(Last updated July 27, 2008)

Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you all the best for the New Year.
During the holidays and all through the year, please remember to drink responsibly. Don’t put your and everyone else’s lives at risk by drinking and driving.

TCPMP
(The Core Pocket Media Player)

One of the most exciting features that many Palm users are not aware of, is its ability to play video. Yes, Palms, well, most current Palms can play video. This capability makes the Palm a multi-media device capable of playing DVD movies, TV shows, home movies, etc. Why get a video iPod (which only just came out in Oct 2005) and little more than a player with hard drive when you already have this capability in many current Palms? Chances are, if your Palm was newly purchased in the last 2 - 3 years, it is capable of playing videos. Even the older Tungsten T with 144mhz speed and only 800kb of dynamic heap memory is capable of playing videos with TCPMP (The Core Pocket Media Player).

TealMovie Plus and Kinoma Player 4 EX

There are other video players available for the Palm device. TealMovie Plus can play movies converted by its Teal Converter software. Kinoma Player 4 EX

MMPlayer

Previously before TCPMP was available, MMPlayer, which was then considered the only video player for the Palm that can play video better than other software, as well as support .avi files. Unfortunately, it could not be run on the Tungsten T and with newer releases it required Palms with faster processors to render videos. But, with TCPMP, even the slower Tungsten T and Zire 71 could now play video. Wow! And the best thing about this amazing TCPMP program is that it’s FREE, compared to many other video players for Palms which cost money and doesn’t render the video nearly as smoothly as TCPMP.

TCPMP can play a variety of media files ranging from avi, mpeg, asf, ogm, mp4, etc. You will need to install the necessary plugins to decode the codec though. If you aren’t sure which codec plugins to install, you have to do it through trial and error. What you need to do is install a video codec and a sound codec so that the software can decipher and render the video and sound in the file. Read the install.htm file that’s included in the zip file.

Here’s a brief explanation on what to do:

Download the TCPMP program.

Unzip the file using a decompression utility program like WinZip or Stuffit Expander or, if you have Win XP, the capability is already in Windows and extract all the underlying files.

Open up and read the install.htm file. For those too lazy to read it, here’s a copy of the contents of the file:

The Core Pocket Media Player for Palm OS
1. Install the player: tcpmp.prc
2. Install the plugins you want/need:
tcpmp_mpeg4_plugin.prc: ISO MPEG-4 (DivX and XviD), H.263, MS-MPEG4-v3 video codecs.
tcpmp_mp3_plugin.prc: MP3 audio codec used not just by .mp3 files, but most .avi files too.
tcpmp_matroska_plugin.prc: Matroska container, support for .mkv and .mka files.
tcpmp_vorbis_plugin.prc: Ogg Vorbis package, support for .ogg and .ogm files and vorbis audio low accuracy.
tcpmp_vorbishq_plugin.prc: Ogg Vorbis package, same as other vorbis plugin but with high accuracy (slower).
tcpmp_mpeg1_plugin.prc: MPEG-1 video, support for .mpg files
tcpmp_camera_plugin.prc combined codecs for digital cameras: MJPEG, JPG, PNG, TIFF.
tcpmp_aac_plugin.prc: AAC audio, playback of non-protected .m4a and .mp4 files. (removed!)
tcpmp_mpc_plugin.prc: Musepack audio format, support for .mpc files.
tcpmp_amr_plugin.prc: GSM AMR audio, mostly used in .3gp files created with mobile phones.
tcpmp_ac3_plugin.prc: AC3 audio
tcpmp_speex_plugin.prc: Speex speech decoder (at least one of the vorbis plugin needs to be also installed!)
tcpmp_sonyhhe_plugin.prc: Sony HHE GE2D support for Sony Clie TH/UX/VZ
tcpmp_zodiac_plugin.prc: Zodiac ATI Imageon video acceleration support
tcpmp_ffmpeg_plugin.prc: subset of FFmpeg multimedia library. See notice below:
FFmpeg plugin is just a subset of the original FFmpeg open-source library. Still it’s robust, mostly slower as other ARM optimized decoders and needs more memory. Supports MPEG1/2, MPEG4 (with GMC/QPEL), h.263, MS-MPEG4-v1/v2/v3, Sorenson 3, WMV7/8 and AVC (aka h.264). ATTENTION: Not all features of WMV8 is supported. Plugin can crash with some WMV8 files.

Both Vorbis plugin can be installed. In this case low accuracy is used for video files and high accuracy for ogg audio files.
AAC decoder (binary) was removed from the official install package because of intellectual property considerations.

