elcman
07-31-2007, 01:37 PM
It's really killing me to walk into this forum and see so many cries for help. I cry inside when I look at all of these people trying to brave a foray into this so very uninformed. I downloaded this last night and it took very little time to get it working, so I figured I'd try and help.
This is a small guide to hopefully answer questions and possible get people working with the software. You might want to make this a sticky.
How to prepare files for streaming to the Wii
1. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between FLV (Flash Video, what YouTube uses) and MJPEG (Motion JPEG). Flash videos can be viewed from the Opera browser in Wii using the Wii Media Center X. MJPEG videos can be viewed within the Slide Show application in the Wii using the SD Card. More on MJPEG later...
2. In order to convert any old video to an FLV, you must have an FLV CODEC (enCOder, DECoder). Those of you who are seeing conversions that take half a second, this is likely your problem. I've found a free FLV codec which I found doing a Google search. I'm not sure about its quality... but it is free!
The Riva VX site (http://www.rivavx.com/index.php?downloads&L=3)
Free Riva FLV Encoder 2.0 from download.com (http://www.download.com/Riva-FLV-Encoder/3000-2140-10320097.html?part=dl-RivaFLVEn&subj=dl&tag=button)
3. Using Wii Video 9, with the FLV codec installed, walk through the wizard to proceed with the conversion. My recommendation for your first video is something short--3 to 4 minutes--and using the Wii 512 Bitrate default Profile. Conversions can take a long time. With older systems, they will be second for second (1:1 ratio) on newer, you may get much higher, but it will still take time to process. The Smaller the video, the faster you can verify that it is working.
*. It is ESSENTIAL to have a working computer on the same network as the Wii. I'm assuming you do, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. If the Wii and the computer can't talk, this will not work. Wii Media Center X, which is a minimal webserver with web interface, will be installed on a SEPARATE COMPUTER to stream to the Wii.
4. With Wii Media Center X installed, you will need to place the newly converted file into the <application installation directory>\software\Video\videos folder. This will put it in a place where the Wii can see the data.
5. From the Wii, go into the Internet Channel, select the WWW button and type in the IP address of your internal computer that is running the Wii Media Center X. Make sure to type the whole thing in like so: "http://" then your IP address "192.168.0.51" then the port number ":8192". The port number is essential as it points at a communication channel for the Media Center. If you do not put the port in, it will default to port 80, which is the default for all web browsers.
6. Click on the Video selection, and click on your video.
How to prepare files for playing in the Wii Slide Show App
1. Refer to step one above. MJPEG is a different animal and should not be transposed with FLV.
2. Similar to Step 3, but much easier. Using Wii Video 9 walk through the wizard to proceed with the conversion. My recommendation, again, for your first video is something short--3 to 4 minutes--and using the Wii 512 Bitrate default Profile. Conversions can take a long time. With older systems, they will be second for second (1:1 ratio) on newer, you may get much higher, but it will still take time to process. The Smaller the video, the faster you can verify that it is working.
*. MJPEG offers much higher bitrates, which means higher quality but also larger file sizes. Bitrates are the MAXIMUM amount of bits allowed per frame, second or whatever. It determines the quality of the video. Because of this increase in file size, which can be anywhere from %20 to %40 larger than a DivX video and usually lower quality, you will need a very large SD Card. A speedy and large SD Card is a bonus.
3. After converting the video to an MJPEG video, copy this video to a large enough SD Card. Make sure that you allow the copy to complete before pulling the card as there will be data corruption if you do. You should be able to paste the video into the root of the card as the Wii reads the whole thing (from what I could tell).
EDIT: If you have no way to put your SD Card into your computer via an SD Card Reader Slot, or other such devices, you will need to get one before going further. The SD Card when put into a card reader hooked to the computer will act like a removable disk. From there, you can copy files directly to it.
4. Put said SD Card into the Wii and launch the Slide Show App.
5. Find the video and play it.
NOTE: I have not done the MJPEG portion of this. I gleaned "how it's done" through reading the instructions. This is my understanding of it. Because of this, I am not sure what bitrates are "playable" on the Wii. Use this information at your own risk.
