Playing DIVX under ITUNES in WINXP??

[ktjensen]

Is there any way to play a DIVX file (or XVID file) under ITUNES from within the WINXP platform?

I can get DIVX files to play in WMP without any probelms with the proper installation of codecs. I just have not seen any way to force ITUNES to be able to play a DIVX file. I guess QUICKTIME will just not play DIVX files directly?

Yes I know I can use other video tools to play files in.

[celtic_druid]

Well QuickTime can handle avi files. So if your DivX or Xvid is in an avi container you are ok there. It just can't decode the video. QT has an MPEG-4 decoder, but it is SP only and doesn't support the FourCC's. Installing 3ivX should help. For OSX there is I think a libavcodec based plugin. Don't think there is a win32 port though.

Why would you want to anyway?

[ssj2_goha]

iTunes can't use avi's only mp4 or mov files.... you can remux the files back to mp4 to play them.

[ktjensen]

Well QuickTime can handle avi files. So if your DivX or Xvid is in an avi container you are ok there. It just can't decode the video. QT has an MPEG-4 decoder, but it is SP only and doesn't support the FourCC's. Installing 3ivX should help. For OSX there is I think a libavcodec based plugin. Don't think there is a win32 port though.

Why would you want to anyway?

So Celtic-Druid guy, can someone run this comment through the "star trek universal translator"? I did not understand much of this. I know you are one of the experts here.

So my XVID files that are in *.AVI file format will or will not play?

[ssj2_goha]

AVI's NO. MP4 and MOV yes.

[celtic_druid]

Doesn't iTunes use the QuickTime engine for playback? Or you mean that Apple limits the formats that it can play?

[ssj2_goha]

apple limits avi playback because too many codecs can be in an avi. where iTunes only plays mpeg4 and the like (mov, because mpeg4 is based on the mov quicktime codec.).

[GMaq]

Hi,
Celtic Druid is correct, QT needs the 3ivX decoder to play back XviD or DivX files, however I don't think that Quicktime likes AVI files with B-Frames (ASP)in them and you need to enable mp3 playback in the QT preferences. ssj2_goha is also right, QT will playback pretty much any of the popular MPEG-4 codecs if they are in a .mp4 container. Quicktime and Apple are great, but if you want to work with AVI they are not a good choice at all, If you want something that will playback all formats without extra codecs installed you should look at VLC Player, it plays back pretty much all popular formats with no need for any Codecs on your system.

[ssj2_goha]

Original question:

Is there any way to play a DIVX file (or XVID file) under ITUNES from within the WINXP platform?

Answer: NO

Talking about what quicktime can play is fairly useless.
There is a hack out there for playing divx files on the AppleTV i know..... haven''t tried it probable won't... bigget HD in appleTV OH YEAH! that is a mod i will do......

[ktjensen]

Hi,
Celtic Druid is correct, QT needs the 3ivX decoder to play back XviD or DivX files, however I don't think that Quicktime likes AVI files with B-Frames (ASP)in them and you need to enable mp3 playback in the QT preferences. ssj2_goha is also right, QT will playback pretty much any of the popular MPEG-4 codecs if they are in a .mp4 container. Quicktime and Apple are great, but if you want to work with AVI they are not a good choice at all, If you want something that will playback all formats without extra codecs installed you should look at VLC Player, it plays back pretty much all popular formats with no need for any Codecs on your system.

Okay running a translation on the above (remember this is a NEWBEE discussion group), it looks like **YES ITUNES can play XVID or DIVX files** via the 3VIX codec, and via some file format changes, and maybe a software setting in QUICKTIME. At least that is what I am reading from the above. I guess I need to investigate. The costs look like $7 for 3IVX decoder (not a hard price to pay), but then will I need to buy the QUICKTIME PRO software (for $20) to get this solution working?

[ssj2_goha]

Hi,
Celtic Druid is correct, QT needs the 3ivX decoder to play back XviD or DivX files, however I don't think that Quicktime likes AVI files with B-Frames (ASP)in them and you need to enable mp3 playback in the QT preferences. ssj2_goha is also right, QT will playback pretty much any of the popular MPEG-4 codecs if they are in a .mp4 container. Quicktime and Apple are great, but if you want to work with AVI they are not a good choice at all, If you want something that will playback all formats without extra codecs installed you should look at VLC Player, it plays back pretty much all popular formats with no need for any Codecs on your system.

