A new version of ZodTTD's vlc4iphone (it also works on iPod Touch) is now out, bumping up the app to v0.9.8 Beta. Aside form the usual big fixes, this version also incorporates support for firmware 2.0+. Thing is, there's still a volume issue that's keeping the app from getting a public 1.0 release. More in the full article.

Here's some additional media support for the iPhone, courtesy of ZodTTD. We recently checked his website and it seems he's not only released a new version of vlc4iphone, but he's also renamed the app as well. Learn more about this new release after the jump!

Here's another program for those who are keen on converting videos and uploading them on their preferred gadgets: Called Universal Video Converter. This application is currently on version 6.0.2, and was created by Victorious from DivxTurka.Net

Know more about this program via the "read more" link below.

Download: Universal Video Converter v6.0.2

A couple of hardware enthusiasts claim that they officially got the Xvid and everything else supported by Perian working on the Apple TV. It's supposed to be 100 percent legit, involving only personally taking apart your Apple TV, and plugging in the drive - it's a straightforward OS X 10.4.7 install.

Awkward and Sabretooth relates the methods as such:

1. Open it up (4 screws on the bottom, small Torx bit)
2. Put the 2.5" drive into a USB enclosure or whatever you want
3. Mount the HFS filesystem
4. Install Perian in /Library/Quicktime (as you normally would)
5. Install Dropbear (or enable SSH if you know how... we gave up and used Dropbear)
6. Add a startup script to disable the firewall or open up the ports you need for SSH
7. Put the drive back in and boot it, ssh login as frontrow, password frontrow (or add an ssh key for yourself)
8. Use a reference movie (use QT Pro to save a reference movie) to bootstrap your xvid file

Make sure to see more details about this before you go about tweaking with the Apple TV for Xvid.

  

Streaming television is a growing market that features industry giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Sony vying for a place right in your living room. But all the hype has left you stumped: the Apple TV has come out and you're wondering if you should change plans on purchasing a brand new Mac Mini with a cheaper, more dedicated Apple TV.

Well, it's really about what you think is right for you. Cost aside, the Apple TV and the Mac Mini are not in the same product category. The Apple TV is an appliance, while the Mac Mini is a compact computer. The compact and sleek Apple TV box shovels video from your computer to your television, while the slightly larger Mac Mini can run a full instance of Mac OS X, allowing you to view movie content encoded in DivX, XviD and VIDEO_TS.

The Apple TV can play anything an iPod can, though it does not fully support 5.1 surround sound. A Mac Mini has 20 GB more of hard drive space, 256 MB more of system memory, three more USB ports, a Firewire port, and room for a decent DVD-writer. The Apple TV does have NVidia-powered video compared to the Mini's Intel integrated feature, and does sport the 802.11n wireless connectivity, making streaming large files smoother.

Aside from all the technical specifications, you might also want to consider that the Apple TV is pretty easy to use. A user-friendly GUI menu and intuitive interface can get you streaming television in no-time. But some people have discovered that the HD capability of the Apple TV is slightly so-so, having problems keeping up the proper frame rate while streaming HD TV in some cases. The Mac Mini, being a computer, requires maintenance, though it is more useful in other things such as serving as a backup file storage.

An Apple TV or a Mac Mini? It's a tough one, but you could probably do with either. On a personal note, you couldn't go wrong with a Mac Mini, if you can afford it.

Homebrew developer for the PSP, winnydows, has released an updated version of his video converter application XviD4PSP. Let's say that you just got a PSP and this app intrigues you but you don't know what in the world it does, we'll hook you up with some info.

Basically, this is a program that converts videos for your PSP, iPod and PC. For you to maximize this app, you should have Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2 intalled, and Microsoft Framework 3.0 ffdshow build by clsid. To avoid redundancy, you could always refer to our earlier coverage of this app or to winnydows' website which you can access via the link below. With all that said, here is the lengthy changelog for version 4.046.

Changelog:

• For compatibility with non standard windows themes all text dialogs forced set to black an white.
• In help menu changed links to home page and support, added links to Donate and Check updates.
• In Corrector form added more input framrates - 15.000, 24.000, 30.000.
• Decoder selection now sticky.
• Files for formats MP4 PSP 2.80 and iPod with framerate 23.976 now converted to 24.000 - it fix sync lost on PSP and iPod.
• Files for iPod with framerate 23.976 now converted to 24.000, not to 29.970.
• Now if framerate changed not very much used more fast and quality convertion mode - Assume. Else used ConvertFPS.
• Fixed manual D2V import on systems with Windows Vista.
• Added check for InputPath = OutputPath.
• To menu settings added links for ffdshow settings - Video decoder configuration, Audio decoder configuration, VFW configuration.
• Added AVS script checker. No more messages "Unsupported format: [DIB]". Now script error will be added to log.
• Now if you don`t have selected codec installed, problem will be found in log and will recomend solution.
• In main installer added Framwork installation check.
• In main installer added few AviSynth versions.
• Now XviD not used for decoding YV12 any more and may be removed from system. For decoding YV12 now used Helux YUV.
• XviD removed from main installer.
• Helux YUV added to main installer.
• Mencoder updated to 21682.
• Updated patches for Athlon and Pentium III.
• Now for AVI and DIVX files AVISource default decoder. It fix gray flicks.
• Now for all files anilized Delay information. It fix lost sync after encoding files with internal Delay set.
• Now files decoded over directshow without framerate information. May fix sync lost on exotic files.
• To Settings form added option "Fix gray flicks" - let fix gray flicks with DirectShow decoding. Option trim 20 first frames.
• Maximum bitrate for PMP formats enhanced to 256.
• x264 updated to 614.

Download: [XviD4PSP version 4.046]