95.1, do i have 2 install both of them?and what if i have the virtual dub whats the best setting s for to sound godd on a s60 mobile phone.can u help me with this tnx

[coolice00]

nice job for sharing the settings.

i will stick tis up ;)

Hi Tzeonn,

No problem mate, glad to be of help. Perhaps with more of us trying this method we'll all benefit from perfect movies.
As and when I can I'll go through it some more maybe.

dark-ilong : Hi, like the mr coolice part :-P
Yes you need to install both of them mate, Virtual Dub is the actual converter that allows you to load in the video file. The Lame Codec is a settings file which dictates what type of sound gets written to the movie during the conversion phase.
Also download and install the DivX V5.1.1 codec :
http://www.divx.com/divx/?src=toptab_divx_from_/index.php

Get the standard DivX codec which is labelled as free, has a flag DivX-Download now, then install it. This is the required video codec.

*Note, restart the PC before attempting a conversion so the codecs load right. Lol, guess how I know :rolleyes: *

Now in the File Pull Down Menu in Virtual Dub load my settings file attached. There are two I'm playing with, so far settings2 is my current go.

Under the Video Pull Down Menu you will need to specify & setup the video parameters.

Some mroe settings for using Virtual Dub, not mine again but some I found and followed. Mine are based on these, so most of the work is already done for you :

I use VirtualDub....XviD codec. 15fps. 128kbps. I found that it lags when you encode it with MP3 @ 32kbps.

So i think i reduced it to about 20kbps and now its perfect. Everything is fine, except you have to adjust the audio sync in Smartmovie which is no biggie....

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ok i found one converting mode that is working GREAT.

VIDEO part

- select the divx 5.1.1 (pro) codec);
- set device to 'portable profile' ;
- set resolution to 208 x 176 @ 15 fps;
- set encoding bitrate to 256 kbps (real good quality) or,
- set encoding bitrate to 128 kbps fot less quality but a smaller file
- select the 'reduce frames' option.
- i use the landscape mode to encode, i dont know if there is a difference with the encoding should
one decide to select the portrait mode.

/edit/ forgot to mention after you have chosen the portable profile set the performance/quality to slowest i.e. all the way to the right! (this produces very small files)

AUDIO part

- select Lame mp3 encoder
- set it to 16000 Hz
- set encoding bitrate to 48 kbps. (with everything lower, the sound has a really high 'hissing' elemen't)

I'm going to convert 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' wich is 694 mb. I hope i can get it to under the 70 mb's

good luck everybody

See how you get on. This is getting exciting now, we could all get great movies soon :)

Ian

[dark-ilong]

well gotta try this stuff that u made dude i mean mr coolice hehehehe. and btw thanks for the tips ill jst post some questions if somethings go wrong hope u can answer it tnks

[Space monkey]

Thanx (mr) Coolice! :D

I was hoping someone will post there VD settings.

I'm gonna trie them tonight!

[Rabitier]

ok thnx for all ur replies, i have found sumtin my self:

open Helix Producer Plus and click on the browse input file, locate your saved file from the windows media project and open it, click on the audiences tab in the mid of the screen and enter the following as the settings
Audio Mode: Music
Video Mode: Normal Motion Video
Real 8 Codec (or the phone will not read it)
Size: 176x144 (leave the aspect ratio the same)
2-pass video encoding: Turn off the following
Maintain ratio/High quality resize/High Quality audio resampling

You should then save the audience template as "N-Gage" with the following settings

For A/V encoding:
Constant bit rate: 80Kbps
Frames: 20 fps (This equates to roughly every other frame of video)
Voice codec: 16Kbps voice (G2, RA8)
Music: 16Kbps

enjoi

[Kilrah]

Hmm.. I've tried Coolice's settings but I get around 1fps when playing video... I used the full screen landscape format... I've also noticed that when encoding at 15fps the output video gets nearly twice the size than when leaving it at 25fps... Any explanations??

[coolice00]

Hmm.. I've tried Coolice's settings but I get around 1fps when playing video... I used the full screen landscape format... I've also noticed that when encoding at 15fps the output video gets nearly twice the size than when leaving it at 25fps... Any explanations??

