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Zen Vision :M DVD Ripping Guide

dvd-to-vision-m-icon.jpg

This guide will show you step by step how to rip DVDs to your Creative Zen Vision:M using the correct setting to ensure proper playback. This guide uses DVD Decrypter and AutoGK which is free open source software so it will cost you nothing. The process is relatively straight forward but may take some time to encode the video depending on how fast your processor runs.

Update:The guide below gives you a lot of control for your output files but is a somewhat involved. If you are looking for less powerful but ultra easy way to rip DVDs and convert other files for your Zen Vision:M please check out iriverter. I recommend it for the novice and casual user over the guide below.

Install AutoGK and DVD Decrypter

DVD Decrypter will be used to rip and decrypt the VOB files from the DVD. AutoGK will then be used to convert the VOB files to XviD. You can find DVD Decrypter at Doom9.org and you can get AutoGK from the AutoGK website.

Rip the DVD

Open up DVD Decrypter. Set IFO Mode: Tools > Settings > IFO Mode [Tab] > Check “Include PCG Number” and “Include Angle Number”. OK to save.

Press “I” to open up the input screen. Here is where you will select what you are going to rip. You will have to find what you are going to rip by looking at the length of the video. Generally you will select the one with the longest time for movies. In the case of TV series DVDs, there will be several that you will need to rip individually. Highlight what you are going to rip and press the DVD icon on the left. The top shows what it will look like when you are ripping a typical TV series DVD, in this case Arrested Development (probably the funniest TV show ever). The bottom is a typical movie DVD.

Under “Settings > General” you may also want to select where you want your files to be ripped to.

dvd-decrypter-1.jpg dvd-decrypter-2.jpg

Convert VOB files

Next you will use AutoGK to convert the VOB files to DivX. Open up AutoGK

autogk-full.jpg

Step 1: Select Input and Output File

Select the file you just ripped and choose a name and location for the output file.

autogk-input.jpg

Step 2: Choose an Audio Track

You will need to select an audio track. Most likely it will already be selected. If the DVD has multiple languages there will be several different selections. As long as it is English (or your native language) it will be ok because the audio track gets converted to a single stereo channel MP3 in the end.

autogk-audio.jpg

Step 3: Select Output Size

The output size will be determined by what resolution you selected. These recommendations have been somewhat standardized by the size of a 700MB CD, so that they can be easily fit onto a CD-R. For instance, a long movie would span 2 CDs at 1400MB, a short movie would fit on a full CD at 700MB, 2 one hour long TV programs would fit on a CD at 350MB each, and 4 half hour long TV programs would fit on a CD at 175MB each. If you are going to use these sizes set the width to “Auto” and let AutoGK decide the best resolution.

However if you want to set optimal screen widths (discussed below) use the “Custom” setting at these sizes: 2000MB, 1000MB, 400MB, or 200MB for 640 width respectively and half of that for 320 width.

autogk-size.jpg

Step 4: Advanced Settings

Here you will select the proper resolution and audio codec so that the video will play properly on your ZVM.

Video Settings: The Zen Vision:M’s screen size is 320 x 240 but it will output 640 x 480 which is standard TV resolution. If you would like to save space on the ZVM you could set the width to 320. You can still view the video on a TV, but it will not the best quality. Setting the width to 640 will give you the best resolution that the ZVM supports but will take up twice the space.

Click on “Advanced Settings” on the right- you will want to set the fixed width to either 320 or 640. You could also set it to “Auto” width, which will automatically select a width to match your space requirement, but 320 and 640 are optimal sizes for your ZVM and TV screen.

Make sure XviD is selected on the right. Why not DivX? Because XviD is open source software and just as good if not better than DivX.

Audio Settings: The ZVM does not support AC3 so you will need to change the audio output. Go back to “Advanced Settings” on the right and select VBR MP3 at 128 kbps. You can increase the bitrate to 160kbps or 192kbps if you would like better audio quality, but I found that 128kbps works more than adequate.

autogk-advanced.jpg

Step 5: Converting

When you are done with the settings press “Add Job”- this will add it to the job queue. The program will not start converting until you press “start”. The video may take twice as long as the actual content (depending on your processor speed) so it may be better to add a bunch of videos to the queue and let it run overnight, once you get the hang of converting video.

autogk-job.jpg

Other Resources

This guide was adapted from a guide on Doom9.org to fit the specs of the Zen Vision:M. If you would like more details, Doom9.org is an amazing resource for everything DVD ripping and encoding related.

We have added a Creative Forum. Join us for some help and discussion on this topic.

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Comments

onw on March 7, 2006 2:29 AM

I've found that using CloneDVD Mobile is pretty easy and quick to convert dvd files. If you use it in conjunction with AnyDvd (same company) there's no need for decrypting, your dvd drive/s will automatically be decrypted. As far as options goes you have a bunch of different outputs available ranging from ipod thru to WMV enabled cell phones. You just select your movie, or manually select chapters, than select output size and quality. I've had no dramas with it so far.

SomeGuy on March 7, 2006 7:34 AM

Yeah but, CloneDVD and AnyDVD is NOT FREE!

Steve on March 7, 2006 9:30 PM

Don't be ridiculous. Everything is free on the internet. :D

oliverward on March 8, 2006 2:15 AM

....that's right. and besides, sometimes you gotta pay for quality. it's shame apple don't work on the same principle (price = quality), otherwise their products would be a lot more attractive!

jeffmd on March 8, 2006 11:37 AM

pay for quality? You mean pay for lazyness. The encoders like AnyDVD and the majority of mobile video encoder programs out there are the same thing as AutoGK. Front ends for software they didn't write. And do not mistaken the intent of these programs. They are generaly written by begginner programers with little skill and they make the program appeal to users who just want as few buttons as possible to push, and they are often oblivouse to the fact that the program outputs files lower quality then had they been able to make some basic choices for optimising the video to how they want it.

GDSpeed on March 14, 2006 12:39 PM

ok, man slysoft stuff is great! so easy, I could buy my wife a zvm and she would be able to do it, thats saying a lot. also, slysoft is free...just have to know where to get it, ie-any torrent site.

GDSpeed on March 14, 2006 12:56 PM

I will say that this will get the subs on there unlike the slysoft stuff will

Turnado on March 15, 2006 2:49 PM

i cant copy any divx or xvid files on zen vision and it prompt me not supported
what should i do?

EnzoTen on March 15, 2006 4:16 PM

The audio tracks encoded in the divx or xvid file must be MP3 as stated in the article. The Vision:M does not support AAC audio codecs.


You should re encode them using the setting above.

ZVM on March 16, 2006 4:43 AM

Hi Turnade,
use the bundled video converter to convert.
Enjoy !!!!

ZVM on March 16, 2006 4:56 AM

to rip the DVD i use DVDShrink v3.20.15
a freeware, it fast and quality maintain

dMan on March 17, 2006 5:23 PM

ZVM, i used DVDShrink, and that is just for people who want to make a copy of a DVD. Its not for people like us who want to save it on our pc to tranfer over to the Vision M.

dMan on March 18, 2006 11:46 AM

I tried the method explained above about how to rip DVD's and convert them to .AVi files, but its not working, i keep getting an error at the end telling me that it could not complete becuase the file is being used by another source, however i dont have any other programs running. Can someone please help, my email is DAP2082@hotmail.com, in the subjuect line put Vison M. :)

Lauren L. on March 19, 2006 1:42 AM

Thanks for putting up the review. I've converted a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica (one from the first season set, the other two from a disc that was burned off my DVR) and they all play beautifullly on my gorgeous pink creative zen m :D

Occasionally Auto GK won't work and the file won't will be corupted. But this appears to be a random thing. I tried ripping the ep 'Tigh Me Up Tigh Me Down' last night and it failed. Tried it again this morning using the same .VOB file and the program gave me no trouble. A minor inconveniece. But no harm, no foul the file plays beautifully now.

