DeLano Sheffield recently bought a Creative Zen and emailed me asking how to get DVDs on it and also how to convert MP4 files (iTunes). So here’s what I’ve managed to do:

As far as videos go you have a number of options:
Movie Trailers in iPod format can be had from http://www.apple.com/trailers. These come in "M4V" format. The Video Converter that comes with the Creative Zen will happily convert these into WMV and transfer them to your Zen when finished. You can also download plenty of ready-formatted movies from http://www.pocketmovies.net/.

DVD Ripping: Ripping sucks and if I had to worry about the format I know I’d never bother. This was one of the reasons I went with the Zen over the iPod Video. If you want to do this for free then there’re are a few steps involved. Namely ripping, then converting.

I ripped using a free tool called "Fab DVD Decrypter" which you’ll have to Google for. Basically run the tool, pop a DVD in your machine, specify a target directory and then go have a lie down. The result is a bunch of "VOB" files on your hard disk. Next step is to convert these into your format and size (320×240) of choice.

I used MediaEncoder, again free, for this job. It also takes a little while to convert. I was able to put Dune and Leon (the Professional) on my Zen thusfar.

Last little tidbit I’ll mention is Media Center files. If you’re like me and you’ve built your own Tivo (Freevo) you probably have a number of TV shows sitting on a PC somewhere. Media Center stores shows in DVD-MS format. This is a weird format but never fear, you can simply plug in your Zen with the USB cord, fire up Windows Media Player 10 (free) and Sync these files to your device. Windows Media Center automatically converts them to the right size and WMV format in the process. It does take a while but that’s a given.

The best part about this is I didn’t have to install ANY software for this to work. As far as MP4 (MPEG 4 Audio), I haven’t tried it but I think these are AAC files, iTunes audio. With a little digging I’m sure you could find a converter for free. In the interim you can use ImToo’s products to convert. They also have DVD Rippers that streamline the aforementioned process slightly.

Last thing: Since my Primer explanation, I’m getting a lot of folks looking for my take on the movie "Stay". Haven’t seen it yet but I’m intrigued. Going to watch it right now…Check back soon for my analysis.