Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with divx

Best/Cheapest way to stream video/audio media from PC that also acts as HD backup?

bmilner — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:38:16 -0800

Best/Cheapest way to stream video/audio from PC that also acts as HD backup? (wants: Codec support, cheap, netflix support) My 1TB external HD crashed and since I'll need a replacement, I figured why not finally add the ability to stream content to my TV in the next room. There are so many confusing options out there. Here are my wants & what I know. Any opinions?

MUST HAVE:
1. 1TB or more storage space. I will use this as a backup drive for my Vista PC
2. Ability to play many codecs. I get videos from many places H264, Divx, WMV, Mp4 etc and I'd love to avoid having to convert them.
3. Play Mp3s from a library or folder structure
4. Wi-Fi support. I don't have ethernet by my TV

NICE TO HAVE:
1. Netflix/YouTube support.
2. Ability to handle large music collections I have 100GB of music so poor interfaces that scroll slowly will suck.
3. Variety of outputs so even though my TV is standard DEF component video now, I'll likely go HD in next year or two. (HDMI?)
4. No dependency on iTunes or Windows Media Player running on my PC. I hate those apps. I use Media Monkey.

NOT NEEDED (if adds to cost):
1. BitTorrent
2. Blu-Ray support
3. DVR functions (I have a TiVo series 2)

WHAT I'VE CONSIDERED:
1) Popcorn Hour A-110: Could put a 1TB drive in it. It would appear on network so I could use it as backup drive and media player. Cons: confusing, poor UI, netflix support is unofficial via $40 3rd party program

2) XBox 360: Plays games as a bonus. Means I have to run Windows Media Player on PC, yuck. Has Netflix. Also, limited codec support? Doesn't solve drive backup issue. Would need to buy separate USB drive for PC

3) XBOX w/ XBMC: I don't know how up to date this software is. Does it support netflix? Wifi? Needs seperate drive for PC backup

4) Mvix Ultio Media Player (http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/home-entertainment/bd4f/): Seems like Popcorn hour. Don't know which is better/easier.

5) Ps3 Slim: I've heard codec support's better than Xbox360. NO dependency on Windows Media Player? Netflix Support? Still needs an external drive for main backup

SO, any recommendations? Thanks!

Finding the right AVI encoder settings

Yakuman — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:21:34 -0800

How do I encode AVI files in Xvid or Divx according to the fashion often seen on bittorrent, where two hours of US TV, minus commercials, fits on one CD?

Ripping a TV series in Handbrake

snap_dragon — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:52:59 -0800

I can rip movies to Xvid using Handbrake and it is all good....it rips the movie but no special features which is fine....But lately, when I tried John Adams (miniseries) or the TV show the 4400, it only took one chunk out of the whole disc and ignored the other episodes. Is there a way around this so I can get all the episodes even if they are lumped into one .avi file? (I really don't mind all the fast-forwarding). Thanks...and to all of those reading/responding...have a great weekend.

Avi to DIVX DVD?

Mitheral — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:51:54 -0800

How do I burn .avi/.mpg/.flv/.divx etc. to a DVD-R for use on a Divx enabled stand alone DVD player? Windows Vista home 32bit and Toshiba SD-V39K DVD/VCR combo (apparently Divx certified) similar to this model.

Please Walk Me Through the Steps in Making a Divx DVD

UnholyJudas — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:59:08 -0800

Well, something is wrong...I use Mac the Ripper to rip the DVDs...then I am not sure what to do. I turned them into mp4s in Handbrake and then burnt them in Toast under the Divx tab. I get a lot (maybe 6?) movies to a disc (dual layer)and the picture is decent BUT it takes several days...a day to encode the files through Handbrake and then 2 whole days to burn the disc in Toast. Am I doing things completely wrong? I would appreciate a step by step walkthrough if there is a much easier and more efficient way to make Divx discs primarily because I have a huge spindle of DVD-DLs that I don't want to waste on one movie at a time. Thanks for your help and happy holidays! By the way I am using a brand new IMac running OS 10.5.5