Thanks again.
-Lauren

aj on March 19, 2006 8:34 PM

i'm trying to change a divx from ac3 audio to something compatible with the vision:m. i've extracted the ac3 audio with VirtualDub. then i coverted the ac3 to wav with another tool. how do i put the wav back into the avi file? or should i generate a different type of final video+audio file? thanks.

Mojo on March 27, 2006 2:27 PM

aj, try running the original AVI through a tool called "PocketDivxEncoder". It can be found here:

http://divx.ppccool.com/

I have had luck just updating the audio from AC3 to MP3 with this tool. It is very quick. Select the Archos AV400 profile, then click the box that says "Direct Video Copy" or something like that. It is very fast as it will just copy all video data and only convert the audio.

Quite handy! I hope this helps!

Shari on March 30, 2006 2:06 PM

I want to download Auto GK to use with my Creative Labs Zen Vision. I see there is Mirror 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. I am not super computer savy but I can download programs and create. My question is which version do I download, 1, 2, 3 4 or mirror 5. Please forgive my potential ignorance here. I am chomping at the bit to put a music video dvd on my player. Thanks for your assistance. Shari

Brian on March 30, 2006 11:19 PM

Anyone tried Lathe? It looks like a nice one step conversion to DIVX with presets for various devices, or, custom configuration. I heard it's pretty fast and you can vary the quality... Anyone have experience with this?

Mark on March 31, 2006 4:46 AM

This guide is great. So straightforward it's laughable.

Shari- I used mirror 1 and that works ok so.....

Shari on March 31, 2006 8:55 PM

Thanks Mark,

I received an email from someone else that they used DVD Shrink to rip his sitcoms from DVD to convert into a VOB format and then hooked up the Zen and copied by using convert video button, to the Zen. I didn't know you could do that.

ZVM newbie on April 1, 2006 9:54 PM

Ok, this is my first time ripping DVD, when you're done converting it, does it suppose to come out divided into sections? And when I'll convert it into avi. I need to do it one at a time right? Thanks guys

Megan on April 3, 2006 9:05 PM

I followed your instructions and have managed to convert two dvds to my ZVM.... thank you!

dizzy d on April 4, 2006 10:26 AM

use dvd shrink first to copy the dvd on to your hard drive or to edit a clip from your dvd.Then once that is done AutoGK will convert it to a xvid file for you.TRy to save your xvid or divx file with minimum resolution like 384 since the vision m has that resolution and make sure your audio is recorded in mp3 format(options in autogk).A good 48 minute tv show should be around
250 mb a movie is around 550 mb.This saves space on your vision m to put more video content on

LL on April 6, 2006 1:40 AM

I followed the instruction to rip DVD/Convert VOB file. Seems that I was successful in saving it on my C: drive. When I was trying to transfer it from my PC to Zen M: by using 'convert video', 'agk-tmp' is empty and there's nothing there I can add to transfer. I'm not tech savvy person, and have spent two sleepless night trying to make it work. Can someone PLEASE help me with it. (Treat me like I'm 4 years old.)You can send email to 'lfy63@yahoo.com' with subject line 'Zen Vision'. Thank you so much!

Romy on April 6, 2006 7:16 AM

RominderDodd@hotmail.com

Hi, I have used DVD shrink to convert the DVD to lots of VOB files. Now I am trying to put them on my Vision M. What is the best way to put all of these files on together so it appears as 1 film on the Vision M?

I have tried Lathe which lets you do a batch job). The other alternative is to use Auto GK and then the creative tool. Can anyone let me know the easiest and best way to do this. Main thing is I want 1 file for each film. Not 18 mini files for each one. Thanks

Juan on April 6, 2006 11:58 AM

Hi, I've ripped the Matrix using Decryptor (this only took a few minutes) and now I've kicked off Auto GK and its taking over 12 hrs to convert. Is this normal?

Troy on April 7, 2006 11:07 AM

Thanks to the info above, I've loaded my Zen Vision:M up with all 3 extended versions of Lord of the Rings, Blackhawk Down, Tears of the Sun, & both Toy Story movies rather quickly.


I usually do it at work while I'm working away. First I use DVDshrink to cut out all the extras, extra languages, subtitles, & the credits. I'll do this to 2 or 3 movies (each taking about 10-15 minutes to create the VOB files.


Then when I leave for the night, I setup AutoGK to convert all the files. I usually go with 640 fixed width/VBR 160kbs MP3, & select around 800-900MB output size. When I get into the office in the morning, they're all done & I copy the files to my device.


On the small screen, the resolution is incredibly sharp (making my ipod-using co-worker drop his head in shame, heheheee). And when I connect to a tv it looks great there too (which is why I went with the 640 resolution).


Thanks for the info, this site is easily the best source of info since I got my Zen Vision:M

Travis on April 7, 2006 9:10 PM

Ok. I followed the instructions pretty well and i got like 5 dvd's in the avi form but when i went to transfer them, I came to find out that zen vision m doesn't support avi.. what do i do with all my dvds to get them on the vision m?

EnzoTen on April 7, 2006 9:40 PM

Avi is a divx and xvid extention, they are both compatible with the ZVM. you probably did not selct the correct audio track. It needs to be set on MP3.

Patrick on April 8, 2006 1:40 AM

I followed the process exactly as explained above, and when I play my finished AVI file, it starts playing fine, and then skips repeatedly. I've tried it on numerous media players and it still occurs (not to mention the audio looses sync). Another wierd thing, is that during the opening credits of the film I converted, the french version keeps flashing over the English one (not the subtitles, the actual image itself). I didn't do it by VOB, because i have multiple fies that made up the dvd, so I selected the .IFO at the beginning. Can anyone tell me what's wrong? (I chose 700MB, mp3 audio, DIVX, angle 1, no subtitles btw.)

Tiffany on April 11, 2006 10:14 AM

i cant get any movies onto zen i have used lots of programs but wat is the best which is free to download no trial version. Full version that works. i d aprreciate who can help me . Email me maker973@hotmail.com thx.

Nathan on April 14, 2006 11:41 AM

I'm having trouble ripping and converting Family Guy with this. If anyone has else done an episode of Family Guy, please e-mail me! (nathan.gura@sbcglobal.net)

Eric Santoyo on April 17, 2006 11:35 PM

I tried to convert chicken little with agk but it says theirs an error when I rip the dvd it gave me diferent angles to choose from does this affect anything?

Kev... on April 19, 2006 12:04 PM

I managed to copy a movie over on my first attempt, but the sound is about half a second ahead of the vision. Any tips on how to fix that?

kev on April 20, 2006 7:27 AM

Im confused, cant you use the software that comes with this unit to convert dvd's.

Jonny on April 20, 2006 9:17 AM

I followed all the steps above. However when i come to "Add Media" using the Zen Vision M Media explorer. It keeps saying file not transferred because of an "unknown error". This happens with the avi as well as all my other videos that are in wmv format. Even though both of these formats are supposedly supported by the ZVM. What should i do?

choctlab on April 20, 2006 10:33 AM

I followed the directions, and the audio was set to mp3, however, when I attempt to drag-and-drop the resulting avi file on to the zvm I get an error message: "The (filename) file type is not supported on this device..."

Anyone else having this problem? Resolution?

Danny on April 20, 2006 4:08 PM

Hi nathan, I have all of season 4 of family guy and the film on my wkd ZVM, I got them from a copied DVD I was given containing them. I'm guesing that because on this DVD there is a family guy film, 10 family guy episodes, 2 episodes of the simpsons and some american dad episodes, that they are all in Div-x format or something simelar, unfortunately i'm sitting on the shitter at the moment so I can't go and check! Anywho, I just used the ZVM media guide and added them with no problem at all, they didnt even need converting and they all play beautifully! BTW this site it brilliant and has helped me a lot, as soon as I get off the shitter i'm going to try and copy The Last Samurai! PS Family guy has to be the best show EVER!