This is a small guide to hopefully answer questions and possible get people working with the software. You might want to make this a sticky.
How to prepare files for streaming to the Wii
1. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between FLV (Flash Video, what YouTube uses) and MJPEG (Motion JPEG). Flash videos can be viewed from the Opera browser in Wii using the Wii Media Center X. MJPEG videos can be viewed within the Slide Show application in the Wii using the SD Card. More on MJPEG later...
2. In order to convert any old video to an FLV, you must have an FLV CODEC (enCOder, DECoder). Those of you who are seeing conversions that take half a second, this is likely your problem. I've found a free FLV codec which I found doing a Google search. I'm not sure about its quality... but it is free!
The Riva VX site (http://www.rivavx.com/index.php?downloads&L=3)
Free Riva FLV Encoder 2.0 from download.com (http://www.download.com/Riva-FLV-Encoder/3000-2140-10320097.html?part=dl-RivaFLVEn&subj=dl&tag=button)
3. Using Wii Video 9, with the FLV codec installed, walk through the wizard to proceed with the conversion. My recommendation for your first video is something short--3 to 4 minutes--and using the Wii 512 Bitrate default Profile. Conversions can take a long time. With older systems, they will be second for second (1:1 ratio) on newer, you may get much higher, but it will still take time to process. The Smaller the video, the faster you can verify that it is working.
*. It is ESSENTIAL to have a working computer on the same network as the Wii. I'm assuming you do, or you wouldn't have gotten this far. If the Wii and the computer can't talk, this will not work. Wii Media Center X, which is a minimal webserver with web interface, will be installed on a SEPARATE COMPUTER to stream to the Wii.
4. With Wii Media Center X installed, you will need to place the newly converted file into the <application installation directory>\software\Video\videos folder. This will put it in a place where the Wii can see the data.
5. From the Wii, go into the Internet Channel, select the WWW button and type in the IP address of your internal computer that is running the Wii Media Center X. Make sure to type the whole thing in like so: "http://" then your IP address "192.168.0.51" then the port number ":8192". The port number is essential as it points at a communication channel for the Media Center. If you do not put the port in, it will default to port 80, which is the default for all web browsers.
6. Click on the Video selection, and click on your video.
How to prepare files for playing in the Wii Slide Show App
1. Refer to step one above. MJPEG is a different animal and should not be transposed with FLV.
2. Similar to Step 3, but much easier. Using Wii Video 9 walk through the wizard to proceed with the conversion. My recommendation, again, for your first video is something short--3 to 4 minutes--and using the Wii 512 Bitrate default Profile. Conversions can take a long time. With older systems, they will be second for second (1:1 ratio) on newer, you may get much higher, but it will still take time to process. The Smaller the video, the faster you can verify that it is working.
*. MJPEG offers much higher bitrates, which means higher quality but also larger file sizes. Bitrates are the MAXIMUM amount of bits allowed per frame, second or whatever. It determines the quality of the video. Because of this increase in file size, which can be anywhere from %20 to %40 larger than a DivX video and usually lower quality, you will need a very large SD Card. A speedy and large SD Card is a bonus.
3. After converting the video to an MJPEG video, copy this video to a large enough SD Card. Make sure that you allow the copy to complete before pulling the card as there will be data corruption if you do. You should be able to paste the video into the root of the card as the Wii reads the whole thing (from what I could tell).
EDIT: If you have no way to put your SD Card into your computer via an SD Card Reader Slot, or other such devices, you will need to get one before going further. The SD Card when put into a card reader hooked to the computer will act like a removable disk. From there, you can copy files directly to it.
4. Put said SD Card into the Wii and launch the Slide Show App.
5. Find the video and play it.
NOTE: I have not done the MJPEG portion of this. I gleaned "how it's done" through reading the instructions. This is my understanding of it. Because of this, I am not sure what bitrates are "playable" on the Wii. Use this information at your own risk.