How can I build a DivX Standalone Player?

[akical]

iight .. but im not too sure baout the flying pig ..


but ill post a pic 2morrow of my other machine

p II 350 mhz .. 256 ram

plays upto about 800*600 smoothly

ill post it .. thats what i use as my dedicated divx machine ..

[crahak]

Well, ya, I can post all kind of pictures too. I'm never going to build one from something this small. By me, a duron 800 is up to par, anything smaller... No thanks.

Turns out I just finished ordering my stuff Duron 1300 retail, C-Media 6ch sound card, remote control, and a case with a window (not that I care much but hey, if it comes with it...) and front usb ports and all the bells and whistles (I didn't care much about the "gotta be small" thing as you can see. As long as it plays, and that it's convenient...) And the total cost with tax and shipping turns to roughly 100$USD. Now gotta wait for parts...

RAM
I agree with vhelp on the 128mb of ram for 98. 2K wise... not sure, I always had so many BSOD's and problems with it that I went back to 98SE and I skipped right to XP... lol

Sound Card:
Oh, note that this C-Media sound card is good with analog and digital audio, and is only 10$... Why not

Video card
I got a radeon 7000 VE 64MB DDR a year ago for like only 50$. The rage fury pro (I have one too) has only composite out, so I'm going to use the other one. (Oh, btw, one place on compusa sells the 32mb version or 40$, and it's plenty...)

OS: Uh. Barebones 98SE works for me. Not a fan of 2K, and XP is way overbloated for this. (I'll skip BeOS/linux/others) And only codecs/whatever media player, and your homemade VB program. 2K won't make your movies look better...

CPU/MB
The 1.3GHz duron retail was only 45$, and I already have a mobo, I'm sure one can very easily find something decent cheap in the used market. All this can very easily be done on a budget

Anyhow, I'll stop, cuz I guess that's right, it might be getting a lil too much... I got all my stuff coming now and I wish you the best. Guess it's really time to start working on it for real

Last Edit (I promise, ok, I will try?)
From divx.com themselves:
Minimum requirements:

o PC ONLY - Pentium II equivalent processor and a speed of at least 450 MHz. (500+ MHz recommended)
o 64 megabytes of RAM (128 recommended)
o Video card with 8MB of video memory (16MB or better is suggested)
o Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP (with DirectX 7 or 8 installed)

So depending on bitrates, and especially audio (AC3 5.1, WMA, whatever) plus if you try to crank the quality settings higher,, plus the video resizing and all.... You want more than a weak PII. Also the minimum requirements must be for minimal divx filter decoding quality, and like, with no resize, or bilinear. A slow CPU will also make seeking a pain. It's just better avoided. Anways, like we were saying all thru this thread, something like duron 800/128 mb/win98se sounds good... (oh, 10$ only for a 6ch audio card, and 40$ for a radeon 7000 ve? why not lol)

[ejp]

vhelp...
trying to stay in focus, lol. wow, all that for such a cheap price. not bad. and all that at CompUSA, even better. hmm, might have to look around more for a not-so-pricey CPU/MB. someone i know MUST have a used CPU they're not using. thanks for everything.

crahak...
that C-Media sound card doesn't look all that bad, and for that price?? wow. that Duron you mentioned doesn't look all that bad either. i'm looking for a mobo too. so i'm trying to keep everything optimistic by convincing myself everything isn't as expensive as it seems, lol. UGH, then i have to worry about the case and remote. thanks for everything! hope you (as well as everyone else) can still help me in the future though! lol.

* * * * * * * * * *

what i need to order, as of now:

RAM
CPU/MB (with usb port?)
Video Card (with tv out)
Audio Card

USB Flask Disk (nice, but not needed)
Case (Front panel included?)
Remote
PIC (maybe)

[ejp]

i was going through this thread once more, just to make sure i got everything down for what i need. then i went back to that DivxOS website --> http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Software/3691/DivxOS/ , and it mentioned something about the "Power-On Keyboard" feature. do i really need that, or what? thanks, once more.

[crahak]

Ok, let's see...
Almost all motherboards do come with USB nowadays, that shouldn't be an issue.

Cases do come with front panels, yes.

You will most likely find a used cpu/mb, but most likely, it will be a full ATX... If you want small and neat and all, you might have to spend the $

I have not yet figured why you want to use this player, but anyways, let's not even get there. (After all considerations, I think I will use zoom player 3 myself).