Frank on April 26, 2006 1:21 AM

Is there a good ZVM forum out there where we can share iur experiences?

EnzoTen on April 26, 2006 7:25 AM

We are launching a forum on this site in a few days. Stay Tuned

Jon Kaiser on April 27, 2006 11:17 AM

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the excellent guide.
For some reason the movie I did yesterday (Aeon Flux) for which I set AutoGK to use a size of 400MB and a fixed setting of 640.....shows up in the Zen Media explorer as having a resolution of: 640 x 272.

Yet another movie I did using Lathe correctly shows up as 640 x 480.

Anyone know what I might be doing wrong ?

Thx,
Jon

gustov on April 27, 2006 11:47 PM

i decrypted the dvd then in autoGK the dvd file is split into 5 parts, how do you make the movie 1 file?

Waverunner on April 29, 2006 2:41 AM

Only thing missing from within these very useful instructs:

After installing AutoGK REBOOT your computer... otherwise it will hang at the analyzing source phase for lack of "drivers." Doesn't matter for DVD Decrypter.

Ditto on the Stitch the AVI's together question... See Lathe runs all of $8

Kev on May 1, 2006 6:37 AM

If your files are split, rename each file with file names like _1.vob and _2.vob and _3.vob etc, the new names must contain the word vob, Auto GK will automatically link these files and convert them into 1 file for your ZVM. More more info click on the link http://www.autogk.me.uk/modules.php?name=TutorialEN Hope this helps other as much as it helped myself.


Kev

Ruth on May 1, 2006 8:16 AM

I am having problems like Jonny posted before unknown errors in yet followed all advice I only want 1 dvd on my zvm for my hols!

Zen M user on May 2, 2006 12:04 AM

Hello all,
I'm having the same issues that others mentioned. The DVD seems to copy fine with Decryptor, and the process of converting the file with AudioDK seems to work--but take a long time. (took 2 1/2 hrs for 6 minutes) When the files are complete the ones I have tried thus far seem to skip a little bit and the audio and video are out of synch--has anyone else had this problem. Thanks in advance!

Mr. B on May 4, 2006 1:05 AM

I have a few movies done with DVD Shrink, but I can not get AutoGK to reconize the files. All I know is the files are in winrar when they are completed. How do I do them in VOB with dvd shrink?

@ndro(*)id on May 7, 2006 3:34 AM

Kewl - thanks for info! I managed to convert Lost In Translation on my first attempt. AutoGK took 6+1/2 hours to do it, but that's ok when it's overnight. BTW, Gustov - the movie may be split into multiple Vob parts, but use the IFO file as the input with AutoGK as this contains all the info for re-assembling the movie as one.

Rae on May 7, 2006 1:50 PM

Thank you for the detailed instructions!This is my first attempt at ripping DVD to my Zen, and I was almost successful! Only problem is video and audio are separate(audio under my music) and the video plays at too fast a speed(tried changing video playback speed, but it was already on normal). What can I do to fix this?

jon on May 8, 2006 9:44 AM

This info enabled me to transfer Batman begins on my first attempt without any problems, i thought the multiple VOB files would be a problem but AutoGK linked them automatically, and best of all, it takes me just a little over 3 hours to convert them,copying them to my zen was very easy, and to think its my first time in getting to all this techy stuff, im no t a very techy person by the way, just the basic stuff...now i've also managed to rip my concert DVD to my zvm without any glitches, seeing those live concerts play into my zen was awesome.thanks really.. and for those who are havin any glitches, just follow the step by step guide very well and you won't get lost.

Metroidman on May 8, 2006 11:06 PM

What exactly fo you download at the doom9.net and auto gk websites? I am a little confused there.

DW on May 9, 2006 3:45 AM

hay guys, has anyone tried "video vault" software, the company claims that their software upgrade will support zvm.

kev on May 10, 2006 4:33 AM

Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp me please. On my first few attempts i managed to convert video and load it onto zvm with no probs, now every time i try to load a convertd video it rejects the video with an unknown error. I have even removed some videos that were on my zen and tried reloading the same video again from my computer with and it is rejected. No changes were made to the video formatt on my computer, it is exactly the same as when i first had it on my zvm. to anyone who has had the same prob, what did you do to solve this issue?

Dr Westy on May 11, 2006 1:27 PM

For anybody who has good experience with AVI editing and wishes to use VirtualDub, or similar, for creating AVIs for their ZVM, you need to take care with the interleaving of the audio.
I've found that if you use an interleave of 1 video frame the video will play too slowly on the ZVM, but will typically be fine in players on the computer. An examination of the AGK job files for virtualdub showed it was using an interleave of 2 frames (with 500ms preload). Using this setting seems to work fine with the ZVM
If anyone has any other experiences with ZVM synching I'd love to know.

Angeleno on May 11, 2006 7:05 PM

I want to use WMV9 for my video files, where can i get a dvd ripper that uses that format, i have seen many and i have a couple that work with mpeg1 & mpeg2, but I cant seem to locate one that will rip vob to WMV9. And why isnt anybody else interested in WMV9 its just as good as Divx, can anybody help out?

e on May 11, 2006 7:11 PM

I dont know of anything that will convert VOB to WMV9. You would have to convert to MPEG then to WMV9 and the software that comes with the ZVM will do that.

The reason no one likes to use WMV9 is because it is a closed format and divx is supported by more players.

angeleno on May 12, 2006 8:46 PM

I am ripping to mpeg2, and the movie looks good for the most part, but there is a little studder in the film, maybe frame drop out, i dont know. And am using the settings 2500kbs, and 29.97 frames, and its still not running as smooth as I would like. I have looked at what you guys are doing with the siftware above, and that seems to lenghthy, and with all the converting your bound to loose some quality, what is the best way to rip n play on Zen vision M, it doesnet matter if the software isnt free, I will pay for the best quality....anybody?

Mark on May 12, 2006 11:31 PM

Does anybody know how to get dvd to ur creative m

Andrew on May 13, 2006 2:34 PM

I too am having some of the same problems listed, my audio and video are two seperate files and the video runs much too quickly. Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong or why this won't work? Thanks.
BTW my e-mail is needsmoney7@yahoo.com

matt on May 15, 2006 2:55 PM

quick question im downloading movies from http://podtropolis.com/

movies work great on on zen vision but there is no sound......

is there somhting i can download to fix that

EnzoTen on May 15, 2006 4:57 PM

We have added a Creative Forum. Join us for some help and discussion on this topic.

Xoxidine on May 15, 2006 8:29 PM

For some reason when I select the VOB file I wish to convert, it dosen't fill the output box, and I can't manually set an output file either. I click it and the program does nothing. Am I the only one with this problem? Someone please contact me! xoxidine@hotmail.com

Jim K on May 19, 2006 11:31 AM

DVD Shrink -> ISO image -> Free FU (FairUse) -> Xvid AVI for Vision M

I re-author the DVD with DVDShrink and then with FU I use 320x176 res and fit the resulting movie to approximately 700 meg.

After much fussing and playing this is the simpliest process I've found and I use it exclusively for DVD to V:M conversion. As a side perk, if you burn the ISO image you've created a backup of your DVD's...

AkWingnut on May 19, 2006 2:42 PM

hmmmm as Jim K has said use DVD Shrink to make in ISO image of the dvd, then i use Video Vault, its not free but if you know where to look you can make it free. Also i use DAEMON tools, i use this to mount the ISO image and use VIDEO VAULT to convert to 12 different formats for the ZVM, the difference being the QUALITY of the movie and the audio either being WMV, MP3, Xvid, or DIVX its your choice. email me if you have questions.....

