How to watch video file on TV without having to burn on DVD?

[Rasckita]

Well, I really don't like watching videos on computer (it hurts my eyes ) so I normally burn them on DVD-R and watch it on my TV. BUT burning DVD can be a pain sometimes because you spend hours and hours converting & burning and sometimes the burned DVD doesnt work and you spend lots of money with DVD-Rs

But sometimes I want to watch random episodes of diferent series and I think it's not worth losing time to burn them.

So... what I would like to ask is :

How can I watch video files (like avi, mpg, mp4 etc etc) on TV without needing to burn it on DVDs?

What's the easier and faster way?

I heard you can do that using 'iPOD Video' ... like you add videos on your IPod and then use a cable to connect your ipod to your tv and then you can watch it on TV. Have anyone tryied this?

[epi]

I always watched all my videos on TV. I have a laptop and it has an S-video plug so what I did was I bought an S-video cable and connect the laptop to the TV.

You need to change the channel to AV2 (that's what it is on my TV, don't know if it'll be the same for any other TV). On the laptop you just have to change the graphic properties to extended desktop. What happens is the TV becomes your extended desktop. When you have your player playing the video you just move it over to the TV. You can continue working on your laptop while watching the videos on TV.

[Rasckita]

thanks for replying!

Mmm... so doing that, can one person use the laptop (do whatever they want ...) while the other watch the videos on TV?

Does anyone knows any other solution? A cheaper one?

[itsukiD]

why not purchase a divx dvd player? they're readily available and cheaper than buying a video ipod. most can play avi files with divx codec 6 and below, no conversion needed so backup and play (but have yet to find a dvd player that will play mp4,mkv).

I have the philips dvp5960, philips dvp642, lgdvb418, pioneer 393s, magnavox mwd7006 all divx players and an old athlon pc hooked up to a plasma for additional drama watching. each have there pros n cons.

for samples of picture quality i've posted some here at this topic:
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_49273.htm

good luck.
D

btw... what type of tv are you going to watch on? jus curious...

[epi]

thanks for replying!

Mmm... so doing that, can one person use the laptop (do whatever they want ...) while the other watch the videos on TV?

Does anyone knows any other solution? A cheaper one?

Yeah ... I do this all the time. My friend will use the laptop and I'll watch video on TV. Do you live in the US? The S-video cable itself is pretty cheap and you can get it at any RadioShack. I think this can be done if you have a PC too. However the usual problem is that the S-video cable is not long enough to connet a PC to a TV.

I just remembered one other thing. The only complain about this method is that since you are using the laptop memory to watch video, the laptop will run slower than usual. So it really depends on the kind of laptop (or PC) that you have. But for me personally I never have problem with this method

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

A second video card will work as well. Or if you have onboard video and a video card. Or a single video card that has both monitor and TV out that will work at the same time. I'm currently using onboard to an old CRT monitor for windows media player(music) and a low end video card with TV out to supply both my LCD monitor and my TV. All 3 work at the same time. The lag is retarded though. Surfing the internet while somebody is watching lags the video. But I only have 600 somethign MB of ram and a 1.8ghz CPU. Altho, for some reason playing music on WMP and watchign a video has zero lag.

[itsukiD]

before i responded, i should've asked:

1. how much are you willing to spend?

2. what type of tv are you using?

[kyuuketsuki]

I agree with itsukiD on this. If you just want something easy and am not too worried about quality or overscan, then get a divx player. This won't play any MP4s though. They will play most AVIs and probably MPGs if they are VCD or DVD format.

You can burn to a DVD RW as a data disc and just play the AVIs right off the disc. You can also erase the disc when you are done. I do this sometimes with Japanese entertainment shows that I only want to see 1 time.

Check here for a list of dvd players.

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

[groink]

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

--- groink

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

Mmm, only nice if there's no overscan issues. Otherwise an old PC is probably better.

[AkumaX]

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

--- groink

that thing would be awesome if it had a NAS

[itsukiD]

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

--- groink

are there any performance/quality screenshots available online. kinda curious on how this unit takes on subs and whether codecs can be updated...

[AkumaX]

Mmm, only nice if there's no overscan issues. Otherwise an old PC is probably better.

The problem of Overscan doesn't lie with the DVD Player, it is with the TV

Hack your TV to (most TV's have a Debug menu, like a Sony or Panasonic that I've tweaked with) to eliminate it

[maepoet]

Like Epi, I use an s-video cable to connect my laptop to the tv to watch all my videos. The only problem is sound, since the s-video cable only covers video input/output you'll be hearing the sound from the laptop instead of the tv. I got another cable that attaches to my audio system from my laptop, and voila, sound through big speakers =]

I'm sure there's a pretty big s-video cable available if you wanted to connect from your PC to your TV.

[Rasckita]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestion.

before i responded, i should've asked:

1. how much are you willing to spend?

2. what type of tv are you using?

My TV is an old Sharp (21 inches screen). I think it has around 8 years old. lol
When burning dvds I always have to add an additional black border to the video because of overscan problems! :/

I would prefer not to spend the price of a computer to do this, so I'm trying to search for a cheaper solution.

