To convert MP4 to DivX, just follow the instructions below.

1. Go to http://mcebuddy.com/, and follow the instruction to install MCEBuddy.
2. Once installed, open MCEBuddy, tick “File Selection” and enter either *.mp4 (to convert only MPG files) or *.* (to convert any format to AVI – I’ve found that MCEBuddy converts DVR-MS, MPG, and MP4 files effectively!).

What a great tool!

To convert MPG to DivX effectively, just follow the simple instructions below.

1. Go to http://mcebuddy.com/, and follow the instruction to install MCEBuddy.
2. Once installed, open MCEBuddy, tick “File Selection” and enter either *.mpg (to convert only MPG files) or *.* (to convert any format to AVI).

That’s it! Easy and it’s 100% free!

One minute of audio/video footage takes up about 116,521 kB (113 MB) of space! Considering that an average movie is about 90 minutes long, it would require at least 10,241 MB (10 GB) of storage to store one movie. So with my 1TB hard drive, I could store a measly 100 movies. Now that’s just ridiculous! I guess Microsoft doesn’t want to encourage TV recording through Windows Media Center. That’s the only conclusion I can come up with because there are loads of other trusted high quality standards that they could have used to encode video/audio. Like DivX.

Luckily for us, there’s a useful utility that we can use to convert DVR-MS to DivX. The software is called MCEBuddy. MCEBuddy takes your LARGE DVR-MS television recording files and makes them small by converting to another format saving you disk space. I’ve searched high and low for a utility or script that converted DVR-MS to another format successfully. MCEBuddy is by far the best software for the job. Visit MCEBuddy website http://mcebuddy.com/.

1. If you got an XBOX 360, connect it through the internet, then update XBOX LIVE so you can play Divxs. Plug your external hard drive to the 360 via USB, and away you go.
2. Plug your PC/laptop via VGA, if your TV supports it.
3. Get yourself a Hard Drive with a built-in Media Player.
4. Get yourself a dvd player that support most video formats (including divx of course) that’s equipped with a USB port (supporting USB 2.0).

I’ve actually tried all 4 options. I’d say the best option would probably be option 4. I also highly recommend the Highlander HDMI DVD DivX Player. It’s cheap, fully functional, and supports a wide range of video formats. Here’s a run down of all it’s features:

1. Highlander HDMI DVD Player – Multiregion
2. 5.1 Channel MPEG-4/DiVX /HDMI DVD Player
3. Region free
4. Loader: Sanyo HD65
5. Solution: MTK 1389HD
6. Support DVD-R/DVD/VCD/HD-CD/CD-R/MPEG-4/DiVX/HDMI
7. Support Multilingual Dialogue (up to 8 tracks) and subtitle
8. Support NTSC/PAL playback
9. 4x Zooming Playback
10. Full function Remote Control
11. Onscreen Display, Parental Control
12. Selectable Screen Aspect Ratio (4:3 & 16:9)
13. Dolby AC-3 5.1 Channel Audio Output
14. Composite Video, S-Video Output
15. Programmed/Repeat Play Remote Control
16. Accessories: AV Cables and Remote Control

Pros:

1. Great quality video through HDMI or Component input
2. Zoom Playback
3. USB and SD card input

Cons:

1. It’s got a wide case and it’s not pretty
2. Can’t seem to turn off the zoom onscreen display when zooming in
3. 8 character file name limit makes it hard to determine which video to select
4. Setting up component display requires connection via RCA first
5. If you accidentally press reset on your remote control then it restores settings to factory default. This means that you have to hook up your device via RCA in order to switch the display to component

I’d give this device a 7.5/10. For its price and functionality, I’d push that up to 8/10. You can get more information about the product by going here:

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/highlander-hdmi-dvd-divx-player/