Lucid: MP4 (PSP) format preset makes MP4 in fact unreadable on PSP

[lampad]

Binary package hint: avidemux

When converting a video file to MPEG-4 AVC (x264) MP4 or MP4 (PSP) format with the repository Avidemux (1:2.5.2-0ubuntu3) in Lucid, the files created read as 'incompatible data' by a PSP system.
With the repository package of Avidemux, it did work in Karmic. It also worked in Karmic with the 2.5.2 version from multiple PPAs.
The created files are perfectly played by video-players in Ubuntu.
Older, in Karmic converted files, still play perfectly on a PSP.
It almost looks like maybe a flag that Avidemux creates to let the PSP play MP4 files, makes the files now in fact unreadable.

[Alessio Treglia (quadrispro)]

http://avidemux.org/admForum/viewtopic.php?id=7768

[Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)]

Hy
Translating the ipod guide for ubuntu-it wiki, there's a pass explaining that the MP4 files generated from ffmpeg is not perfectly standard and it recommend to repack it with MP4Box installing gpac from repo.

command:

MP4Box -add original.mp4 fixed.mp4

source:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/iPodVideoEncoding#Black%20Screen%20or%20iPod%20Resets%20When%20Trying%20to%20Play%20Video

[Fabio Marconi (fabiomarconi)]

Can you verify ??
:)njin

[lampad (lampad-deactivatedaccount)]

I checked and the repacking didn't fix it. Although it wouldn't really be a fix for the actual problem, since it most definitely worked in other versions of Avidemux (even the same 2.5.2 version) - and in Lucid, it doesn't anymore.
It must have something to do with the way the video is packed withing the MP4, because the PSP seems to be able to read the AAC audio.

[lampad (lampad-deactivatedaccount)]

After manually updating to the new 2.5.3 from an unsupported archive, the process still makes unreadable MP4 files on the PSP. Making it maybe more likely that the problem is in one of the dependencies of Avidemux, most probably: libx264-85 or libxvidcore4, I think.
I don't really know how to proceed with the bug report.

[Rodrigo Aguilera (rodrigoaguilera)]

I solved it following the screenshots here
http://blog.yogarine.com/2007/12/converting-video-for-psp-on-linux.html

[lampad (lampad-deactivatedaccount)]

Indeed a fix.

I tried to just copy the video and audio streams of a Handbrake encoded file into a PSP MP4 with Avidemux a couple of weeks ago and it played that file, meaning that it was most certainly an encoding problem within Avidemux and not a problem with the proper file flagging (if any). The files also were still playable, by for example MPlayer, probably meaning that the problem wasn't in the x264 library.
So what remained was encoding settings which the PSP doesn't like.

http://blog.yogarine.com/2007/12/converting-video-for-psp-on-linux.html (thanks for finding this Rodrigo) sheds light on the problem. And as also pointed out in one of the comments there, the only problems are that the PSP only reads video files with up to 2 reference frames ('Motion & Misc' tab) and without 8x8 transform ('Partitions & Frames' tab). I checked this with both settings turned on, or one of them turned on. Together they fix the unreadable files.

Making all of this just wrong default settings for the PSP in the latest versions of Avidemux and probably a bug on all platforms.

[bastafidli (ubuntu-bastafidli)]

The patch with updated PSP profile for Avidemux 2.5.3 is available here

http://avidemux.org/admForum/viewtopic.php?pid=46572#p46572

It just requires repackaging rather than recompilation. Without this path the produced mp4s are not playable on PSP. This is not a ow priority defect since Avidemux is basically the only Linux native tool to provide PSP conversion/support and therefore it is essential for any PSP Linux user.

[bastafidli (ubuntu-bastafidli)]

BTW, this also affects Maverick since it includes Avidemux 2.5.3 and I suggest to fix it in Maverick since it doesn't require code change, just repackaging.