HOWTO: Convert DivX Videos for iPod and Other Formats

DivX has recently launched its new video sharing site - Stage6. Unlike YouTube, where its videos are small, grainy, and FLV based, Stage6’s videos with .divx file extension are large, smooth, and DivX/AVI based. One other difference is YouTube’s videos can’t be downloaded directly without aid from other tools.

Using the video posted in Stage6 titled “The Loop: Too Much Video Game Violence” as an example,


video

the following is the steps needed for converting a DivX video into other formats, including the iPod's m4v format. Keep in mind, there may be other ways of doing this.

First, install DivX codec and download video from Stage6. In this case, the video file is named 1005720.divx and it is about 64 MB. Since most Audio/Video softwares are unable to understand the .divx file extension, and DivX was derived from .avi file format, change the file name to 1005720.avi.

At this point, video editing softwares like Sony Vegas or CinemaForge can render the original video clip into other formats. For iPod use, the video should be .m4v format with display dimension of 320x240 pixels.

The easiest way to make video compatible for iPod is with Apple’s QuickTime Pro. However, QuickTime does not recognize video encoded with DivX codec.

Using Sony Vegas or CinemaForge, first render video file into .mov format, then use QuickTime Pro to export the iPod compatible .m4v video file.

Update: Jodix's Free iPod Video Converter can convert avi file encoded with DivX directly to mp4 for iPod.