This tutorial will show you how to add xvid and divx movies to iTunes, which in turn allows you to play them in Front Row.
Please note: Front Row was discontinued with the July 2011 release of Mac OS X Lion (v 10.7). If you’re using a version of OS X earlier than 10.7, this guide is still 100% accurate and will work for you.
- The first thing you’ll need to do is enable QuickTime to play divx and xvid videos. To do this, just download and install Perian. Perian is simple to install and appears as a System Preference pane
- Once Perian is installed, open up a divx or xvid movie with QuickTime Player 7. QuickTime Player 7 is not the same thing as QuickTime X, which was introduced in Snow Leopard. To make sure you’re using the correct QuickTime, right-click (or ctrl-click for single-mouse button folks) the video and select Open With. From the sub-menu, select QuickTime Player 7. If it’s not listed, click the Other… link, navigate to QuickTime Player 7, and select it.
Note: if you’re using Leopard (10.5) or earlier, QuickTime Player 7 can be found in your Applications list. If you’re using Snow Leopard (10.6), QuickTime Player 7 can be found inside the Utilities sub-folder of your Applications folder.
- Once the video opens, select File and then Save As….
- Make sure that Save as a reference movie is selected, and then click the Save button.
- This will create a small .mov file in the same folder as your xvid or divx video.
- Now launch iTunes. Select File and then Add to Library…
- Navigate to the .mov file you just created with QuickTime Player 7. Select it and click the Choose button.
- Now select the Movies link in your iTunes library. You should see the movie you just added in that list. Note: if it’s not there, repeat the previous two steps, and make sure to select the .mov file – you may have accidentally selected the .avi (divx or xvid) file – which cannot be imported into iTunes.
- Double-click your newly imported movie to watch it in iTunes (if you want).
- That movie will now be listed when you launch Front Row – and can be watched from within Front Row. Important: if you delete the .mov or the original .avi (divx or xvid) file, it will no longer be watchable in iTunes or Front Row.
