Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Converting DVD's to view on mobile devices.

Want to watch that new DVD on your mobile device? Here is a list of software/encoders to make it happen.

I use anydvd to remove the encryption from the DVD. It's not free but IMHO it's the best and easiest available. They have a free trial too. It just sits in the background and lets all the other DVD software think the inserted disk is not encrypted. I give it five stars.

If all you want is a back up copy of the disk in an easy to burn back to DVD format then use DVD Shrink along with anydvd. Here are a list of download locations. It also gets five stars.

If you want to create an .mp4 or .avi of the movie then Handbrake is the way to go. It has various presets that will encode the main movie direct to ipod/iphone/iTouch format. You can also tweak the format to encode to more generic formats. It gets 4 stars because it's a bi*** to get the formats correct if you don't have an ipod.

Apple folks are good to go at this point. The Handbrake conversion is all ready to be played on the device. If you have the HTC phone your not out of luck though. I've recently discovered Kinoma. It's an all in one media player/facebook/twitter/youtube/podcast/streaming radio/etc. player. Quite cool with a constantly updated library. They have a free version that's mostly the same as the paid version. Five stars too.

When all done the movies are about 400 MB in size so several will fit on your device.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Alltel Touch GPS enable

This post is copied from ppcgeeks where all the credit lies:

Alltel GPS with A-GPS - super fast lockon

*UPDATED 3-1-09*

This is a tutorial to get your Internal GPS to work much better. This fix Now Applies to Alltel, Bell, Cricket, MetroPCS, Sprint, Telus, and Verizon, Iusacell Mexico. It will work on the 6800/mogul/titan and the 6900/vogue/touch.
It will:
1. Lock on to satellites MUCH quicker (5-30 seconds)
2. Acquire more satellites (5-11)
3. Don't need to prime the GPS anymore (There are still a few appz that will need Priming)

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS SEE THE TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION IN THIS POST BELOW!

I ADDED VIDEOS!!!!! SEE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!!!!!


----------------------------------------ACKNOWLEDGMENT------------------------------
Some credit goes to this thread by gc14:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=423231
This is a slight modification of his tutorial. (I got agps working a day before him. )
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----------------------------------------OVERVIEW------------------------------
We will:
Install a PC software package called QPST that allows us to edit a portion of our phone that contains gpsOne settings.
Install drivers on the PC to allow it to detect our phone running in diagnostic mode.
Put the phone in diagnostic mode, connect it to the computer, run QPST on PC, edit the gpsOne settings on the phone.
Edit the registry, soft reset, and test it out.
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-----------------------REQUIREMENTS---------------------------------------------------
1. Windows XP computer (Vista should work, but may or may not. If the drivers install and QPST runs, your good to go.)
2. USB cable to connect Titan to PC (duh)
3. This Software Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=3...4e75f6e8ebb871
4. A PPC Registry Editor: http://www.dotfred.net/TM/TaskMgrv3.1_WM2005.zip (Not needed if you use the cab file at the end of post #2)
5. Your GPS must already be enabled.
-If you run WM 6.0 see this thread to Enable GPS: http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread...l+gps+easy+way
-Or flash the Official Alltel WM 6.1 ROM that is already GPS Enabled, 6800 Only here: http://216.139.227.226/alltel/RUU_TI..._PPST_Ship.exe
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----------------------CONNECTING OUR PHONE TO QPST---------------------------------
1. Run Wmodemdriverinstaller.exe on your PC (This will install the DIAG driver)
2. Click install drivers, wait, once it says completed just close window
3. Install qpst_2.7b215.exe on your PC, next click through it
4. On Phone dial ##3424 , then plug it into USB port, WAIT TILL ALL DEVICES ARE INSTALLED (WAIT A GOOD 60 SECONDS)
5. Open Windows Device manager (right click on My Computer, click 'Properties', Click 'Hardware' Tab, 'Device manager' Button) on PC
6. Expand the item called 'Ports (COM & LPT)' on PC
7. Look for an item called 'HTC Diagnostic Interface' record what COM PORT it is. (see PIC below) Your COMM Port may not be the same.
8. On PC click start\All Programs\QPST\QPST Configuration. Click 'Ports' Tab. Click 'Add New Port' Button in lower right.
9. Click on the Device with the same COM port from as the 'HTC Diagnostic Interface' then click OK. (You may need to manually enter it. use COMX, i.e. COM6. description is COMX, i.e. COM6) see pic
10. Click 'Active Phones' tab. click 'Start Clients' drop down, then click 'SERVICE PROGRAMMING'
11. Click 'OK' in 'Phone Selection' window (code is 000000) see troubleshooting if it fails
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-------------------------APPLY THE FIX-------------------------------------------------
1. Click 'Read from Phone' button in bottom left corner
2. Click 'Save to File...' button don't change name and save to your desktop. (just to have a backup)
3. Scroll over to 'gpsOne' tab (upper right corner)
4. Click all the check boxes on the left hand side so they are all blank. (all 9, See pic)
5. THEN Click all the boxes so they are checked. (all 9) (yes it's strange)
6. At 'PDE IP Address' enter: 205.142.19.100 ---See post #2 if your not on Alltel!
7. At 'PDE Port Number' enter: 8888 ---See post #2 if your not on Alltel!
8. At 'PDE Transport' select: IP
9. At 'Position Calculation' select: mobile
10. Click 'Write to Phone' (lower left corner)
11. Once completed, enter ##3424 on the phone again
12. Tap exit, then 'Yes' button on the phone
13. Unplug phone and soft rest
14. Exit QPST. DO NOT SAVE CHANGES
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-------------------------EDIT THE REGISTRY--------------------------------------------
*UPDATE* There is a cab file at then end of post #2 that will create these registry settings automatically.

