Transferring AVI to Sony Hard Drive recorder - Advice please

[porty]

Hi all.
I recently downloaded a missed episode of a TV series onto my computer. It's in .avi format and plays OK on the PC.
But I'd like to move it onto my Sony RDR-HX950 Hard-drive\DVD recorder and play it through my main TV.
Can anyone tell me how can I do this? Converting the file to another format will be no problem, but I'm not sure of the best way to transfer it to the Sony.
The RDR-HX950 has a USB input port on its front, but the manual seems to indicate that it's only suitable for MP3s and JPGs. So maybe the best way would be from DVDRW. But in what format? And what to use for the conversion?
Thanks

[lowellriggsiam]

If it plays vcd's you could use the OEM version or Nero and put it on a cd it creates a livable video. The quickest conversion to DVD I have seen from software was convertxtodvd it takes some shortcuts but does quite well. Else in Vista Premium windows DVD maker does a fairly good job.

[porty]

You noted that your suggested apps gave only 'fairly good' and 'quite good' results. What software would you suggest to give a high quality rendering?

BTW, I've since downloaded another episode that's unpacked to srt and mkv files. Perhaps this file format needs something else again?

[KBeee]

Check if the AVI you have is Divx or Xvid with GSpot or MediaInfo. If it is, then just burning onto a DVDR or a CD (if the file is small enough) as data should enable you to watch it from your Sony without conversion and the resulting quality loss.

Here's a sticky telling you what to watch out for when trying to play DivX/Xvid AVI's on a set top player -
https://forum.videohelp.com/topic352457.html

[hech54]

Check if the AVI you have is Divx or Xvid with GSpot or MediaInfo. If it is, then just burning onto a DVDR or a CD (if the file is small enough) as data should enable you to watch it from your Sony without conversion and the resulting quality loss.

WHAT!?!
How do you know for certain his Sony recorder is able to play Divx or Xvid?

[KBeee]

Check if the AVI you have is Divx or Xvid with GSpot or MediaInfo. If it is, then just burning onto a DVDR or a CD (if the file is small enough) as data should enable you to watch it from your Sony without conversion and the resulting quality loss.

WHAT!?!
How do you know for certain his Sony recorder is able to play Divx or Xvid?

Cos I looked up a review of the Sony RDR-HX950 - but it'll only play via disk not USB

[KBeee]

Hi all.
<snip>
The RDR-HX950 has a USB input port on its front, but the manual seems to indicate that it's only suitable for MP3s and JPGs. So maybe the best way would be from DVDRW. But in what format? And what to use for the conversion?
Thanks

This is a chance in a million, but just SOMETIMES the thing that prevents playback of certain file types is a pretty crude software block, because a lot of players use generic chips made in China that are capable of playing the file, but are prohibited because the corporation selling the device hasn't paid a license fee. You could try renaming the file from *.avi to *.jpg or *.mp3 and seeing if it'll play. This works on my crappy Samsung SH855M to get it to play *.mpg files - I just rename them to *.avi (no conversion, just a rename). It costs nothing to try, though the chances are very slim it'll work.

[porty]

Thanks again, folks, very helpful.
I've now got GSpot and MediaInfo installed and have run them both. Where do I find the relevant info about the supposed "avi" file?

[guns1inger]

Mediainfo - Tree format output. Post it here if you cant read it

[porty]

Sorry, still not sure what I'm looking for. Here's the file:
--------------------
General
Complete name : E:\Download\Dexter4\1\Dexter.S04E01.HDTV.XviD-NoTV\dexter.0401.hdtv.xvid-notv.avi
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
File size : 550 MiB
Duration : 52mn 57s
Overall bit rate : 1 452 Kbps
Writing application : transcode-1.0.2

Video
ID : 0
Format : MPEG-4 Visual
Format profile : Advanced Simple@L5
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, QPel : No
Format settings, GMC : No warppoints
Format settings, Matrix : Default (H.263)
Muxing mode : Packed bitstream
Codec ID : XVID
Codec ID/Hint : XviD
Duration : 52mn 57s
Bit rate : 1 314 Kbps
Width : 624 pixels
Height : 352 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.250
Stream size : 498 MiB (91%)
Writing library : XviD 1.2.1 (UTC 2008-12-04)

Audio
ID : 1
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Joint stereo
Codec ID : 55
Codec ID/Hint : MP3
Duration : 52mn 57s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Resolution : 16 bits
Stream size : 47.4 MiB (9%)
Alignment : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration : 24 ms (0.58 video frame)
--------------------

[guns1inger]

That appears to be basic, standard spec Xvid that should play happily on most players that support Xvid/Divx playback. Some older players might object to the packed bitstream, but you can use Mpeg4modifier to unpack it if necessary.

[KBeee]

Actually, the title of that file also tells you it's Xvid -
dexter.0401.hdtv.xvid-notv.avi

[porty]

Yes, I noticed the "XVID" bit in the title but there's a lot of other stuff in there as well, as well as the last three characters being "AVI". Kind of confusing for guys like me....

[guns1inger]

AVI is a container that can hold video and audio streams. Xvid describes the compression algorithm used shrink the video for storage.