Getting AVI to your parents?
September 13, 2005 8:58 AM Subscribe
Let's say a guy name Joe has a large amount of video (AVI) files, (such as, for the sake of conversation, a couple seasons of HBO programming), that he wants to get onto his technologically-unsavvy parent's computer, (which is in a different state w/ dialup access).
How should he best go about doing it, considering time and money?
possible ideas:
1. Buying them an inexpensive PC w/ a video-out card and cables, and then mailing them data-DVD's. (Cons being setup cost)
2. Buying some software and exporting all of the video as DVD-quality discs which they can play in their standard DVD player. (Cons being time spent burning like 100 gigs of video, wear and tear of dvd burner, and dvd player potentially not reading discs)
Thanks for any advice!
Buy them an external Hard drive and through all the videos on that. Then mail your parents the hard drive.
posted by meta87 at 9:09 AM on September 13, 2005
posted by meta87 at 9:09 AM on September 13, 2005
I'm with LukeyBoy. A burner can be had for less than 25USD, so the wear and tear on the burner shouldn't be too much of an issue. As far as players go, might I suggest the Philips DVP642? I know 2 or 3 mefi members that have these, and they're pretty happy with them.
posted by bachelor#3 at 9:10 AM on September 13, 2005
posted by bachelor#3 at 9:10 AM on September 13, 2005
If you buy them any new technology, will you also end up as their help desk? You may want to consider that. I think a lot of us have been down that road before...
I'm with Lukey Boy FWIW. And burning the discs isn't so horrible, just click here and there and come back later, do another, repeat ad nauseum (which you would do anyway when burning them as data DVDs, wouldn't you?)
posted by poppo at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2005
I'm with Lukey Boy FWIW. And burning the discs isn't so horrible, just click here and there and come back later, do another, repeat ad nauseum (which you would do anyway when burning them as data DVDs, wouldn't you?)
posted by poppo at 9:21 AM on September 13, 2005
If you go the DivX DVD player route (which is a great idea, IMHO), double check the discs will play first. I am pretty sure there's no standalone players that do H.264 video, along with a few other highly compressed XviD/DivX formats, so those would need transcoding.
posted by shepd at 9:34 AM on September 13, 2005
posted by shepd at 9:34 AM on September 13, 2005
yeah, most stuff that I've seen is in XviD now, and most of the DVD players that play even DivX are apparently not ready for prime time (though I haven't looked into it for about 6 months -- any movement on that front, tech nerds?)
At some point you might want to take into account the time and money you're going to spend burning them these seasons and just end up saying "fuck it" and buying the DVD sets new. IME converting DivX to anything that a regular DVD player can burn is a bitch. If your folks can't handle the Step 2, which is getting the AVIs to their TV or wherever they want to watch them at, you're going to spend enough time and money getting them there that it might just be worth buying them (IF, and that's a big IF, they are available at this point in time -- for example, SFU is at what, season 3 on DVD?). Plus that way the people who worked on them get royalties and whatnot.
posted by fishfucker at 9:39 AM on September 13, 2005
At some point you might want to take into account the time and money you're going to spend burning them these seasons and just end up saying "fuck it" and buying the DVD sets new. IME converting DivX to anything that a regular DVD player can burn is a bitch. If your folks can't handle the Step 2, which is getting the AVIs to their TV or wherever they want to watch them at, you're going to spend enough time and money getting them there that it might just be worth buying them (IF, and that's a big IF, they are available at this point in time -- for example, SFU is at what, season 3 on DVD?). Plus that way the people who worked on them get royalties and whatnot.
posted by fishfucker at 9:39 AM on September 13, 2005
I have one of the dvp642 players, and have successfully played DivX files on it; I will say that I had some low-res non-standard pixel size AVIs and they played, but looked like crap--most DivX files though look pretty good.
Order one of these through Amazon ($58? What a deal!) or whatever and have it shipped directly to your folks. Burn them a bunch of discs with multiple DivX files and mail them. This is probably the least error-prone route to go. If you don't already have a burner, well hey, getting one will be a bonus for you.
posted by adamrice at 9:43 AM on September 13, 2005
Order one of these through Amazon ($58? What a deal!) or whatever and have it shipped directly to your folks. Burn them a bunch of discs with multiple DivX files and mail them. This is probably the least error-prone route to go. If you don't already have a burner, well hey, getting one will be a bonus for you.
posted by adamrice at 9:43 AM on September 13, 2005
The major video chains offer the HBO discs for rental. A $50 blockbuster/hollywood video card can take care of this whole mess for you. No hours of burning, no tech support for a new dvd player they might have trouble with.