External USB Hard Drive For Xbox 360

turgid dahlia — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:20:58 -0800

I need an external USB hard drive that will work on my Xbox 360. Ohai! So listen, I have an Xbox 360, which is great. I also have a 2GB thumbdrive/memory stick (whatever you want to call it) that I sometimes enjoy putting DivX movies or TV shows on in order to watch them on the aforementioned Xbox 360. I also like to listen to MP3s on my Xbox 360. I think these are all good healthy natural things, but I would like to not have to be constantly deleting stuff from the thumbdrive in order to make room to put other stuff on there. So, basically, I need a larger drive.

I know you can get fairly big thumbdrives these days, and they are relatively inexpensive, but I'd much prefer an external HDD (say, 100GB or more), because those are handy for plenty of things. I already have a 100GB Maxtor OneTouch but the problem is, it simply doesn't work on the Xbox. The 360 just plain refuses to recognise it. So I'm wondering if this is going to be the case with any other external USB HDD I happen to run out and purchase. Sandisk 2GB Titanium = good, Maxtor 100GB OneTouch = bad.

Could this be because the Maxtor has an external power supply? If I was to get a plain old USB-powered external HDD, would I have more luck? I'd love to hear from other Xbox 360 owners about which external HDDs, if any, work flawlessly on their 360's. Thanks in advance!

DVD/Handbrake Divx Burning Woes

snap_dragon — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 15:59:36 -0800

I using Mac the Ripper than Handbrake to turn DVDs into mp4 files. (I use DVD dual layer)...When I use Roxio Popcorn, I can fit several movies on a disc (4) but it takes honestly a day and a half to burn on DVD !!!! But the DVD plays perfectly in my cheap player. Trying a different route, I tried dragging the mp4s to a blank DVD disc and then clicking "Burn" -- it burns and takes only 30-40 minutes but this version will not play on my DVD player. Anybody out there have an idea what I can do to make the process more efficient? Different software or different method? I appreciate your insight. By the way, I am running Mac OX X 10.5.5.

Need Video Card for...Video!?

Oktober — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:37:28 -0800

What's the best video card to get for xvid/divx and h.264 decoding? Long story short: I've given up on Cable TV, most of what I watch now is either streamed from hulu and netflix or downloaded from the internets. Getting a faster connection has improved my streaming performance, but watching ostensibly "HD" h.264 videos has been somewhat less than satisfying. There's still a lot of noise, and sometimes visible interlacing.

I'm using Media Player Classic under Vista Ultimate for the most part, although I've got VLC and WMP and Quicktime and everything else on this machine. I'm running a GeForce 7600GT with component out on a Core 2 Quad machine.

I've heard here and there that newer videocards "help out" on video decoding, but I don't really need it to free up CPU time or anything, but instead improve the quality of the output video. Games are less of a concern, I'm more or less a full-time Xbot now, so if the Geforce 9600 does it as well as the 9800 GTX+ or whatever, I'd rather save the money. Also, if I'm exporting to a LCD HDTV, would simply going from a component video connection to a HDMI connection solve my problem?

Editing DIVX directly in iMovie/FCP

unSane — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 06:46:26 -0800

I've got a VIO POV1 helmetcam which records video as .avi files in DIVX format. What do I need to edit this directly in iMovie and Final Cut Pro? Whenever I've tried to do this kind of thing before (using Flip4Mac as I remember) I've run into issues, for example FCP requiring me to render sound for the clips I drop into the timeline.

I've already tried Flip4Mac, Perian and the regular DIVX/XVID codecs and although some will allow me to play the movies with sound in QT, none of them so far will allow iMovie to recognize the files.

Solution before has been to transcode to DV or some other format using ffmpegx or similar, but the movies are long and this takes up a heck of a lot of disk space and it's slow.

Quicktime says the format is 'XVID', 720 x 480, Millions.