AkWingnut on May 19, 2006 2:43 PM

opps akwingnut@acsalaska.net

Jupe on May 20, 2006 5:56 AM

Please help me, I'm doing everything according to the guide and after the converting I got a file named agk_tmp. I click it and there's only the sounds of the movie, in format AC3. And there is also D2V-file. What am I doing wrong? if anyone could tell me what to do, tell here or email me (jupettaja@gmail.com), please? Anyone?

EnzoTen on May 20, 2006 6:04 PM

Update: This guide gives you a lot of control for your output files but is a somewhat involved. If you are looking for less powerful but ultra easy way to rip DVDs and convert other files for your Zen Vision:M please check out iriverter. I recommend it for the novice and casual user over this guide.

Jupe on May 23, 2006 1:41 PM

Well I got dvd's on my ZM:M, but the movies are very small, because on the black bars. First I use the iRiverter and then the Creative Converter program, but it doesn't let me crop the black bars. What should I do?

Kyle on May 27, 2006 10:29 AM

I don't really understand how to work the AutoGK program? can someone explain it?

Mike on May 27, 2006 5:14 PM

I'm from the uk does it matter what program i use, i'm not great with computers and want quite simple transfers, the i riverter looks good, would this work on a UK computer?

kev on May 28, 2006 8:13 AM

This think is really starting to piss me off, I have tried to transfer movies that i have allready had on my zvm but now when i try to transfer them again i keep getting an unknown error. this is driving me mad as i have done nothing to the format of the movie that i previously had on the player before. has anyone had this problem and sorted it out, if so pleeeeeeeeeeeease let me know what you did.

Homestar on May 28, 2006 10:07 AM

This thing is pissing me off too. When I click the AutoGK shortcut, nothing happens.

Paul on May 28, 2006 10:13 AM

1. DVD Decrypter -- extract to harddrive
2. iriverter -- to create .AVI
3. Pocket Divx -- correct A/V sync feature

EnzoTen on May 28, 2006 12:59 PM

For all of you having problems use iriverter. It is extreamly simple and can be done with basically "one click".

Download iriverter

Homestar on May 28, 2006 3:03 PM

OK, I got AutoGK to work and everything, but I'm trying to rip Black Hawk Down. There are six different PGC_01_1 things, but they are in Title 1. Not only are there six of them, but each little thing takes around 5 hours. I have a pretty fast computer, so I dont know what it is. Anyways, I added all of these to the job queue because they were all in Title 1:

E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_1
E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_2
E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_3
E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_4
E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_5
E:\BLACK_HAWK_DOWN\VIDEO_TS\VTS_01_PGC_01_6

So I added all of those to the job queue because they were all in Title 1, which was 2:24:12, which is the right length for the movie. So why are there 6 different parts here when there are 28 chapters in Black Hawk Down? If I did all of this non stop at this rate, it would take me two days just to get a single movie on here. Anybody know what the problem is? Is it supposed to do this?

TryThis on May 29, 2006 11:15 AM

Hey im having a/some issues with certain dvd types, namely sony pictures dvd's. I have found a few pieces of software from the net like magicbit dvd ripper, and dvd decrypter that seem to work ok & that rips & coverts in one step to mpeg 1&2 or avi. The movies in question or resident evil 1 or 2, or Hostel, and the new Final Fantasy movie. I have tried everything it seems but I keep having audio drop out when play back file. I have tried increasing kbs for audio, then video, and both, and i have even used other software, but i get the same type of audio drop out. So i have linked the dvd's im having trouble with to having 1 thing in common...they all are sonypicture dvd's. Is there anybody who has ripped any of these movies, or could test them out n see if we have a encrytion that the current sof6tware cant decode, becasue I even tried copying /decoding fules with dvd decryter, and then making the movie file from the ripped files, but still the same problem. Help somebody casue im so pissed im about throw the vision against the wall and say F_ _ _ ! It!

Kev on May 29, 2006 4:55 PM

Well i have just downloaded Iriverter and converted a movie with no problems, but again when a try and load it to my zmv i get the same unknown error that i got when using auto gk to convert. when i used the Iriverter i wasnt able to compress the movie as much as i would with auto gk. Im now starting to wish i bough a ipod video.

BK1 on May 30, 2006 3:02 PM

I followed all instructions but got no sound on the final .avi file, despite selecting VBR MP£ 12kb/s: when I opened the avi files on my laptop the movie looked fine, but no sound at all. After 6 hours of waiting, this is pretty annoying, so I'll give iriverter a go.

Red on May 31, 2006 1:21 PM

Hi I've read all of the above and it seems to be pretty long winded and time consuming to get a dvd to my ZVM. I'm using the method as noted at the top as on-one has mentioned an ultimate method, but still in the process of converting, so I don't know how the story will end. Does anyone know if it's possible to do it much faster? 3x the length of the film to stick it on my ZVM does seem to be too long.

B-man on June 1, 2006 9:10 AM

I tried using DVD decryptor, DVD shrink, auto gk, iriverter, pocket divx other programs I recieved, and when I try to convert the avi file to wmv it would reach 99% then I keep getting an error message. When I try to drag and drop the file into ZVM it says the file is not the correct method. Can someone help me?

bk1 on June 1, 2006 11:20 AM

After trying the very slow method, I tried iriverter and it was a joy to use, taking slightly less than 2 hours to convert a 2hr movie to avi, and it worked fine on my pc and on my zen. Well impressed. I didn't see an option to create the movie at 640 resolution (so it would look better if output to a tv) but maybe I could create my own profile for iriverter to do that...

Blue-Storm on June 1, 2006 11:29 AM

I just bought a ZMV and I have some issues. Can ZMV play AVI files, or do I have to comvert them to WMV? Because i'm having a hard time converting my AVI files to WMV files using the software that came with the ZMV. What other video file types can ZVM play?

El on June 3, 2006 3:10 AM

Hey. I've had my ZVM for just over 3 months now, and it is nothing short of incredible. The screen, the vertical touchpad, the blue buttons etc etc----- All Incredible!!
EXCEPT. I can't get the darn thing to load any movies. I've used the drag-and-drop method as it says to in the instructions, I've downloaded one of my shorter movies again to see if that was the problem (it wasn't), and I've downloaded over ten DVD rippers and various video converters to compatible formats and files for Creative products, and it still isn't working. Every time I try, it says the files are not compatible, or that I haven't selected the correct track(s). Somebody help me! I've had this thing for over 14 weeks and I need this to work!!

Klongoid on June 5, 2006 12:59 AM

OK...I tried this ireverter thing. Here is what happened. I downloaded and installed the program. I then put in a DVD (Half Baked if anyone cares). It went through a period of reading the DVD and then I clicked the button to convert. It said complete within a half second and I can't find the file anywhere I my computer (I know where I saved it and it is not there!). What am I doing wrong? I too am having major issues with trying to load movies to my Vision M. I am new to this product and all these decrypters and such. I tried AoA DVD Ripper with no luck. I tried DVD Shrink and couldn't figure that one out. Now I couldn't get the ireverter program to work. I am now in the process of trying the DVD Decrypter --> AutoGK process. I'd still like to know where I went wrong with the ireverter program? Please e-mail me at kris_long_1999@yahoo.com . Thanks

Kev on June 5, 2006 5:39 AM

A quick rundown on the way i rip, convert and load movies to my ZVM. *1 rip dvd with dvd decripter as described at the top of this page. Store ripped movie files (ifo and mpeg) somewhere on your had drive. *2 open up the folder that has the movie you just ripped. When you open this folder you will notice the move has been broken up into multible files, here you will need to double click on the largest mpeg file, when you do this your computer should auto open a media player and play the file/movie you just opened. check to make sure the file you are now watching on you media player covers the whole movie, if it does this is the only file you will need to convert using Auto gk. At this point you should rename the file like this _1.vob, it is this file and only this file you will need to convert with Auto GK. If the movie is broken up into more than 1 mpeg file rename the second file _2.vob, and if broken up into 3 mpeg files name the 3rd file _3.vob etc. *3 now open up Auto GK and set it up as described above. Now open the 1'st file that you just renamed, auto gk will only let you open 1 of the file that you just ripped, the file that you want to open will be the file you just renamed _1.vob and set the output path to where ever you want the converted movie to be place on you hard drive. Now ad job and and start converting. Note if the movie you are converting was broken up into multible files auto Gk will roll them all up into 1 file if you remembered to name the files _1.vob _2.vob _3.vob etc. Once you have converted the movie all you have to do is load it to your zvm. If you have problems loading the movie using the zen media explorer, load it using your windows media player instead. Hope this helps.

