Hi all! I would really appreciate some help pls:

I'm looking for a cheap divx dvd player that I can play my .avi files from an external hard drive through a USB port (and does this well!), and also has an optical out which can feed into my amp.

I haven't unfortunately been able to find any decent dixv player with the later spec, so any advice would be a great help!

In my experience, unless you go the the lengths of encoding a divx (.avi) file with a 5.1 audio soundtrack yourself. You are not gaining anything using optical digital out. As most "uh hum" torrent or internet downloads only come with stereo 2 channel sound. There are a few files out there with 5.1 audio, such as HDTV rips of tv shows but the download can be twice or sometimes 3 times the size.

As for the hardware, do you want a 'Name' brand or an off the shelf bargain from Asda or Aldi etc???

DNZ

hi there! thanks for your reply!

my budget is £80... so don't mind if its named or a non-named brand

also the optical out is the only way i will be able to get sound form my amp since it doesn't have a digital coaxial audio out and running the divx player through with a scart lead degrades the pic quality...

Or would it be worth getting an all-in-one HDD DivX Player with optical out since I won't be using this device with DVDs?

Can anyone recommend such a device?

Hi
I have just bought a Rapsody n35 (hdd media player), very impressed so far. It will play most video and audio formats, plugs straight into your network and tv and will stream from your pc as well. have a look here http://www.kjglobal.co.uk and click on media players

I've not got one yet but have read good reviews of the Philips DVP5960 which can be found at just over £40. They have a newer model also with HDMI being the DVP5980.

Not sure about the optical out though, you will have to check the specs.

http://www.consumer.philips.com/cons...A_GB_CONSUMER/