[LINK] Bash Parameter Expansion
Allows you to easily get a file's base name (the name without the extension) and a lot of other really cool stuff. Didn't know this until recently.
Encoding video for the Philips DVP-3166
The Philips DVP-3166 is one of those players that can play stuff off a USB stick. It's also what we have at home. This plays quite a bit of stuff but neither h264 or theora. You can either use ffmpeg to convert everything into an xvid file using libxvid or use mencoder. I picked the mencoder settings off the internet at the LinuxReviews Video Conversion Wiki and they work just fine without making any changes (except sticking the whole thing in a loop to work on everything in one of my folders)
If you prefer manually using ffmpeg, then you'll have to work out settings yourself but the player doesn't play xvid unless you use cfourcc to change the FourCC code to divx or xvid instead of ffmpeg.
It also seems to have a maximum resolution of 720x480 or so.
I also found some additional information on a blog post about the player.
Constant Reminder
When it comes to technology, India is always far behind. Every time I try to get some gadget I'm reminded of this. I can't believe we still need to have some damn dongle sticking out the side of a laptop. It's like back in the dark ages when you had to plug PCMCIA wireless cards into a little socket on the side of your laptop and have the antenna sticking out.
Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
A picture I took last month on my way to Bombay. Best seats in the house?