Those that want to play 3gp files using TCPMP will require to install the aac decoder plugin. Many Palm users have claimed that using the aac plugin from rarewares (below) works to play their 3gp files. Try it and see if it works for you. If it still doesn’t work, you’ll need to remove the current version you have (use Uninstall Manager to remove all files from the Palm), and install version 0.66. Many have claimed that having 0.66 works when 0.70 with the aac plugin doesn’t. It seems that the newer version 0.71 plays 3gp files fine. I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure. Try it and see if it works.

If you require the aac decoder plugin, here’s the link to a direct download of the zip file tcpmp.aac.zip. For more info, check out the aac info from the rarewares site.

For more info on what aac is and whether you require the aac codec plugin, check out the entry on AAC at the Wikipedia site.

Then, simply install the necessary program file tcpmp.prc and the plugins via either Quick Install and Hotsync or PInstall, transfer your video or mp3 files over (usually a good idea to use a card reader or Card Export II or similar transfer programs rather than hotsync). And play the file. If you have the necessary codecs installed, and you know that the file has been optimized for playing on a Palm, it should play. Or, if not and you get an out of memory error message, most likely, you need more dynamic memory. Check out my Palm blog posting on Dynamic heap memory for more info.

(edited May 26, 2006)

More info on 3gp and converting from 3gp to other formats can be found at the 3gp.com site. Click on the 3gp players link and it will show the frame that discusses the various converters.
nonobeez of TreoCentral forums has provided a workaround way to play WMV videos using PocketTunes and TCPMP. Here is the link to the posting. It may work somewhat, but apparently, the sound somewhat lags behind. Unless someone else has a better solution to share, this is what sort of works for those who wish to view WMV files on TCPMP.

The other way is to convert the wmv into another video format like avi or mpg. Someone has suggested using Pocket DVD Studio for Palm to do the conversion. For me, it didn’t work very well as the video would stop every few seconds and didn’t flow. I ended up using Stoik to convert the wmv (a Home made camcorder converted video) into avi but the resultant avi file was HUGE! But the quality was fine and I used Pocket Divx Encoder to bring it down and the file was okay. I tried other softwares but the quality was not as nice as Pocket Divx Encoder and the file size was larger. Yes, it seems like quite a number of steps (especially with Stoik taking so long to convert) but I’m happy that I can play the video on the Palm. Maybe someone else have other ideas or solutions?

Added April 26: Someone has mentioned that you can try a special “trick” to convert the wmv into avi with codecs that TCPMP can play. Here’s a link to the forum posting at MobileRead. I haven’t tried this since I recently bought a DVD camcorder and don’t need to work with wmv files anymore for camcorder videos. Please let me know if the Quick Install trick works for you and I’ll update it here. Thanks!

Alternative Flash links: Image Shack, MyFileHut

Here’s a simulation of the TCPMP video player program, showing an overview of the menus.

Here’s a sample video clip of Unbreakable in avi format (this is the same sample file I’ve linked to in the Why Get a Palm Part 1 posting). Those who’ve seen it already don’t need to view it again.

TCPMP is a multimedia player that can play many formats of video and multimedia files. That means, it can handle mp3, avi, ogg, etc. The amazing feature of this program is that many Palm users have disclosed that they can simply drop in an avi file and play it on their Palm without converting the file over! That was unheard of. I have not tried it myself, (especially with the Zire 71 only having 1MB of dynamic heap memory and 144mhz processor), and I’m not sure if I want to try.

Usually, you will need to obtain a video file that has been optimized to play on a Palm because most video files require a certain amount of processing power, which many Palm devices did not have.

Links to sample videos

Here are some links that offer videos (I don’t believe they are full movies) for playing on the Palm, more of samples that you can test out the player. I think that these places offer short clips, and trailers. If you’re looking for the full movie, you will have to look elsewhere.

avi files
TCPMP, PDA Videos, Cinequest (have both avi and mp4 files)
Kinoma files (.pdb) or (mp4)
Kinoma.de, Palm Focus, Cinequest (have both avi and mp4 files)
Mpg files
PocketMovies, Movie List (make sure to disable pop ups and Flash or be bombarded with ads).

Various formats

NASA offers various format media files for download, although you may have to convert them. I haven’t tried them so don’t know if they will play properly on the Palm.

Or, try searching for videos via various search engines like Yahoo’s video search, Google’s video search and others.