You do not need power on keyboard (I think all my mobos have it or just about anyways). He's using a remote control that is plugged in as a keyboard, and one of these keys on the remote is mapped to the "power on" button of the keyboard to turn his PC on... Unless you use the same setup, it will be useless. I will either leave mine on, or turn it on when I want to use it by the use of the front power swicth on the case (you have to go to the PC anyways to insert the disc).

Hope that clears things up

[ejp]

crahak...
thanks for replying again. hmm, yea, i think i'll consider spending some more money for a full small and neat ATX. as for the Power-On Keyboard feature, i guess that will save me some searching time. yea, i agree. when you insert the disk, you'd have to press the Power button on the case anyway.

i made a little website for my project. it's nothing spectacular, but it's there just in case other people want to see my progress. it's also a good way to keep myself in check.

[crahak]

Can you give me the URL?

I just created an email account for this so far, I'll get webhosting probably tonite, and do a basic site...

"Work in progress" lol

Won't be so much for my own progress, but mainly to help people build theirs, recommendations, advice, help, ideas, and also, the software i'll use for the autoplay and all that...

I'll keep you posted

[ejp]

crahak...

you have a great idea for a website. i'm sure i'll be visiting it on a regular basis, lol. the link to mine is...

http://www.schmittg.com/ejp/vdo/index.html

yea, for now this project will be called *Project: V.D.O.*

lol, might sound corny, but it's good enough for now. i have lotz of time to rename it.

[crahak]

Wow. I used to think my website sucked. Now I do know it In fact, it is ugly, but if it serves the purpose... I got hosting setup, 50 megs unlimited bandwidth, no advertizing Now I'm working on it slowly... Hopefully I'll post a link soon...

[ejp]

crahak...

lol, ok. thanks for the compliment. i used to do the whole webpage-design a while ago. i still do it, but too busy with other things. anywayz, "no advertising" is definately a plus. can't wait for the link!

[crahak]

It's nowhere near finished, layout, navigation, colors, logo, everything sucks, but anyways http://divx.reallybites.com I don't think it will ever look great, but anyways, I'll keep updating it often

[likwid8]

ejp:

Whats the point of this DivxOS?? whats it loading off on? what program to load the divx??? Cause it seems pointless to make another HiFI PC if ur going to be running WMP?

k just get back to me with ur answer or anyone

[crahak]

I see no use for DivXOS myself (it's by no means an OS either, that's just a plain lie), but we all have preferences... And I'm not gonna force anyone to go my way. Thing is, we don't want a "normal PC". It won't have mouse, keyboard, nor monitor. It will display on TV, and be controlled with a remote control. I plan on mine to support a lot of things. So far, I've ordered stuff, and I have to wait to receive it... We'll see what happens anyways. (I keep updating my website still, hopefully it will look near decent some day... lol)

[likwid8]

sorry but i forgot to mention....

this dude should really stop convincing people to try this stupid project, because by all means its just a waste of money...especially for that controller...

And for further information, there currently 3+ DVD players to my knowledge that play DiVX as we speak...

KOSS
NEW TECHNOLOGY
and some other ones

Need specific model # but surely I read all these players on this sites forum..so please do all a favour and anyone that think they progressed by following that tutorial please return and get ur money back...

We all know the best players out there are the cheapest ones!!!!!

[crahak]

The DivXOS guy's project? I see no use for it. The remote is a complete waste of money I agree. I'm doing mine, my own way, on a budget The remote I'm using costed me a whole 17$, including international shipping...

You're right, there's a few "real" set top DivX players, but they do cost a lot, and they're not so great (read: limited).

My "own" player will have costed me say, 125$ tops. And it will do a LOT more than one of those KISS or whatever players. Got all the stuff listed on my website. If you're after looks, or you want to buy it, plug it and start watching, my option is not yours either. Mind you, it will be fairly easy and fast still, and features should really be nice in the end

[likwid8]

ok but i just wanna know what the OS loads up?
what program does it load up to open the divx? thats all

[ejp]

crahak...
you see no use for the remote part of his project? or the whole thing? that website was the inspiration for my project, lol. anyway, as for the remote, i really don't know how to go about programming it. so maybe you can help, or maybe there's a better website out there, or something.

yes, i agree. there are really only a few REAL standalone divx players. they do cost a lot, and aren't all that easy to upgrade. i've even heard problems with them not being able to play this or that.

likwid8...
well, i'm using DivxOS. i've posted the link to it in my first post. DivxOS loads up, and does its thing. since i didn't write the program, nor can i see the source code, i dont know how it's done, although one or two people on this thread are actually writing code to play and do whatever with the file.

