I was hoping I wouldn't have to transcode videos but is anyone else experiencing lowered FPS for some Xvid files? It's weird, I have two video files, both 624x352 and Xvid with mp3. One has video avg bitrate of 976kbps and plays fine, the other is 990 and plays choppy.

Is this normal?

Is this something that can be fixed with firmware/software?

hmm weird. I can play Divx at very high bitrates....

I'd imagine the problem is some other difference with the files. For example high number of b-frames could cause that.

Yup.

I've noticed this as well. Too bad, because it means I still need te re-encode these files to be able to play them back on the N900. Hopefully the media player application will be able to handle the files someday.

Yes I have experienced choppy playback with the above spec files. However, until the media player gets an update, I have been transcoding them to H264 files, which play very smoothly.

i'm using default media player--i see mplayer has made its way to n900, i haven't d/l'ed it yet though. default media player, i have some curb your enthusiasm episodes that look alright, definitely watchable (but just a little bit choppy, nothing to complain about though)
hopefully mplayer's better

I was having the same issues, but Mplayer plays them smoothly. Some vids also played with consistant dropped frames that were not choppy as much as they were not smooth. Smooth with Mplayer.

Not guaranteeing Mplayer will improve your files, but it did on mine. Better player now with far more compatibility for me.

I just tried mplayer and videos that seemed choppy but watchable in the default player are silky smooth in mplayer. Am using the KMPlayer frontend to simplify use too. Recommend giving it a go