I agree with itsukiD on this. If you just want something easy and am not too worried about quality or overscan, then get a divx player. This won't play any MP4s though. They will play most AVIs and probably MPGs if they are VCD or DVD format.

Well I don't mind if it's not super high quality, but i would like it to have a quality good enough to watch the videos and not stay with the eyes hurting (i depend on subtitles to understand the videos ).

why not purchase a divx dvd player? they're readily available and cheaper than buying a video ipod. most can play avi files with divx codec 6 and below, no conversion needed so backup and play (but have yet to find a dvd player that will play mp4,mkv).

I have the philips dvp5960, philips dvp642, lgdvb418, pioneer 393s, magnavox mwd7006 all divx players and an old athlon pc hooked up to a plasma for additional drama watching. each have there pros n cons.

Thanks I didn't knew there were divx player that played softsubs.
Which player do you recommend?
And is there any dvd player that supports other codecs?

I'm sure there's a pretty big s-video cable available if you wanted to connect from your PC to your TV.

Is there a way to connect the cable on Tv and watch the videos while other person do wathever they want on the computer?

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

--- groink

Is this a HDTV?

[groink]

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

--- groink

Is this a HDTV?

The DVD player doesn't set what is or isn't HDTV. The media itself does. If you have a VIDEO_TS formatted DVD video in HDTV format, the DVD player will play the video in that format. This device is capable to playing both 4:3 and 16:9 video, from the data I've read so far. I'm going to go ahead and purchase this device. It's quite cheap, so it'll be interesting to see what this thing can do.

--- groink

EDIT - Just ordered it. Sheesh, $35 fricking dollars just for shipping. Still, if this box works to my expectations, I'll be one happy groinkster.

[itsukiD]

My TV is an old Sharp (21 inches screen). I think it has around 8 years old. lol
When burning dvds I always have to add an additional black border to the video because of overscan problems! :/

I would prefer not to spend the price of a computer to do this, so I'm trying to search for a cheaper solution.

the cheapest retail divx player that i've seen is the Magnavox MWD7006 at walmart for 37.73... plays avi files only and has srt support (but the subs are small, but i have a work around for that) composite, component, and s-video outputs. using a divx dvd player is great cuz u dont have to reencode anything, jus backup it up on a dvdr and play, unless u need to do something with the subs (see below)

i have this machine set up to a 50" toshiba rear projection screen with component cables in my L.A. place and plays fine (like a dvd, if the episode is widescreen, it plays with the borders automatically) . I'll try to bring it down for an quality/performance check using a similar tv set (magnavox 20in with s-video) and post screenshots of my findings.

*hint*
worried about the small hard to read subs that the machine provides, here's my work around:

use divxmuxwizz (find it on divx.com, must have current divx codec installed) to integrate the subs on to the avi file that will have a bigger font like this sample:


takes about 3mins to encode and using the program is pretty self explanatory, but if u have any question feel free to pm...

[groink]

Here's another device I might consider evaluating:

http://www.pc4usa.com/DetailSales.asp?p ... =19&Catn=6

This includes the 500GB hard disk. It also has an Ethernet interface, and it appears that it is used to access content from your PC and play it on the TV (you can buy this without the HD, and use the PC to store the video content.)

Interesting...

--- groink

[itsukiD]

Here's another device I might consider evaluating:

http://www.pc4usa.com/DetailSales.asp?p ... =19&Catn=6

This includes the 500GB hard disk. It also has an Ethernet interface, and it appears that it is used to access content from your PC and play it on the TV (you can buy this without the HD, and use the PC to store the video content.)

Interesting...

--- groink

sweet, it has component outputs!!! i wonder how this compares (omitting the hard drive)with slingbox? or dare i say apple TV?

[jez]

Like u said earlier, u can connect ur ipod video to the t.v. and watch it. I do that a lot and it works! Hope this helps...

[AkumaX]

Like u said earlier, u can connect ur ipod video to the t.v. and watch it. I do that a lot and it works! Hope this helps...

yeah but don't you have to convert to ipod video first?

[AkumaX]

Here's another device I might consider evaluating:

http://www.pc4usa.com/DetailSales.asp?p ... =19&Catn=6

This includes the 500GB hard disk. It also has an Ethernet interface, and it appears that it is used to access content from your PC and play it on the TV (you can buy this without the HD, and use the PC to store the video content.)

Interesting...

--- groink

FYI (i learned this the hard way)

this thing uses NDAS, which means your computer (or any other computer on the network) has to install a driver in order to see it on a network (unlike a true NAS, where it automatically appears under the share)

anyways, not a bad device... yikes, but $255???