Hi,

Is this using Virtual Dub, Helix or LCG's Converter mate?

If it's Virtual Dub then the settings aren't quite right. Best thing is to download mine, with all the required codec's and start again.

Helix, the same. Try setting up an Audience to match the settings above.

LCG's Converter, just use the Xvid Codec available from LCG's website.

Just reading your post again and somethings popped into my head. Have you set the Audio parameters right maybe? Perhaps the frequency is to high or with stereo and this is whats making the file to large?

Try and give me a little more information to try and work out maybe whats happening.
I'm away this weekend and won't be near my PC till Tuesday, so don't worry if I don't reply fast.

Ian

[dark-ilong]

hi cooolice y is it that the link that u posted for the lame and the virtual dub arent installing?,the files are in .zip format right?but when i enter the file theres no setup on the list of files so i cant install it on my system.what should i do???tnx

[tzeonn]

well, they are only settings, so move them to the place mr coolice has mentioned in his post. (i tink :-P )

[Kilrah]

I'm using virtualdub. The problem is that the codec configuration stored in the config files gets lost from one PC to another because they don't exactly have the same codecs installed. It seems to take account of the chosen codec's position in the list. So even if I have the good one I will get uncompressed video and audio if I load your settings.

I think I found the 15fps problem: maybe I entered it in the "source rate" zone instead of conversion one. Video runs perfectly now in portrait mode, but still hopeless in landscape.
I also can't find the "reduce frames" option. Maybe different VD version? I use VirtualDub-MPEG2 1.5.10 as I often have MPEG->AVI conversions.

The file size thing was not linked with audio as I didn't change the settings inbetween. I use 11KHz / 16kbps or things like that. Nothing higher.

[Rabitier]

my settings (the ones i posted) are for helix producer, and they work fine....

[coolice00]

hi cooolice y is it that the link that u posted for the lame and the virtual dub arent installing?,the files are in .zip format right?but when i enter the file theres no setup on the list of files so i cant install it on my system.what should i do???tnx

Hi,

The Codec's are a little different to install, you have to right click on them and choose install from the dialogue box.

Virtual Dub should install with no hassle's, try running the file "auxsetup" and choose "Install Handler" first and then run the program.
These are a little different as there is no real setup to them, just .exe files. Once they are unzipped all you need to do is double click the Application Icon in the folder.

"I also can't find the "reduce frames" option. Maybe different VD version? I use VirtualDub-MPEG2 1.5.10 as I often have MPEG->AVI conversions."

I don't think there is a reduce famres option in VD, this only applys to the Lonely Cat Games Converter. Although I maybe wrong, so far my video conversions with Virtual Dub are going well.

Ian

[mobilemafia]

Hi
AUDIO part

- select Lame mp3 encoder
- set it to 16000 Hz
- set encoding bitrate to 48 kbps. (with everything lower, the sound has a really high 'hissing' elemen't)

I'm going to convert 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' wich is 694 mb. I hope i can get it to under the 70 mb's

Ian


i cant get in audio lame mp3 encoder

[coolice00]

i cant get in audio lame mp3 encoder

Hi,

Sound's to me like the Lame Codec isn't installed right mate.
Re-install it, restart the PC so it knows it's there and go through the setup for Virtual Dub again selecting the codec.

Also try selecting Direct Stream Copy and the other way of saving the WAV file first and then using it to save the AVI.

Ian

[butcherke]

with the lame codec i can't select the 16000Mhz
and 48 kb/s like coolice said
i starts a the highest of 8000Mhz
or did I download a wrong lame codec?

[coolice00]

with the lame codec i can't select the 16000Mhz
and 48 kb/s like coolice said
i starts a the highest of 8000Mhz
or did I download a wrong lame codec?

Hi,

When you have the Compression dialogue box open, there is a little check box 'Show All Formats' check that and all coedcs should be shown.

I wouldn't imagine you have the wrong codec mate, there is really only one.

Ian

[coolice00]

Hey All,

After some more experiments, on a music video by Holly Valance (Kiss Kiss) I've come to the conclusion she's quite nice :-P

I've also come up with some better settings, Coolice_Virtual Dub3 which seem a lot better. Gone is the high pitched squeek I used to get every now and then, sometimes the video is a little jumpy but it's still very good. I may turn down the framerate a little more maybe to compensate.