(I'll probably transcode to DV for final editing but I'm looking for a quick and dirty way to edit movies on my laptop to play to a group of riders each day on a trip to Moab).

WinAVI crapped out on Vista Premium 64-bit. What other friendly converter such as WinAVI can I use instead to convert xvid/divx/etc to .vob files so I can burn them as a DVD with Nero and such.

cheero — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:28:37 -0800

WinAVI crapped out on Vista Premium 64-bit. What other friendly converter such as WinAVI can I use instead to convert xvid/divx/etc to .vob files so I can burn them as a DVD with Nero and such? Thanks in advance WinAVI crapped out on Vista 64-bit. What other friendly converter such as WinAVI can I use instead to convert xvid/divx/etc to .vob files so I can burn them as a DVD with Nero and such?

Thanks in advance

divx? DVD? what?

youngergirl44 — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:27:21 -0800

I want to rip my TV Series DVD's and store the episodes on my computer (Windows 2003 or XP). Can someone tell me what hardware I need to do this? Just a DVD drive in the computer? I've found some software information, including this old AskMe thread, but updated recommendations would be helpful. I'm not going to share the shows with anyone. I just want to be able to watch a whole day's worth of these shows without changing discs in a DVD player or selecting episodes from a menu.

It's technically a gift for my BF, but I'm going to enjoy it too. He mentioned something about getting a divx encoder. Is that the same as the divx software or is it an actual drive to install?

Usually I'm not this bad with technology, but ripping DVD's or even burning our home movies to a disc isn't something I've ever tried to do before.

Help me setup my home theater network?

geoff. — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 11:01:59 -0800

How do I make an easy to use media server? I'd like a nice, pretty interface that'll allow me to play any files on the back-end without having to do work on the front-end. Can Windows Media Center be run over a VPN? Is there one that more properly showcases new movies or television shows? I have a really nice connection (10/10) and recently came into the possession of some really nice HP DL360s servers. Here's my current setup:

- I usually receive content in a variety of formats depending on if it is HD or SD and even then a few formats. I have two dual core 2.8GHZ processors so I think I have enough to transcode HD streams on the fly if I need to ...

- Right now the servers sit in my basement and I have HDMI over Cat5. So my process for watching a movie now is terminal into the server, browse the file directory for the file "ugly-named-file.mkv" and run it in VLC. I then change the video source on my television to the correct input and see a nice 720p/1080i or upscaled DVD of the movie. I guess I could run Microsoft Presentation Server so that the desktop is never seen, but I still have to use Windows Vista as a GUI when I terminal in, which isn't really conducive to browsing for files and is impossible to show other people how to do this, or at least it takes too much time. It is a really "ugly" way of doing things, even if it gives me a quick and dirty way to use the functionality of VLC to play anything.

So I would like to be presented with a clean, nice interface that lists what movies are available, and if possible, sort them by new movies some how. I have a lot of movies (500+) and I don't want to have to go through all the movies to try an discern what might or might not be available. I would also like something that can present content in a coherent format. So I select "The Wire" I can drill down by season and by episode.

Basically I guess I'd like something akin to "HBO on Demand" in terms of simplicity and use. I'd like all the processing and transcoding to take place on the server end, if possible, but perhaps the ability to buffer data if I'm out of town and on a connection that can't stream HD.

Is SageTV what I want? Does anyone have experience with Microsoft Media Services?

I'd really like to set this up to run over a VPN, which I think should be possible. Slimserver does fine, so if I'm at a different location I can connect to the VPN and point my player (or in most cases, just my laptop) to http://slimserver or whatever and be off and running. I realize I can setup a VPN and a shared drive, but I'd like a little more granularity in how to access a large amount of movies and shows.

I'd like to buy one of those "media center extenders" that are only $200, but if I don't get enough granularity with those (XBOX360 won't let you play HD movies within Media Center, and only WMV encoded HD outside that, which absolutely no one uses). I don't think I can do HDMI over IP, way too much latency, so my current situation really limits me. If I remember Media Center by itself does a bad job with some HD files, and an HTPC with a harddrive, processor, etc. would spoil the fact I have a more than capable server to do all the work on. I'd like a nice thin-client solution if at all possible.