[crahak]

@ejp:
I'm just saying I don't see a use to pay 100's of $ like he did (a good amount anyhow) for such a fancy remote when my 14$ one will do the same deal when I'll press "pause". The only thing he gets from his, is the ability to turn his PC on with the remote. (And like I said, you have to go to the PC to insert the disc, so you might as well turn it on at the same time... And that's if you don't just leave it on 24/7...)

A remote is handy, but it needn't be expensive and this clunky. It looks like it weighs 5 lbs...

I am sure he's put a lot of effort into his DivXOS, but I think it's a big joke. It is NOT an OS by any means at all. Output quality of the player is questionnable, features are not impressive (ok, better than some others, but there's better out there). Most his "features" also sound useless to me. Set playback speed on AudioCD. Why? Like to hear different pitched/bpm music or something?... Zoom Player looks good and has a good output quality. VERY customizable, full control by keyboard, you name it...

Otherwise, he's only saying to use a small PC, really. That is only dependant on what hardware you buy, and it changes nothing to features, you can build yours in a full tower if you like, it don't really matter. It's only personnal preference. Want a small one? Go ahead...

@likwid8: The OS is windows in this guy's project, and it loads a media player named "DivXOS" (which is NOT an OS), and hmmm, that's about it. The media player does the playing the files thing... Not much to it.

You don't have to write the media player itself, but you can make a menu that will start the media player if it's what you want, with the right parameters (Full screen, subs if detected, whatever you want...)

That program I am talking about is what is going to make this really nice, not just the media player. The box will do a lot more than just play DivX from CDRs... (Well, mine at least). As soon as it's complete, I think I will become heavyly addicted to it fast

I am doing a player that will do it all basically... And for cheap. Visit my website and see the Features for yourself. (I update it more than daily...)

[likwid8]

Well i acknowledge that idea of the DivxOS now that I've come to realize what it is it does..

My concern to this case is that basically its a "new" pc with only running on one simple task... i must say though, to keep up to date with the OS u need to network both PC's in order to keep upgrading... Because it will cost less money to network them then to buy a CD-ROM just for the DiVX cd, or whatever the cd-rom might be used for, by networking you can easily transfer files, and or use daemon-tools to load up your image files, the idea is not bad whatsoever, but the controller is for no need at all!

This idea is for total people who download Divx movies, you must be certain that u want to do this.. One more thing i forgot to mention...

When viewing TV-out, correct me if im wrong but dont you need to load the tv-out feature when cpu is booted rather than puttin it in startup because I dun think on "reboot" the pc will adjust to tv-out right away...

In all my tv-out experiences I had to goto my setting and click on a setting for then i can view tv-out..... well i dunno but good luck tryin to make that work!! and tell me how u did it!

[lineber]

I'm not a programmer or electrical engineer, but I was thinking that maybe you could hack an old WebTV+ device. It seems to have a processor and a tv-out already built into it. I believe it runs WindowCE, and has a special port which they never did anything with (not to mention the smartcard slot). And since it was an internet device, it has a phone jack which you could update the firmware thru instead of using USB.

And with the 1Gb harddrive built into the device you wouldn't need to have a CD-ROM, or you could pull out the harddrive and replace it with a CD-ROM of compatible size. But I imagine that's where the OS is located.

At one point before MSN tookover WebTV the device would download commercials and play them as you hooked up to their service. I always imagined the commercials were in MPEG format, but I'm not sure.

Just a thought...

-lineber

PS: I know I've seen some hacked webtv device sites on the web, just didn't book mark them.

[likwid8]

nice post on the webtv, really got me thinking ya know...

but ya know, what were doing i think its perfectly legal and stable and potable.... but if ur gonna mess with webtv, lol then is illegal, unconstructive and non-portable for secuirity reasons..


