DivX compatible DVD players and how to tell

[Movie_Angel]

How can you tell if a DVD player can play DivX movies? I know it will say it on the box or have a symbol letting you know, I was just curious what symbols or phrase one should look for when buying a new DVD player if they're interested in being able to play their DivX or avi movies.

And this is why I want to know.

I currently have the LG Super Multi DVD Recorder that obviously plays DivX/avi movies and I love the player greatly and have recommended it to others, but I have friends who are devoted to other brands and wanted to know what to look for when buying a new player.

Now my LG box (yeah, I still have it) doesn't actually say it plays DivX movies and I didn't know until I put in a disc that wasn't labeled to find out what movie it was and found out it was filled with DivX/avi movies.

It does however have 12 other lovely symbols on the box saying what it plays (Ram compatible recorder, DVD Video, RW DVD Re-Writable, RW Compatible, DVFX, MP3 CD-R/RW, Plays Windows Media, Compact Disc, HDMI, Dolby Digital, Progressive Scan, and the number 1 in a globe) I do know what many of those stand for but I was wondering just which one of those will tip the unsavvy among us that it is DivX compatible.

Do forgive this newbie if this has been covered elsewhere, I found nothing on it upon searching and a link to the answer is just as welcomed as any imparted wisdom you all have.

I don't need brand recommendations, just the way to tell if any DVD player one might be looking at is capable of playing DivX/avi movies.

Thanks in advance!

Angie. :flower:

[UTR]

The Divx logo is usually on the box and the player itself. If it isn’t then there is about a 99% chance it is not Divx (or Xvid/AVI) compatible. Most manufacturers would tout this ability for a marketing advantage.

[AGJ]

Bring a disc with you that has divx/avi on it when you go dvd player shopping. Tell the sales person you want to test it using your own movie. If it plays then good if not try another

[Movie_Angel]

[QUOTE=UTR;2083952]The Divx logo is usually on the box and the player itself. If it isn’t then there is about a 99% chance it is not Divx (or Xvid/AVI) compatible. Most manufacturers would tout this ability for a marketing advantage.[/QUOTE]

I completely agree and have suggested looking for it, but that’s not always the case. The box for my LG [B]doesn’t[/B] have a DivX logo of any kind on it which is why I was surprised to find it could actually play DivX/avi movies so there’s has got to be more then just that logo to be able to tell.

Unless of course my box wasn’t printed correctly. Which could be the case. But upon looking at other LG DR787Ts none of them report the ability to play DivX/avi movies. And the LG site doesn’t even have it anymore.

[QUOTE=GJ;2083957]Bring a disc with you that has divx/avi on it when you go dvd player shopping. Tell the sales person you want to test it using your own movie. If it plays then good if not try another[/QUOTE]

The problem with taking a DivX/avi disc to the store is the fact that not all models are on display or even hooked up so you can test them out. And at some places when you ask the staff about compatibility they give you a blank look and tell you to check the box.

[AGJ]

[quote=Movie_Angel;2083964]

The problem with taking a DivX/avi disc to the store is the fact that not all models are on display or even hooked up so you can test them out. And at some places when you ask the staff about compatibility they give you a blank look and tell you to check the box.[/quote]
I always get them to hook it up to a TV so I can see if my disc plays in it. If they want the commision they will do it just ask.

[Movie_Angel]

[QUOTE=GJ;2083969]I always get them to hook it up to a TV so I can see if my disc plays in it. If they want the commision they will do it just ask.[/QUOTE]

It never does hurt to ask! And get a manager when you come across an unaccommodating salesperson.

Thanks!

[Ripgut]

The cheap $40 Philips DVD players at Walmart play DivX.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5584897

[olyteddy]

There’s a list of DVD players over at VideoHelp.com that can be filtered to tell if a model supports DivX. Also a lot aof machines will say MPEG4 instead.

[troy512]

[QUOTE=Robert De Niro;2083980]The cheap $40 Philips DVD players at Walmart play DivX.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5584897[/QUOTE]

yeah my cheap magnavox from walmart plays every avi ive put in it. put then again ive had trouble with a few backed up dvds not recognized. played fine in my other player.

id start where the others have suggested, look for the divx logo. if not, search the internet. google is your friend.

