Converting Video to working formats for 2014 A4 MMI 3G+ (Cdn)
10-27-2013, 02:21 PM
#1
Converting Video to working formats for 2014 A4 MMI 3G+ (Cdn)
Hi. First post here after over 10yrs of lurking (that's a lot of lurking).
I just spent many hours with a new '14 A4 (Canadian version) re-converting videos to get them to play via SD card or the Jukebox. Hopefully this info will help others with the same problem because this QNX-based system seems to be quite picky with formats (and this is coming from a BlackBerry die-hard).
The conversion software I use is www.handbrake.fr.
As our space is limited on Jukebox and SD cards, the best quality/size ratio I got was with these settings:
Output Settings
MP4. MMI doesn't see MKV files as per the manual. I didn't try.
Picture
- For 16:9 videos: Max 720x404. Larger sizes would not play.
- For 4:3 videos: Max 640x480. Contrary to what the "MMI Navigation plus" manual says on page 17, I cannot get 720x576 to work, or in the case of 4:3 video, 720x540. That may be related to my codec choice below.
Video
H.264 compression is "der besten" for quality/size, so it is what I was exclusive trying to get working. Regular mpeg-2 or -4s, and Xvid stuff works, but if I wanted to settle for 2nd best I would have got a BMW (ouch!). IMPORTANT: Pick H.264 with these settings.
1. H.264 Profile: Baseline. I could not get video to play on Main. This could be a compatibility issue with the perhaps ancient QNX H.264 codec. H.264 Level can be Auto.
2. Quality: Avg Bitrate (kbps) <2000. CONSTANT QUALITY did not work, though I didn't try to cut the quality. I also did not experiment with bitrates above 2000 because on the little screen you can barely see the difference once it rose above 1500 and Audi says not to. 1000 is just fine too, but personally I like the tiny extra quality at 1500. So, 1000 for the cheapasses, 2000 for the OCDs. Just remember to use 2-pass encoding.
3. Framerate: Everything 30fps and under worked, but I prefer Variable, which also works fine. This is contrary to the max 25fps stated in the manual.
Audio
The only format I tried was AAC 2-ch @ 320kbps as I'm converting TV shows. I've also played MP3s at 320kbps. It would be really cool if it would play a 5.1ch AC3 track.. maybe I'll try that later.
These settings should get you about 12MB/minute. That should be enough video on a 32GB SD Card for your entire drive from Vancouver to Toronto (LA to NY for our neighbours to the south).
If someone else does some experimentation, please post below for our collective knowledge. Thanks.
Any questions, consult the Handbrake guide here:
https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/HandBrakeGuide
You could also post questions to me below, but I don't gurantee a reply as I may go into another 10 yrs of lurking! Now I just need some VIM!
I just spent many hours with a new '14 A4 (Canadian version) re-converting videos to get them to play via SD card or the Jukebox. Hopefully this info will help others with the same problem because this QNX-based system seems to be quite picky with formats (and this is coming from a BlackBerry die-hard).
The conversion software I use is www.handbrake.fr.
As our space is limited on Jukebox and SD cards, the best quality/size ratio I got was with these settings:
Output Settings
MP4. MMI doesn't see MKV files as per the manual. I didn't try.
Picture
- For 16:9 videos: Max 720x404. Larger sizes would not play.
- For 4:3 videos: Max 640x480. Contrary to what the "MMI Navigation plus" manual says on page 17, I cannot get 720x576 to work, or in the case of 4:3 video, 720x540. That may be related to my codec choice below.
Video
H.264 compression is "der besten" for quality/size, so it is what I was exclusive trying to get working. Regular mpeg-2 or -4s, and Xvid stuff works, but if I wanted to settle for 2nd best I would have got a BMW (ouch!). IMPORTANT: Pick H.264 with these settings.
1. H.264 Profile: Baseline. I could not get video to play on Main. This could be a compatibility issue with the perhaps ancient QNX H.264 codec. H.264 Level can be Auto.
2. Quality: Avg Bitrate (kbps) <2000. CONSTANT QUALITY did not work, though I didn't try to cut the quality. I also did not experiment with bitrates above 2000 because on the little screen you can barely see the difference once it rose above 1500 and Audi says not to. 1000 is just fine too, but personally I like the tiny extra quality at 1500. So, 1000 for the cheapasses, 2000 for the OCDs. Just remember to use 2-pass encoding.
3. Framerate: Everything 30fps and under worked, but I prefer Variable, which also works fine. This is contrary to the max 25fps stated in the manual.
Audio
The only format I tried was AAC 2-ch @ 320kbps as I'm converting TV shows. I've also played MP3s at 320kbps. It would be really cool if it would play a 5.1ch AC3 track.. maybe I'll try that later.
These settings should get you about 12MB/minute. That should be enough video on a 32GB SD Card for your entire drive from Vancouver to Toronto (LA to NY for our neighbours to the south).
If someone else does some experimentation, please post below for our collective knowledge. Thanks.
Any questions, consult the Handbrake guide here:
https://trac.handbrake.fr/wiki/HandBrakeGuide
You could also post questions to me below, but I don't gurantee a reply as I may go into another 10 yrs of lurking! Now I just need some VIM!
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G G (01-07-2020)
10-27-2013, 04:05 PM
#2
Sorry, just tested 720x544 and it works. AC3 does not, but it will show the picture without sound if there is an AC3 track... too bad, no surround sound movies in our cars!
02-04-2014, 11:00 PM
#4
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I throw music videos and movies for road trips like he was talking about. Ironically ive been struggling to get this to work with no luck... then I though I would check for a Handbrake update and sure enough it worked.
Ive attached a preset list for 2 settings. 1 with a 2000 rate and one with a 1500 rate. They both work.
Just make sure if yall wanna use the setting to change the extension from txt to plist.
Ive attached a preset list for 2 settings. 1 with a 2000 rate and one with a 1500 rate. They both work.
Just make sure if yall wanna use the setting to change the extension from txt to plist.
07-20-2014, 09:14 PM
#5
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I tried your .plist file, which loaded into Handrbrake just fine. However, the files just play the audio tracks after I put the SD card in. I have a '12 A4 with MMI3. Am I doing something wrong?
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08-25-2014, 10:09 AM
#10
You need the new MMI from the '13+ A4 that has the SIM card slot and Google Maps (3G+) to see video and hear audio. The MMI for the '12 (3G Plus) will only play the audio track of a video file. I know its confusing, but from what I've read, despite the similar names, the 3G+ and 3G Plus are two different generations of unit and are not the same at all. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.