The S on June 5, 2006 3:45 PM

If anyone gets an error message after converting the files on auto GK saying that the file is in use so the process can't work. just put the vob file through auto gk agen saving over the old video and it should work. if not, then i recommend iriverter however, it isn't very good for watching the movies on your PC, like me

REB on June 7, 2006 10:19 AM

When I use AutoGK to convert the VOB files to DivX, do I convert only the file _1.VOB or do I need to convert each VOB? Or as suggested above "the movie may be split into multiple Vob parts, but use the IFO file as the input with AutoGK as this contains all the info for re-assembling the movie as one" which suggest only converting IFO file?

Another question, output default is 2 CD's (1400 mb). Can I make it smaller by selecting custom size. If so how do I know what to set it to?

James on June 9, 2006 9:40 PM

I am having trouble, because Whenever I decrypt a dvd I open the file and it has like 15 file options, ranging form a couple of kilobytes to 1 gig. Wich of these do I choose to convert? Thanks

vuhd on June 9, 2006 10:40 PM

OMG OMG OMG I just spend the whole day trying to get these damn programs to work (iriverter, and dvd decrypter + autogk). Iriverter converted King Kong and Harry Potter flawlessly. However, it does not decode The Matrix and only decode a single episode of Family Guy DVD (ripped from original DVD and worked perfectly on my DVD player). I followed every given instruction to the teeth and it's no go. For instance The Matrix was decrypted and showed multiple files, 4 of them are vob files and all have the same size (1gb). Which to choose, I preview them and none of them are complete. So I renamed them to 1-4 so that autogk can detect them but after some lengthy processes, it said that the file cannot be access because it's being used by another program!!!! WFT!!!! I have no other programs running. This is BS and I am 2 sec away from throwing this damn zen against the wall.....arrrrrrrgh...Please please help me!!!!!

Keith on June 13, 2006 9:40 PM

I use DVD Cloner III to rip dvd's it's the best out there (I've used several other programs that didn't work out nearly as well as this one) as far as I'm concerned with absolutely zero artifacts on a good dvd player and only the occasional freeze up or artifact on a crappy player. Therefore, I assumed their other software might be pretty good too. I use their dvd-to-mpeg converter and it works beautifully. I ripped Ice age and the quality is outstanding with the Zen's unbelievable screen. The downside? I absolutely can't tolerate cropped "modified to fit your screen" videos so to view the wide screen version the overall picture is a little small with the wasted space above and below the picture. You can, however, click the lower right button on the player and select "stretch to full" to make it a little bigger. Hope this helps.

James on June 15, 2006 12:15 AM

I used Ireververter today succesfully except my movie was broken into 6 parts. When I was selecting my input it didnt let me us an IFO ( isnt this the one tha inculedes all VOB's) it just automatically chose something for me then i hit convert. Any help? Thank you in advance

MMAdojo on June 21, 2006 11:04 AM

jeffmd on March 8, 2006 11:37 AM wrote:
pay for quality? You mean pay for lazyness. The encoders like AnyDVD and the majority of mobile video encoder programs out there are the same thing as AutoGK. Front ends for software they didn't write. And do not mistaken the intent of these programs. They are generaly written by begginner programers with little skill and they make the program appeal to users who just want as few buttons as possible to push, and they are often oblivouse to the fact that the program outputs files lower quality then had they been able to make some basic choices for optimising the video to how they want it.

jeffmd, I have to argue with you here from two directions. One being a programmer and two being an end user who has compared the slysoft programs to many many others including AutoGK and DVDshrink, and all the others listed here in this posting thread. Let me address your concerns of quality loss. First, as we all should know, you can not get a 1:1 copy of most movies on your standard single-layer dvd-r, so compression, and therefore loss of some quality is unavoidable. But with right program you can get so close to the same quality, that most would not know the difference side-by-side. As someone who has compared the quality output of several other leading programs with CloneDVD, AnyDVD, etc, I have to say that the slysoft wins hands down everytime. But let us not forget that is for home viewing where quality should be measured. But we are having this chat on a posting for a portable media player, the zvm. Does anyone here honestly worry about quality loss on a portable device? That is just dumb. To take 3 or 4 to 8 GB's of info and expect to convert it to 2-300 MB's for the zvm, without loss of quality is crazy! As far as your complaint on appealing to users that want less buttons and ease of use... don't you? I can use and understand very complex programs, but would I want to compared to those that do the same thing without having to make every little change needed, never. The simple fact is, I use CloneDVD and CloneDVDmobile everyday, and also have other complicated programs to use if I wanted to, but I don't. The reason why is that I have upwards of 2700 DVDs and growing, and the mass majority have been with the slysoft programs, simply because they DO work, and with that many opportunities for comparison, I haven't found one yet that I think IS as easy or does as good a job. And lastly, just because, programmers with little skill has nothing to do with anything. So maybe I wouldn't want a complex program from them (these type shouldn't be complex), but the plain truth is that the programs work (period). And when they work it makes little difference if a programming newbie or the very best programmer in the world made it, because what works, works! You would almost wonder if I work for slysoft?

deb on June 21, 2006 11:38 PM

thank you ... these directions are "right on" and adding the instructions from Kev's June 5th blog.. everything was perfect.. I am such a newbie and this makes using my new Zen so absolutely awesome!! The color and resolution of the video is absolutely amazing.. I was able to download three movies...thank you.. thank you.. thank you... I am so absolutely excited about my new Zen. It rips ipod to pieces.. what can I say??

Kryptik on June 22, 2006 11:38 AM

I am trying to rip DVDs on Mac OSX. IT works fine and plays fine in Quicktime and VLC, but won't transfer in ZVM. I tried DivX 4/5, mpeg 2/4, Xvid, nothing works. ZVM will not transfer them or convert them. I use mencoder, FFmpeg and D-Vision. Can somebody help me figure it out? Can a rip from a Mac work on the ZVM?

(I transfer from a laptop PC but can't really use it to rip because the CD/DVD player is broken and it is an old PC anyway and would be slow).

Falcon on June 22, 2006 10:21 PM

how would i go about doing this for a zen v plus? would i just have to change the output capacity and the width to at least 128? My sister wants a zen v plus, but she does not trust herself to do it correctly. I have already done this for my ZVM, but i just want to make sure i do it correctly for her. And yes, i do know that i will have to wait a while for the Zen v plus to be released, but during the summer i dont have much to do anyway lol. Thanks :)

ruddyss4 on June 25, 2006 9:59 PM

this guide is amazing, i cant imagine how a couple of people are having problems with it. it works 100%. great job.

Kratos on June 29, 2006 11:46 AM

Hi. I have a couple of videos(.avi) on my laptop. Movie files about 700 mb each. When I tried to copy these they failed. The error I received was "the format is not supported". So I used AVIConverter to convert the files to mpeg and wmv and they both failed. The error was something like "the size exceeds the video capability of the player" What am I doing wrong here? The other avi videos that are much smaller in size (like 20mb) are working perfectly fine. Help me someone. Thanks.

craig on June 30, 2006 1:11 AM

it worked but why do the vidoes lack the height. its a 320x240 video but it looks like a 144 height why is this??

