Watch your downloaded SPC episodes on TV without burning a VCD/DVD

[Violet]

There's a fairly new device out which could be handy for those of us who have been collecting SPC & KNT episodes and other things as digital files on our computers.  It's an external, portable hard drive which you can plug into your TV and play your digital video without a computer.  Simply plug the drive into your computer with the USB cord and copy your video files to the portable hard drive, then unplug the USB, and take it to your TV.  Plug in the AV cables to your TV, and play your videos.  You can also view your pictures and listen to your MP3s.  Your old, low quality "Real" .rm files won't work, but MPG, AVI, etc are fine.  The quality you see on your TV all depends on the quality of the original file.  A DVD quality file will play in DVD quality, but if you have files that were made to play in a small window on your computer, of course they aren't going to look too great on full screen.  I got a RJ Tech (http://www.rjtech.net/desc_RJ-HD.htm) with a 40GB drive.  There are other brands, so shop around.  Some even have built in LCD screens so you can watch your files without a TV or computer, but these are more expensive of course.  Some come without the hard drive and you put in your own.
The only problem I've had is it can't display my KNT episodes' Japanese file names (it just shows Japanese characters as blocks), but if you don't read Japanese or if you have your KNT episodes renamed that shouldn't matter to you.  The files still play, but if you have more than one, it might be harder to find the one you want to play.

[Marurun]

Wow, that sounds like a really fun gizmo

[Supersonic]

There's a fairly new device out which could be handy for those of us who have been collecting SPC & KNT episodes and other things as digital files on our computers.  It's an external, portable hard drive which you can plug into your TV and play your digital video without a computer.  Simply plug the drive into your computer with the USB cord and copy your video files to the portable hard drive, then unplug the USB, and take it to your TV.  Plug in the AV cables to your TV, and play your videos.  You can also view your pictures and listen to your MP3s.  Your old, low quality "Real" .rm files won't work, but MPG, AVI, etc are fine.  The quality you see on your TV all depends on the quality of the original file.  A DVD quality file will play in DVD quality, but if you have files that were made to play in a small window on your computer, of course they aren't going to look too great on full screen.  I got a RJ Tech (http://www.rjtech.net/desc_RJ-HD.htm) with a 40GB drive.  There are other brands, so shop around.  Some even have built in LCD screens so you can watch your files without a TV or computer, but these are more expensive of course.  Some come without the hard drive and you put in your own.
The only problem I've had is it can't display my KNT episodes' Japanese file names (it just shows Japanese characters as blocks), but if you don't read Japanese or if you have your KNT episodes renamed that shouldn't matter to you.  The files still play, but if you have more than one, it might be harder to find the one you want to play.

Heh, best just to get a video card with S-video out...saves you a lot of trouble in the long run.

[Violet]

Heh, best just to get a video card with S-video out...saves you a lot of trouble in the long run.

Sure, if your computer and TV are in the same place and you don't care about taking your videos anywhere else, you have no reason to get one.  Just like if you never want to listen to your MP3s away from your computer, there's no reason to have an MP3 player.  But some of us can use it.

[Methid Man]

Or you can transfer your AVI's to a memory stick and play them on a PSP. That's what I'm hoping to do someday.

But then it's a big hassle to stuff as many episodes as you can into a 1GB memory stick and it'll burn the PSP's battery a whole lot, but it might be a cheaper alternative... Hey Vi, do you know how much the ones with the LCD screens cost?

-- Sam the Methid Man

[ApacheMan2K]

transfer AVIs to a PSP? that sounds like an interesting idea waiting to be experimented. i just have to try and apply for a job i might get on Monday, then maybe i can get enough money to buy a PSP and whatever i'll need to carry out the plan.

[Supersonic]

Or you can transfer your AVI's to a memory stick and play them on a PSP. That's what I'm hoping ot do someday.

But then it's a big hassle to stuff as many episodes as you can into a 1GB memory stick and it'll burn the PSP's battery a whole lot, but it might be a cheaper alternative... Hey Vi, do you know how much the ones with the LCD screens cost?

-- Sam the Methid Man

PSP supports DivX? Hmm...I thought it only had standard MPEG down.

[Violet]

it's a big hassle to stuff as many episodes as you can into a 1GB memory stick and it'll burn the PSP's battery a whole lot, but it might be a cheaper alternative... Hey Vi, do you know how much the ones with the LCD screens cost?

The ones with the screen are $400-$500 I think, but I haven't really checked into them too much.  In any case, I'm sure they'll get cheaper and better if you wait a while.

[adam808]

You mean the Archos AV400 and others like it? Or iRiver? Those PMCs and recorders are cool. You can record TV with the Archos. I wish I'd got one!

[Methid Man]

PSP supports DivX? Hmm...I thought it only had standard MPEG down.

It's MPEG only, yeah. But I remember BigCheese from the old SPCU forums mentioning that he was planning on encoding the episodes with Xvid which he told me was a form of MPEG. If the PSP can support that, that'd be great.

-- Sam the Methid Man

[Supersonic]

DivX and XviD are both derivative of MPEG-4, although this doesn't mean that most players will support them.

[Methid Man]

Well then maybe someone can encode them in MPEG format as small filesizes for those who might wanna play them on a PSP or store them on a media disc.

-- Sam the Methid Man

[Anonymous]

Yea i'll encode them as .mpg; i'm just waiting to hear from you guys as to what specifications you'd like them in. as doing about 20 different sizes for different people will get time consuming. lol

neko

[Supersonic]

320x240 is the only resolution that a PSP will accept.

[Flash Kid]

An anonymous friend and I encoded some episodes in iPod format. And I own a video cable for my iPod. So I can just plug 'er in and watch.

[Violet]

I got a Sony Video Walkman.  The software with it will convert just about any video so you can watch it.

[Blackcat]

An average modern monitor allows you to see the SPC episodes In your computer at full screen , like it was a  TV, the only difference would be if you had a really huge TV, but who does?.

[Flash Kid]

Yea i'll encode them as .mpg; i'm just waiting to hear from you guys as to what specifications you'd like them in. as doing about 20 different sizes for different people will get time consuming. lol

neko

I'd like them in MP4 for iPods. I can encode some but it takes me a while to convert.

[Hayama]

Mp4 format is also the format for PSPs.  If you have an Xbox360 you can also use Windows Media Center to watch the videos on your TV through your home internet without running any additional wires.

[ouka]

I watch my episodes on my Nintendo DS using Moonshell.