I say this as someone who has a tivo with the pc option and the sonic software to burn the dvd's. I have found that, while the idea is cool, the time it takes to make them just isn't worth it for most shows.
posted by sciatica at 9:58 AM on September 13, 2005
I say this as someone who has a tivo with the pc option and the sonic software to burn the dvd's. I have found that, while the idea is cool, the time it takes to make them just isn't worth it for most shows.
posted by sciatica at 9:58 AM on September 13, 2005
Get them a Netflix subscription for Christmas.
posted by exhilaration at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2005
posted by exhilaration at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2005
The Philips DVD642 changed my life. (The closest thing I can think of that would be an equivalent life-changing technological moment would be the first time I burned my own audio CD.) No more time spent converting files and authoring DVDs! I just burn the AVIs to a blank DVD or CD and the thing plays them. It's really sweet, especially since you can fit two or three times the number of episodes on a DVD that way.
posted by MegoSteve at 10:47 AM on September 13, 2005
posted by MegoSteve at 10:47 AM on September 13, 2005
I like exhilaration's idea, but there are programs designed to convert (tons of) different video formats to DVD. Dvd Santa (not free) and WinAVI Video Converter (also not free) come to mind although I'm sure there are plenty more (none free that I've found). The chaptering was the part I didn't like much. And, yeah, it's time consuming alright.
That Phillips standalone unit looks like the best idea, and I may have to get one myself!
posted by sublivious at 11:22 AM on September 13, 2005
That Phillips standalone unit looks like the best idea, and I may have to get one myself!
posted by sublivious at 11:22 AM on September 13, 2005
Response by poster: wow! you guys are great...
i'm a little fuzzy though: these players you are describing actually read the raw file format? (Xvid...no AVI?). so i can still pack an entire season of Deadwood onto one data DVD and send it on its way? that would be perfect...
i'm a little worried since i have to use the all-encompassing VideoLAN player to get them to work on my Mac, and any hardware player i buy might not be as flexible (or updateable).
re: renting -> all of the stuff i have is too recent. my parents would definitely rent...but the turnaround seems to be 6 months to a year for these things...
posted by cgs at 12:23 PM on September 13, 2005
i'm a little fuzzy though: these players you are describing actually read the raw file format? (Xvid...no AVI?). so i can still pack an entire season of Deadwood onto one data DVD and send it on its way? that would be perfect...
i'm a little worried since i have to use the all-encompassing VideoLAN player to get them to work on my Mac, and any hardware player i buy might not be as flexible (or updateable).
re: renting -> all of the stuff i have is too recent. my parents would definitely rent...but the turnaround seems to be 6 months to a year for these things...
posted by cgs at 12:23 PM on September 13, 2005
Response by poster: second comment: how do i convert these AVI files to DivX? (or are they already DivX? is DivX just a codec? heading to wikipedia...)
posted by cgs at 12:30 PM on September 13, 2005
posted by cgs at 12:30 PM on September 13, 2005
Another vote for the phillips DVP 642. I have had it for a year and some and really don't have many complaints. Occasionally the audio gets out of sync, but I don't remember seeing this with the latest firmware. Most of the TV shows online will work on this player. The shows are usually branded based on the group which encodes them. I have had good luck with "HDTV-LOL" captures.
Note: even tho the files say HDTV, they are usually just standard resolution files which will play back fine on a normal TV. The exception is the HR-HDTV which is high resolution HDTV and won't work.
Downloading and burning DIVX is the only way I watch TV now. The picture is much better than my cable connection and all the ads and station bugs have been removed. The whole process (download-burn-watch on special player) sounds like a hideous pain in the ass, but it is well worth it.
cgs: DIVX is just a codec (a bastardized MPEG4 as I understand) Usually the AVI files are in DiVX or XVID format already. All you have to do is burn the AVI files to a DVD and they will play fine.
posted by phatboy at 12:52 PM on September 13, 2005
Note: even tho the files say HDTV, they are usually just standard resolution files which will play back fine on a normal TV. The exception is the HR-HDTV which is high resolution HDTV and won't work.
