Screenplay Mpeg Review

[Cyderhouse]

Well, digital VJ's I think our prayers have been answered. Imagine not having to rip your DVDs and go through the gyration of making them mpeg1's. It’s a long process with very little help from others doing it and a lot of secrets. Enter screenplay mpeg1 series. As many of you know I talk to Doug a couple times a month (I’m really surprised he has the time).

Recently I called him to discuss the issues I was having with screenplay disc's mainly not being able to rip the without the audio clipping at some point. Sometimes I think Doug is pushing the DVD5 standard. Never the less, he told me about the mpeg series being offered without having to buy DJpower (yes!) I explained to him I was a bit skeptical about quality issues and such after all ETV was never known for outstanding quality. To make a long story shorter, he agreed to send me a sample disk. It arrived in my mailbox on Monday.

Transferring

The Process was pretty simple I loaded the disk in my drive and transferred them to the hard drive the whole process took about 8 minutes (compared to hours with the old way) Then I went on to examine the files. I noticed that 2 hidden files were also transferred I assume this is their copy protection. I'm not really sure how this works I'm looking into it though. Its critical I be able to back them up, I always carry a backup always!

File sizes

BIG! They average about 100 megs a piece. So in time I know a new hard drive is needed.

Playback

The test system is a 2.66 P4 with 512 megs of ram and an ATI graphics card with a TV out. I used winamp for my video playback (don't get me started on the lack of good video software we VJ's have to chose from) The projector NEC1065 (I used s-video)


The Verdict

Note this is not DVD so if you are looking for DVD quality on your computer this is not the answer for you. The quality however is leaps above anything I’ve ever seen from ETV. In my opinion its "good enough" I didn't see much pixelation or smashing going on the monitor or projector however you can see the tell tale signs of mpeg when I look at it on my flat panel in full screen (1024x768) In closing if you are looking for a "cheap" method or playing back video from your PC, I suggest giving screenplay and winamp a go. One more thing the Mpeg disks from screenplay are 40 (which is 10 dollars more than the DVD) I'd gladly pay the 10 bucks and not have to rip these disks.

I couldn't agree more. These videos are definately a higher quality than we are used to.

You are right Cyder, they are big but at the price of hard drives now, that may be a non-issue.

So I concur! Hats off to Screenplay.

Scott

[Jim Casey]

How many videos do you guys go out to events with???

How much of a hard drive???

How much does this cost???

[Cyderhouse]

Originally posted by Jim Casey@Mar 10 2004, 03:41 PM
How many videos do you guys go out to events with???

How much of a hard drive???

How much does this cost???

A lot

A lot

A lot

[img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]


Just kidding Jim. Scott has been doing it a lot longer than I, as I'm still
Very new to vjing (however I've been in the pro av business for a long time). Mainly the cost is in the equipment Projectors are very expensive 1500-30,000 (I’ve seen some that are more than that) Video mixers are about 900-20,000 (some even more) Screens and cables (right now the promo only package is the cheapest (5-7 grand) you'll find) I currently have an small (I say small compared to my audio tracks) library of about 500 videos. Ever growing each month. I just got a new 200 gig hard drive (at 100 megs a video well you do the math) I can see myself taking a trip to raid land very soon. Lets just say for example you wanted to try it

Winamp free
Computer 1500 (build your own trust me)
Videos 40X how many months you want to go back
Projector 1500
Screen 850


As you can see there is no way to do this cheap. Scott care to chime in?

[mp3jrick]

I'm still waiting to see what new technology has to offer in the future.
More compression without loss in quality is what I pray for.

The software end is also lacking right now, that too will factor into the equasion of worthiness. I really want to see mpeg1 on a full screen to see the comparison to dvd. With the quality that dvd has brought us I'd hate to give it up.

[Cyderhouse]

rick,


Mpeg-1 is just like mp3 once you get used to it, it becomes good enough. also the average joe won't be able to tell. I'm really impressed with the stuff doug is putting out right now. If I waited on future and vaporware I would never buy anything I'm living in the here and now. Winamp with screenplay works for me (winamp is very stable playing videos) Your system is great for this combo. Give it a try. My first show with VDJ winamp and sax is tomorrow I'll be sure and report back my findings...

[mp3jrick]

Never say never Jason.

If video follows audio's lead such as audio has achieved with mp3pro we may be in for a treat in the future sometime.
Check this out: http://www.spacialaudio.com/products/mp3PRO/index.html

Tell me what you think.

[DJ Doc Z]

Swift Elite plays mpeg1, mpeg2 and VOB files. Autofades from deck to deck. I've been using for awhile now.

[DJ Doc Z]

Cyderhouse, where do I get the mpeg1 cd's? Is there a website?

[DJ Doc Z]

I just downloaded and tried Wimamp Cyderhouse. It seems pretty cool, expecially for the price, lol. I did it a try with mpeg2's and it whimpered a bit on my house computer. Only 1.3 processor and 224 ram, but it played. If it only gave a tighter or a fade between the videos, it would be perfect.