Toast 9.0.1 And Divx - Would Like To Encode 5.x Not 6.x

[Zed]

Hi there.

 

Is there a way to "roll back" the version of the DivX encoder that is built in to Toast 9.0.1? We have a lot of discs encoded with DivX 6.x through Toast but our brand new DVD recorder/player turns out to be a bit behind the times and will only play DivX discs encoded with versions 3.1, 4.x and 5.x. It's a Panasonic and it was purchased just last week! All the other features of the Panasonic are great but the DivX problem makes the unit almost useless for us. Another friend of ours also has a new-ish Panasonic and our discs also do not work in their player. Panasonic have told me they will definitely not be releasing a firmware patch/upgrade for this unit.

 

We like to encode with DivX as we can chuck many hours of kids shows on a single disc to entertain our children as they come and go during the day without them asking to have various discs swapped. They can just turn the tv on and it's there like their own little Nick Jr (minus the damned ads!).

 

We also like being able to put a dozen episodes of our favourite tv shows on a single disc.

 

So, is there a way of reverting to an earlier DivX codec in toast 9.x?

 

Thanks in advance... and merry christmas all!

 

[tsantee]

There is no way to change what DivX codec Toast is using, but there also should be no compatibility problem using the DivX encoder (v6.4) for play back on your Panasonic player. I did a little research on the DivX forum and found that Panasonic players require the file extension to be .avi instead of the .divx that Toast creates. So do your Divx encoding in the Toast Convert window, change the extension in the Finder and then burn your DVD.

[tsantee]

Zed,

 

I so glad you found the solution. I was going to suggest trying different media but I was thinking it would only be an issue of using DVD-R instead of DVD+R, not the brand of DVD-R.

 

I've read other posts where the cheap DVD players play anything and that the most expensive ones are the finicky ones. Strange, but true.

 

[Zed]

Thanks for the quick reply tsantee... and on xmas day! (for you I assume... EDIT: indeed it still is). Unfortunately this damned Panasonic still does not want to play nicely. Even when threatened in a stern voice, it still refuses to play these discs!

 

I did as you suggested and converted the files in Toast, changed the extension to .avi on the resultant files and then burned to disc. I was quite excited at the prospect of success but... still the same error message from the Panasonic. ("UNSUPPORTED" on the LCD and "Incompatible Disc" on the TV display)

 

Thank you also for doing my job for me in researching over at the DivX forums. I am still waiting for a confirmation email for my account there and, until then, the search function doesn't work for me.

 

So for now, I might go and bang my head against the wall for a while... or bang this Panasonic DVD recorder against the wall. While I do that, if you or anyone else has any ideas of how I can get around this or what I may be doing wrong, your thoughts will be very much appreciated.

[pseudonym]

Sorry to hear about your problems with the Panasonic. If the following suits your needs, you might consider the Philips DVP5140 (link may wrap):

 

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-DVP5140-Mult...1262&sr=8-2

 

It is a truly amazing device in terms of playing practically anything you might have, and the price is very low! I have been using this for a year or two, and have bought them as presents for quite a number of friends. It can also easily be set up to play all regions of DVDs:

 

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1RVQ5VUST7CF...#wasThisHelpful

 

-Might be the simplest solution to your playback problem; you can continue to use the Panasonic for recording.

 

 

(I have no financial relationship to Philips)

[tsantee]

The only ideas I have left are to use the Data window to burn your AVI files. Try burning using the DVD-Rom (UDF) setting. Toast burns the DivX disc format in the "Mac & PC" format so it might work to change to the UDF format.

 

Also, I believe some players only accept DivX burned to CD-R media which would defeat your purpose of having fewer discs.

 

Take a look at the WD TV player from Western Digital or the LaCie LaCinema or AppleTV (although it plays H.264 rather than DivX) as an alternative to playing DivX and other formats without having any discs at all.

[Zed]

Thanks again for the responses!

 

Pseudonym... we actually do have a $40AU Taiwanese piece of crap portable player that plays EVERYTHING we throw at it. This only makes it more annoying that the Panasonic doesn't. Our $495AU LG wouldn't play anything outside normal DVD titles either.

 

We have just bought the Panasonic to replace our old unit that was taken out in a lightning strike. It also damaged my hi-fi amp and a few other things around the home. We replaced our amp with a Yamaha receiver that does AV switching as well so I was able to ditch the tuner and the AV switch from the cabinet. I had hoped we could also remove the second DVD player but it seems it will be staying there for now so we can view our old DivX recordings. I just want to have a minimalist hi-fi cabinet and the absolute minimum of cables and stuff in there. The older I get, the more that "less is more" becomes my anthem!

 

Now tsantee... thank you again for your efforts! I persisted and burned a CD with a couple of DivX titles on it and guess what?... yes, it worked. Ok, so even the Panasonic product manual states that the unit can play CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-R discs with DivX titles recorded to them "from your computer". Well, all those discs I have in the cabinet and all the ones I have recorded in the last few days, trying to find the answer, will not play. Hmm, so a CD works just fine... the only thing I have left to try here is a whacky hunch: how about another brand of DVD-R discs?

 

Uh-huh, well I'll be a monkey's uncle, it worked

 

What can I say other than this Panasonic not only wants DVD-R (as opposed to +R, -RW or +RW) but it is fussy about brand? Both brands I have tried (the unsuccessful and the successful) were cheapies, Ritek and Laser. The Ritek ones work, the Laser ones don't.

 

At least I know I can continue to create compilations and record loads of stuff to be burned to a single disc with the mighty Toast (hell, I do love this product!) and play them in the new Panasonic. The downside is that I either have an extra piece of equipment in the hi-fi cabinet that I don't want there (it's actually a portable DVD player for long trips with the kids in the car) or I start copying them over to the Ritek branded blanks.

 

Thanks again to both of you for your input. You got me thinking about it a bit more and finally there was that little flash of inspiration that may not have come had I not persisted in trying things you suggested. Ultimately, Toast was not at fault and certainly is still the best CD/DVD recording software I have ever used

 

I hope these posts might help someone else sometime!

[pseudonym]

An alternative, perhaps of interest:

http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/mycometg3/

 

xvid encoder (use through QT; I don't know what DivX equivalency this is):

http://www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp/mycometg3/xvidEncoder.dmg