You do have to change some settings in Smart Movie.
Goto Options in Smart Movie and set the "Audio Preroll Time" to : -0.50. then convert away.

Give me feed back and any improvements you find.

Ian

[coolice00]

Hey,

With the above settings I've sometimes got the usual error about the Audio Conversion not being possible. If you also get this change the audio compression to another setting, keep to 80kbps CBR, Mono - 10KB's, it will just be at a lower Hz figure probably 32000.

It's gone awefully quiet in this thread, are people having trouble or are you to busy making movies?! :)

Ian

[Kilrah]

Nope, simply working well enough so there's no need to ask questions anymore :-P
I now use LCG converter, it's fast enough and no need to bother at all.... open and click "convert" :-P

[coolice00]

Hey All,

To keep this thread current and up to date, here is what I suggest you need to use Virtual Dub for Smart Movie Encoding :

1. Virtual Dub ;)
2. DivX Codec V5.2 is the best
3. Lame Audio Codec (forgot this one)
4. My settings, attached.

Then open up your clip in Virtual Dub, load the settings and click "Save AVI".
If any Audio errors come up then you may have to encode the clip in another video program first or change the Audio Compression Settings for a lower value, normally 32000hz fixes it for me.

Ian

[ommer]

can some one tell me what to do

when i use VirtualDub it says "error initializing audio stream compression: The requested conversion is not possible."

and also wondering if there is any other codecs for Smart Movie.

[coolice00]

Hi,

Yeah, this is common on some downloaded video files. Basically it does not recognise the audio with the clip, turn sound off and it will encode no problems but then whats the fun in a movie with no sound?! :o

What you need to do (and I do this myself) is to encode the movie using another PC based program first, I use TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress which produces MPEG1 or 2 files.
Once encoded these files get accepted into Virtual Dub much easier, then follow the above routes to load in the conversion settings etc. and click save as AVI.

Job done. If you PM I can tell you where to get the program you need ;-)

Ian

[ommer]

Hi,

Yeah, this is common on some downloaded video files. Basically it does not recognise the audio with the clip, turn sound off and it will encode no problems but then whats the fun in a movie with no sound?! :o

What you need to do (and I do this myself) is to encode the movie using another PC based program first, I use TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress which produces MPEG1 or 2 files.
Once encoded these files get accepted into Virtual Dub much easier, then follow the above routes to load in the conversion settings etc. and click save as AVI.

Job done. If you PM I can tell you where to get the program you need ;-)

Ian
thanks alot

[coolice00]

No problem, your very welcome.

Ian

[shad0w]

Hey All,

To keep this thread current and up to date, here is what I suggest you need to use Virtual Dub for Smart Movie Encoding :

1. Virtual Dub ;)
2. DivX Codec V5.2 is the best
3. My settings, attached.

Then open up your clip in Virtual Dub, load the settings and click "Save AVI".
If any Audio errors come up then you may have to encode the clip in another video program first or change the Audio Compression Settings for a lower value, normally 32000hz fixes it for me.

Ian


hey m8..no need for the lame mp3 enconder?

[coolice00]

Hey,

Well spotted.... DOH! Well, I am getting old now :(

Thanks for pointing it out.

Ian

[Pammi]

hello ppl i have just brought 7710, there is no app as suck like smart movie by which i can play movies in it but it has a realpayer installed on it can some one tell me how can i download the helix producer 9 plus ne yahoo group or something and how can i convert a .avi or .mpg file to .rm so i can see it on my phone, the screen resolution is 600x320 and phone is really good

thanks
pammi india

[vibhu12]

hello everyone i am new here.
coolice i wanted to ask you why virtualdub is better than smart movie converter. i tried vitual dub with your settings but it produces very large clips. i have a nokia 6600 and a 128 mb mmc card and i want to put a movie into it but i don't have enough space . i used smart movie converter, it made it very small but the quality was very bad, when i converted the movie with virtualdub it produced a very large converted file of it. i used the same codec u mentioned. please tell me how to convert so that the file is small and the movie is of very high quality. please email it to me at <removed>
i will be highly obliged

tzeonn : No send mes allowed.

