divx aspect ratio on standalone player

[maca]

Like a lot of folks, I convert downloaded avi files to dvd-compliant mpgs for viewing on a dvd player. But for my next player, I'm planning to buy one that plays divx and xvid by itself.

Currently, when I convert a widescreen movie to mpg, I'll make it a 16x9 anamorphic mpg and flag it as such, so that my player will play it normally on my widescreen set, but other players will know to letterbox it if the player's set for a 4x3 set.

My question is, how do standalone players treat the aspect ratio of an avi? Does it know the difference between 16x9 and 4x3 settings when dealing with an avi, as it does with mpgs? Thanks for any info.

[celtic_druid]

For MPEG-4 the AR info is stored in the actual video stream. This should work irrespective of container. It works fine here with XviD encodes. Should also work with DivX, however I think you would need to set it afterwards.

Just make sure that you get an MTK based player and you should be ok. You might want to take a test disc in to make sure. Definatly avoid ESS based players at any rate.

Unlike DVD you can basically flag any AR to. Not just 16:9 or 4:3.

[maca]

Thanks, Druid; sounds like I should be ok.