iSquint 0.7
by Tyler Loch
TylerL82@mac.com - http://homepage.mac.com/tylerl82/

iSquint is an iPod video conversion app.
It's up to 5 times faster than Apple's method, works well with AVIs and MPEGs, and it's infinitely free-er. 

It's also rather easy.

Give it your file, choose "TV screen" or "iPod screen" size, set your quality, and away you go.

On a 1.5GHz G4, iSquint can convert most video files to iPod-screen-sized videos in realtime. Depending on a few factors, a 20 minute video will take up anywhere from 50-150MB of disk space.

System Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
A computer capable of running Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher
One or more videos worth watching.
iPod not included.

Supported codecs:
Video:
MPEG-1
MPEG-2
MPEG-4 (DivX, XviD, etc)
MSMPEG4
Sorenson 1/2
Sorenson 3
WMV7/8
H.264
H.263
DV
Cinepak
Audio:
MP3
AAC
WAV
AIFF
PCM
AC3
WMA

Supported containers:
QuickTime .mov
AVI .avi
MPEG .mpg .mpeg .m1v .m2v .vob
ASF .asf
WMV .wmv
DV .dv

FAQ
Q: What codec do you convert to for the iPod?
A: iSquint converts to MPEG-4 Simple Profile using the XviD codec. Given the amount of space the iPod provides contrasted with the sheer processing time required for H.264, MPEG-4 is a much more practical choice, IMHO. H.264 encoding will be offered at a later date.

Q: But...but...H.264!
A: H.264's a great codec, but plain ol' MPEG-4 is easier on the iPod's processor to decode, much much quicker to encode, and allows for a higher bitrate and image size.
In fact, I could rant for a bit why the current limitations of the 5G iPod will come back to haunt Apple for a long time to come, but I won't.

Q: What about DVDs? I got some ripping to do.
A: HandBrake can help you out there: http://handbrake.m0k.org

Q: I don't like your error buttons.
A: I don't like your FACE.

Known issues:
Multiple-file conversion isn't as featuriffic. iSquint can do a batch conversion on a folder of clips. It's not super-pretty, but it works for now.

No cancel button? That's crazy!

Advanced Tidbits:
"Optimized for iPod Screen" sets the image size to 320x240 (or 320x176 for 16:9).
"Optimized for TV Screen" sets the image size to 512x384 (or 640x352 for 16:9). You'd think that 544x416 would work, but it doesn't. Not always.

iSquint uses ffmpeg with XviD to compress its videos.
Global flags: "-hq -4mv -g 300"

"Conservative Disk Usage" uses these flags: "-qmin 5 -b 1000". It sets a maximum quality with quantizer 5, and a absolute-ceiling of 1000kbps.
"Go Nuts" uses this flag: "-b 2300". Only a ceiling bitrate is set. For many sections of video, especially iPod-optimized clips, there's no way to reach the ceiling even at quantizer 0.

"Convert Folder..." is not much more than a glorified "find -exec" line. In the future i'll do some "for" loops once I get a more robust multi-file thing. But that would requiring learning, and this project has hurt my brain enough.

Credits:
ffmpeg is a trademark of Fabrice Bellard.
http://ffmpeg.sourceforge.net/
ffmpeg rocks your socks. Support it.

Thanks to the SomethingAwful goons for putting their lives on the line trying out my first attempt at a useful AppleScript Studio application

Thanks to Amanda, for putting up with me, protecting myself from my own stupid decisions, and for just about everything else she does.

DISCLAIMER:
iSquint is provided for free without any warranty or support contract whatsoever.
I take no responsibility if this program malfunctions, reducing your computer to a smoldering heap of toxic components. So far, about 30 people have tried iSquint, and nobody has been rushed to the hospital as a result of it. Yet.
iSquint may or may not bring your computer to life and cause it to kill your cat. I've seen it happen.

Gruesome.