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

also, im considering getting a divx dvd player w/ wireless... (around $90)

[groink]

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

The one reason that turned me off from the DVP series (or any DVD player with USB) is that my USB drives (I regularly purchase the WD MyBook drives - currently have six of these) are all either NTFS or FAT32. The DVD players I read about support only FAT, which is what thumb drives use. That's why my impression was that the DVD/USB supported only flash devices like thumb drives, sdram cards, etc. Whereas the two non-DVD devices I mentioned can handle both FAT32 and NTFS. There are also limitations to FAT, such as files larger than 2GB; many of my files are larger than 2GB (I save all my caps to their original MPEG-2 720x480 format.) Even though the disc player portion supports UDF, it still doesn't help me regarding the FAT limitation on non-optical media.

--- groink

[AkumaX]

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

The one reason that turned me off from the DVP series (or any DVD player with USB) is that my USB drives (I regularly purchase the WD MyBook drives - currently have six of these) are all either NTFS or FAT32. The DVD players I read about support only FAT, which is what thumb drives use. That's why my impression was that the DVD/USB supported only flash devices like thumb drives, sdram cards, etc. Whereas the two non-DVD devices I mentioned can handle both FAT32 and NTFS. There are also limitations to FAT, such as files larger than 2GB; many of my files are larger than 2GB (I save all my caps to their original MPEG-2 720x480 format.) Even though the disc player portion supports UDF, it still doesn't help me regarding the FAT limitation on non-optical media.

--- groink

whoops, actually that comment wasn't meant for you, it was more for the casual people (you know, the type that say, downloads weekly eps of hanazakari no kimitachi e on a thumbdrive), etc...

yeah, power users. need to beat that ntfs/fat32 limitation. if you got the cash, maybe you could fork some major dough for a ps3, because through the miraculous advent of firmware updates, its actually becoming one serious media player (you can either use Nero Vision to stream videos, or get a DLNA drive like a buffalo terastation, twonkyvision or whatever for streaming)

[itsukiD]

i say we all collaborate to build a "D-A" standalone device that would take care of all our needs. just a thought

[nophankh]

Great thread. I was looking for something like this. I have an ipod video, so can someone tell me how I can play videos without converting to mp4 format...that takes forever.

I am interested in getting divx player and an s-video card too. sounds interesting.

[snowgongju07]

My TV is an old Sharp (21 inches screen). I think it has around 8 years old. lol
When burning dvds I always have to add an additional black border to the video because of overscan problems! :/

I would prefer not to spend the price of a computer to do this, so I'm trying to search for a cheaper solution.

the cheapest retail divx player that i've seen is the Magnavox MWD7006 at walmart for 37.73... plays avi files only and has srt support (but the subs are small, but i have a work around for that) composite, component, and s-video outputs. using a divx dvd player is great cuz u dont have to reencode anything, jus backup it up on a dvdr and play, unless u need to do something with the subs (see below)

i have this machine set up to a 50" toshiba rear projection screen with component cables in my L.A. place and plays fine (like a dvd, if the episode is widescreen, it plays with the borders automatically) . I'll try to bring it down for an quality/performance check using a similar tv set (magnavox 20in with s-video) and post screenshots of my findings.

*hint*
worried about the small hard to read subs that the machine provides, here's my work around:

use divxmuxwizz (find it on divx.com, must have current divx codec installed) to integrate the subs on to the avi file that will have a bigger font like this sample:


takes about 3mins to encode and using the program is pretty self explanatory, but if u have any question feel free to pm...

hi itsukiD, can u help me with the link to the DivxMuxWizz? I cant find it on the divx page. Coan u help me find it? Plus what do u mean that i have to convert the file extension to avi after encoding it? u mean it will become harsubbed? THanks very much!

[adeothers]

Do you have a TiVO? I use a TiVO with the TiVO TOGO desktop 2.3 software. You can watch video files, listen to your music & view your pictures in your computer on your TV.
- Set up the Tivo on your home network (you can use it on a wireless network - you just need a wireless connector for the Tivo)
- Install the Tivo software on your computer, it sets up a server on your computer and all you need is to have the video files in the mpg format and you can watch it on the TV connected to the TiVO.

See http://www.tivo.com/mytivo/domore/tivotogo/index.html

It is really easy and you use any video converter program to convert the files to mpg

[AkumaX]

i say we all collaborate to build a "D-A" standalone device that would take care of all our needs. just a thought

heh, yeah, a dvd/divx/xvid/h264/x264/hdd-swappable/networked/wireless/ez-firmware/codec-updates set top box with component/s-video/hdmi. lets do it!

[InTr4nceWeTrust]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTPC

[AkumaX]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTPC

whoa, whoa, whoa :- that's a whole new can of worms

[itsukiD]

hi itsukiD, can u help me with the link to the DivxMuxWizz? I cant find it on the divx page. Coan u help me find it? Plus what do u mean that i have to convert the file extension to avi after encoding it? u mean it will become harsubbed? THanks very much!

here you go..
http://labs.divx.com/files/support/setupDivXMuxWizz.exe

after the file has been integrated, it will have the ".divx" extension. all you have to do is change it to ".avi" ie:
after integration:
sample.divx
simply change it to:
sample.avi

i wouldnt consider it hardsubbed cuz the subs have to be selected on your dvd divx player.

good luck.
D

[groink]

Here's a device I'm looking into getting:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... h-display/

I like the concept:

- Can host a built-in hard disk
- Plays most of the current codecs and formats
- Supports many of the soft subtitle formats

Only thing it doesn't have is HDMI or s-video output. But whoopie big deal! It is still much better than burning disks. I need to do more research...

