Playing videos with a flash drive

[Nkbm82]

Hello,

Can anyone please tell me if they are able to zoom an avi video like you can with a regular dvd so it fills up the entire screen? When playing a dvd there is a zoom option on the display settings but I haven't found the same for a flash drive so I'm wondering if its even possible.

Thanks in advance for any insight!

[stewy604]

Haven't really played with this option yet. What aspect ratio is that video?

[Nkbm82]

Hi, it's a 1920×1080 16:9 aspect ratio clip.

[opasha]

I asked this question in a new thread a while back and someone replied saying there was a zoom, but I never looked. The only other option is to download blueray versions because their aspect ratio is actually larger and fills the screen better in comparison to 1080p..

[opasha]

I found the fix after reading through a 5 series thread. I was right about changing the video ratio of your video. Just download a free video converter and resize to this:

Type: Video
Codec: H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part10) (avc1)
Resolution: 1920x720

[Nkbm82]

Thank you Opasha! I'll definitely try that and re upload to my flash drive.

[opasha]

Originally Posted by scnick82

Thank you Opasha! I'll definitely try that and re upload to my flash drive.

You're very welcome, bro! Let me know how it goes. I'm going to sample a video later in that format. I'll post pictures as well when I get a chance.

[opasha]

Just an update. It works! I used AVS Video Converter (it's free) to convert this 720p music video that was originally .mp4, which I downloaded from youtube. If there's a better converting tool, let me know.

Step 1: open AVS video converter. select the input file, then choose AVI conversion option and from the drop down list select H264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) or H264/AVC (Intel) - essentially they are the same, but if the first one gives you a hiccup, just use the second one.

Step 2: Select Advanced button underneath the Browse button for Output File - you can name your own output file if you uncheck the box for "Split" on the left middle corner - if this is checked, it converts the video into parts if the size is too big (usually greater than 700mb or so - remember when you see .rar files and they have Movie Part 1.avi and Movie Part 2.avi). I wanted to keep it all as one file, so I just unchecked that box so it will grey out everything else.

Step 3: Frame Size Left Box: 1920 Right Box: 720. Below that is the Video Bitrate - I kept the bitrate the same as the original video. The higher the bitrate, I think the higher the quality. 720P videos usually have around 5000kb and 1080p videos have around 10-12,000kb. I just didn't want to mess with this because it would also greatly increase the conversion time if you go that high with the bitrate. The FPS (frames per second) should be selected as Original so it maintains the same audio and video sync as the original video. I left the audio codec settings alone - they were high enough quality and I heard the sound, which was very crisp for the music video with nice bass as well. If you're an audiophile, you may know more about these tweaks. 320 kbps is obviously higher, but you also don't want to mess with these settings if your original audio of the original video is lower kbps.

Step 4: You'll see two tabs at the left of this Advanced section. You were editing everything in Conversion Options. The other is Aspect Correction. Click that and select "No Correction" for the Output Video Aspect. This should grey out the Input Video Aspect. Basically, by doing this, you are forcing the video to maintain the 1920x720 video ratio.

Step 5: Convert Now! That's it, let it convert. It will show you the video as it converts in the preview panel. This will take a lot of memory around 400-500K while it does this depending on how big the file being converted is. Your computer will slow down so try not to multi task with browsing etc on the computer if your computer is not super fast. Even my Acer computer slowed down and it has 16gb of ram. Just be mindful of that. Small music videos should only take about 7-10 minutes depending. Larger files, obviously much longer.

Pictures: I converted this 720p song. It wasn't the best quality, but I was just testing this for speed purposes, and this video only took about 10 minutes total from downloading to converting.

.

[1230vani]

My issue is that I have a video snap-in-adapter for iphone 4 which used to play videos in my old car. With F15 additional media is only podcasts and books or smthg like that while in the manual there is a video icon under other media for the external source such as iphone. I really miss this option and it IS a video snap-in-adapter and iphone 4 has video out (unlike iphone 5). Why can't I play videos? Anyone please with the solution. I did move on and have an iphone 5 already, but using 4 for the car music and hopefully videos. Many thanks!

[opasha]

Originally Posted by 1230vani

My issue is that I have a video snap-in-adapter for iphone 4 which used to play videos in my old car. With F15 additional media is only podcasts and books or smthg like that while in the manual there is a video icon under other media for the external source such as iphone. I really miss this option and it IS a video snap-in-adapter and iphone 4 has video out (unlike iphone 5). Why can't I play videos? Anyone please with the solution. I did move on and have an iphone 5 already, but using 4 for the car music and hopefully videos. Many thanks!

I found the info from this thread where the iPhone was actually the main discussion: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...=602131&page=2. Go to post 40. Hopefully, that can help you in some way .

[1230vani]

Originally Posted by opasha

I found the info from this thread where the iPhone was actually the main discussion: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...=602131&page=2. Go to post 40. Hopefully, that can help you in some way .