CRAIG on July 1, 2006 6:23 PM

IM HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM!!! I USE AUTO GK, IRIVERTER & CREATIVE MEDIA EXPLORER BUT IT STILL DOES NOT WORK

"Well I got dvd's on my ZM:M, but the movies are very small, because on the black bars. First I use the iRiverter and then the Creative Converter program, but it doesn't let me crop the black bars. What should I do?"

PLEASE HELPPPPPPPPPPPP

Gorilla Unit on July 2, 2006 1:39 AM

Are there any good (and free, im cheap) dvd rippers that rip the dvd to the right file for ZVM, so u dont have to have all kinds of programs do all kinds of different things... cuz i tried some of this stuff, and i got the hell confused outa me...

Ryan on July 6, 2006 11:05 AM

Gorilla, try iriverter, it does it all by itself.
Craig, your dvd is probably a widescreen dvd, you have to choose a pan and scan option in iriverter, just like in a normal dvd player. I haven't actually tried this yet (I'm ripping all of my fullscreen dvd's first, which look great btw) but it should work

Derrick on July 7, 2006 12:15 AM

I used the AutoGK and DVD Decrypter as decribed above and it works great. Thanks for the great free instructions. I have now loaded roughly 8 dvd's onto my Zen Vision: M all with no problems. I have even learned how to rip only certain chapters if that is all that I wanted with the mentioned software. For the 4th of July, I took an 11 hour trip to visit family. I took my Zen Vision: M and played music for 6 hours and watched two full length movies. Who says battery life was short? Not me...

I have really enjoyed my Zen Vision: M thanks to this discussion and great advice given.

Thanks again,
Derrick

Bootsey 911 on July 9, 2006 7:00 AM

We followed the above instructions using DVD Decrypter and Auto GK. It worked. Even Deb was able to do it.......

Ruler_14 on July 10, 2006 6:13 AM

Trying to convert Pirates of the Caribbean for my ZVM: I have used the above guide and successfully put King Kong, Old School, Anchorman and Star Wars Episode 3 on my ZVM. I am doing nothing different for Pirates of the Caribbean but when Auto GK finishes and i play the .AVI the video is fine and the sound is fine but the video is 8-10 seconds behind the sound. Anyone help me. My e-mail is Ruler_14@hotmail.com

carolyn on July 11, 2006 8:56 AM

I am a newbie also. I understand the directions for using the Autogk. some are mentioning using Decrypter but I used the DVDShrink and the Autogk. Is there a difference. Once Autokg is completed I am stuck. What are the directions for sending it from my computer to my vision m. I don't know the steps used to get the files from my computer to my zvm. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease help!

devstorm on July 11, 2006 2:25 PM

I see how this system would work fine for a whole movie. But how about a DVD of TV shows? I tried converting a ripped DVD of Galactica episodes using iriverter. But the episodes are cut in half, and one file starts with the middle of an episode & the beginning of another episode. Should I convert them to one file & then split them somehow?

Alexxxxxxxxxx on July 11, 2006 4:50 PM

Hi Guys & Girlies!

I use DVD Decrypter to rip DVDs to my harddrive.

Then I use AutoGK to copy the DVD files to my ZVM.

My next project is to see if I can burn DVD files from my harddrive
to a blank DVD Rewritable [I think for this I will download DVD Shrink
as everybody seems to be using it].

I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS THOUGH!

1. Can I just burn the Windows Media File created by AutoGK to a blank DVD Disc?

2. Recently the VOB DVD files and others [audio etc] on my C: harddrive have all turned into those annoying blank file things that dont display an icon so you dont know what program created it or runs it. Why is this? Anyone know?

Oh yeah Zen rocks and is vastly superior to the Ipod!

Craig on July 19, 2006 1:11 AM

Thanks Ryan for answering my question. Yes ive tried that pan and scan feature, it works most of the time but now something new has come up. On some of the DVD's after its done reading the chapters i click the convert button and it just sais complete right after i hit the button. Any one else have this problem?

Sean on July 20, 2006 5:08 PM

Hey I can figure out how to make a VOB file. Like whenever I decrypt it..it makes it a VTS file..does that matter? and if it does can someone tell me the process to make it a VOB file?

Craig on July 20, 2006 9:29 PM

No it doesent matter Sean, just continue the guide and you should be ok.

mindow on July 25, 2006 9:01 AM

I can connect my zen vision:m to pc, usb is works, just errors with zen connetions, help!!!!

zett on July 26, 2006 3:07 AM

For some reason, my player isnt recognized or something by my computer. I have WMP 10 and installed the software but my player still wont show up. I have tried reinstallin and it still doesnt work. When i plug my player into the USB cord, it just turns on. It doesnt show that its chargin or connected to the computer.

IPcruncher on July 26, 2006 4:33 PM

Hi all, I ran in trouble and I'm asking for help. Here the story: I follow the procedure as recommended and the AKG convert the files to *.avi. I can see increasing the *.avi file. But at the very end an error message appears telling it couldn't complete because the file is being used by another source! (??) I tried a couple of times and didn't succeed. I ripped the DVD again and started the procedure with the AKG again and failed with the same error message.
Missed I something? How can I solve the issue? Please post some helpfull comments. Please ... Thx :-)

SMWViking on July 27, 2006 3:23 PM

I'm having a lot of trouble downloading AutoGK. For someone reason it just won't download and I've tried four times. Is there any way I can get DVD's onto my Zen Vision:M without using AutoGK?

IPcruncher on July 27, 2006 3:51 PM

Hi all, according my posting about the error message "...file is being used by another source!" [July26,2006] I found out the following:
First I made the update of the AKG, but it ends up like before.
Between the lines the boards says, the problem occures by using Symantec AntiVirus 10.x !
I tried out today, and after some modifications and restarts the AntiVir AutoProtect stays disable and everything went well !
So I'm happy with that, but excluding the destination folder of the *avi file for the AutoProtect is the better solution. I going to set this up next.
Any Comments according this posting are welcome.

Adam Armstrong on July 30, 2006 3:03 PM

I've managed to put 2 episodes of American Dad on my Zen and it's all worked fine but when I try to put any thing longer than this on (about 20 minutes) I get several VOB files after decrypting and I don't know how to join them together again to convert them for my Zen. What do I do or am I doing something wrong?!

monkee on July 30, 2006 4:37 PM

it totally worked! Woo hoo! : ) thank you!

khaze on July 31, 2006 8:51 AM

on length movies why are there more than 1 vob files

Shy Boy Wins on July 31, 2006 8:46 PM

I just want to say, Thanks for the tutorial! It's little things like this that make this website one of the best. Donnie Darko is a great movie on the go also.

jackie on August 2, 2006 9:38 PM

How do I get an audio book in cd form onto my zen m?

Shazam on August 4, 2006 1:14 PM

hey, i just bought my zvm yesterday, and i tried to transfer video to it. but when i did, only some of the videos played, the other's just had a blank screen. all were converted to avi. any thoughts?

DJmike on August 5, 2006 3:28 AM

Can someone tell me why i can't download autogk? I down load it and install it over and over and over again and every time i open it it wants to install. don't get me wrong, i love installing it all night long but would love to be able to watch a video on my zen vision m but i am starting to think this can't be done.

Rosemary on August 5, 2006 9:45 PM

I'm a real newbie to Zen Vision M Does anyone know where to get a manual on how to use it in detail? please e-mail me with info on where to purchase


Thanks

Jesse on August 7, 2006 8:50 PM

great guide it's a huge help, thx 4 writin it! and it only takes bout 4 hours to make it prety good stuff, except the size is whacked i told it 640 x 480 but it gave me 464 x 362, if u know y it did this could u plz e-mail me at gamerjdawg@aol.com :)

rhino on August 8, 2006 2:30 PM

jackie !try downloading the free share ware program CDex ;a cd ripping tool that converts cd"s into MP3s .Try downloading it off the file hippo an excellent freware site.Look in audio+more

rhino on August 8, 2006 2:55 PM

Maybe some people ;like me are having trouble converting video recorded in VR mode on your dvd recorders to your mvz.Try changing the format to V mode it should work.I use a samsung dvd recorder and it works well as you can change the format back and forth .

