Sigh. This kind of exchange, which I had recently on a discussion board, is probably part of the reason why people are afraid of computers, and quite possibly helps explain the tech gender gap. People names deleted to protect the (very, very) guilty. Product names altered just because I felt like it.
My first message:
Hello -
I've been able to use Zortinator at work, but at home we've got Linux, and have had no luck using DVD::Rip to encode files that will play on the ZigglePro. We've tried analyzing a file I was able to convert successfully in Zortinator and copy those settings, but still no luck. The screen just goes black and stays that way until I eject the card, then I get an error message about the format.
Any ideas on what we can do?
And if any ZigglePro staff are reading this - Linux users are gadget lovers and early adapters - get this to work seamlessly with Linux and you'll have a lot of happy customers.
A reply:
Hey - , welcome aboard. How long have you had your ZIGGLEPRO! and what made you decide to buy one? Did you get if for yourself? I must say I am also interested in how you wound up running Linux? This is usually something a techie would use, in which case you would have known the answer to your question. DivX is not open source so the Linux community focuses on other codecs.
As far as your question, I believe that there is an old Linux encoder that was written in the Wild West days of DivX, but it does not work on modern computers (P4s) nor its files on current players. This is one case where you need a Windows box - but a far as I know, that has always been a known requirement of the ZIGGLEPRO!
My response:
After my post last night, my determined fiance did some more hunting and found this page: http://web.njit.edu/all_topics/Prog_Lang_Docs/html/mplayer/encoding.html
Which then led him to figure out that, after ripping with dvd::rip, you can use mencoder from the command line to output a file that works with the ZigglePro.
mencoder -idx {sourcefile} -ovc copy -oac copy -o {outputfile}
I actually run OSX (where DIVX codec support is still somewhat shakey), but my fiance has a couple of Linux boxes. He actually introduced me to the whole Divx concept -- he's been using ripping and encoding software on Linux quite happily for some time, and has also set up one box as a PVR and media server.
"This is usually something a techie would use, in which case you would have known the answer to your question. DivX is not open source so the Linux community focuses on other codecs."
That's an odd assertion, especially since if you search Sourceforge, you'll find a lot of Linux-based DIVX projects, and, like I said, my fiance has been using such software for years.
The tricky part is figuring out the right settings for a new device with very little documentation.
Anyway, I hope others find our solution helpful! And I hope you explore the range of DivX-related software available on Linux -- it has apparently expanded quite a bit since you last looked into it!
His response:
Live and learn! Thanks for the update I will have to take another look. Please keep us posted on your success. I am still interested in how you came to use a ZIGGLEPRO! as opposed to a PDA at about the same price and more in tune with your use of Linux. Memcorder does a great job with MPEG1 which is a killer on PDAs running PocketTV. The files are about 20% larger, but the quality at QVGA and full framerate is way beyond DivX given the processors used on mobile devices.
My response to his response:
In answer to your questions: I am actually more of an OSX user than a Linux user. I've got a Palm-based PDA/phone and am not planning to replace it right now. (Incidentally, it does play audio, and some video... but very slowly and poorly)
The ZippleMax Linux PDA looks intriguing, but unless I'm not looking in the right places on froogle.google.com, it appears to cost considerably more than the $150 that the ZigglePro does. I just wanted a music and video player, and I liked the sound (and, yes, cost) of this product.
And even if I got a PDA, I'd then mostly likely end up posting to boards like this one, trying to figure out how to get my Mac to work with it...
...and then somebody would ask me why I didn't just get a ZigglePro, and didn't I know that the ZippleMax only works with XYZ platform! Ah, technology...
Honestly. I'm as much of, or more of, a know-it-all than the next guy, but really, is it necessary to slip in that "if-you-really-use-Linux-you'd-know-already" nonsense? Especially if you don't even bother to do the most basic search before spouting off. And suggesting that it would have been better to buy an even more expensive and complicated product is truly silly. Meh.