I received the box today... In summary, IT IS AWESOME!!!!!

I'll write a full-detailed review of the device within the next few days, and will post it on my web site - complete with photos and sample screen shots. During the first four hours or so of playing around with the player:

- Bought the player with no HD. Installed a 250GB HD. Formatted the drive as FAT32. More on that further down.

- Box includes an internal fan. Makes no noise whatsoever. The case is made of sturdy plastic material. Doesn't get hot to the touch, as 250GB HDs tend to heat up A LOT.

- Test the following:
DivX play - works!
XviD play - works!
MPEG-4 play - works!
MPEG-2 play - works!
Test AVI, VOB, MP4 and MPG packages - all work!

- Subtitles - works, and so far tested SSA and SRT. No options for adjusting thickness of the font or color. The font may be too thin for some people. Also, the font background is darkened so that the subtitles come out clearer. The good news is that overscanning is NOT a problem.

- Originally, I had the HD formatted at NTFS (some of my files are over 4GB in size). When playing MPEG-2 files, it skipped every few seconds. After Googling around a bit, I found out that the skipping is due to the way NTFS is accessed. Re-formatted to FAT32, and it played the MPEG-2 files smoothly.

- HD speed is excellent for a USB drive. However, I discovered that the player conflicts with my Western Digital "My Book" USB drive. Tried the combination on two different PCs. So in order for me to copy files from the WD to the video player, I have to first copy the files to my PC's HD, and then copy to the player.

- Remote works well. The play/pause button is pretty weird, as when using the interface, it is unclear when you use the enter key vs using the play/pause key. Fast-forward and re-wind is smooth, and reaches speeds up to 16x.

- Found out that the player does support S-Video! The player also supports VGA displays. I'm only able to test with a 4:3 VGA display.

- The USB interface is non-standard, as it uses the mini USB connector - identical to most cell phone connectors. The cord that comes with the player is only two feet, so I ended up having to use an extension cable for it to reach my PC.

- You cannot have the player connected to your PC and use it as a video player at the same time.

- The power transformer works in both 50 and 60 cycles. The power cable that came with the kit is made for the Chinese, but the transformer uses the universal PC power connector, so I was able to use an ordinary U.S. PC power cable.

- The firmware is upgradeable. Where do you download firmware - I have no idea. There's also no indication in the player as to what version of firmware it is using.

- Although the kit is made in China, everything is in English. The manual is obviously translated English, but still it is easy to comprehend most of the information. Actually, I didn' t even read the instructions until about two hours after first using the player.

--- groink

[itsukiD]

hey groink...

any chance you'll post screenshots of video with srt/ssa? now if they make one that supports 16:9 wide plus hdmi i will consider making a purchase.

thanks for your review
D

[Dark2003]

yeah i just got a laptop with an A\V port on the side

[Sayumi]

I've got a sony dvd player at home, w/o usb it's only got (if I read well) a firewire
& softsubs don't work with that one, plus I have to write a dvd as well each time
so I was quite interested in this thread too

[mt877]

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

The one reason that turned me off from the DVP series (or any DVD player with USB) is that my USB drives (I regularly purchase the WD MyBook drives - currently have six of these) are all either NTFS or FAT32. The DVD players I read about support only FAT, which is what thumb drives use. That's why my impression was that the DVD/USB supported only flash devices like thumb drives, sdram cards, etc. Whereas the two non-DVD devices I mentioned can handle both FAT32 and NTFS. There are also limitations to FAT, such as files larger than 2GB; many of my files are larger than 2GB (I save all my caps to their original MPEG-2 720x480 format.) Even though the disc player portion supports UDF, it still doesn't help me regarding the FAT limitation on non-optical media.

--- groink

groink,

You should check out the Zensonic Z500 network dvd player. It's not in the spec, but the Z500 supports USB drives which are NTFS formatted.

I have a network dvd player I-O Data AVEL Linkplayer2, it is very similar to the Zensonic Z500, but not as feature rich. I can run server software on my Mac or PC to stream video and subtitles to the Linkplayer, also I just purchased a Buffalo Linkstation Live 500GB Gigabit NAS which has a build in server for streaming multimedia files. Ok, all this hardware is not a cheap solution, but it's very nice. Instead of getting the I-O Data, I should have waited and got the Zensonic.

http://www.z500series.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's the specs:

Specifications

1. Audio Formats Supported
* MPEG 1 Layers I,II and III
* WAV
* CD Audio (With FreeDB Support)
* OGG Vorbis
* FLAC
* WMA
* AAC
2. Video Formats Supported
* MPEG-1, MPEG-2 MP@HL, MPEG-4
* ASP@L5 (720p), WMV9 MP@ML (720p)
* XviD
* Nero Digital™
* QuickTime with MPEG4 encoding. .MP4 extension
* DVD ISO/IFO ***
3. Picture Formats Supported
* JPG/JPEG2000
* BMP
* GIF
* PNG
4. Playlist Supported
* M3U
* PLS
* ASX
5. Network Support
* Ethernet 10/100 Mbps
* Wireless 802.11b/g
* SMB support -- access Windows shares directly
6. USB 2 device Support
(if the device appears as a mass storage device)
* USB Thumb Drives
* USB HDD Drives
7. Internet Radio Support
* Integrated Internet Radio Player with preinstalled library of stations
* Stations streaming MP3 or ASX are supported
8. Media Streaming Software
* TwonkyVision 2.9 (Full Version)**, Windows Media Connect
* TwonkyVision supports Windows, MacOS X & Linux
* Share Pictures, Audio and Video Files
* UPnP enabled
9. DVD Player
* DVD-Video, SVCD, VCD 1.x and 2.0
* DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW
* CD/-R/-RW
10. Extras
* Subtitle support - SRT, SMI, SSA formats
* Online Weather Panel
* HDCP support
* Digital Rights Management: Windows Media DRM 10 *
* EL backlit remote
* Multi-purpose joystick for quick and easy navigation
* ID3 Tag and display on VFD panel on player
* Incremental Pan and Zoom (fine grained control of zoom in .1 increments)
* Firmware updates from OSD. Check for new updates.
* WEP encryption support on Wireless 802.11g
11. I/O
* SCART output
* HDMI output
* S-Video output
* Composite Video output
* Component output
12. Audio
* Stereo output
* Coaxial output
* Optical output
* Analog 5.1 output
13. Connectors
* 10/100 Ethernet
* USB 2.0
* Wireless 802.11g
14. TV Types
* NTSC (480i / 480p)
* PAL (576i / 576p)
* HDTV (720p50 / 720p60 / 1080i50 / 1080i60)

~~~~~~~~~~~

[AkumaX]

heh heh, nice update groink. im still trying to figure out what to do when i replace my dvp5982...

[sabriyahm]

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas. AVI files and .srt work just fine and I even learned if you press menu and then menu again for some reason the subs get bigger so I have no complaints. However lately with the rise of the x264 codex and MPEG4 i have been looking aroung for a new DVD player that will play them. Hope someone posts in here if something like that comes on the market. Grionks item seems nice but far to much money for me.

[Sayumi]

grmbl, why didn't my dad think about an usb port when he bought ours
surround was his only concern ah well, maybe a firewire cable will work fine as well (if we ever get one)

[jainah]

hi itsukiD, can u help me with the link to the DivxMuxWizz? I cant find it on the divx page. Coan u help me find it? Plus what do u mean that i have to convert the file extension to avi after encoding it? u mean it will become harsubbed? THanks very much!

here you go..
http://labs.divx.com/files/support/setupDivXMuxWizz.exe

after the file has been integrated, it will have the ".divx" extension. all you have to do is change it to ".avi" ie:
after integration:
sample.divx
simply change it to:
sample.avi

i wouldnt consider it hardsubbed cuz the subs have to be selected on your dvd divx player.

good luck.
D

Thank you very much !!!!!!! I just try it and it work !!! You have changed my life !!!

[itsukiD]

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas. AVI files and .srt work just fine and I even learned if you press menu and then menu again for some reason the subs get bigger so I have no complaints. However lately with the rise of the x264 codex and MPEG4 i have been looking aroung for a new DVD player that will play them. Hope someone posts in here if something like that comes on the market. Grionks item seems nice but far to much money for me.

i checked videohelp.com and it lists 6 standalone players that can play the 264 codec, 3 are yet to be available, one from KISS, Samsung, and the playstation 3 (the latter of the two are blu-ray players). the three that are on the market range from $400 and up, but the ps3 might be cheaper in the future with sonystyle's $250 credit for purchasing their ps3.

for me i'm still tryin to put together a mock up for a homemade standalone multi-format "D-A" player, with the minimum hardware requirements for cost effectiveness (considering i've spent about $500 on standalone divx dvd players and never completely satisified with their performances)

any suggestions on the software end would be greatly appreciated.

D

[sabriyahm]

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas. AVI files and .srt work just fine and I even learned if you press menu and then menu again for some reason the subs get bigger so I have no complaints. However lately with the rise of the x264 codex and MPEG4 i have been looking aroung for a new DVD player that will play them. Hope someone posts in here if something like that comes on the market. Grionks item seems nice but far to much money for me.

i checked videohelp.com and it lists 6 standalone players that can play the 264 codec, 3 are yet to be available, one from KISS, Samsung, and the playstation 3 (the latter of the two are blu-ray players). the three that are on the market range from $400 and up, but the ps3 might be cheaper in the future with sonystyle's $250 credit for purchasing their ps3.

for me i'm still tryin to put together a mock up for a homemade standalone multi-format "D-A" player, with the minimum hardware requirements for cost effectiveness (considering i've spent about $500 on standalone divx dvd players and never completely satisified with their performances)