But really good for personal enjoyment~

[ejp]

likwid8...
yes, the basis for my project was to upgrade the firmware via USB, which would be your "network".

lineber...
kinda the same explanation for not just modding a video gaming console. i don't want to use something that's just there waiting to be modded. i'd have to buy one, and then analyze every aspect before i can actually learn everything about it before putting it in a new case and passing it as my own. i'd rather just build it, and that way, i'd know how things work as i build it, because, i don't know about you, but it takes me some time to analyze a circuit and tell you what it's doing from component to component.

the link to my project is below...

[crahak]

Oh my...

@likwid8:
We basically want to play whatever is on CD, across a network, I might add features for that, but it's not the point at all right now. CDR's are cheap. We don't want to use a pc (like we already got), configure video out, open files across network manually and the like... It's just not what we want at all.

Oh, and I don't download DivX btw :P

As far as TV out, it depends, and it's something I already explained on my website... lol

@lineber
webtv just ain't got what it takes, at all, and my project ends up to a whole 125$. Besides, there are no webtv around here... lol

Firmware updating wise, well, it is not firmware anyhow (the only real firmware will be BIOS'es, which we should never have to touch, really), only software. And unless they magically come up with a big new thing, then you shouldn't even bother with it, unless it restricts your player, if it's lacking features because of that. And if you wanted to do it across the network, sure, you can also do it from a floppy or whatever you like... CD-RW's too, USB thumb drives, you name it. When it comes to upgrading (that once every year if that often), I'll just plug a USB keyboard and mouse at the front and do like a normal PC, update whatever codecs, media player or whatever has to be. It should be really fast and painless. Also, I will keep a ghost image of my OS on a small partition.

My project is already moving ahead, I have not received parts yet, but I'm already started coding anyhow, and the website is getting more informative every day... http://divx.reallybites.com for the takers.

[ejp]

crahak...

i was looking at my OLD computer to see if i can use any of the parts. it turns out that i really can't use any of it. and the parts that i CAN use (HDD and CD-ROM), might be too big, since i'm looking to get a really small case, although the casing might not be important, but very impressive to look at. it might get me even more points on the grading.

so i was thinking about getting one of the EPIAs at mini-itx.com. they're small and have a lot of the stuff i need. they seem to be a little pricey, depending on which one i get. but prices SHOULD go down when i actually order one. and that way, i can even get one of their cases.

what do you think?

[crahak]

Too bad if you can't use any of it

You have to determine what will really give you points, and what are your objectives. Funtionnality or aesthetics?... I hopse option 1, mind you it won't be ugly either.

I don't know what you mean by their prices should go down when you order. How would your order affect the cost? Unless you mean it will come down in price with time, and I doubt it will drop significantly at all. mini PC's are the new trend (just like full tower/server cases were not too long ago), and they know they can sell em for $$$. My nice case with a window on the side, front USB ports (I could habe had a LCD, neon and all too) costs like 30$ brand new and still looks decent. I'd love one of those cases, a nice blue backlit matrix orbital LCD, a remote control with a backlit LCD touchscreen thingy and all these nice bells and whistles, but I just don't have this much money to spend on it (Oh. I accept donations! lol) This is why my website is aimed at doing it on a budget.

Right now, my shell is already making progress, and the site starts to have more useful information I don't really have much time for something like this, but I think that in a week, I should have got around to do most of what I need to have a pretty good shell with some nice features.

[ejp]

crahak...
maybe i was just worried that i'll get the wrong parts or something. i'm just hoping i can actually find parts for really cheap that will still give me good results. anyways, i guess i'll just buy parts separately. then hopefully, i can find a really nice case that'll fit what i have. btw, you're site is good so far. i'm visiting it a lot, hehe.

[The Maynard]

This is what my Divx system is going to consist of and the price of the parts. These parts are going to be order from www.newegg.com and are some of the best prices around:

AMD Druon 1GHz $34
ESC K7S5A mobo $57
256 MB RAM (Already have it)
32x CD-ROM (already have it)
40GB HD $70
Video card w/TVout $46 (Jaton 32mb)
Case $65 (Enlight Micro Atx EN-7396OJF)
AOpen 5.1 sound card $24
Wireless $22
---------------------------------------------------------
Total $318

[likwid8]

WHY I WOULD NOT MAKE ONE:
--------------------------------------

- Will take longer then any other player to load up

- Any error messages will occur in the process eventually, (hard reboot required) = bad thing

- Too big of a machine for so little of an investment

- Why Divx if its going to be tv-out, why not make it custom size for higher quality? Divx is just one of the many custom techniques to use..

