DVD player that will play Divx correctly.

[ThaDraGun]

Whats a good dvd player that plays divx with usb? I know there are tons out there, but are there any that will play them correctly? I don't know what the problem is, but it's very annoying. I have two dvd players (both Phillips) that have problems playing divx. When a scene comes up that is 'busy' the video becomes choppy. This happens when there is rain or snow on the screen, if there are large crowds of people walking and so on. Is there any way to fix this? When I watch the movies on my PC they are just fine. I thought if I bought a newer model they would have fixed the problem, but I guess not.

I have Phillips DVP5960 and HTS3450


EDIT: I think I found a firmware upgrade that fixes the DVP5960 so it doesnt go choppy anymore on divx with usb. I'll have to test it out a bit more to know for sure.

Does anyone know where I can get an update for the HTS3450? I might be able to get my hands on a HTS3555 instead... does that one have the same problem??

[Krispy Kritter]

The most common issue is that the files aren't encoded correctly for standalone playback. Some players are have throughput issues using USB (can't pull the data fast enough). To help troubleshoot a file or throughput issue, try burning one of the files onto DVD, and then play it back. The the playback issues continue, it is the files. Using a PC to test file playback is of no use. A PC has access to any codec(s) needed for proper playback, a standalone player does not.

[RabidDog]

This happens when there is rain or snow on the screen

This is absolutely typical of bitrate issues .. I have the same problem with a phillips 5982 .. maybe they are saving usb2 for h=def .. or maybe they think usb1 is good enough. If you read your phillips manual you will notice it doesnt mention being able to play movies via usb, only look at photos , So I suspect they are aware of the issue. Ability to use an esata hard drive would great.

[jagabo]

Once the video bitrate gets above 3000-4000 kbps the Philips players will have problems via USB. From DVD they can handle over 8000 kbps.

[manono]

Yeah, the only remedy is to encode using a home theater profile that limits the bitrate spikes. You can also do this using AutoGK to create or reencode your AVIs. There's a chance, I guess, that even the home theater profile won't fix the problem entirely as it limits the max bitrate to, I believe, 4000.

[jagabo]

Xvid's Advanced Simple @ L4 profile limits the max bitrate to 3000 kbps. That may be a good choice if you need to play files via USB.

I believe Divx's advanced (manual) settings let you specify your own min/max bitrate settings. I've never tried to use them though.

[jman98]

Once the video bitrate gets above 3000-4000 kbps the Philips players will have problems via USB. From DVD they can handle over 8000 kbps.

I know this deviates a little from the subject at hand, which is about playing Divx via USB, but I did want to point out that some of the older Philips DVD players that support Divx and do NOT have USB support, such as the DVP-642, will vomit on Divx video bit rates even as high as 3000 Kbps. They will either refuse to play the discs or what you'll see will be so choppy that it's not watchable.