Downloading and burning DIVX is the only way I watch TV now. The picture is much better than my cable connection and all the ads and station bugs have been removed. The whole process (download-burn-watch on special player) sounds like a hideous pain in the ass, but it is well worth it.
cgs: DIVX is just a codec (a bastardized MPEG4 as I understand) Usually the AVI files are in DiVX or XVID format already. All you have to do is burn the AVI files to a DVD and they will play fine.
posted by phatboy at 12:52 PM on September 13, 2005
Response by poster: thanks phatboy...
i'm also a believer on the whole download-tv system...i'm considering canceling my cable.
i'm curious, though, regarding your setup: does your computer have video out? i just carry my laptop (go powerbook!) to my TV area and plug in the stereo and S-video cables... no burning necessary. if you don't have video out, you might consider getting a card... alot less painfull :-)
posted by cgs at 12:58 PM on September 13, 2005
i'm also a believer on the whole download-tv system...i'm considering canceling my cable.
i'm curious, though, regarding your setup: does your computer have video out? i just carry my laptop (go powerbook!) to my TV area and plug in the stereo and S-video cables... no burning necessary. if you don't have video out, you might consider getting a card... alot less painfull :-)
posted by cgs at 12:58 PM on September 13, 2005
A timely thread on where to buy cheap DivX players [via fatwallet].
posted by fishfucker at 1:02 PM on September 13, 2005
posted by fishfucker at 1:02 PM on September 13, 2005
cgs:
I don't have video out. I burn all my shows to a DVD-RW and play them on the phillips. I'm tempted to get one of the networked video players to remove the "burn to DVD" step, but they don't seem to be ready for prime time. Ideally one of the new DVD players with network connetions that play DIVX/MP3/internet radio would be ideal. I am waiting for one at a decent price with a low number of problems. I also want one that plays HDTV Xvid and DIVX files so I can watch on my projector with 5.1 sound.
To be honest, all this work is just so I can watch the O.C. with my wife and download old captured from VHS episodes of Brisco County Jr.
I actually don't like the idea of a computer in the living room, since I'd like to separate my work from my relaxation. That is just my neurosis tho.
posted by phatboy at 1:11 PM on September 13, 2005
I don't have video out. I burn all my shows to a DVD-RW and play them on the phillips. I'm tempted to get one of the networked video players to remove the "burn to DVD" step, but they don't seem to be ready for prime time. Ideally one of the new DVD players with network connetions that play DIVX/MP3/internet radio would be ideal. I am waiting for one at a decent price with a low number of problems. I also want one that plays HDTV Xvid and DIVX files so I can watch on my projector with 5.1 sound.
To be honest, all this work is just so I can watch the O.C. with my wife and download old captured from VHS episodes of Brisco County Jr.
I actually don't like the idea of a computer in the living room, since I'd like to separate my work from my relaxation. That is just my neurosis tho.
posted by phatboy at 1:11 PM on September 13, 2005
It sounds like your best bet would be an external hard drive that connects to your parents TV via A/V cables. A remote control would help here too.
This may be too expensive and you'll have to ship it to your parents, but you only have to copy the data once: Archos AV4100.
This is brand new, and overkill, but it would probably work. Similar devices here and here.
All they would have to do is change the channel to "A/V In" and then use the devices file navigation to watch the shows. It sounds too complicated for my parents, but then again they returned the first Tivo I bought them since they couldn't figure it out.
posted by marc1919 at 9:44 PM on September 13, 2005
This may be too expensive and you'll have to ship it to your parents, but you only have to copy the data once: Archos AV4100.
This is brand new, and overkill, but it would probably work. Similar devices here and here.
All they would have to do is change the channel to "A/V In" and then use the devices file navigation to watch the shows. It sounds too complicated for my parents, but then again they returned the first Tivo I bought them since they couldn't figure it out.
posted by marc1919 at 9:44 PM on September 13, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by LukeyBoy at 9:02 AM on September 13, 2005