any suggestions on the software end would be greatly appreciated.

D

Does the PS3 have a USB port to plug in a harddrive? Cause if it does thats what I'll buy since I have been meaning to pick one up forever.

[AkumaX]

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas. AVI files and .srt work just fine and I even learned if you press menu and then menu again for some reason the subs get bigger so I have no complaints. However lately with the rise of the x264 codex and MPEG4 i have been looking aroung for a new DVD player that will play them. Hope someone posts in here if something like that comes on the market. Grionks item seems nice but far to much money for me.

i checked videohelp.com and it lists 6 standalone players that can play the 264 codec, 3 are yet to be available, one from KISS, Samsung, and the playstation 3 (the latter of the two are blu-ray players). the three that are on the market range from $400 and up, but the ps3 might be cheaper in the future with sonystyle's $250 credit for purchasing their ps3.

for me i'm still tryin to put together a mock up for a homemade standalone multi-format "D-A" player, with the minimum hardware requirements for cost effectiveness (considering i've spent about $500 on standalone divx dvd players and never completely satisified with their performances)

any suggestions on the software end would be greatly appreciated.

D

Does the PS3 have a USB port to plug in a harddrive? Cause if it does thats what I'll buy since I have been meaning to pick one up forever.

ps3 has 4 usb ports. hard drive has to be formatted in fat/fat32 for it to work

but it works great

[Rasckita]

I'm such a nOob in this subject!

The DVD player doesn't set what is or isn't HDTV. The media itself does. If you have a VIDEO_TS formatted DVD video in HDTV format, the DVD player will play the video in that format.

So does this mean that a dvd that has HDTV written (like my LeeHom Concert DVD, for example) in any dvd player and any TV, the HDTV resolution will show up? Is HDTV resolution better than other resolution?

the cheapest retail divx player that i've seen is the Magnavox MWD7006 at walmart for 37.73... plays avi files only and has srt support (but the subs are small, but i have a work around for that) composite, component, and s-video outputs. using a divx dvd player is great cuz u dont have to reencode anything, jus backup it up on a dvdr and play, unless u need to do something with the subs (see below)

i have this machine set up to a 50" toshiba rear projection screen with component cables in my L.A. place and plays fine (like a dvd, if the episode is widescreen, it plays with the borders automatically) . I'll try to bring it down for an quality/performance check using a similar tv set (magnavox 20in with s-video) and post screenshots of my findings.

*hint*
worried about the small hard to read subs that the machine provides, here's my work around:

use divxmuxwizz (find it on divx.com, must have current divx codec installed) to integrate the subs on to the avi file that will have a bigger font like this sample:

Thanks a bunch!
Does this Dvd player, plays Xvid too? And does it play DVD-R (recorded in data and not video format) I think i'll try a dvd player similiar to this. Any hint on how can I discover if the DVD players support srt? Does it has written in the box? 'Cause I tried asking people that work on stores that sells dvd players but they're not very well informed! Ahhh and one question...does any dvd player that support Divx, play DVD-R recorded in data format and not only CD-R in data format?

Like u said earlier, u can connect ur ipod video to the t.v. and watch it. I do that a lot and it works! Hope this helps...

yeah but don't you have to convert to ipod video first?

I thought doing this procedure would be easy and simple. And in fact, it is easy, but a friend of mine has iPOD video and he told me it can take hours to convert the videos. :/

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas.

MMmmmm... does these divx dvd players with usb input play videos inside a pendrive for example? or can it conect to the pc even if the pc doesn't has separated video board?

Great thread. I was looking for something like this. I have an ipod video, so can someone tell me how I can play videos without converting to mp4 format...that takes forever.

I think there isn't a way to play videos on ipod video without having to convert to mp4. :/

[sabriyahm]

i checked videohelp.com and it lists 6 standalone players that can play the 264 codec, 3 are yet to be available, one from KISS, Samsung, and the playstation 3 (the latter of the two are blu-ray players). the three that are on the market range from $400 and up, but the ps3 might be cheaper in the future with sonystyle's $250 credit for purchasing their ps3.

for me i'm still tryin to put together a mock up for a homemade standalone multi-format "D-A" player, with the minimum hardware requirements for cost effectiveness (considering i've spent about $500 on standalone divx dvd players and never completely satisified with their performances)

any suggestions on the software end would be greatly appreciated.

D

Does the PS3 have a USB port to plug in a harddrive? Cause if it does thats what I'll buy since I have been meaning to pick one up forever.

ps3 has 4 usb ports. hard drive has to be formatted in fat/fat32 for it to work

but it works great

Last Question. Can I see the subs from .srt files on the PS3. Or does the bideo have to be hardsubbed.

