When trying to play VOB files copied from DVDs on Archos 5 IT 500GB, the error message -Video decoder error: "No valid start code found" always pops up for VTS_xx_2 files whilst VTS_xx_1 files could be played normally. In contrast, Archos 70 250GB could play all VOB files directly copied from DVDs without problems. Even though I have updated Archos 5 IT with the latest firmware on archos.com, the video decoder error could not be fixed. Could you please enlighten me of any workaround or quickfix? Thanks.

DVDs contain folders and files which are specially developed for DVD players and not for computers.<br /> If you explore the DVD on your computer, you see on most DVDs the folders Video_TS and Audio_TS. The folder Audio_TS is on video DVDs empty. This folders is normally used for audio DVDs.<br /> If you open the folder Video_TS you see that the extensions of the files in it are .vob, .ifo and .bup. The .vob files are actually the .mpeg or video files and only these files contain video. The .ifo files contain information like scenes and time. The .bup files are backup files of the .ifo files. These files aren't relevant for computers.<br /> If you double click a .vob file and you do not have any DVD player installed on your computer, the computer says that it can not open the file. But there is a trick to do let your computer play this file.<br /> The trick to play this file is to copy the .vob files to a folder on your hard drive. The next thing you need to do is to change the file extension into .mpg.<br /> Do not change the name of the file but be sure you change the extension of it!<br /> If you copy the .vob file and you change the extension in .mpg, there is no guarantee that it works. This depends on the codecs you have installed on your computer. But often this trick will work.<br /> So what is the solution if the above doesn't work? The following I will show you <a href="http://www.freedvdripper.org/dvdvideoguide/how-to-rip-a-dvd.html">how to rip a dvd</a>.<br /> Step 1: Download <a href="http://www.freedvdripper.org/">best free dvd ripper</a> and running it. click "Add". It supplies four ways to load files:<br /> Step 2: Select output Profile<br /> You can select one output format you want to rip a DVD as below.<br /> Step 3: Edit the Video<br /> If you want to customize the video, Wondersahre DVD Ripper offers a powerful video editing function, including cropping video, setting the video effects, trimming movie, even customizing personal watermark.<br /> Step 4: Start to rip a DVD<br /> After you select the output format and edit the video(option), all you need to do is clicking the "Start" button. Then you can get a cup of coffee and come back later to check if the conversion is finished. Furthermore, this DVD Ripper even offers the option to automaticlly shut down the computer when the conversion completed.<br /> Now, you must get the idear how to rip a dvd. Enjoy it!<br /> Related topic: <a href="http://www.freedvdripper.org/dvdvideoguide/how-to-rip-copyrighted-dvd.html">How to rip DVD on Mac</a>.<br />

The ARCHOS 7 offers customer uncompromised access to the Internet, TV and media content… With its stunning 7 inches amazingly high-resolution screen, 800x480 pixels, and huge disk capacity, it is the best travel company and portable audio/video player you can imagine, which will definitely accompany your travels and holidays in a comfortable and convenient way.
To enjoy videos on ARCHOS 7, you should make sure what file formats are compatible with it, following is the detailed information:

Video playback:
MPEG-4 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) including WMV protected files
M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in QVGA resolution
With optional plug-in (downloadable from your tablet on www.ARCHOS.com):
HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p)
H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC
MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1)

Audio playback:
Stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR, WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1, WAV (PCM/ADPCM)
AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station)
Flac and OGG Vorbis audio files
With optional software plug-ins (downloadable from your tablet on www.ARCHOS.com):
AAC, AAC+ stereo audio files

Obviously, the ARCHOS 7 supported file formats are limited, if you want to watch you various video files and unprotected DVDs on it successfully, format conversion is necessary. By now, Pavtube Video Converter would be a good assistant for you. It is able to help you convert videos from DVs or camcorders (JVC, Panasonic, Cannon, Sony, etc.), TiVo (*.tivo), DVDs (*.vob), YouTube (*.flv, *.f4v), *.mts, *.m2ts, *.mkv, etc. to ARCHOS 7 compatible format. You can look through its step by step guide as below.

Step 1: Run Pavtube Video Converter, and click "Add" button to load video files to it
Step 2: Select output format for ARCHOS 7
Click on the pull down menu of "Format" firstly, and then select "Archos", after that, all the profiles for Archos will be listed out, here I choose "Archos 5/7 WMV Video (*.wmv) for example.
Step 3: Specify destination folder
Click on the folder icon at the end of "Output" to specify where to locate the output files.
Step 4: Click on "Settings" button to adjust audio and video parameters
Actually, the default settings can basically satisfy your ARCHOS 7, but if you want to have your own changes, you can adjust all the items like codec, aspect ratio, frame rate, sample rate, bit rate, and audio channel in the following window:
Step 5: Click "Convert" button to start conversion
Once conversion is finished, the output files can be found out via clicking on "Open" button with ease. Afterwards, just enjoy them on your ARCHOS 7 freely.

For more: http://www.pavtube.com/video_converter/