[Bob Russell]

Thanks for the info Morpheus. It's nice to hear input from someone that has perspective instead of just guessing based on a few web sites like I've been trying to do.

Originally Posted by Morpheus

Bob, just a side note: Try PocketDivXEncoder. It is free and does a great job when converting movies for Pocket PCs. EDIT: Just saw that you were referring to it further down in your post. I leave it here as my personal recommendation for everyone who is interested in converting his videos for PPC devices.

I tried that first, but it didn't seem to be able to get to the DVD on my laptop. But I had other problems with that DVD even with DVD Studio, so maybe I should try it again. Edit: Maybe you have to use DVDDecrypter or Smartripper to get the files off of the DVD before you can use PocketDivXEncoder? Check out http://www.doom9.org/index.html?/aspi.htm for lots more info.

Originally Posted by Morpheus

I think the only solution would be to use a service that offers Windows Media files with DRM

The part about Tivo content being usable on PPC is pretty neat. Might be a good reason to get Tivo. But don't really watch enough tv to justify it. And if they add movies to the content that would be interesting for about $20/yr. The other issue here is that it takes Media Player 10, which is not available except for a few models, and for some upcoming models. As much as I want a VGA device, I am happy with my Toshiba for now, and it's small. Here's what Microsoft says

Windows Media Player 10 Mobile will be available on many new Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition–based Smartphones and Pocket PCs over the next few months. These devices will come in various shapes and sizes designed to fit your lifestyle and budget. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is not available for download from Microsoft.

# The following devices have Windows Media Player 10 Mobile installed: Audiovox SMT-5600 from AT&T Wireless
# Dell Axim X50

# The following devices are upgradeable to Windows Media Player 10 Mobile: HP iPAQ rx 3000 series
# Dell Axim X30

BUT.... if I remember right, one of the pay movie sites also gave you a choice of Winows Media Player files or Real Player. (MovieLink?) If that's true, maybe with a Dell x50v and Win Media Player 10, you can watch that content. If they could make a cheap Dell x50v the size of my Toshiba e405, I'd be really tempted. But for now, I feel like I might as well wait for whatever is coming next instead of a small incremental jump that would require a bigger device in my pocket.

Originally Posted by Morpheus

I don't know if there is any player that supports Real Video files encoded with Helix for Pocket PC. I have heard rumors, Bob like the ones you saw at Helixcommunity, that a player is in the works but not available for public yet.

If you dig down just right into that site, you'll actually see the project itself. But I couldn't tell if it's still active. Some of the target dates looked like oct/nov. If that's last year it could signal something stopped work. And if that's this year, that's a bit of a wait.