Adam Armstrong on August 9, 2006 9:52 AM

It's working now! I've put a few films on now and they're all great. If you have multiple vob files then you just need to rename them. When I put Dawn of the dead on I renamed them to: Dawn_1.vob, Dawn_2.vob etc. Then in AutoGK, just put the first vob file in, in my case Dawn_1.vob and AutoGK will pick up on the other files as well and convert them all at the saem time. The only problem I've found is that my DVD's are widescreen so I've got the black bars on my Zen now, not too bad though as the quality is still pretty high!

Vincent on August 10, 2006 3:44 AM

Great guide, it got me ripping DVDs in no time at all. I have a question on quality, using the AutoGK app (see instructions above) I'm prompted to choose the file size. I started using the standard 2 CD option, creating a 1,4Gb avi file at 640x480 -which is absolutely fantastic quality, and allows me to play the movies on any tv directly from my Zen. I'm wondering though (and as ripping is a lenghty process I wanted to see if there's any consensus out there), what's the minimal file size needed to guarantee good quality on a PAL tv? I've seen movies reduced to around 700Mb and playback on tv was acceptable -as I got quite a DVD collection, the difference between 700Mb and 1,4Gb on a 30Gb Zen is obvious. Any suggestions??

alice on August 16, 2006 9:00 PM

Thank you anythingbutipod.com for writing this article. I have the CZV:m and spent hours of confused researching and trying out of all sorts of freeware for dvd ripping before finding this. After finding the AutoGK method a bit too long, i downloaded the alternative iriverter and found this to be perfect - a 30 min sitcom ripped in 20 mins.

Thanks again for making my mp3 playing life a ease.

Johnny Rockfella on August 18, 2006 4:57 AM

I've got a problem, after ripping "Kung FU Hustle" it comes out as several different files instead of one with the whole movie? ANy suggestions on how to fix this? I've tried with other dvds and i get the same problem still.

Adam Armstrong on August 20, 2006 2:57 PM

Johnny Rockfella: Rename all the output vob files like this: Kung_1.vob, kung_2.vob etc. Doesn't really matter if you put 'kung' in or not just as long as you put something in and follow it with _1.vob etc. Just make sure you put them in the same order as the original names say so. Then put kung_1.vob into the autoGK input box and it will pick up the rest of the files once it starts converting.

BuckyBoy on August 24, 2006 1:56 PM

As yet, the question regarding the .avi file format not being supported has not been answered. I am unable to copy a divx encoded file to the Zen.
I also tested the process by copying an .avi file from the Zen (one of the 'creative' movies) to my pc, and then simply tried to copy it back. I got the same error (format not supported).
I then changed the extension on the avi file to mp3 and copied it to the Zen. It copied, but then wouldn't let me rename the file on the Zen.
I know that the files are good, since I can play them perfectly on my ipaq.
What am I doing wrong?
KB

tone on August 25, 2006 10:33 AM

ZVM, Doesn't support divx encoded files.

Confused me!! on August 26, 2006 6:49 AM

OK im stuck! whats the best way to get excellent Video quality on my zen vision M. At the moment i dont know how to put DVD's onto it, ive skimmed through this and saw people talking about different things so im a bit stuck now?? what should i use? any suggestions

AgentOrange on August 30, 2006 12:10 AM

I had a problem getting my desktop to recognize that my zen was connected. The drivers loaded properly and it even showed up in the device manager, but still did not show up in the Creative explorer. Did some digging and I found out what it was. There is a problem with the USB permision in the system registry. Read the trouble shooting guide and hopefully it will solve all your problems.

Here is the link

http://dmzweb4.europe.creative.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=436,E=0000000000150969587,K=7536,Sxi=3,Case=obj(14275),Kb=ww_english_add,VARSET=ws:http://www.europe.creative.com/

Alex M on August 30, 2006 5:59 PM

this worked really well....it was great watching all those movies on my zen and what not even though they take up alotta space

Larry Wilson on August 30, 2006 8:36 PM

I'm glad I found this. I am looking to get a Vision:M to replace my Zen Xtra, which has been dropped one too many times.

My only question is this: What settings would you use if you wanted to rip a 2.35:1 movie, like, say, "V For Vendetta"? Would you actually have to rip the fullscreen version, or is there a way to "letterbox" the image in AutoGK?

Admittedly, you'd lose some screen area, but at least you'd have the full image.

Or maybe I should wait until the Vision:W hits...

Andrew on August 31, 2006 3:39 PM

works really nice with the iriverter program just when you use DVD Deycryptor just select no file splitting by right clicking on the file that you want to deycrypt. So far I've been able to get 3 movies and one season of south park ready to go for when I get my zvm, cant wait to get them on the thing. As far as how long it will take to get a movie formatted it will depend on your processor, but just let iriverter work all night and youll be good to go. for a two hour movie it takes me about an hour an a half to decrypt and then be reformatted. What im not sure about is the video bitrate, whats a good amount?

S Williams on September 16, 2006 8:39 PM

Yes, ditto--Nice site--thanks! I have had success ripping DVD's, but find that it seems to have gummed up my computer (fragmented the hard drive badly) after 5-10 sessions. I have read that the RAM actually fragments during ripping and re-booting will solve that, but my computer (laptop running Windows XP) is not happy! It is not always booting correctly (boots to blank black screen, then I have to restart) and seems slow. I have de-fragged the hard drive, but it is still not back to the operating level where it was before I started ripping DVDs.
Comments, help?

ross on September 20, 2006 3:32 PM

hey there, im not very good at stuff like this lol but ive just downloaded the software and im decrpyting The Exorcism Of Emily Rose as we speak, now i dont know if its my lack of knowlodge or if my software is newer than the one used in the example (though everything looks the same on the pictures) but i had a problem on 1%, cant remember exactly what it said, but i clicked retry numerous times but i kept getting this error, so i clicked abort (thinking it would abort the decrypting) and it must have skipped the file. im now on 79% so unless its my copy of EOER or if its something ive done this might not work, ill get back to you all... gees this is hard work :D

ross on September 20, 2006 3:59 PM

ok, stupid me did the whole thing wrong lol, the exorcism of emily rose completed, but i failed to make a destination lol, so starting from scratch here and the error has come up again, heres what it says ....

I/Q error

Device: [1:0:0:] VOM 12E48X 100D (D:) (ATA)

scsistatus: 0x02
interpretation: check condition

CDB: 28 00 00 03 B5 A0 00 00 01 00
interpretation: read (10) - sector: 243104

sense area 70 00 04 00 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 00 3E 02 00 00 00 00
interpration: time out on logical unit

LOL you wont believe how long it took me to write that out lol and im a fast typer

ross on September 20, 2006 4:00 PM

ok, stupid me did the whole thing wrong lol, the exorcism of emily rose completed, but i failed to make a destination lol, so starting from scratch here and the error has come up again, heres what it says ....

I/Q error

Device: [1:0:0:] VOM 12E48X 100D (D:) (ATA)

scsistatus: 0x02
interpretation: check condition

CDB: 28 00 00 03 B5 A0 00 00 01 00
interpretation: read (10) - sector: 243104

sense area 70 00 04 00 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 00 3E 02 00 00 00 00
interpration: time out on logical unit

LOL you wont believe how long it took me to write that out lol and im a fast typer

ross on September 20, 2006 4:14 PM

ok i know i shouldnt post so much lol, i decided to scrap the exorcism of emily rose and instead have decrypted shrek 2 without a problem :D but i have gone onto auto GK and it only alows me to insert 1 file... i have about 7 ?????

ross on September 22, 2006 4:29 AM

yep this is a good site :). OH and i succesfully downloaded shrek 2 and now 2 episodes of lost onto my Zen VM, so thanks alot... i may try emily rose again later lol

Ken on September 26, 2006 10:04 AM

Tried to rip my first DVD last night with DVD Decrypter & AutoGK & everything went smooth as silk. Ripped 2 movies to hard drive & convert & both work great, excellent quality set at 700 mb. Just waiting to for my Zen M to arrive so I can transfer them to that. Going on a cruise in October so this will be great to sit on the deck & watch movies. Thanks much for all the great instructions on how to do this, it was so easy. To transfer to the Zen M I'm guessing it is just drag & drop? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks again!

