You did seem a bit rude. That said, the forums are here to provide help, so:
To play .avi files or.mpeg files or whatever you need to re-encode them. This isn't difficult at all - the program used to do it can seem a bit daunting, but there are excellent step-by-step guides here (the program is free - links to downloads are also found on these sites):
http://gp32.vizionari.net/dvd2gp32.asp (if you want to encode movies from DVD),
here:
http://207.44.176.77/~admin28/gp32emu/faq/...q/moviepark.htm (probably the simplest and certainly the quickest technique)
or here:
http://www.waystation.mcmail.com/ (Produces higher-quality video files but takes longer... not really necessary for simple animation like family guy)
While there is lots of scope for experimentation with this, if you don't want to bother you don't need to: these guides tell you everything you need to know, step-by step. The process is quite simple and very easy to follow.
In addition to these, you will need a Smart Media Card (SMC) big enough to fit the encoded files on to. I can usually get an episode of family guy under 30 MB, but you may as well get a 128MB card (or any size you like, but it must be 3.3v) so you can fit multiple episodes on it. Oh, and feature films
. This doesn't really count as extra expense 'cos you need one to store games / mp3s on anyway - without it there's nothing you can do with the GP32.
You will also need to buy MoviePark software from joyGP or Gamepark... look around the forums. It costs about $4 (US), and is downloaded to your computer automatically.
"Frontlit or backlit": the choice doesn't exist! You have the option of normal unit - no light source, but clear, very reflective screen (better than the gameboy advance for visibility). Or the "FLU" (front-light unit). Using the light does drain battery life (from ~10hours to ~3, or so I'm told), but the light is reported to be clear and distorsion-free.
A note though - read the post "forum ettiquette" - I think it's currently a sticky post at the top of General. And pay attention to Axeman's advice! If you hadn't already had a bit of mild abuse telling you off for being so rude, I wouldn't have replied to a post like that. Asking for advice is obviously fine (that's what the community is here for!), but there's no need to start more than one new post, or to be surprised if no-one answers your post in the first few minutes. Even if you are shocked by this, what's the point of going on about it? It won't male people read your post any sooner, and when they do they'll just be annoyed. Finally, using caps lock looks like you're SHOUTING! It can get very annoying to read, and won't make you any friends.
Next time, be polite, be patient and have a brief look round in past threads or FAQ sections (not one on this site here yet, but a quick google would have turned up www.gp32emu.com which has a very good faq section. And also happens to answer both your questions without all this preachiness you've been getting thrown at you.
Hope to see you on the board again sometime - it's a good community on here, and if you play nice they will!
Have fun,
Melville