[itsukiD]

Thanks a bunch! Does this Dvd player, plays Xvid too? And does it play DVD-R (recorded in data and not video format) I think i'll try a dvd player similiar to this. Any hint on how can I discover if the DVD players support srt? Does it has written in the box? 'Cause I tried asking people that work on stores that sells dvd players but they're not very well informed! Ahhh and one question...does any dvd player that support Divx, play DVD-R recorded in data format and not only CD-R in data format?

yes it does play xvid and it will play dvd-r. most divx dvd players support srt files. not so much on the .ssa files. they hardly state on the box whether they do or dont support srt files... but usually they do. any of the philips dvd branded divx players will do what is asked of in the last statement...

you can do more research at www.divx.com under products or videohelp.com under their dvd players section

good luck...
D

[AkumaX]

I'm such a nOob in this subject!

The DVD player doesn't set what is or isn't HDTV. The media itself does. If you have a VIDEO_TS formatted DVD video in HDTV format, the DVD player will play the video in that format.

So does this mean that a dvd that has HDTV written (like my LeeHom Concert DVD, for example) in any dvd player and any TV, the HDTV resolution will show up? Is HDTV resolution better than other resolution?

i think your tv has to be in HD too (with the proper hookups)

the cheapest retail divx player that i've seen is the Magnavox MWD7006 at walmart for 37.73... plays avi files only and has srt support (but the subs are small, but i have a work around for that) composite, component, and s-video outputs. using a divx dvd player is great cuz u dont have to reencode anything, jus backup it up on a dvdr and play, unless u need to do something with the subs (see below)

i have this machine set up to a 50" toshiba rear projection screen with component cables in my L.A. place and plays fine (like a dvd, if the episode is widescreen, it plays with the borders automatically) . I'll try to bring it down for an quality/performance check using a similar tv set (magnavox 20in with s-video) and post screenshots of my findings.

*hint*
worried about the small hard to read subs that the machine provides, here's my work around:

use divxmuxwizz (find it on divx.com, must have current divx codec installed) to integrate the subs on to the avi file that will have a bigger font like this sample:

Thanks a bunch!
Does this Dvd player, plays Xvid too? And does it play DVD-R (recorded in data and not video format) I think i'll try a dvd player similiar to this. Any hint on how can I discover if the DVD players support srt? Does it has written in the box? 'Cause I tried asking people that work on stores that sells dvd players but they're not very well informed! Ahhh and one question...does any dvd player that support Divx, play DVD-R recorded in data format and not only CD-R in data format?

yes it will play xvid also (theyre practically the same thing)
srt's are a different story however, it might or it might not work

Like u said earlier, u can connect ur ipod video to the t.v. and watch it. I do that a lot and it works! Hope this helps...

yeah but don't you have to convert to ipod video first?

I thought doing this procedure would be easy and simple. And in fact, it is easy, but a friend of mine has iPOD video and he told me it can take hours to convert the videos. :/

yes it can take hours :\

hey, you know there are divx dvd players with usb input (dvp5960/dvp5982)

I have the phillips Divx dvd player with USB port. I also have a 500GB external harddrive. This is how I watch all my dramas.

MMmmmm... does these divx dvd players with usb input play videos inside a pendrive for example? or can it conect to the pc even if the pc doesn't has separated video board?

yes i use usb thumb drives all the time on my divx dvd player w/ usb

[Bankai]

So does this mean that a dvd that has HDTV written (like my LeeHom Concert DVD, for example) in any dvd player and any TV, the HDTV resolution will show up? Is HDTV resolution better than other resolution?

i think your tv has to be in HD too (with the proper hookups)

I'm pretty sure all DVD's are encoded at the same resolution, either 720 x 480 or 720 x 526. You're probably referring to widescreen, which changes the aspect ratio to 16:9 to fit on HD TV's and such. It's only BluRay and HD-DVD that have actual HD resolutions (and yes I believe you need the right cables ie HDMI).

[jholic]

Well, I really don't like watching videos on computer (it hurts my eyes ) so I normally burn them on DVD-R and watch it on my TV.

if watching things on your computer hurts your eyes, it could be your 'screen refresh rate'. i didn't believe my friend at first, but after increasing the SRR, my eyes are a lot happier. go to control panel ... display ... settings tab ... advanced ... monitor tab ... screen refresh rate.

hopefully, you can increase it to 85 hertz. but use the highest it can go.

How can I watch video files (like avi, mpg, mp4 etc etc) on TV without needing to burn it on DVDs?

check out this thread:
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_39797.htm

i spent approximately $150 on a 30gb creative zen vision:m player. extremely happy with it. then you have to go to pcmicrostore.com and kick out a few bucks for a a/v cable to connect with the zvm. (make sure your tv has a/v inputs!! - red/white/yellow holes)

most of the dramas i dl from here, i can drag/drop onto the zvm. bring it to my tv, hook it up with the a/v cable, and i'm watching it. very rarely do i ever need to do any kind of conversions. i'm extremely happy with it.

