[OT] - DVD Player

[Amadeus W. M.]

> I have a Phillips 642 ( US $65.00 ) that plays many but not all DIVX 
> files. If won't play Qpel encoded files (whatever that is). It also 
> won't play HDTV resolution encodes. I still like it a lot.
> 

I have the exact same model, and it does play divx files made (probably)
in windows, but doesn't play ANY of the files I made with
mencoder/transcode. I tried various codecs, divx, xvid, divx5, etc. to no
avail. I even called Philips, and they said if I thought there was
something wrong with the player, take it to a certified repair shop, where
I would have had to pay $100 only to have it looked at (it was ~$70 new).
The tech said the files must be made with some (obviously non-linux)
software I never heard of using some obscure option (something about home
or home theater). It might just be that I'm missing some options in
mencoder. Do you have any experience with this?

Of course, it does play DVDs, even my transcode backups.