1. Open a PPC Registry Editor
2. Navigate to the folder [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC\SUPL AGPS]
3. Set these values:
---------- GPSMode = 2
---------- ServerIP = 205.142.19.100 ---See post #2 if your not on Alltel!
---------- ServerPort = 8888 ---See post #2 if your not on Alltel!
4. Exit, Save
5. Soft Reset
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--------------------------------TROUBLESHOOTING------------------------------
- The New Alltel WM 6.1 ROM erased my PDE IP and PDE Port settings in QPST. If you flash this ROM you may need to redo this fix. (regardless if you let the customizations run or not.)
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- If ##3424 Does NOT work for you then follow these steps:

Try ##3424#, #3424, or #3424#. (If that doesn't work see next)

- Download Task Manager (if u haven't already) Here:
http://www.dotfred.net/TM/TaskMgrv3.1_WM2005.zip.
Put it on your phone. I don't think it installs. so run it from where u copied it to.
Once u get task manager loaded up on your phone:

1. click on 'actions'
2. click on 'run a program'
3. under 'Open:' click the '...' button to browse for a program
4. expand the 'Windows' Folder
5. scroll down and click 'DmRouter.exe' then click 'Done'
6. under 'Extra parameters' enter /DIAG
7. Click 'Done'
Do this whenever the tutorial asks you to do the ##3424 step.
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- Sprint and Telus may need to use GetSPC if 000000 is not their code
here: http://rapidshare.com/files/44874437/GetSPC.zip.html <-- Run this on the Phone.
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- Make sure you are at the gpsOne tab when you click 'write to phone'. Changing tabs can cause the settings not to be written properly to the phone.
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-If it takes more then 2 minutes to get a lock. Then you arent using AGPS check the PDE IP and PDE Port number, Check your registry.
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-If your registry settings are reseting back to default on softreset. Then use the cab file from post #2 that pertains to your carrier.
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-Check Your ROM
start\settings\system\Device Information
PPC6800 > ROM ---3.35 or greater
PPC6800 > Radio --3.37 or greater

PPC6900 > ROM ---3.04 or greater
PPC6900 > Radio --3.37 or greater
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-Location Setting must be ON.
Phone\menu\options...\Services\Location Setting
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-Check Your GPS setting:
start/settings/system/external gps
Program Tab: Com 4
Hardware Tab: gps hardare port= none, baudrate = 4800 baud
Access Tab: check 'manage gps automatically'
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-Test Using Google Maps:
Open Google Maps, Click 'Use GPS'
-------If you get 'Initializing GPS...'
Then your Gps Com ports are wrong in google maps, you didnt soft reset, you didnt let windows manage gps.

-------If you get 'Seeking GPS satellites (0)...'
Then your location setting is set to OFF, your com ports are set wrong in windows, you didnt let windows manage gps, didnt wait long enough, obstructed view to satellites.
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************************NOTES*******************
- If you HARD RESET or FLASH a new ROM, the settings in QPST COULD be lost. The Registry settings WILL be lost. You will need to redo this fix.
-MetroPCS users will need to use position calculation = PDE
-Sprint users may need to use position calculation = PDE (if u have poor results with 'mobile')

- The reason we now use position calculation=mobile and gpsmode=2 is:
1. We rely MUCH less on the cell towers (less evdo data used and works well in areas with no coverage)
2. Less battery power used
3. Better for Turn-By-Turn software (like TomTom)
4. We don't rely on the Cell phone companies to give us our position. (greater anonymity. they already know what tower we are connected to regardless of this fix, but they don't need to know our precise location)
5. Only bad thing is that it will take a few seconds longer to get the initial fix (5-10 secs longer) and it won't work AS well indoors. But trust me the Pros outweigh the Cons.

Test it out, indoors and outdoors. you will probably not notice a difference, Which is good.

- Wifi will not work with the PDE Server. It will prevent the agps data from being downloaded if it is on.

- This requires a data connection. It will use 100 bytes (1/10 of 1Kilobyte) when accessing the PDE servers.
*************************************************

HowTo videos:

Part #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UNJi1ufazM
Part #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTrouf_s3aE
Troubleshooting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y25bSH-eorA


DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE IN QPST. YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BRICK YOUR PHONE.
no warranty included. this is for educational purposes only.

Weather is coming

From Pocketmarks Album Copy

Monday, June 1, 2009