DvdToSymbian is a simple Windows batch script to convert widescreen DVD films using the free VLC player for watching on a Symbian S60v5/S^3 phone with screen size 640x360 - for example, the Nokia 5800/N97/N8, Sony Ericsson Satio/Vivaz.

One of the most popular multi-purpose media players is VLC which runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It will play all main video/audio formats, handles streaming media and much else besides. VLC is free and is available from www.videolan.org.

If you are already a VLC user, you may know that it can also convert between video formats. For example you can transcode a video which is in DivX format to MP4 format, so that it can be played on a Symbian device. Unfortunately, converting videos using VLC's GUI is a bit fiddly and some of the more powerful transcoding options aren't available. To get the full power of VLC, you need to use the command line interface.

Starting from a DOS prompt, DvdToSymbian.bat will rip a widescreen film (2.35:1 aspect ratio) from DVD so that it can be played back on a Symbian 640x360 screen. This batch file is for Windows, however it's possible to write similar scripts for Mac OS X and Linux. Here are the steps (just do these the first time only):

Wait until VLC has finished and copy the converted file to your Symbian device. Now sit back, get the popcorn ready and enjoy the film!

Note: please observe copyright laws when using this program.

DvdToSymbian downloads:
   DvdToSymbian  S60v5 / S^3  1.00  2010-07-23  by Malcolm Bryant