[coolice00]

hello everyone i am new here.
coolice i wanted to ask you why virtualdub is better than smart movie converter. i tried vitual dub with your settings but it produces very large clips. i have a nokia 6600 and a 128 mb mmc card and i want to put a movie into it but i don't have enough space . i used smart movie converter, it made it very small but the quality was very bad, when i converted the movie with virtualdub it produced a very large converted file of it. i used the same codec u mentioned. please tell me how to convert so that the file is small and the movie is of very high quality. please email it to me at <removed>
i will be highly obliged

tzeonn : No send mes allowed.

Hi,

In answer to your question, basically for the reasons you have cited above, namely in the quality of the encoding & playback.
But the drawback to good quality is size, there is always a drawback to having the best.
SmartMovies own converter is ok, but lets face it the playback quality will not dazzle you. Virtual Dub & DivX Codec produces far better encodes & is much more fun to watch, but the size is an issue for most users with only small MMC's.

To make any real changes you need to understand videos & how they work, I am learning new stuff each day I try encoding new clips so bear with me.
We all know the a movie is made up of individual pictures played one after the other, kinda like a flick book we used to make as kids, these are called frames. Just like in the flick book, the more frames we add the smoother the action and the more fluid the movements will be on the video.
In video speak FPS (frames per second) corresponds to this setting and again the higher the better. However our beloved little phones can only manage 12-15 FPS before the processor has trouble dealing with all the information.

I think in my settings I have set this FPS figure to 15, but I am not sure, it's easy to check so go take a look around the settings, namely video compression ones.

To get the video's down to a nice usable size for putting on your MMC, again play around with the settings in Virtual Dub. Between the FPS & video size I am sure you could come to a setting you like, which also keeps the overal clip size down.

As I am happy with the settings I have not played with them any further, but I can relate to your problems with MMC restrictions.
I have a 6630 with a pityful 64mb DVRSMMC and am waiting for larger one's to enjoy some films again.

Ian

[brymnt]

Hi,

In answer to your question, basically for the reasons you have cited above, namely in the quality of the encoding & playback.
But the drawback to good quality is size, there is always a drawback to having the best.
SmartMovies own converter is ok, but lets face it the playback quality will not dazzle you. Virtual Dub & DivX Codec produces far better encodes & is much more fun to watch, but the size is an issue for most users with only small MMC's.

To make any real changes you need to understand videos & how they work, I am learning new stuff each day I try encoding new clips so bear with me.
We all know the a movie is made up of individual pictures played one after the other, kinda like a flick book we used to make as kids, these are called frames. Just like in the flick book, the more frames we add the smoother the action and the more fluid the movements will be on the video.
In video speak FPS (frames per second) corresponds to this setting and again the higher the better. However our beloved little phones can only manage 12-15 FPS before the processor has trouble dealing with all the information.

I think in my settings I have set this FPS figure to 15, but I am not sure, it's easy to check so go take a look around the settings, namely video compression ones.

To get the video's down to a nice usable size for putting on your MMC, again play around with the settings in Virtual Dub. Between the FPS & video size I am sure you could come to a setting you like, which also keeps the overal clip size down.

As I am happy with the settings I have not played with them any further, but I can relate to your problems with MMC restrictions.
I have a 6630 with a pityful 64mb DVRSMMC and am waiting for larger one's to enjoy some films again.

Ian
mmc's are now available in 128, 512MB, and 1GB sizes

[jey_son_999]

Hi,

First of all I'd suggest getting yourself Smart Movie as this plays full screen, eg. 176x208, then once your ok with that play around with Virtual Dub to create the avi's to play on it.
It is by far the best converter & player package, then using Virtual Dub to make the video files the quality is as good as Real Player.

But for now here are some settings I have used to good effect, they are someone else's I have saved.

SETTING HELIX PRODUCER PLUS V9.0.1

Attached is the audience file you have to load into the settings (its says 3650 but it works with 7650 too). Put this file in your helix audiences folder.
(I had to rename this to .txt so it could get posted. Don’t forget to change the extension back to .rpad once you’ve loaded it)

Then click browse next to the input file and choose your movie.

