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TinyCircuits Products => TinyTV & Tiny Video Player => Topic started by: ang-tinytv on June 18, 2025, 04:38:06 PM

Title: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: ang-tinytv on June 18, 2025, 04:38:06 PM
I was going to search the forum to see if this had already been answered, but couldn't find a search feature for the forum. Hoping this isn't duplicated info I am asking. :)

When I purchased the TinyTV 2, I thought that any video in AVI format would work, but unfortunately I am finding that is not the case and that it needs to be formatted in a specific way (ffmpeg codec I believe?). I have read that if I download the Tiny TV video converter for Mac, it should work to convert my files to the proper AVI format, although as a general rule for security reasons, I never download anything to my Mac unless it's through the app store. It doesn't look like your video converter is available through the Mac App store.

Is there an app that is sold in the Mac App store that I can use to convert my videos to the proper AVI format that you require? I have already tried a few of the top results for video conversion, but they don't convert with the proper AVI format that you use and those video's won't work after I add them to the Tiny TV 2.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide for this.  :)
Title: Re: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: aureliojin on July 12, 2025, 12:13:56 AM
Quote from: ang-tinytv on June 18, 2025, 04:38:06 PMI was going to search the forum to see if this had already been answered, but couldn't find a search feature for the forum. Hoping this isn't duplicated info I am asking. :)
Incredibox (https://incredibox-game.io/home)
When I purchased the TinyTV 2, I thought that any video in AVI format would work, but unfortunately I am finding that is not the case and that it needs to be formatted in a specific way (ffmpeg codec I believe?). I have read that if I download the Tiny TV video converter for Mac, it should work to convert my files to the proper AVI format, although as a general rule for security reasons, I never download anything to my Mac unless it's through the app store. It doesn't look like your video converter is available through the Mac App store.

Is there an app that is sold in the Mac App store that I can use to convert my videos to the proper AVI format that you require? I have already tried a few of the top results for video conversion, but they don't convert with the proper AVI format that you use and those video's won't work after I add them to the Tiny TV 2.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide for this.  :)
It's true that I also misunderstood like you, thinking AVI is AVI, but unexpectedly there are so many different versions of codec. I think the company should give clearer instructions or provide sample files so that users can easily visualize what the correct format is. Hopefully there will be an official app on the App Store soon so I don't have to look for external software!
Title: Re: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: enygma on July 16, 2025, 08:16:05 AM
I've been dying for Handbrake parameters - I want to take a bunch of videos of my friends etc. (~100+ videos) and load them on my TinyTV 2, which doing so via TinyTV Converter would be time consuming, where Handbrake can batch-convert.
Title: Re: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: geometrylite on July 16, 2025, 07:49:37 PM
Quote from: ang-tinytv on June 18, 2025, 04:38:06 PMI was going to search the forum to see if this had already been answered, but couldn't find a search feature for the forum. Hoping this isn't duplicated info I am asking. :)

When I purchased the TinyTV 2, I thought that any video in AVI format would work, but unfortunately I am finding that is not the case and that it needs to be formatted in a specific way (ffmpeg codec I believe?). I have read that if I download the Tiny TV video converter for Mac, it should work to convert my files to the proper AVI format, although as a general rule for security reasons, I never download anything to my Mac unless it's through the app store. It doesn't look like your video converter is available through the Mac App store.

Is there an app that is sold in the Mac App store that I can use to convert my videos to the proper AVI format that you require? I have already tried a few of the top results for video conversion, but they don't convert with the proper AVI format that you use and those video's won't work after I add them to the Tiny TV 2.

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide for this.  :)
Totally understand your concern — it can definitely be tricky when file formats are more specific than expected, especially on macOS where security is a priority.

You're right that the TinyTV 2 requires AVI files in a very specific format, typically encoded using ffmpeg with certain settings (like specific resolution, codec, bitrate, etc.). Most generic video converters — even popular ones from the Mac App Store — won't produce the right output without deep customization.

Unfortunately, as of now, I don't believe there's a Mac App Store app that fully replicates the conversion process used by the official TinyTV Video Converter. That converter is optimized to meet all the TinyTV playback requirements.
Title: Re: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: parsons3 on September 23, 2025, 10:56:30 AM
When I first bought the TinyTV 2, I assumed any AVI file would play, so I was just as surprised as you when most of my videos didn't work. I also try to keep my Mac secure by downloading only from the App Store, so I completely understand your hesitation. I experimented with a couple of well-reviewed converters from the store, but none of them produced the correct format. In the end, the only reliable method I found was using the official TinyTV Video Converter. It's not ideal, but it seems like the most straightforward solution right now.
Title: Re: Tiny TV 2 - AVI Format and Video Converter Download
Post by: fsx on October 03, 2025, 01:58:06 AM
The converter tool uses ffmpeg, the commands it uses are below.
They are basically the same between models, just changing the resolution and increasing the quality on TinyTV 2.

TinyTV 2 (210x135)

TinyTV Mini (64x64)

TinyTV DIY Kit (96x64)

It would be more work to automate the normalize option, but this is the command it uses:
ffmpeg.exe -i "in.mp4" -vn -ac 1 -af aresample=10000,aresample=async=1000,asetnsamples=n=210:p=0,aresample=osf=u8,volumedetect -f null /dev/null
You would run this on the file and parse the max_volume result. A result of max_volume: -1.9 dB means you would use volume=1.8dB in the commands above instead of volume=0.0dB