i know you can probably do the same thing with ipod, sansa, etc.

[AkumaX]

jholic;

increasing it to 75-85hz (120hz!!) only works on crts. most lcds are stuck @ 60hz, but eye problems associated with SRR doesnt apply with lcds much

i bought a zune 30gb for 150. not a bad investment..

but with the new ipod itouch (think iphone w/o the phone part, 8gb = 299, 16gb = 399), who knows maybe that'll be better...

[amabelle]

hi guys!

i am currently in need of more file space because i already filled up my ext harddrive.
AND now i want to be able to watch my files on tv.
so i need a new hard drive with a player (like a divx dvd player).
i dont want to spend on a harddrive & a divx player. i figured it will be more expensive?
Then, i found the multimedia hard drives.
i found the Iomega Screenplay 500GB Multimedia Drive USB..
i am hesitant to buy it because i dont know if it can play subs.
but then i want to buy it because im not much of a tech-y person
this thing has everything i figured you can need to play it on tv.
sooo what do you guys think? i need lots of advise before i buy it.
THANKS!

[ethidda]

Be careful, it doesn't necessarily play the newest h264 video codec. It only says mp4 compatible, but it doesn't specify what kind of mp4. (mp4's can be any kind of audio and video, basically.)

[Otakucrave]

Have any of you tried Windows Media Center? I use it and it streams your videos from your PC to your TV through either an Xbox 360 or their Media box. The quality is excellent.

[Egg-chan]

Not sure if someone suggested this buy you could just buy a vid card with a TV out.. that's what I used for the longest time... (now I use something else that is fairly similar but a lot more complicated than just buying a tv out card.)

Only works if your computer is in the same vicinity as your TV though.

[itsukiD]

for those of you looking for a media player that:

can play divx/xvid
can play H.264/MKV/Mov
HDMI connectability
HDTV Tuner and PVR capability

and have the money to burn, look into DViCO TVIX series:
http://www.tvix.co.kr/eng/

specifically the 4100 or 5100 series, the difference between the two is the shape and price.

me personally i'm waiting for the 6500 series that utilizes the sigma em8635 chip, the models above uses the sigma em8623 chip, which is rather good but i'm always looking for better

hope this helps
D

[kmsae]

If you have a couple of old computers laying around you can do something similar to what I do. You just need to invest in some Hard Drives and maybe a Hardware RAID card if you care about disk performance and redundancy.

My setup:

BACKEND (Storage):
P3 1GHz
1GB SD-RAM
4x 750GB HDDs (RAID 5) = ~2TB usable storage
SATA Hardware RAID card
http://www.freenas.org/
Gigabit Ethernet

FRONTEND (Media Player/Extender):
P3 1GHz
256MB SD-RAM
NO HDD needed
http://geexbox.org/en/index.html
10/100 ethernet
video card w/ DVI or VGA or s-Video

Samsung 50" Projection DLP HDTV + Magnavox 42" 1080p LCD HDTV

If you want to save money just have a Frontend machine and connect an external firewire/usb2 500GB+ HDD w/all of your media files.

Also, an old XBox works great as a Frontend as well.

[ktex]

[quote="Rasckita"]Well, I really don't like watching videos on computer (it hurts my eyes )
For those who say the crt screen hurts their eyes, there is a cheap solution: a glare screen. I have used one for more than three years, and both my eyes appreciate it, I do a lot of reading of ebooks, too.

[^Taka]

I'd recommend a modded/soft modded Xbox with XBMC. They can be picked up pretty cheaply and also can be networked as well.

If all you're looking to play is SD material (any format; MKV, MP4, XviD etc.) then it's great, it also plays H264 SD smoothly and HD (720p, 24fps) XviD episodes fine with newer builds.

[nophankh]

One word and a letter-------S-video cable.

[AkumaX]

i thought about all these devices, and decided to just build a low profile/slim computer to stick behind my tv - pics if anyone's interested

[Rasckita]

Does mp4 players play MP4 encoded in H.264 codec? Is there any Divx player that play H.264 ?



Ahhh I was just wondering...
I have an old computer ... to make it work on my TV with a cable do I need some drive or something like that?

[AkumaX]

Does mp4 players play MP4 encoded in H.264 codec? Is there any Divx player that play H.264 ?

Ahhh I was just wondering...
I have an old computer ... to make it work on my TV with a cable do I need some drive or something like that?

divx players play the divx codec. the divx codec can be inside a .avi or .mp4 container. most modern divx players will be able to play .avi/.mp4 files with the divx codec.

what you're looking for is a h.264 player. the h.264 codec can also go in either a .avi or .mp4 container. there are h.264 players out there, but they're kinda expensive.

if your old computer has either a composite or s-video output, then you should be able to hook it up to a regular (modern) tv. but we'd have to know for sure what inputs your tv has and what outputs your computer has.

[wlben]

I usually watch the movies either DVD or VCD ripped with my computer monitor

[hikkichan]

I run an HDMI cable to my TV from my video card. I basically did it because I picked up a BluRay/HD-DVD combo drive... so, it just worked out well for my files as well.

[fatmouse]

I connect my PC to the TV via the S-Video. It is great. The other method is to buy a media player which plug straight to the TV without using any computer. Such media player costs about US$100.