Most times, with the exception of files you can get from the above links, you’ll need to convert the video file. Depending on the original format of the video, there are various ways and programs to convert them for playing on the Palm.

DVD movie into movie file for playing on the Palm

Most of us will most likely be converting a DVD movie over for playing on the Palm, so that we can watch our favorite movies anywhere at anytime. This can be especially nice when we are travelling and have too much time on our hands, being stuck on an airplane seat or anywhere.

There are different programs and methods that you can use and try, depending on your preference on whether to spend the money for the software, or do some research and work on doing the conversion yourself using freewares.

I am only going to be mentioning converting the popular formats like DVD’s .vob, .avi, and mpeg. If you need conversion of other formats, you’ll have to do your own research.

All-in-one programs

If you are not the adventurous type and don’t wish to figure out how to do the conversion yourself, then the all-in-one programs are what you’re looking for. Unfortunately, as you may guess, convenience comes at a price.

Pocket DVD Studio for Palm

The most popular all-in-one program that will do the DVD ripping, converting, and encoding is Pocket DVD Studio for Palm probably because it was the first successful program that worked, creating a standardized video format, rather than a proprietary Palm database file that is limited to a specific program.

I have tested it quite a while ago (I believe the non-registered program only allows 5 minute portions to be converted) and it seems to work well. Once installed, you put in the DVD, watch the DVD menu play through, and press on the record and the program will start doing the ripping, encoding, etc. The process is quite fast. I think it does everything as the movie plays along so the whole process takes maybe an hour or two, depending on the length of the movie plus a bit more time, I guess. I don’t actually know.

It’s important that you read the Pocket DVD Studio Support page for how to use the program and set the settings for optimal results. The support pages will explain what frame rates, resolution, etc all mean so that when you run the program that you know what to do.

Pocket DVD Wizard, deset Pocket video maker, DVD Catalyst

There are other all-in-one programs that offer similar results but at cheaper prices. Here are a few. Please note, I have not tried them so can’t comment on them: Pocket DVD Wizard, deset Pocket video maker Palm edition, DVD Catalyst (ex Pocket DVD), CarryDVD.

Carry DVD, eo-video, Flip4Mac

eo-video (currently still a file converter but version 2.0 will have DVD conversion support). Looks like eo-video can convert many different formats (real media, wmv, avi, mpeg, quicktime, asf, jpeg, gif, mp3, etc). So, you may want to check it out if you want to convert from one format to another.

Flip4Mac for Mac users, can convert wmv to QuickTime. I think if you have QuickTime Pro that you can convert it to another format that will play on the Palm.

Freeware all-in-one DVD to Palm programs

DVDx, FairUse Wizard

And here’s a few freeware programs that claim to be an all-in-one DVD to avi program. DVDx is a freeware alternative and it seems to be quite popular. FairUse Wizard Light Edition is another popular freeware. I’m not sure how user friendly they are in terms of a “one button” program but may require a few settings to be made before you can use it.

There are many other DVD to avi programs that are usually for Windows, but they are very much the same as the ones for Palm or Pocket PCs. The resultant file is in a standardized format (ie. avi, mpg, etc) so it should play fine on the Palm. What you usually need to do is do a bit more tweaking of the file so that the resolution (screen size) of the movie file fits on a Palm screen (320×320 or 320×480) as opposed to 640×480 (TV screen) or higher and drop the frame rate (how many frames of the movie is displayed per second) 20-27 vs approximately 30 fps with a regular video file. Doing a search on the internet should yield quite a number of them.

Conversion of a video file format into another for playing on the Palm

If you already have a video file (eg. avi, mpg, etc) and only wish to convert it for optimized playing on the Palm, there are many converter software available, some free and some not.

Freeware video file converters

Pocket Divx Encoder, UnLoGiC Movie Converter, Auto Gordian Knot, PSP Video Express

Here are some freewares available. Most of them will require you to tweak some settings or at least set things up. That usually will mean that you have to do some reading or research to understand what you’re doing. But they are freewares, so you really can’t complain. Pocket Divx Encoder is one I’ve tried and it offers quite an easy conversion with minimal effort and limited tweaking and settings. UnLoGiC Movie Converter is another one that works quite well.

Ta href=”http://www.autogk.me.uk/index.php” target=”_blank”>Auto Gordian Knot looks like it’s a good one too. I have not tried this one though. As well, PSP Video Express coming from the developers of Pocket DVD Studio for Palm, is offered for free.

