Windows Phone Thoughts: Much To See With Spb Mobile DVD!

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Monday, December 4, 2006

Much To See With Spb Mobile DVD!

Posted by Jon Westfall in "SOFTWARE" @ 08:00 AM


Conversion: The Need For Speed
Spb advertises that their software converts DVDs and video files in such a way that is optimized to do the fastest possible work on both single and dual core processors. Not surprisingly, the faster the processor you have, the quicker the DVD conversion process will go. However, even on my three year old Compaq N800c laptop, the conversion process clipped along at around 1.4x time actual speed of the movie - not too shabby. The only time it got considerably slower was when I started jotting down notes for the review in Notepad, and switched around a few windows while resizing images. The speed then dropped to 0.5x the actual speed. The moral of the story - unless you have a super fast computer, DVD converting is a process best done on its own without the user attempting to do other tasks!


Figure 5: Converting The DVD.

Again, the converting process underscores the theme of simplicity that runs through Spb Mobile DVD. The process couldn't be easier to start, and at no time did I find any feature or menu that I felt would be confusing to Windows Mobile experts or novices alike!

Finishing Touches


Figure 6: Autoplay Screen.

It wouldn't be a Spb release without some thoughtful touches to truly enhance the user experience. One such touch is the addition of an autoplay menu option. After a user has installed Spb Mobile DVD, an option to "Convert the DVD for Mobile Device" is added to the autoplay screen. This truly can make the whole conversion process seamless, due to the fact that Spb Mobile DVD takes a Wizard-like interface. Mimicking the wizards users are already used to in Windows allows users to easily step through the conversion process straight from disc insertion, with no program to explicitly launch.

Spb Mobile DVD also includes WYSIWYG quality choosing and zoom mode choosing during the initial formatting options screen, which is an advantage over competitors that do not provide feedback prior to conversion. Adding in the ability to convert just parts of a movie and helpful estimation features (time remaining, estimate file size) makes Spb's offering on-par or above the features offered by its competitors.

Conclusions
Overall I've been very impressed with Spb Mobile DVD. The software takes a traditionally complex task (converting a DVD to a file playable on a mobile device) and turns it into something any novice Windows user could easily accomplish. While I would have liked to see some more advanced options (i.e. the ability to convert into other resolutions that I could play on my desktop systems), the product features all of the essentials to get new DVD converters up and running!

Jon Westfall truly does not know how to classify himself. Decision making researcher? System Administrator? Editor & Reviewer? Maybe all of those. To find out more than you want to know, you can visit JonWestfall.Com or just watch for his frequent news posts here at Pocket PC Thoughts!

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