[milleym]

Okay, there seems to be alot of jumping through hoops to get your Divx/Xvid Movies on your Zune.

I've tried the registry tweaks to get avi files into the the zune desktop software library, and that works great, but the conversion on sync is unreliable.

Here's the thing, If you're running Vista Ultimate, you don't need to buy or install any Third Party conversion software; nor do you have to download windows media encoder. This tutorial uses software that is most likely already on your windows box.

Windows Movie Maker. Yes, Windows Movie Maker. Duh! (slaps forehead)

1. Open Windows Movie Maker. If, by chance, you don't have it installed, go get it from M$. It's free.

2. Click the import button and open the file that you want to convert.

3. Drag the file into the first frame of the "Storyboard" at the bottom of the screen.

4. Under Publish to, click This computer.

5. In the wizard that pops up, select the destination path (preferablly in one of your zune-monitored folders), and on the next page select Windows Media Portable Device.

That's it. You're done. After it's done converting, the result is a WMV version of the Divx movie, perfectly formatted for your device.

Pop some popcorn as you sync it, lower the lights, and enjoy your video.


***ADDENDUM***

If you'd like to skip the second transcoding when you are synching, you can:

a) Choose Low-Bandwitdth when publishing in step 5 above.

b) Create a new Windows Media Encoder profile that matches the settings on your zune. (Steps are below). This is a bit complicated, so it's only reccomended if you desire a high-quality divx-sourced video experience on your device (who doesn't?) and not have to re-encode the file.

1 - Set your Maxiumum Video Conversion Settings. NOTE: This may cause previously synced video to be re-encoded.
a)Right click on your device name in the zune software tree while your device is connected.
Open the Advanced Options menu.
b)Under Quality, Videos and TV Shows, pick Select maximum quality level. Move the slider to the third value, 1.11 Mbps. I think this offers the best quality to size ratio; you can select whichever value you'd like, but for the purpose of this Tutorial, that's what I'm going to use.

2 - Download and Install Windows Media Encoder 9.
a) Open the Windows Media Profile Editor (in start->programs->windows media->utilities).
b) Under Name, type something memorable like Zune Media.
c) Check Audio and Video (DO NOT CHECK SCRIPT), and in each, select CBR and Windows Media 9( or 9.x). DO NOT CHECK Allow Interlaced Processing nor Allow Nonsquare pixel output.
d) Under Target Bit Rates, click add and then type 1.11M
e) Under the new tab for 1110Kbps, change the video size to 320x240 (the size of the zune screen). Make Sure that you do not have more then 2 channels (stereo) selected for the audio.
f) Click save and close, navigate to your \Program Files\Movie Maker\Shared\Profiles folder, and title the profile something memorable. You may have to create the directory. In addition, due to Vista Security, you may have to save the profile to your desktop first, and then move it into the above directory.
g) Select the profile you just created in windows movie maker when converting your video using the steps above.

If you like the results, you can uninstall windows media encoder. The profile that you just created will stay behind.