DivX
I personally am a fan of DivX files, which are basically compressed video files so they don’t take up a load of space. They have the distinct advantage over normal DVD files as they are a lot smaller and thus save valuable space on your hard drive or media player. The actual software to play these files is free and you can find out more about it and download it for both Windows and Mac here from the official DivX site: http://www.divx.com/
The same company offer a program (DivX Converter) that converts your DVDs to DivX format but after having experienced a problem with this, like many others too according to what I’ve read on the Internet, the solution was to install a free AC3 codec. For those of you who are not-so technical, this is a file that allows videos with AC3 encoded sound to be played correctly on your PC. Maybe you have downloaded a video and you can see the picture perfectly but there is no sound. Well, it could be that you are missing the AC3 codec. As to the DivX converter, after having installed this codec, my DVDs converted with no problem at all. You can download this free AC3 Codec here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TUWN1SXY
Screenplay Pro HD
Finally, if you have a lot of multimedia files and photos, I would recommend obtaining a multimedia hard drive. As more and more people are moving into the digital age and using digital cameras and videos, this means that we are now accustomed to dealing with multimedia files. Up to now, these have normally been viewed on a PC or burnt to a DVD and watched on a DVD player. However, the advantage of a good multimedia player is that you have ample storage space and you can keep all your files in one place and watch them on your TV without having to have the PC connected to it. I personally recommend Iomega’s “Screenplay Pro HD” that comes in both 500mb and 1Tb format as it accepts a wide range of multimedia file formats, plays Full-HD resolution and comes with a remote control and all the neccesary cables, including the high-definition HDMI cable. You can find out more about it at the offical site: http://go.iomega.com/en/products/multimedia-drive/screenplay/screenplay-pro/?partner=4735#overviewItem_tab
Auto Gordian Knot
So now you know what to play your DivX files on, HOW DO YOU MAKE A DIVX FILE? My personal favourite is a completely free program called “Auto Gordian Knot” (“AGK” for short). It’s made by a UK company and there is a very comprehensive help guide on their website: http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=TutorialEN. You can download the program from there but I’ve made a direct download link here (you just have to wait about 30 seconds if you don’t have an account with Megaupload): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T62V4QN7
If you have any questions (and especially if any of the above links don’t work), then please feel free to leave your comments below.