Next click the audiences button under the left viewing window in the main screen.
YOu should see another popup screen with two columns.
Delete everything in the right column if there is anything (defaults to 4 audience files: 16 bit stream for 28k dialup, 28k dial-up, 56k-dialup, 256k DSL or cable) erase all these files on the right column, scroll down and find
"Nokia 3650" on the left column. Almost done.

Still in the same window; change audio mode to music if its a music vid or speech if its a movie/tv episode change video mode to smoothest motion the Real Codec HAS to be set to Realplayer 8, NOT 9 for it to work.

leave 2-bit coding and high quality resampler audio checked

check resize video and resize the WIDTH to 244. make sure "maintain ratio box" is checked and the height should resize itself.

Close the screen and youre ready to go. Press "encode" and wait it out.

Last tips: The previous version of realplayer (real 9.0.0.whatever) used to crash ALL the time for me. I looked around and found the latest version of Real Helix (9.0.1.whatever) I HIGHLY recommend you get this new version. If youre not sure if you have the latest version or not, see if the program tells you theres a new update when you first start it.

New Settings:
AUDIO MODE: music
VIDEO MODE: normal
VIDEO CODEC: RealVidel 8 (you must install RealPlayer Plus G2 version 8)...

check: use high quality resampler for audio
check: 2 pass encoding
check: resize video to (176x144)
uncheck: maintain aspect ratio
check: high quality resize

remove all audiences in job then create new... mine name "Mobile"...
Constant bit rate: 80kbps (i tried 72, 64 and 56... okay lang pero konti lang ang binaba ng size ng files)...
Target frame rate: 10 FPS... (okay lang ang 12 or 15... malaki lang ng konti pero 10 is great)...
VOICE CODEC: 8.5 kbps Voice (G2, RA8)
MUSIC CODEC: 8 kbps Music (mas maganda ng kaunti ang 16 kbps pero malaki ang file size)...

Audio only encoding: optional kasi siguradong video ang compress natin eh... heheheheh....
VOICE codec: 16 kbps Voice (G2, RA8)
MUSIC coded: 44 kbps Stereo Music - RA8

TIPS:
increase the AUDIO GAIN if you find the original audio source is low... mine always reach the peak but not too high... just it will reach at the top...

I have attached to settings files I have used to good effect, copy and paste them into the installed Helix directory on you PC, so you can then load the up.

Have fun,

Ian


hi... i followed all you settings for helix producer and the output has been really great for me. ive been struggling for a better setting for this conversion . Ive converted many of my videos using helix but unfortunately some videos skips or something the video is delayed then its plays normal again then skips again. why is that???? but the other videos plays smoothly without skipping? please help. thanks so much

regards jeyson

[coolice00]

Hey Jeyson,

You may find in this instance, as some clips appear to be perfect & others not, that it's just the clip your converting thats the problem.

What I find with most of the clips I want to convert for playing in Smart Movie, is that I have to convert them to an MPEG first using a 3rd party PC software before I can use Virtual Dub.
The piece of software I use which is very good, not only for phone stuff but also for making DVD's, is called "TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress".
Basically this tool takes in near enough any video file type and allows you to select an output type, most of the time you will use MPEG2 though.

Try a search for it as there is a trial version. Convert one of the clips your having trouble with using this software, then use Helix on this newly created clip to see if this is better.

Ian

[jey_son_999]

Hey Jeyson,

You may find in this instance, as some clips appear to be perfect & others not, that it's just the clip your converting thats the problem.

What I find with most of the clips I want to convert for playing in Smart Movie, is that I have to convert them to an MPEG first using a 3rd party PC software before I can use Virtual Dub.
The piece of software I use which is very good, not only for phone stuff but also for making DVD's, is called "TMPGEnc 3.0 XPress".
Basically this tool takes in near enough any video file type and allows you to select an output type, most of the time you will use MPEG2 though.

Try a search for it as there is a trial version. Convert one of the clips your having trouble with using this software, then use Helix on this newly created clip to see if this is better.

Ian


alright i'll try that =)

thanks ian...