Okay running a translation on the above (remember this is a NEWBEE discussion group), it looks like **YES ITUNES can play XVID or DIVX files** via the 3VIX codec, and via some file format changes, and maybe a software setting in QUICKTIME. At least that is what I am reading from the above. I guess I need to investigate. The costs look like $7 for 3IVX decoder (not a hard price to pay), but then will I need to buy the QUICKTIME PRO software (for $20) to get this solution working?

but isn't 3vix a mac only codec or is there a windows version of it?

[ktjensen]

Hi,

but isn't 3vix a mac only codec or is there a windows version of it?

yes a windows version exists

[GMaq]

KtJensen,
I have 3ivX and yes it works very well with Windows and there is a new version in the works. But I believe that the Quicktime Player comes with the 3ivX Decoder standard included so you shouldn't need to purchase QT Pro or 3ivX just to watch DivX or Xvid files (at least the video only). In Windows there is also QT Alternative which is free but quite similar to QT Pro. I also use MPEG Streamclip which works on top of either QT Pro or QT Alternative and enhances Quicktimes ability to handle AVI files. having said all that (as already stated) AVI is not a native Quicktime format, so it needs extra help and expense to work with AVI. MPEG-4 or .mp4 IS a native QT format if you want to be sure that QT will handle them you need to use a program like YAMB to separate the Audio and Video tracks and then you need to re-encode the Audio from .mp3 or .ac3 to .aac and put your original Video track and your converted Audio track into a new .mp4 file. This is the only way to be sure QT will handle it without extra tweaks or alternative versions add-ons etc. Even if you get Quicktime to play your AVI's iTunes may not like them and you won't get within 100 miles of an iPod with them, unless you change them to .mp4. if you want to leave them as is then Quicktime/iTunes are not for you.

[Shilar]

If you own QT Pro, you should be able to import Divx/Xvid files into iTunes. The MP4 container in iTunes/QT actually is MS mpeg-4 with a special name/codec (Trust me, I tested this: QT MP4 to avi is simply changing the .mp4 extension. Tested in Windows Media/MPC). Mpeg-4 is capable of reading both Divx and Xvid.

My question is: Why use iTunes on Windows? There are better players than QT (save in MIDI, but I digress), so give a better player a try. Just don't use WMP 11

[celtic_druid]

Changing the file extension of an mp4 doesn't make it an avi. mp4 and avi are two completely different containers.

In an mp4 container there is no DivX or Xvid. MPEG-4 Part 2 video is MPEG-4 Part 2 video. In an avi container on the other hand they both use different 4CC's. So even if a decoder could handle the decoding, if it doesn't support the 4CC used, it won't.

[Shilar]

Changing the file extension of an mp4 doesn't make it an avi. mp4 and avi are two completely different containers.

In an mp4 container there is no DivX or Xvid. MPEG-4 Part 2 video is MPEG-4 Part 2 video. In an avi container on the other hand they both use different 4CC's. So even if a decoder could handle the decoding, if it doesn't support the 4CC used, it won't.

We are talking MP4 extension containers right? MP4 from Quicktime/iTunes is and older mpeg-4 format, ala MS mp4. I did test renaming the mp4 to avi and it worked via mpc, WMP10, and was burnable via Nero (without QT/QTA installed). The newer ones might not be the ol' QT mp4 (heard you can softsub mp4, though all are compatible with Nero). Anywho, just mentioning that QT has mp4-ish support, like playing divx 6 in a player with only mpeg-4 codecs.

[celtic_druid]

No such thing as MS mp4. There were MS MPEG-4 video codecs which were based on older MPEG-4 specs. For instance DivX 3 was a hacked version of MS MPEG-4 V3. Got nothing to do with QuickTime or the mp4 container though.

MPC has a built in mp4 splitter. For WMP10, you must have had a 3rd part splitter installed. Nero has its own MPEG-4 filters. Once again, renaming the extension doesn't change the file. The only thing it may change is the association. For instance mp4 may be associated with QT and avi with WMP10. So renaming to avi would make the mp4 associated with WMP, but if it plays then WMP could have played the mp4 anyway.

As for softsubs, you have ttext subs which are the official MPEG-4 subs and Nero's VOBSubs which are stored as a private stream and as such MPEG-4 compliant, but not necessarily supported by other tools.

QT has mpeg-4-ish support as in if you remuxed a DivX6 avi to mp4 and the video as SP only, then it would play it out of the box. The same DivX file in an avi or DivX container though, it wouldn't touch. DivX with the fourCC changed to mp4v, but still in an avi, I am not sure.