How to play divx and xvid videos in iTunes and Front Row

May 12, 2021 / By

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.

  1. 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
  2. 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.

  3. Once the video opens, select File and then Save As….

  4. Make sure that Save as a reference movie is selected, and then click the Save button.

  5. This will create a small .mov file in the same folder as your xvid or divx video.


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  6. Now launch iTunes. Select File and then Add to Library…

  7. Navigate to the .mov file you just created with QuickTime Player 7. Select it and click the Choose button.


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  8. 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.


    9. click to enlarge

  9. Double-click your newly imported movie to watch it in iTunes (if you want).


    10. click to enlarge

  10. 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.

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10 thoughts on “How to play divx and xvid videos in iTunes and Front Row”

  1. mgmd

    Thanks for the great tips! This worked exactly as you suggested, except that I couldn’t “save as’ – I had to “export” instead. Thanks a million!

  2. Ross McKillop

    Vincent – huh that’s very odd. It’s just the divx and xvid videos that don’t show up?? I’m not at home but I will test this out when I am (next week..).

  3. Vincent

    Dear Ross,

    This method is working perfectly ! Thanks a lots !

    One question, with the app remote for itunes I cannot find all my divx library via the apps on iphone / ipod / ipad.

    Any idea?

  5. Jimbo

    @gilles, @Silver
    You don’t need Pro to save a reference movie.
    Use Quicktime X (native in Snow Leopard) and use the Save to Web option. This will do the reference for you. Took me fricking ages of Google-ing to find that SoB

    Enjoy.

  6. Cman

    Hey, Works great however when I name the video in itunes it shows up a untitled in Front Row…I’m using it to add tv shows and the episode name is fine however the series name doesn’t work. I’ve gone into itunes and into the info for the file and added all the proper info. Any ideas?

    Thanks

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