View source for VLC HowTo/Play on Zune

{{howto|Make your Video Files playable on a Zune}}

To play on this device, the file you copy to it needs to be of the correct format. This format is summarized below:
{|
| Video Codec
| '''wmv2''' ([[WMV]]), '''wmv3''' ([[WMV]])
|-
| Audio Codec
| '''wma''' ([[wma]])
|-
| [[Container]]
| '''avi''' ([[AVI]]), '''asf''' ([[ASF]])
|-
| Size
| 320x240, 320x180
|}

To make the video the correct size, you can edit the [[preferences]], or run vlc from a [[command prompt]].

== CLI Example ==
Don't forget to point %outdir% to your target directory. This will handle drag-and-drop batch conversion.

  @REM  Set this next line to where you want your output files:
  @SET outdir=c:\video\
  @REM  No further changes should be needed below for VLC 0.9.8a
  @SET infile=%1
  @SET infile=%infile:"=%
  @FOR /F "delims=" %%i in ("%infile%") do SET filename=%%~ni
  @SET outfile=%outdir%%filename%.wmv
  "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" -vvv --sout="#transcode{vcodec=WMV2,vb=750,width=320,canvas-height=240,acodec=wma,ab=128,channels=2}:duplicate{dst=std{access=file,mux=asf,dst=%outfile%}}" "%infile%" --play-and-exit


''The last line may be wrapped in your browser, however from "C:\Program" to "-and-exit" is all on one line.''



This is a script to batch process all files of a certain type in the folder in is placed in to be compatible with the Zune.

<code><pre>for %%a in (*.mpg) do "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" -I dummy -vvv "C:\<output_folder>\%%a" :sout="#transcode{width=320, canvas-height=240, vcodec=WMV2, vb=1024, acodec=wma2, ab=128, samplerate=44100, channels=2}:standard{access=file,mux=asf,dst=C:\<output_folder>\%%a.wmv}" vlc:quit</pre></code>

''This will look for all .MPG files in a folder. You can change this to search for any type of file.''

''You need to change <output_folder> and/or the drive in both locations to where the output files will go.''

== DVD Example ==

This script will transcode a dvd into a wmv compatible for the zune software.

<code><pre>"C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" -I dummy -vvv --color dvdsimple:d:\ :sout="#transcode{width=320, canvas-height=240, vcodec=WMV2, vb=1024, acodec=wma2, ab=128, samplerate=44100, channels=2}:standard{access=file,mux=asf,dst=C:\<output_folder>\output.wmv}" vlc:quit</pre></code>

''You need to change <output_folder> and/or the dvd drive location.''

==Special Note==

As of VLC (0.8.6d) <01/01/2008>, the VLC client cannot transcode correctly to WMV3, the video codec that the Zune player natively requires. This is due to the fact that the new WMV3 codec does not open have an open source counterpart like WMV1/WMV2 does. VLC instead uses the Windows API to transcode and play WMV3 encoded videos. Transcoded videos to WMV3 will be lacking in quality and although sync flawlessly via the Zune software, they will restart the zune device after a few seconds of playback.

Therefore it is recommended/required to transcode into the WMV2 codec, and let the Zune software convert the video(s) into the required WMV3 codec for the Zune device.