- Old IBM laptop does the same old procedure. and much cheaper! and smaller

- Too bad its useless for camping, or any other outdoor activity since it involves power! (once again.... LAPTOP all the way)

[vhelp]

WHY I WOULD NOT MAKE ONE:
--------------------------------------
1, - Will take longer then any other player to load up
2, - Any error messages will occur in the process eventually,
.....(hard reboot required) = bad thing
3, - Too big of a machine for so little of an investment
4, - Why Divx if its going to be tv-out, why not make it custom size for higher quality?
.....Divx is just one of the many custom techniques to use..
5, - Old IBM laptop does the same old procedure. and much cheaper! and smaller
6, - Too bad its useless for camping, or any other outdoor activity since it involves power!
.....(once again.... LAPTOP all the way)

Line 2 brings up a VERY interesting point. Any response/answeres to handle
these events ??

Line 2, agian, even when you feed in a divX of your own creation, there are
bound to be issues that may come up LATER!! ie, the file could become corrupt,
hence, system failure or crash, hence, finally a system reboot - don't forget the
pause in between, assuming you CAN get a 20 second optimum boot (powerup to divX prompt)
..and, what if its a CDR and the disk itself is currpt (after 5 or 10 reboots) you
come to realise that mayber the CDR is corrupt. Or, maybe a directory on your divX
setup has become bad.
Also, HOW will you know if there are any errors or symtoms going on.. ??
What will be the "messenger" to this issue ??

I have a few suggestions for Line 2, but it would be interesting to hear your
argument on this

For anyone thinking about building a divX PC setup (just for divX) ..what will the
structure layout be like ie,
* massive hard drive (120gig ie) or CDR media only +/- ??

The one big issue i have with divX on CDR for ie, is the CD-ROM drives out
there that make NOISE when its trying to read the media. On my DVD-ROM drive,
when I put in a DVD disk, its VERY quite, but soon as I put in a regular CDRW or
CDR disk, it grinds, spits and finally works, but w/ continued spits and grinds
as it moves along, till you stop it (yanking out the disk)
I also encounter this w/ my regular CDRW drive. If I put in a blank CDRW, it's
quite. But, soon as I put in a used CDRW or CDR disk, it grinds, spits and so on
as in the other scenario.
If I'm to going to start playing divX via a CDR disk (a prefered method) I would
DEF. WANT the CD-ROM drive (any type of drive) to be QUIET during:
* disk loads, and
* movie watching
Again, for divX movies on CDR/CDRW media.

In regards to above para., there MUST be a hidden feature in the way a DVD-ROM
drive can be so quite when a DVD disk is inserted. Never a noise out of it, till
you insert a regular CDR/CDRW disk.

Its interesting, when you insert:
* DVD, CDR, CDRW disks in DVD Players, and it's quite - no noise, etc.

To recap:
----------
A * DVD-ROM drive: quite, when DVD disk inserted, but noisy when CDR/CDRW disk inserted
B * CD-ROM/RW drive: Loud/noisy/spins w/ issues, when CDR/CDRW disk inserted, throuout.

What gives, w/ Line B ??

-vhelp
----------------------------------------------
Happy HOLIDAY all.

[vitualis]

The drive is spinning up to provide maximum read speed... usually you want this but obvious not if you are reading at a relatively low bitrate (when compared to max. spin) for a prolonged period of time.

I remember vaguely seeing a app somewhere where you could control the max. read speed of your CD drive as well as spin up and spin down times... You may be able to use that to prevent crazy useless spinning for reading discs.

An alternative (though this doesn't seem to work with some modern drives anymore), is to burn your discs in MODE2/XA (i.e., MODE2 Form1 sectors -- you still get the same 650/700MB capacities). On my CD-ROM drives at least, they don't spin up to max. speed. Rather, it seems to limit the max. read speed to 4x CD. I used to do this for my CDs with MP3s so that I didn't get the spin up spin down effect over and over again. This doesn't seem to work on my DVD-ROM drive, however.

Regards.