what i use to convert my media center videos is ATI AvivoXCode, i got it for free, cant remember where tho, and it has a few different options for whatever file type you want to convert to
i use IRC, its a lot more secure and theres a lot more selection, mostly with the newer movies like spiderman 3, there are a lot of peolpe to choose from.
i saw some videos online of people with linux installed on a nano - they then could play videos, half life 1...yea i said it...HALF LIFE 1 ON A NANO!!!!