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Easy video on October 6, 2006 12:41 PM

Okay I figured out an easy way to put video on the Zen. All you need is DVD Dycrypter or DVD Shrink and Iriverter. All you need to do is use DVD Dycrypter or DVD Shrink to convert the Dvd into a ISO file. I use Shrink for this unless it won't decrypt the movie. After I have the ISO image I open that up in Iriverter, use the single video setting, you will need to change the setting to view all files in order to select the ISO. Select the ISO image then go to options and select Device then Creative also change the video 640 X 480 although it doesn't usually use this quality it is usally smaller. Once you have done these steps simply click the convert file. It takes about 15-20 minutes to make the ISO and about the same to convert the file. It will change it to a windows movie which is compatible with the ZEN all you need to do is put it in your video folder or use the creative software that came with the player to put the video on your Zen, You will not need to convert it. The quality is pretty good and sound has been right on with the movie. The overall file size is around 500mb to 1gb. Good luck.

Sam on October 8, 2006 9:56 AM

First of all, thanks for such a good tutorial, however i seem to be having a problem with decrypting some dvds.

when i try to decrypt a certain dvd, the following error appears:
___________________________________________________
"I/O Error!

Device: [1:0:0:] HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC -4120B 2.01 (D:) (ATA)

ScsiStatus: 0x02
Interpretation: Check Condition

CDB: 28 00 00 29 FA 56 00 00 01 00
Interpretation: Read (10) - Sector: 2751062

Sense Area 70 00 05 00 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 00 64 00 00 00 00 00
Interpration: Illegal Mode For This Track"
___________________________________________________

I was just wondering weather the problem is:
- with the software
- with my computer
- with the dvd (the white stripes under the blackpool lights)
- with my specific copy of the dvd

any help is greatly apreciated. Thanks.

The_Ultimates on October 8, 2006 12:28 PM

Yo guys I got a question. Its regarding this quote:


"However if you want to set optimal screen widths (discussed below) use the “Custom” setting at these sizes: 2000MB, 1000MB, 400MB, or 200MB for 640 width respectively and half of that for 320 width."

My question is what if the original file size is at say 90MB. Is it better then to convert to 200MB for 640 width or stay put at 200MB.

Thanks in advance!

The_Ultimates on October 8, 2006 12:29 PM

Oops I meant convert to 90MB at stay put at 200MB. Sorry for the mistake.

Jon on October 8, 2006 5:39 PM

Hi, I am having trouble with putting ripped dvds on my ZVM, I used both methods referred to in the guide, but when I do the guide suggested ways, as soon as I try to put the videos on my ZVM, I get a message saying that I don't have permission to move the file

mjcaccgrad on October 12, 2006 4:20 PM

Hey I tried using this tutorial and it worked great, only took about 20 hours to complete one movie, but it did work. The only problem is that the movie is in French and I wanted English. What did I do wrong and what can I do to get my movie into English?

mjcaccgrad on October 13, 2006 12:46 AM

Never mind the previous post, I guess I picked the wrong one. I guess there is a french version and an English version. i'm to assume that if you want the English version that the audio track would be set for 0. Otherwise this tutorial worked great.

jim will on September 20, 2007 1:31 PM

I was surprized at the ease of use of the Auto GK and DVD Decrypter. I installed both on a Vista (sorry) OS laptop and they performed flawlessly. My daughter and my wife were very happy to have their favorite tv shows on their Vision Ms. I was so pleased I ordered a Vision W for myself.
I followed the instructions faithfully and I am very happy. Thanks for the great site, and information.

Vince on October 30, 2007 10:08 PM

everything converts perfect except my audio has the director commentary. when i play the ts file on my computer there is no commentary, but after i convert its there. what am i doing wrong? some one please help me!!!

JPG on October 31, 2007 1:35 PM

Great guide. But with that said, after trying this out, watching my computer be very busy for hours for 1 movie, I decided to try something else. I used to rip the DVD with DVD Decrypter (or the likes), then reformat/combine the files in MPG (which also took forever), and then I'd use PocketDivXEncoder. I've done this a few times, and it was for my Palm. When I tested my videos on my newly aquired Zen Vision M, I found that they worked great! But, because of this guide, it made me think about ... what if PocketDivXEncoder could read VOB files? And I found that it did. And then, I found that it actually grabs all the VOB files to make the complete movie in one take. So now, I've tried this on about 3 movies in a row to test it out and they all worked. So, not only the software is free, it's does what anything else requires multiple steps, and/or does it in a quarter of the time. Do I mention this? PocketDivXEncoder encodes at around 30 to 45 minutes for a typical 1 1/2 hour movie. The simplicity and power of PocketDivXEncoder as made it my first, and just about my only choice to do videos for my Palm and Zen. Sorry to sound like a commercial, but heck, why mess around when a solution of this level exists, I've got at least a dozen icons for some of the software that I've tried, and I always return to PocketDivXEncoder.

Fred on November 2, 2007 2:26 AM

wouldn't it be easier to just download a torrent?

ginge on November 17, 2007 4:27 AM

i have got a ZVM but the bundeled convertor doesnt work ive also downloaded the newwr version of ZVM media explorer but this also has the same problem

what should i do??

zengurl on November 24, 2007 1:01 PM

A work-around for Vista... I followed directions but each time I transferred the avi to Zen's media collection, I got an error. Instead, I transferred the avi as a data file, opened explorer and dragged the avi file into the video folder. When I played it it ran fine as xvid.

Ethan on December 22, 2007 7:12 PM

Thanks for the Guide. It really has helped a lot!! I have a question though. Now that I have full movies on my Zen, I've been wondering. Is there some way to download and convert You Tube videos so that they can also be put in the Zen???

Dave on December 29, 2007 4:23 PM

This guide was/is extremely helpful. I've owned a vision:m for well over a year now and never bothered to even try upload a movie. Now, after reading through the guide and after downloading the free software (which works very well), I can't help uploading everything I can. I do have a pretty basic laptop so it does take it's sweet time for the process to complete, but it gets there in the end.

SAMI on December 30, 2007 1:58 AM

The best way to copy DVDs to your ZVM:

Get someone's ARCHOS 504 and copy any DVD you like onto it, with a press of a button. Once you do that, attach the ARCHOS to your PC and copy/paste the file containing the recorded DVD from your ARCHOS (.avi) to your ZVM. It is that simple!

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

foodchain3 on January 9, 2008 11:57 PM

It is so hard to put videos onto my Zen for some reason. some body out there help me!!!

PowerCod on January 16, 2008 3:56 PM

I got all excited when I realized it was that easy to rip DVDs. Too bad for me I have two CD drives AND NONE OF THEM PLAY DVDs!!!! Maybe I should have thought of that before I got all psycked up about an audio-PC (made for sound production). Anyways...
To foodchain3: You gotta be more spesific about your problem than that if you're expecting any help...

Luka on January 21, 2008 3:15 PM

All I have to say is that the Creative Zen Vision: M OWNS all!

Period!

KyBoOtEr on March 2, 2008 4:21 PM

Thanks alot for this guide. The video looks awesome on my Zen. It was easier than I thought it would be.

Thanks alot!

Volleygirl on March 20, 2008 11:54 PM

Ok I followed these instructions and it work