[NBR]

just a side note: …

as i mentioned before ‘IF’ you can find a xbox 1 console for real cheap (say 50 ish dollars) i think that’s overall better deal then buying a 40-50 dollar divx player at your local store like wal-mart etc… but to get full benefits your pretty much going to need a wireless controller as a wired controller can and will be a issue for most people… i personally use the Logitech wireless controller (one of the best you can get for it) for the xbox1 and im pretty happy with it… or i believe you can even use the official remote control for it to on XBMC (XBox Media Center, this is the program you use to play all the divx/xvid etc etc files) to.

only drawback to the xbox 1 method to playing DivX/XviD is initial setup as you got to softmod it etc… which basically means opening up the xbox1 console and connecting it to your pc and modifying stuff on the hard drive etc with a program called XBoxHDM.

plus another drawback of xbox1 vs a home divx player is some people are really picky with noise levels. cause even though i dont consider the xbox 1 ‘that noisy’, it is still noticeably louder vs a home player which is pretty much silent.

but i think overall the xbox 1’s benefits out weight the drawbacks in my opinion cause the xbox 1 will play just about any video/audio format a pc can play (besides high def of course cause of CPU limitations) which a home divx player cant and you get a bonus of using it for games and emulators (emulators = playing old stuff like super nintendo/sega genesis/n64 etc etc on it)

also another benefit to the xbox 1 console side is… you can store video files (DivX/XviD etc) inside the xbox’s hard drive when playing so it will save on laser wear and tear since it wont even use it

xbox1’s hard drive (which basically is on the E partition) is about 4.7GB ish (i.e. can store roughly 3-6 XviD/DivX movies on it) when ready to use after the XBoxHDM process (i.e. softmoding) and if you happen to have a seagate in the xbox1 you can even format the F partition and get an extra 2GB of space for more storage.

basically to get movies inside the xbox1 you can use either FTP or copy them from a dvd recordable disc to the xbox’s hard drive using XBMC’s (Xbox media center) file manager… i personally prefer the ftp method. the ftp method is just flat out easier/all around better if you already have a router for your pc etc.

but i guess if you want a decent player that you just plug in and use… obviously the home standlone divx players are better… but if you can do the initial setup on the xbox1 i think the xbox1 is clearly better in the features dept as im sure it aint as picky on what it can play vs the home standalone ones.

also… if terms of rewinding and fast forwarding etc i would say the home players are most likely better although the XBMC program still works ‘good enough’ cause it takes some slight getting used to initially but once your used to it, it generally aint a problem.

but basically the controlls on XBMC for playing xvid/divx on the regular controller are… left trigger = rewind (since it’s pressure sensitive the more u push it the faster it rewinds) and the right trigger = fast forward… the dpad if u press left once it drops back 30seconds instantly and if you push right on the dpad it goes ahead 30seconds instantly… if you push UP on dpad it jumps 10minutes ahead… if you push DOWN on dpad it drops 10minutes back… the A button = Pause/Play… B button = STOP playback… there’s other buttons like the clear/white button displays the time left on video and time into the video… the black button shows little side info like what video format the file your playing is in and audio format it’s in etc… the X button lets you browse through the menu’s on XBMC while the video is still playing etc… that should sum up the basics

---

Xbox 1…
Pros =…
+Plays just about every video/audio format a PC can. (no high def though cause of CPU limitations)
+XBMC (updates to this program on roughly a weekly basis to improve the program/correct bugs etc… i been using this since Aug 2004 and it’s always worked great on pretty much all divx/xvid i used it on)

Cons = …
-Noise levels. (can be annoying/to loud for some people but it’s not a issue for me)
-Initial Setup. (takes a while to initially setup cause of connecting to pc to change stuff on hard drive etc)
[B]-Potential damage to PC and/or XBox. (cause of hotswaping, which means you have to disconnect/reconnect the IDE cable from the xbox1’s hard drive when power is on. which potentially can damage your pc and/or xbox! … but i did it many times with a older pc i have and it never hurt anything ;)… DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!)[/B]
-Wired Controller (as this aint a realistic option for most people who EXPECT wireless solution when playing movies etc at home… but i bought a ‘Logitech Wireless Controller’ and now i dont have a problem or you can buy the official remote control for it to solve this issue but costs more money)

Standalone DivX Player…
Pros =…
+Noise Levels (basically dead silent )
+you just plug it in and use it.

Cons =…
-Cant play nearly as many audio/video formats as the XBox1 can.

[NBR]

also forgot to add to my previous post…

with XBMC you can also stream XviD/DivX files sitting on the PC and play them real time on the XBox using XBMC. … basically you dont need the video files on the xbox to play them if the xbox has access to the pc’s network etc.

i use this feature alot myself.