14 DAY TRIAL // Have you ever tried to encode a movie using a H.264 encoder? If you have, then you know it takes a long time even if you have a quad-core under your desk. Fortunately, ADS Tech's InstantVideo To-Go is here to help. If the brand doesn't seem familiar it's because few people know about them. As for the product itself, this little USB stick is in fact a hardware-accelerated video converter for Windows which can encode any video into MPEG4 (H.264) format about 15 times faster than a PC. The software accepts the following formats as input: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DVD VOBs (unprotected), DivX and QuickTime Movie.
I can't comment on the "15 times faster" phrase, but a 100-minute MPEG2 or DVD VOB file takes about 20 minutes to be converted into a 320x240, MP4/H.264 video ready to play on your iPod. The unit can natively produce three types of movie formats for PSP and another four for the iPod. Aside from the H.264 encoding, you can also use the software that comes with the stick to encode your videos in other formats such as MPEG4-ASF, MPEG1 and even 3GP clips that you can upload onto most cell phones.
The following Sony PSP output formats are possible: High - 320 x 240, 768Kbps, 30 frames per seconds, AAC audio 24KHz, 64 kbps Medium - 320 x 240, 512Kbps, 30 frames per seconds, AAC audio 24KHz, 64 kbps Low - 320 x 240, 320Kbps, 15 frames per seconds, AAC audio 24KHz, 64 kbps
For iPod the output formats are: High - 640 x 480, 1,536Kpbs, 30 frames per second, AAC audio 48KHz, 64 kbps High - 320 x 240, 768Kbps, 30 frames per second, AAC audio 48KHz, 64 kbps Medium - 320 x 240, 512Kbps, 30 frames per second, AAC audio 48KHz, 64 kbps Low - 320 x 240, 320Kbps, 15 frames per seconds, AAC audio 48KHz, 64 kbps
The system requirements are: Windows XP (with SP2); a P4 1.5GHz CPU (this CPU will do the job but you might consider a faster one); QuickTime 7.1; 256MB RAM; 128MB video RAM; and a free USB 2.0 port.