Stoik, Virtualdub, Virtualdubmod, Gordian Knot

Here are some more: Stoik look like they’re still somewhat user friendly with minimal tweaking. The following freewares are much more technical, but are obviously more powerful as they offer a vast range of settings and tools to manipulate the files: Virtualdub was the main video tool of choice for many enthusiasts and then there’s a modded version Virtualdubmod which offers more features. Gordian Knot is another similar video converter software. As I’ve stated, unless you are somewhat more knowledgeable about video conversions, these technically oriented programs can be quite overwhelming.

(Edited May 5,2006)

There’s a new FREE converter out there that seems to convert quite an extensive number of formats called SUPER. Previously, it was almost impossible to convert a Real Media file (rm) to something that can play on TCPMP. Now, it seems you can convert rm to MP4 and play on TCPMP.

For Mac users

Handbrake, FFMpegX, Mac the Ripper

For Mac users, check these out: Handbrake, FFMpegX, and Mac the Ripper.

Mac the Ripper is no longer available from the developers’ site (again, it’s due to litigations).

Versiontracker looks like it still has the file for download. Please let me know if Versiontracker no longer offers it for download. Thanks.

Other video converters

Smart Movie, Lathe, Dr.Divx

Here are some that aren’t freeware but probably offer less “hands on” settings. Again, I’ve not tried any of them so can’t offer any opinions. Smart Movie, Lathe, Dr.DivX.

These following converters convert video files into a Palm database format(.pdb) to be played on their own proprietary format player: Teal Movie Plus, Kinoma Producer 4 for Windows - English.

Links to convert DVD movies for Palm for free

If you are strapped for cash and/or want to learn how to do it yourself, here are a few links to various methods of ripping a DVD movie, converting, and encoding it for optimal viewing on the Palm using freewares. The softwares mentioned vary but the overall idea is the same: rip the DVD, convert, and encode. Once you figure out the process, the choice of the program is a personal one and you may find one program works better than another. Some of the converter programs or video players may have links to tutorials on using various programs to convert video files. So consult those as well.

Tutorials using FairUseWizard

PalmFocus which offers the same tutorial as the one at 1src. There’s a different tutorial at DVD-Guides.com

Tutorials using Gordian Knot

Divx-Digest for conversion using Divx 5/6 codec, and another one from Divx-Digest for conversion using XVid codec.

Tutorials using DVD Decrypter (dvd ripper)

SiteSled with focus for Zodiacs.

Tutorial using Auto Gordian Knot

Auto Gordian Knot

Tutorials on using DVD ripping programs

Palm Facts offers not only a DVD ripping tutorial, but also the next step of encoding and converting the file using Auto Gordian Knot. PocketMovies.net offers a tutorial using Smart Ripper. Doom9.net also offers a tutorial on SmartRipper. Elliott Back has a tutorial covering DVD Decrypter. Doom9.net offers another tutorial on DVD Decrypter

The popular DVD ripper program, DVD Decrypter, due to copyright infringement and litigation concerns from Macrovision, which develops the copyright protection and encryption on DVDs, has decided to pull the software from its site. Many other sites that hosted the file has also pulled the software. But, it is still widely available. Here are a few links where you can download the latest DVD Decrypter program:

FileForum.Betanews.com, MrBass.org, Doom9.org, Soft32.com.

Please advise me if any of the links no longer work. Thanks.

Once you’ve ripped the DVD, you can easily use the converter software mentioned previously, or do it manually yourself.

Again, as I’ve discussed, originally when you have no idea what you’re doing and what each program mentioned in the tutorial does, simply do what’s mentioned in the steps. Eventually, when you are more comfortable and understand what’s happening, you can easily use different DVD ripping programs, and encoding programs to suit your needs. But, there’s also nothing wrong with sticking with what works either. It’s all up to you.

Whew! Hopefully, there’s enough info and links in this posting to cover a lot on videos, DVD and converting to point you in the right direction of putting a DVD movie or another video file onto your Palm. Again, I must stress that I am not an expert and to please direct any questions over to the various Palm forums (check out the links in the Blogroll) where there are more experts to help you. My objective of these postings and my blog is to provide you with as much info as I can to get you started and hopefully you can discover a lot more on your own and continue on your own journey of discovery.

I hope you enjoy this new found feature of the Palm and enjoy the movies you can now play on it. Maybe you can convert a few of your friends to get one too?

Thanks for visiting and supporting Palm Discovery. If you are not reading this article from Palmdiscovery.com or palmdiscovery.net, the website you are reading it from is guilty of copying and posting my content without consent. Please visit Palm Discovery for the original source of the material.

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