Thanks it is useful!

[opasha]

Originally Posted by 1230vani

Thanks it is useful!

Good to hear

[Nkbm82]

Just to update everyone, Opasha made a great suggestion however that software adds their logo to the center of the output video unless you pay $39.99 to get the full version. I found Freemake Video Converter and its completely free and free of any logos/ads. I used the same settings as Opasha and now I can convert any resolution avi file to play in full screen. Freemake is also blazing fast compared to AVS, it takes about a minute per file instead of 10+ with the AVS converter. It looks so much better without the blacked out sides.

Thanks for the help Opasha!!!

[opasha]

Originally Posted by scnick82

Just to update everyone, Opasha made a great suggestion however that software adds their logo to the center of the output video unless you pay $39.99 to get the full version. I found Freemake Video Converter and its completely free and free of any logos/ads. I used the same settings as Opasha and now I can convert any resolution avi file to play in full screen. Freemake is also blazing fast compared to AVS, it takes about a minute per file instead of 10+ with the AVS converter. It looks so much better without the blacked out sides.

Thanks for the help Opasha!!!

My bad, bro! I was actually using an older version (8) and forgot that it was a torrent download (no wonder I had no water mark - oops!). I upgraded to 8.5 like I suggested to you and saw that it wasn't activated. Thanks for catching my mistake and finding a better software. I noticed that AVS was definitely too slow considering I have a very fast laptop with 16 gb of ram and it was literally taking up to 500K of memory (way too much). Time for me to download your suggestion . (So I just installed this without any problems - I have a very good virus software (Vipre) and it found and blocked the first adware file and then towards the end of the installation two toolbar installation files (you know those stupid ad toolbars that auto install into your browser). Just be careful with those and make sure you have your anti-virus on before installing this software. It works great, but on rare occasions for good software, there can be a catch).

I'm glad I was able to help, nonetheless.

UPDATE: I'm actually downloading the new movie Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit 2014 1080p (Subs) WEBRiP H264 AAC 5.1 CH right now (2.5Gb file). I'll convert it using Freemake Video Converter and let you know how it goes. The quality is solid for the movie so we'll see if there's any visible depreciation of quality.

Screens from the Movie being downloaded so you have an idea of quality:

[opasha]

Just an update. Freemake Video Converter did wonders for the video and made it even better on the X5 display. I did a test with the original video which was 1904x784 and it was really choppy (frames kept getting distorted) and the sides of the screen had two bars showing the BMW screen background. When I converted it to 1920x720 h264 avi file with same audio and video bitrate. Everything became perfect with no video/audio lag whatsoever. Do not change bitrates or else things will get out of sync. My audio from the downloaded file above was 256kbps. The video in person is just so crisp and the sound was very clear without any issues. Hearing the whole car audio makes you feel like you're in a surround sound theater.

[Nkbm82]

Glad it worked out for you Opasha, happy to contribute a tiny bit to the people that have helped me out so much on this forum.

[opasha]

Ok, so I found this modification done by someone. It seems to be an HD TV Tuner? Anyone know how to install something like this? Or if you know the language, what program is being used? Thanks.

[NPickles]

Originally Posted by opasha

Ok, so I found this modification done by someone. It seems to be an HD TV Tuner? Anyone know how to install something like this? Or if you know the language, what program is being used? Thanks.

In the UK (and Europe I suspect) there is a TV Tuner option that you can add to an F15, not sure about the US though.

Apparently Google Translate reckons it is Hungarian

[opasha]

Originally Posted by NPickles

In the UK (and Europe I suspect) there is a TV Tuner option that you can add to an F15, not sure about the US though.

Apparently Google Translate reckons it is Hungarian

Thanks, man. I was just curious because it looked interesting. Practically speaking, a tuner can't be used while driving anyway nor is the signal for one consistent. They're meant to be used while stationary.

[Buckerine]

Originally Posted by opasha

Thanks, man. I was just curious because it looked interesting. Practically speaking, a tuner can't be used while driving anyway nor is the signal for one consistent. They're meant to be used while stationary.

Is that true? I've been to certain places in Asia where cab drivers are playing TV on their screens constantly.

[NPickles]

Originally Posted by Buckerine

Is that true? I've been to certain places in Asia where cab drivers are playing TV on their screens constantly.

In the UK it's option 601 TV Function. It's a DVB tuner. I suspect it can be coded in BMW's or got around in other vehicles so it plays all the time and not only when stationary.

[Armen383]

Originally Posted by NPickles

I suspect it can be coded in BMW's or got around in other vehicles so it plays all the time and not only when stationary.

Yup, video-in-motion is coded in HU_NBT module:

HU_NBT 3000 VIDEO_HANDBRAKE aktiv -> nicht_aktiv
HU_NBT 3000 SPEEDLOCK_X_KMH_MIN -> werte=ff
HU_NBT 3000 SPEEDLOCK_X_KMH_MAX -> werte=ff