Creating a Cybiko video clip

This guide shows you how to create a Cybiko compatible cvc video clip from an avi or mpeg video file.

What you will need

• VirtualDub by Avery Lee (www.virtualdub.org)

• Avi2Cvc for Java

• Java Runtime Environment 11+ (for Avi2Cvc)

• An avi or mpeg video file.

Step 1 - Reformating the video clip

As Avi2Cvc can only load uncompressed avi files, we need to create one. We also need to resize the picture so it can better fit the Cybiko screen. To do this we will use VirtualDub, please note that although other programs can create 160x100 uncompressed avis, the avi loader in Avi2Cvc is not that great and may not load them correctly.

1. Go File -> Open video file to load your avi or mpeg.

2. Select the section you want to make a clip of. Move the slider at the bottom of the window to the start and click on the 'Mark In' button, then move the slider to the end of the range and click the 'Mark Out' button.

3. Go Video -> Filters -> Add -> Resize, change the width and height to 160x100. Click Ok and Ok (to return to the main screen).

   Or

   To preserve the aspect ratio of the picture (so images don't look fatter), you can also crop the avi first and then resize. The steps would be for example:

   Go Video -> Filters -> Add -> Null. Click on the cropping option and then trim the picture. e.g. 320x240 -> 320x200.
   
   Go Video -> Filters -> Add -> 2:1 Reduction. This will then half the resolution e.g. 320x200 -> 160x100.

4. Go Audio -> No Audio

5. Go Video -> Frame rate.. Select 'Convert to fps' in the Frame Rate Conversion box. This is to lower the amount of frames in the clip. Around 8 fps is good.

6. Go Video -> Compression, Select 'Uncompressed RGB'.

7. Go File -> Save as avi, give the clip a name and hit save.

   MAKE SURE YOU GIVE THE FILE A NEW NAME SO YOU DO NOT OVERWRITE THE ORIGINAL FILE!

Step 2 - Creating the CVC file

Now that we have our avi file in the correct format, we just need to run it through Avi2Cvc to compress it and reduce the colours.

1. Click on load and select the avi file created above.

2. For most clips the default settings will do. To see if the dither should be changed, press preview to view what the converted video will look like.

3. Press Start to begin the conversion.

4. With luck you should now have a .cvc file you can put on your Cybiko and play!

Updated 20/04/2024