There seem to me several things like Sony LocationFree or Slingbox that might do what I want, but I'm confused to how they work and if they would work with my setup ... any experience on how to do this? Any advice?

DIVX/XVID from PC to TV by DVI

onshi — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 15:08:45 -0800

I want something just like an Apple TV, but without the reliance on iTunes. Specifically, I want to view DIVX/XVID content from my Vista PC, wirelessly, with DVI output. With a $200 budget, have I no hope? All the CES coverage has reignited my interest in this product category. If streaming devices are too expensive, are there any simpler products analagous to the SanDisk TakeTV... again, with DVI or HDMI out?

DVI out (or HDMI in a pinch via a converter) is important because I'll be viewing content on an LCD monitor lacking component inputs.

What is the best codec, settings and software to backup animation (Disney, Pixax) DVDs?

dinkyday — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:58:23 -0800

What is the best codec, settings and software to backup animation (Disney, Pixax) DVDs? Through the years I have built up quite a large collection of DVDs of animated features (by Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks) and now I want to back them all up on an external harddrive. Main reason is convenience but also because I have had a few experiences where brandnew DVDs would be 'unreadable' at some point in the movie. My experiences with writable DVDs are even worse so that is why I want to go the harddrive route. For live-action movies I would just use the standard settings in any DVD to Divx software but with animated movies I can always tell that I'm looking at a compressed copy of the original. Is it possible to compress animation DVDs further without getting visible artifacts in the copy or should I just copy the VOB/MPEG2 files 'as is'?

Streaming video from a Mac to an Xbox 360

ssmith — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:28:06 -0800

I was reading the December 2007 Video Playback FAQ about the new video options that are going to be incorporated in tomorrow's Xbox 360 dashboard update. And I was surprised to see question #28: "How can I stream content from my Mac?". They imply that it's possible, but they don't mention any 3rd party solutions. What Mac software can I use for this?

DVR to Computer

Gideon — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:46:16 -0800

I've a Scientific American Explorer 8300 DVR with Cox cable. I don't have a stand alone dvd writer but would like to be able to keep certain shows. I know many people attach their DVR's to computers and download the videos off, and I'm fairly tech sufficient... but I can't seem to find any recent info about this device and how I can (if I can) download the recorded content. Thanks!

Best media streamer for HDTV (under $300) ?

lattiboy — Tue, 01 May 2007 10:32:06 -0800

Now that I found out the XBox 360 won't have Xvid support in the Media Extender (thanks M$), what alternative media streamer would the mighty filter suggest to view the LOADS of Xvid (and perhaps x.264 HD) content on my PC via my HDTV over a wired network connection? This is wordy, sorry:

I've tried 3 different streamers (pinnacle, Dlink, Buffalo) and all have had some serious problems with speed or compatibility or image quality. I built a myth tv box, but MySQL is the devil and I don't have 3 weeks to work it out.

I'm not against building a front-end type system for viewing the content, but would like something more manageable (and cheaper) for the girlfriend. I've seen a lot about the Netgear EVA8000, but its so expensive you could build a decent HTPC.

My current PC is a in a HTPC case, so I could connect it to my TV, but its so powerful it would be a waste. Also, I'm running Windows MCE and my motherboard doesn't play nice with Linux.

I've read hundreds of opinions, but I always value the thoughtfulness of MetaFilter members. Thanks!

How do I encode for a standalone DivX player with Handbrake?

obiwanwasabi — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:00:08 -0800

If I use Handbrake for Mac to encode a DVD title to an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio, will it play in a standalone DivX player if I use the ffmpeg codec, or must I use the (much slower) XviD codec instead? My very limited understanding of these things is that ffmpeg / DivX / XviD are just different codecs that do the same thing - encode and decode MPEG-4/MP3 video streams. Is this right? Or will a standalone DivX player not have the faintest idea what to do with an ffmpeg'd stream, and spit it out?

