If Microsoft would just get it right and natively support Divx, we wouldn’t need this tutorial and everything would be wonderful. That not being the case, I figured I would put this together because it took me a hell of a long time searching for this correct information. Now we have it step by step.

What you’ll Need:

Microsoft Media 9 Encoder

The Divx Codec

Plus any other Codec you may need to view your Divx file with (ie: AC3). Once everything is installed, start the Media 9 Encoder and start a New Session.

1. On the Input tab click the File radio button and choose your file. Give it a moment cause it needs to examine the file and it may look like it has frozen. Don’t worry, everything will be fine shortly.
2. On the Output tab, select where and what to call your new file.
3. Now select the Compression tab and click Edit.
4. Under the Media Types section, select Quality VBR for both Audio and Video Modes.
5. Click on the newly created Quality-based tab.
6. For Video Size check the Same as video input box.
7. Change the Video quality to 100.
8. Click Ok to go back to the Compression tab and click Apply to set your options to the video. Again, this will take a few moments to process, so have a little patience.
9. Once applied, click on Start Encoding and watch ‘er go!

This will now create an Xbox 360 compatible WMV at the best possible quality. The file will be significantly larger, but it will work. Burn it to a DVD or stream away with Media Player 11. If you don’t need the best quality, play around with the options to suit your own needs.

Warning: This method took me 4 hours to convert a 2 hour movie on a Pentium 4 3.4 with HT. The same method was less than 2 hours on a Duo Core Pentium 3.4.

If you are anything like me, you have hundreds of old CD’s lying around that you never listen to anymore. You want to get rid of them, but you know they cost you a great deal of money, so you want something back for them. You have ripped your music into MP3s, but do not have a portable device to listen to them on yet. Well, there is a solution.

I wanted an iPod and I wanted to get rid of my CD’s, but where can you sell your CD’s without a problem? I found a site from Chicago, Illinois which will sell you an iPod, CD’s, DVD’s, and other media. The best part is that they will purchase your used items as well, at a market value that their system constantly calculates. The prices change based on the demand for the item you are selling, and they may not buy them all, but they took close to 200 of my CD’s for just under $250 US. Read more »

I had the great fortune of starting this weekend off seeing one of rocks greatest acts, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band along with supporting Petty’s latest release Highway Companion, one could tell it was going to be a great show!

Let’s set the scene for you. It’s a beautiful September evening on the Amphitheatre lawns. The crowd is buzzing with excitement and is filled to capacity. Petty has obviously made an impact on all generations. I could see fans in their strollers along with their grandparents. When I arrived at the show, the opening act, The Blind Boys of Alabama, were already in the middle of their set. They are a gospel group consisting of four blind 60+ year old male vocalists. For a bunch of old blind men these guys could wail! The audience was really digging their groove and showed them a lot of support. I have to give them credit for their wicked version of Amazing Grace. If you’re into gospel music I highly recommend checking these guys out.

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