Best way for .tivo -> .avi ??

judge.mentok.the.mindtaker — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:45:32 -0800

I'm looking for the best way to get movies off my Series 2 TiVo and into high quality un-DRM-ed television shows of really any format, but preferably some kind of DivX. I've looked around some and experiemented and I've found seems to either not encode right or constantly reboot my tivo, so I was hoping for someone who has actually done this successfully already. I don't use windows, so while I have access to a windoze box to do the initial conversion, I need a solution that doesn't leave me with .wmv files that don't play in windoze media player anyway.

I used to use the old TyTools for my series 1 backups, but now that my series 2 isn't modded, I have to use the tivo desktop stuff I guess? Basically, as far as competency, I can rip a dvd from disk to divx so best doesn't mean easiest.

Thanks!!!!

How do I loop an AVI video?

gfrobe — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 09:24:52 -0800

What video player will allow me to loop a specific section of an AVI video? I've downloaded a few guitar instruction videos to my PC (Windows) and they're in AVI or DIVX format. I have to continually repeat small sections to catch what the guitarist is doing and sliding that little reverse bar on Windows Media Player is just not working well for me. Is there a player that will allow me to set a start and end point and have the section play in a continual loop?

How to get subtitles to format correctly from my DVD player?

xo — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 23:41:58 -0800

My friend gave me a home-burned DVD of DIVX content that comes with SRT subtitles. My DVD player plays the media fine, except it seems to display the subtitles too large -- they line-break in odd places and then the second line of text doesn't appear on screen at all. But if I watch the files on my computer in VLC, everything is fine. I've checked all of the DVD player options and can't seem to find anything that would affect font/size or position of subtitles. Is there a program that would allow me to open the SRT files and re-save them with different font or line-break options, so I could re-burn them to DVD and watch them from my DVD player (in the living room)?

From mkv to divx

PenguinBukkake — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:03:53 -0800

I have a bunch of .mkv files, a Mac (10.3.9, Toast), and a DVD player that plays divx. How can I convert those dang .mkv files to a format readable by my DVD player? Thanks.

Can't play divx files in powerpoint

allthewhile — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 21:42:40 -0800

Whenever I embed divx or xvid files into my powerpoint presentations they speed way up and there isn't any sound. I have all the proper codecs installed as they play correctly through windows media player.

How can i stop my explorer from crashing?

Rlocurto — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 22:06:43 -0800

Divx seems to make my computer crash, has this happened to anyone else? I recently downloaded a video and had to install the divx codec. Whenever i try to open a video file now, my explorer crashes. Does anyone know why this is happening? Ive been told it isnt divx, but it seems to only happen when trying to view a movie using the divx codec.

DivX to .SWF conversion always converting without a sync.

cheero — Mon, 22 May 2006 21:53:11 -0800

DivX to .SWF conversion always converting without a sync. I have a video that is an .AVI (DVcodec), I converted it to DivX via VirtualDub and later on converted it from DivX to .SWF via (Flash Video Studio 1). For some unknown reason, whenever it gets converted to .SWF, the audio/video are not in sync. The main reason why I did this is because more people can see flash videos rather than DivX (at least my friends group.) I am looking for the correct way to convert this so it does not keep coming out of sync.

I've tried converting the raw file (the avi/dvcodec) one and it converts it to flash just fine, however, the file size is rather large, I am also looking for a way to compress it a little bit.

If it helps, the original avi file (DvCodec) is 270MB. When I convert it to DivX via VirtualDub, the size is knocked down to about 26 with almost no quality loss. So the third step is where I get shafted, which is the conversion to SWF which normally works, but never when I do it via DivX to .swf. Is there an alternative way? Should I convert the original file via VirtualDub to some other codec and then try to do in Flash Video Studio? Or is there another way I should do this entire procedure?

Any help is greatly welcomed. Thank you in advance!